Do you let your kids eat in the car?

[InfoRetrieval]

The wife and I seem to be the only ones in our peer group of parents not to ply them with sweets and crisps as soon as they get in the car. I'm not even talking about longer journeys - even trips ten mins up the road seem to need travel supplies. I also don't think that giving kids a sugar rush at the beginning of a longer journey is too smart either.

Is it just me that thinks this is unnecessary?

[SystemParanoia]

no!!

my friend does this, and the rear of the car is trashed whenever i look in.

[croyde]

I never let my kids eat in the car but the ex and I share it and I have just been clearing it out.......again!!! as under her control they seem to treat my lovely old E36 as a dumpster and think nothing of leaving half drunk juice cartons spilling their innards all over the carpets along with her coffee dregs.

I used to keep my company van, back in the 80s, reasonably clean inside but when it was serviced and I had to use some other driver's vehicle I could not believe the amount of st3 spread around the cab.

[oldcynic]

I do my utmost to avoid it. Wife is more easily persuaded, resulting in me learning how to deconstruct every child seat we've ever owned to fish out the stray raisins and mouldy bread

[jjones]

of course they can eat in the car, it's nothing more than a tool to get from A to B. it has a pretty hard wearing interior that gets cleaned and hoovered regularly.

[gaters]

I do not let them eat in the car, and up until the age of about 8 they even took their shoes off. My car is now 4 years old and looks almost bran new inside. My wife on the other hand does let them eat and it looks like a skip in hers!!!!!!!!!!!

[aizvara]

My boy often eats on car journeys. Its a good way of a) getting him to eat, b) keeping him busy.

I'm worried that at some point he'll either develop travel sickness like I did, or he'll otherwise decide that eating in the car is a requirement for the rest of his childhood.

[williredale]

They don't tend to eat in mine but it's not an absolute rule. Yougest daughter gets quite car sick so I don't want to make it worse. SWMBO's car is grotty though!

[croyde]

We used to have a Disco 3 as a family car which was bought new. It took me 7 hours to clean it's interior 3 years later when I came to sell it. There were used nappies stuffed down the backs of seats as well as decomposing fruits of various kinds. Even after I cleaned it it looked much older than my then 10 year old BMW 3 series.

I personally just can't understand why people seem to think it's OK to use their car as a bin. I'd hate to see their homes.

Saying that my now ex wife seems to think it's OK for the kids to treat the home as a bin as well.

[Tempest_5]

Mine are allowed to (9, 6 & 5 years)but generally only with less messy food, the sort that brushes off seats. I try to instill in them a bit of respect for the car. They know if they make a mess there is trouble. It sort of works but you get do get accidents. Having said that the car's no where near as bad as some I had to clear out in my yoof as part of my days doing "bob a job" in the Cubs & Scouts.

I did have a moment of horror though a while back when we waved off the new owner of one of our previous cars as I remembered I hadn't removed the donut that one of the little darlings had stuffed down the empty rear seat headrest mount.

[s2sol]

I can't understand why anyone would eat in a car. Or encourage their children to eat in a car.

I spend most of my day in either a car or van, and the last thing I want to do is eat in it.

When I see people go through the drive through, only to sit in their cars and eat in the car park, it pains me. If you love your car that much, why would you want it to smell of food?

If you really want to spend that much time in it, why not get a big nappy, so you can st and piss in it too?

I genuinely struggle to understand why a car is not either a tool to get from A to B, or something to enjoy every journey in. It could never be a dining room. I hope I instil this in my children, despite the peer pressure.

People that eat in cars are odd.

[ambuletz]

Don't have kids, so the issue never really came up for me. I do sometimes eat in the car if I go to a drive-thru. Do my best to minimize crumbs/sesame seeds falling all over the place.

What I hate even more is people smoking in my car, I won't allow it. Had many arguements with my old man about him not smoking in my car. He's under the illusion that its perfectly fine as long as he opens the window. I disagree as it makes my car stink, and makes ash fly all over the interior & on me.

[GavinPearson]

My son eats in the car. And drinks. It isn't that big a deal.

[crocodile tears]

yes.. Then again I'm just a big kid

In all seriousness, it very much depends on the vehicle in question.. Also you're right not to ply them with junk on short journeys

[djfaulkner]

My little boy did eat in the car.

SWMBO has decided that he can only eat in the car on long journeys, she decided that after cleaning the car

[CraigyMc]

Sod the kids, I don't let the missus eat in the car.

[Palms]

I dont mind the kids eating in my car as long as its nothing from greggs as they have the most messy foods going

[Celt]

gaters said:

...up until the age of about 8 they even took their shoes off.

That is excellent!

[Amateurish]

Never in mine, often in hers. The mess at the end of the week in her car is unbelievable - the footwell is inches deep in discarded wrappers, half eaten fruit and rogue raisins.

[no-worries88]

I don't allow it, but my son is travel sick. So even if nothing has been eaten in the car,after pretty much any trip,I'm cleaning food off the seats anyway...