My mom would drive us (3 kids) from Florida to Chicago to visit family at least once every year in the back of our Chrysler minivan... with both back seats removed and some old quilts laid over the floor for us to sit/sleep/play on.
That's a 20+ hour drive on the interstates both ways. It's fun to tease her nowadays about how stupid it was in retrospect.
No disagreement from me... it was fun to be in a 70 mph mobile playroom for a weekend. At one point we even got one of those 12V TV/VCR combos so we could watch as many movies as we wanted.
It's just something that was a keystone childhood memory that I could never imagine doing with my kids.
Oh man, we thought we were kings/queens when we got the upgrade to the 12V TV/VCR combo. So many movies, but my dad always vetoed the ones he didn't want to listen to lol.
I distinctly remember my brother sprawled out on the floor of our van during road trips from Ohio to South Carolina...not one of us kids was ever buckled in. The backseat area (we had 2 captain's chairs and a bench in the way way back) was our domain and we did as we pleased. Wild to think about now. We could have easily died and as an adult I now know my dad is a terrible driver 😂
I don't remember ever buckling the seatbelts in the backseat when we were kids. This was in Latin America though, so that might be relevant. We were three kids in the backseat of a sedan, so we didn't have enough for the three of us lol.
We were told that because in the 70s they used to turn it on to roll a joint while they cruised around and the cops started keying on that and if they saw you with one on then you were getting pulled over.
I was told it’s illegal by my dad and we would get pulled over and arrested. Now I tell my kids to turn off the light as well and that it’s illegal. Straight to jail Haha
My dad had a different perspective. He didn’t a lot on in the car at once because it was a drain on the battery and the overheard lights were a pain to replace. My mom didn’t want them on because she had terrible vision and that would mess her up.
Now that I have a kid I see how annoying/distracting it can be. I don't think my folks ever yelled at us is we needed to have it on. But one time I forgot to turn the light off and my dad was late to work because he had to get the car jumped and I got yelled at enough I never left it on again.
Not die, but both parents did tell me to keep them off because it made things harder to see. As a parent when driving at night, can confirm the accuracy to this statement. I now tell my kids that turning the light on creates a glare that makes it difficult to see.
CROBBY2@reddit
Now that im older I can confirm we will and this was an appropriate response.
no1jam@reddit
Yup, as a dad and 40+, getting tougher for eyes to adjust even mildly fast
Totally_Bradical@reddit
Seriously, the night vision is pretty shit these days
Zeke688@reddit
Yup, I’m the dad now
MyNameCannotBeSpoken@reddit
Dimplefrom-YA@reddit
Attention, he’s my daddy
BlackieDad@reddit
My kids will ask me before they turn the light on, and the moment they do I’ll start hollering that I’m blinded. I think it’s funnier than they do
SeaSkimmer2@reddit
That was mom.
She also let us unbuckle our seatbelts on long road trips once we were on the highway.
_SmashLampjaw_@reddit
My mom would drive us (3 kids) from Florida to Chicago to visit family at least once every year in the back of our Chrysler minivan... with both back seats removed and some old quilts laid over the floor for us to sit/sleep/play on.
That's a 20+ hour drive on the interstates both ways. It's fun to tease her nowadays about how stupid it was in retrospect.
UnderH20giraffe@reddit
But also a lot more kind. Fuck does car seats suck.
_SmashLampjaw_@reddit
No disagreement from me... it was fun to be in a 70 mph mobile playroom for a weekend. At one point we even got one of those 12V TV/VCR combos so we could watch as many movies as we wanted.
It's just something that was a keystone childhood memory that I could never imagine doing with my kids.
Rogue_Gona@reddit
Oh man, we thought we were kings/queens when we got the upgrade to the 12V TV/VCR combo. So many movies, but my dad always vetoed the ones he didn't want to listen to lol.
Rogue_Gona@reddit
I distinctly remember my brother sprawled out on the floor of our van during road trips from Ohio to South Carolina...not one of us kids was ever buckled in. The backseat area (we had 2 captain's chairs and a bench in the way way back) was our domain and we did as we pleased. Wild to think about now. We could have easily died and as an adult I now know my dad is a terrible driver 😂
Exotic-Steak-4662@reddit
I loved doing that. It felt like freedom for some reason.
