Thursday, May 3, 2012

They're Watching

Why is it that the most aggressive drivers on the road have kids in the car with them? Does this mean that parents are too stressed out?

I was driving with my grandson sleeping in his car seat at a leisurely grandparent-like pace (aka the speed limit), when a mini van sped up my behind me and hung on my bumper until I pulled over to let it pass. The driver was chatting on her cell phone and had baby shoes dangling from her rear view mirror. As she sped by me, I read the sticker in the back window, "Baby On Board."

I thought to myself, "I hope the hell not!"

She is not the only one. I frequently see minivans on the freeway exceeding speed limits, tailgating, and changing lanes erratically. Either the kids are making the drivers so crazy as to get to their destinations as soon as physically possible or - well, there can be no explanation, can there? Otherwise, imagine what these drivers are teaching these children by way of modeling behavior?

Two-year-olds will absorb everything you say and do. I'm afraid it's the same with teenagers and children of all ages in between. If you drive like an asshole, you're likely rearing asshole drivers. Not to mention, dangerous ones, in all likelihood.

But that's just my opinion.

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