My biggest regret in life is not buying three matching car booster seats. Instead, I purchased them piecemeal, and didn't assign any of them to any specific child. The result is that the booster seat with the most padding and biggest cup holder has turned into a national treasure.
"They're all the same!" I shrieked for the millionth time this morning. Cortlen beat his siblings to the car and was sitting in the prized object. Kellen was sitting in Corlten's lap and refusing to move. Camber was collapsed in a heap on the driveway. Despair was written all over her face.
"This is ridiculous," I continued. "Do you realize that you are fighting over a CAR SEAT?"
Everyone was conscious of that fact and agreed that the object was worth the risk of mortal injury.
If it wasn't against the law, I would have tossed the booster seat into the trash can and made them all go without.
After dropping them off at school, I thought of a better idea. My plans for the next hour include removing the seat cover and whacking off the cup holder with a hammer.
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We actually have identical car seats - so my kids fight over the passenger side of the car. I have no idea why that side is better...but they were in such a hurry to get to that side this morning that one of them hit her head on the garage door that wasn't opening fast enough.
For whatever reason, the pink cup and bowl (of our multicolored set) was deemed the coolest. We all wanted it, even my brother. Rational? No. Ridiculous? Absolutely.
But that's still the first cup I reach for whenever I'm visiting my parents . . .
It doesn't matter. Once they outgrow the carseats, they'll fight over who gets to sit where in the car.
Voice of experience talking here. Sigh.
Oh how I love this!! This is a great post and we reseble this activity way to much!
my kids fight over who is getting in the shower first.
no one wants to go first.
That is too funny!!
Unreal! I thought it was just MY kids that fought over silly things! They are 11 & 13 and still fight over where they sit in the car. I am so relieved to know that they aren't the only ones that act bonkers about ridiculous things.
Oh my gosh, I can SO relate. One of the most frequent sentences out of my mouth around here seems to be, "Are you SERIOUSLY fighting over __________?!?"
(fill in: pushing the 'play' button, pouring the milk, getting out the forks, opening the garage, using the shampoo first, etc.)
I agree with previous comments--when you get rid of car seats they just move on to fighting over who gets the front. At my house we have a seating chart that changes monthly. Seriously a life saver!
Great idea. Not a bad thing at all. :D
My kids have learned turned taking by fighting over which side of the car to sit. The car seats are EXACTLY the same, bought at the same time, etc. Doesn't matter - everyone likes to sit behind the driver (why I don't know, as the other side gets button control over the door, and as we all know kids LOVE to push buttons, even literally sometimes.). I used to try to "time" who sits on what side to make it fair, for those days when we have a lot of stops, and therefore a lot of short trips. This was disasterous. So, we take turns, and mommy cheats by putting a Blue's Clues video on to restore quiet for my pounding head.
Oh no. I will be buying identical car seats today. I just know it.
My kids have assigned seats because one needs a booster and one doesn't. They fight over who gets in first. And who gets out first.
You can't win. They will always fight. It's such a joy to be a mother. :)
I remember when I was a kid and we were fighting over who sat where. One day my dad pointed to the three seats and said "Jennifer! Amanda! Ryan!" For the next 15 years, we all sat there, even if we were in someone else's vehicle.
Mom told me recently that our fighting over who sat where was the discussion of many early morning discussions. SOMETHING had to be done.
My kids fight over everything pink. I have 3 girls, so there's a lot of pink in my house. I made the mistake of buying those kids forks/spoons/plates in pink and then the rainbow assortment from Ikea. Heaven forbid the pink utensils are in the dishwasher! I shouldn't have even bothered with cutesy stuff. I am replacing my kids dishes with plain white asap. I hate pink. Hell for me is draped in shades of pink. We have a pink booster seat too.....Big mistake
This is a great post. Competition is alive and well I see. 30 years ago my kids were fighting over the red plastic cup (Tupperward had a set of four; red, blue, green, yellow). It absolutly drove me crazy. They argued over everything! Who sat where in the car, who got to hand out the treats, who got the biggest piece, who sat on the end of the bench at church, etc. I remember my younger brothers and sisters fighting over who got to sit by my Dad at dinner. Kids argue because to them life is one big competition. If one wants something then they all want it and of course the one who gets it just has to gloat about it. Which drives the rest crazy and they are determined to get whatever it is next time. Kids.
LMAO! I'm so glad I'm not the only mother who has this problem!!! I love how you can put everyday, boring parenting into an exciting and hilarious story!!!
go to wal-mart, get three cheapo cosco ones for $15 a pop. We've got 3 of them and one red graco one. The oldest will be 8 next month, so I could have waited two months to buy one, but I didn't so we have four boosters in our car now! Crazy!
Booster seats come with cupholders? Wow, my kids are old [the youngest is 13].
I'd fight for it too. We solved the problem of who sits where by age - now with the twins that doesn't work, but couldn't you allow your daughter in it until she graduates out of the seat and then the boys can take turns from then on? Or reward the one that was better behaved?
