OK so this may seem like a stupid topic but here it is anyway.

I loathe seeing a DVD player in a car driving down the street playing Sponge Bob to some kids in the back.

Whatever happened to books and music, or even looking out the window? I see this as a larger issue in the country. It's easier for the parent to pop in a movie and not have to deal with the kids than interact with them.

When I was young when you were in the car you learned patience, you read, you talked with your family. Why's that so hard nowadays?

I fear an entire generation that in fact needs constant stimulation to survive.

just a guess, but you don't have children do you?

did they even have dvd players for cars back then?

I do and I refuse to get one in my vehicle.

*The entire space-time continuum is about to melt. Hell is freezing over*

I agree with you completely. Kids are becoming slaves to instant gratification and are becoming dependant on TV and other media. It's sad. When I have kids, there will be limits on that stuff.

i'm all for limits. all good things in moderation and all that rot....but until you've been on a 7 hour car trip w/ 3 children under the age of 5 without the benefit of mindless entertainment, then you really shouldn't judge.

Same here.

I've been on several of those as a child. We went to Yellowstone, Colorado, Mexico, California... All of those well over 7 hours... And nobody had anything except books. It wasn't until when I was 14 years old and we took a trip to Washington State that I had mindless entertainment, and even then it wasn't 100% of the time.

Not that I want to sound like one of those "back in my day..." type of people, but I do think it is perfectly reasonable to set limits on that stuff.

my key point seems to have been missed. i have 3 kids-aged 5, 3 1/2 and 19 months...when they are all screeming in unison, nothing preserves my sanity like a dvd player... that is not to say that i employ it on 10 min. drives to the grocery store--think of it like one of those in case of emergency -break glass situations. my kids are also read to daily, taken on cultural excursions and in general are exposed to lots of meaningful family time--but moderate, judicial use of tv-in cars or otherwise is not a bad thing.

I agree, and the key words are "moderate and judicial." Some entertainment is great, but when used as a replacement for meaningful discussion and general "getting to know the kids," which it often is, it can be harmful.

I don't have kids but when i do I'm definately getting one of these.

I like to talk to my kids in the car. If it's just driving around town, I see no need for any such device. On long trips, it's nice to have something to keep them occupied though. We have a portable TV/VCR that we usually bring for trips longer than 4 hours.

I can see it both ways. I remember many incredibly boring car trips as a child. I usually tuned out of the family and just thought about stuff. As a mother, I've had bickering children that make me want to scream (and I have on occasion). Both my kids tend to listen to their walkman during car trips, or read a book - its all avoidance behavior - the DVD player is just the newest form....

I just hate the LCD screens mounted so that people at stop lights can see what your watching. Who the fuck cares? Why waste a grand installing monitors for the people behind you that you don't know. It's absurd.

I wouldn't have one of those installed if I had children. Music and books is enough for the road. Maybe a laptop when they get older, that can do it all...

Anyone remember the story about people watching porn on these things and other motorists complaining?

I agree with you.

I'm not one that likes my children watching much tv, but if we are on a long road trip (over 5 hours), I see no harm in popping in a good movie for them to watch. We all benefit from it.

I don't want kids, but if I had them, I wouldn't let them watch DVDs in the car. That's fucked up.

I don't even watch TV anymore, it's mostly trash.

I'm against letting kids watch porn on long car trips.

--PunkDavid

what if the videos are from the trip to neverland ranch?

Nope. If the kids want porn, they can do it the old-fashioned way and take their clothes off.

--PunkDavid