RamenRoy@reddit
It was freedom. From life.
flyinthesoup@reddit
I don't remember ever buckling the seatbelts in the backseat when we were kids. This was in Latin America though, so that might be relevant. We were three kids in the backseat of a sedan, so we didn't have enough for the three of us lol.
crazycatlady331@reddit
Anyone else's dad tell them it was illegal to turn the light on?
illini02@reddit
For sure. It was my mom, but still.
Exotic-Steak-4662@reddit
Logically I know it’s not illegal but it still just feels so wrong. Because of that wrongness, it’s still illegal in my brain. Is that brainwashing?
RamenRoy@reddit
We're all sheep
anongirl55@reddit
Yes, my dad told me that he'd get arrested.
IndicationNo7551@reddit
wait. its not illegal? lol i told my kid it was (i was told it was growing up lmao)
Ramen_Addict_@reddit
My dad just had what I called his “angry eyebrows”. He just had to turn around with those eyebrows and we knew we’d better behave.
McCQ@reddit
You can be pulled over for careless driving in the UK if it's on for a length of time at night. It can be used briefly, but no more that that.
Astrohumper@reddit
Is it not?
scuac@reddit
Yes, but we were living under a dictatorship so… maybe true?
EZE333@reddit
My mom said we would get pulled over for having it on. I believed that well into adulthood
dka2012@reddit
We were told that because in the 70s they used to turn it on to roll a joint while they cruised around and the cops started keying on that and if they saw you with one on then you were getting pulled over.
DireKnife@reddit
TIL
Pard22@reddit
If you didn’t react quick enough it was a whack.
furious_Dee@reddit
we got pinches. broke the skin.
_SmashLampjaw_@reddit
It's true though.
I do the same thing with my kids, I don't need to try to be seeing oncoming traffic through a Pepper's Ghost of them sitting on the hood of my truck.
goodnewzevery1@reddit
I needed a good laugh, TY
fannyalgerpack@reddit
I thought we were told it was a gang signal, or was that flashing the headlights?
VelourSin@reddit
Right? It’s like there’s a universal dad handbook we don’t know about.
Obsidianrunner@reddit
I can’t lie. I’m 45 and when my wife turns on the light while I’m driving, I have to fight the urge to turn it off. It is distracting.
No_Deal_8632@reddit
I was told it’s illegal by my dad and we would get pulled over and arrested. Now I tell my kids to turn off the light as well and that it’s illegal. Straight to jail Haha
Shadrach77@reddit
Cheers to unprocessed trauma!
maggie320@reddit
My dad had a different perspective. He didn’t a lot on in the car at once because it was a drain on the battery and the overheard lights were a pain to replace. My mom didn’t want them on because she had terrible vision and that would mess her up.
nopester24@reddit
But did you die???
capthazelwoodsflask@reddit
Now that I have a kid I see how annoying/distracting it can be. I don't think my folks ever yelled at us is we needed to have it on. But one time I forgot to turn the light off and my dad was late to work because he had to get the car jumped and I got yelled at enough I never left it on again.
sailorangel59@reddit
Not die, but both parents did tell me to keep them off because it made things harder to see. As a parent when driving at night, can confirm the accuracy to this statement. I now tell my kids that turning the light on creates a glare that makes it difficult to see.
burnitdwn@reddit
Being able to see the road is important. being blinded by interior lights that ruin your night vision is indeed a deadly risk.
APOC_V@reddit
Oh it’s fine. The oncoming traffic’s headlights are nuking your retinas anyway these days.
Electronic_Gap3253@reddit
Yep. I was told we’d be pulled over and arrested, ha!
OskeyBug@reddit
Always kept my legs in a spot where he couldn't reach back and grab them.
LMurch13@reddit
:/ The light is distracting, and my kids always forget to turn it off, so its still on the next day.
Sunday_Blues_Respite@reddit
Yup, that was one thing you could always count on