And it is never too late to do this - I instituted the oldest gets the best seat rule when my kids were teenagers because they were driving me batty fighting over shotgun. And it worked. Now we only have the one left at home. Sometimes being the youngest does suck, but eventially they win all the toys. :) and then some.
I remember I got to sit in the front seat on odd numbered days, and my sister got even. When we go shopping with my mom we still fight over the front seat, and my mom still figures out the date to see who gets it. Lucky for me, there are more odd days than even...
My mom had a seat chart when I was growing up for who go to ride shotgun. It rotated between my brother and I on a weekly basis. Seemed to work great. If there was an argument mom would just tell us to check the calendar.
AmandaStretch - My brother and I fought over the pink cup too!
We have matching, but just by chance of my MIL happening to buy an identical one. I'm just happy they're so much smaller than the massive Britax our youngest has to have.
When my son went to a private after-K program, the school van had several different booster seats. Same problem - only the Graco one would do, everyone wanted that single seat. Made the teachers NUTS.
They are gonna fight about something, it's a given.... but this is the reason I left behind some beautiful cupcakes at work today, since they didn't match and I cannot cope with the fighting.
I love your solution.
I used to make the boys trade out the front seat by even or odd days on the calendar. Everything was humming along fine until their sister got big enough for a turn in the front.
I can so totally relate. Next time I'll for sure by the same seats for both toddlers. I do that for candy and toys--you'd think I'd learn!
We used to fight over who sat where in the car when we carpooled with a friend's family in high school. I never understood why his little sister always wanted to sit by me, since she always fell asleep 5 minutes into the ride anyway. Until one morning when she patted my right boob and said "Your pillows are way better than my brother's."
My kids already have to share a birthday (not twins, just same birthday 2 years apart) so the sharing of the backseat is just one more thing I'm dreading.
gawd i love you-in the old days before "booster seat" requirements the fight was over "shotgun" got to the point where the front seat was out of bounds for everyone
Well if this is comforting in any way.... from my experience (as a child) is that once the car seats are removed, they will only begin fighting for where their seat is located. And this will continue for many, many years. Until they get their license. And then they will fight for the car.
Good luck.
Girl, if that is your biggest regret in life, you got it gooooood! I know. Spoken like a true non-mom.
Oh my - I do remember those days when my kids were little! The reverse for me in the car was we fought over who HAD to sit behind our dad (silently, of course; wouldn't do for him to hear us). Long story, short version - if he didn't like our expression, we were often jolted into a new one.
I have one girl and two boys; she's right in the middle. The boys are far enough apart in ages that they didn't have much in common to fight over. Amy got lucky being the only girl. But... they still managed to find many, many things to bicker over. Some of them are the sames things that I've been reading in the comments. Too funny...
I tried to solve the fights over everything by taking turns on who's "day" it is--and they get to open the garage door, get the mail, say the prayers (or not, as they wish), feed the dog, set the table, etc. . . Only somehow, it has only changed what we're fighting about. Now its always who's day is it (because I never know the date and can't remember the day before--its all one big mess of arguing.)
I come from a family of ten. For us it was the order we were lined up in to get on the school bus. We used to write our name on a slip of paper and put it out by the road held down with a rock to "save" our place in line. If you didn't have your paper out there by 7am you were out of luck.
ROFL! This is one of the reasons Bill Cosby said that people with only one child are not really parents. My only child is an adult now and I love reading about all the things I missed out on!
ooohhh I so relate...my kids turn into meany mutants the second they enter the car about which side they are going to sit in..I dont get the fuss...all they are gonna see is the back of our heads..hmm it seems one of our heads is cooler than the other!
If you would feed your kids more, maybe they would get big enough so they wouldn't need a car seat!!
Isn't it like 70 lbs or something??
I finally made assigned seats at the dinner table - as we couldn't stand the fighting anymore. We had just gotten a new kitchen table and when we were getting ready to eat, my son proudly displayed his handiwork to me of having etched everyone's name into their place at the table...
We had the exact same issue at our house. It nearly drove me insane! We gave each car seat a number and at the beginning of each drive we have them draw numbers out of a baggie... It has made all the difference in the world. I'm guessing that threatening them with their life, if they complained after this brilliant solution, probably didn't hurt.
I thought of you yesterday when my 2 boys were fighting over who got to sit on the right side of the burley bike trailer. I mean, WTH? it's EXACTLY THE SAME on both sides. but right now, the right side is cooler than the left. When the 3 yo got it, my 5 yo kicked the trailer and screamed, in front of the whole preschool, that I'm stupid and he hates me. Oh joy.
My kids fight over who gets the haircut first at the hair dresser. I don't think they care so much other than the fact that by being "first" they "win".
You made me laugh out loud with this one. It hits close to home!
You put a grin on my face with this one!!
Yeh, I can see where you are coming from. Always make everything that they use exactly the same. Otherwise world war three kicks off about shit! ARRRRRGH
haha-kids fight over the dumbest things!
LMAO!!! Good thinking mom! Destroy the car seat so NO ONE wants it! I love it!
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