Down with portable DVD players

[JeremyGNJ]

Let me first say that this post if not DIRECTED at anyone. I'm not writing it based on any *particular* thread on the subject (though I have seen many), but rather was triggered by some things I saw this weekend.

What I want to say is. I think Portable DVD players and in-car DVD players are such a horrible creation.

They only serve as a way to "shut the kids up", and the undermine the family time that you get to spend together. Mostly they're used in cars, which these days of double-income families, is one of the precious little time that parents get to spend with their kids.

When I was young, my mother was a house-wife, and she spend all day with us ...every day. She never needed to sit us in front of a movie for an hour and half....and we spent our time in the car TALKING. What wonderful memories (even the memories where i was getting in trouble). There's no replacement for that!

I've read about people bringing these devices on their disney trip to use on the airplanes or in the hotel room, and I just dont understand it AT ALL. It's vacation, and its such a great opportunity to spend "down time" with kids....it should be taken advantage of.

 

[DVCsince02]

I won't flame you, but I do have a few questions.

1. Do you have children?
2. Also, do you feel any part of your "family" vacation should involve some down time for you too?

 

[ntink]

Last week I was in the grocery store and a woman had her 2 or 3 year old daughter in the seat and had a portable DVD player strapped on to the front of the cart. I could not believe it! They do seem to be used way too much. I always see them on in cars driving around town.

 

[The Moonk's Mom]

First, I'm not sure that you completely get the whole 12 hours in the car with three small kids. We only use our DVD player for long trips as a back up for keeping them relaxed. We do spend a lot of time talking to our kids and a ton of time together. But really, it is not lack of parenting that I take mine in the car. I left my job of 18 years to be a stay at home mom.

Second, to agree with the PP, I need a little down time too. The kids watching a movie or two between here and WDW is a way to get some time for me to read a book or sew...

Feel free to never have one if you want, but it works for us.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

I won't flame you, but I do have a few questions.

1. Do you have children?
2. Also, do you feel any part of your "family" vacation should involve some down time for you too?

1. Yes
2. No, it's a FAMILY vacation. ie "time spent with the family". When I need downtime I take a personal day.

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

Well with me it (the bringing a dvd player on the plane) is actually consideration for other passengers- I'm taking a 10 hour flight with 4 kids, one of whom has big time sensory issues and doesn't cope well with the unfamiliar. He has no concept of volume in his voice and due to his special needs we frequently have to repeat over and over simple things - a dvd player will on occasion distract him enough that other people don't have to put up with a whole flight of my voice repeating simple things (like the reassurance his shoes are on the right feet, the window is going to drop out of the plane, the man in front isn't wearing a toupee, you can't change the colour of your urine by shouting commands at your pen*s when going to the bathroom... those sort of things that he genuinely can't help being he has the issues he does- which are neurological I may add, not behavioural so before anyone starts in on the "in my day.." about kids having to learn to be quiet- his 3 siblings have learnt, he however struggles day in day out to cope in a world not designed for him.)

I don't have them in a car, in fact we don't own a car as we have family principals which dictate to us they are unecessary in an age of convenience. However on plane I think you are seeing being in pretty extreme situations where they know there is no cooling off space, no room to move around and yet alot of consideration has to be excercised for fellow passengers who don't have to live their daily life with a special needs school ager.

I do spend alot of time talking to my kids but I'm not going to feel bad or that they're robbed of social interaction because I do what needs must on a long haul flight.

 

[The Moonk's Mom]

1. Yes
2. No, it's a FAMILY vacation. ie "time spent with the family". When I need downtime I take a personal day.

I don't get personal days...everyday is with my family and I love taking care of them...a little time in the car seems okay.

 

[debster812]

I've read about people bringing these devices on their disney trip to use on the airplanes or in the hotel room

So.....in the past 2 years, as we've been flying in and out of the Northeast in snow storms, and spent a total of 13 extra hours in airports, on weather delays. At one point, at Boston Logan 2 years ago, there were probably 15 kids crowded around DS's portable DVD player. One of the dads bought snacks and juiceboxes for all the kids.

I will NOT judge anyone for using a device like this. Last night we were out to dinner. Sitting across the aisle from us was a young family, with 2 boys. One of those boys was autistic. He sat for about a half hour, keeping himself entertained. Then his mom and dad passed him back and forth while he cuddled with them, for a total of about 20 minutes. Then he started getting VERY antsy (heck, my nuero-typical son gets antsy in restaurants after that long), and out came the DVD player. He had headphones, was sitting on the inside of the booth, and was great. Plus, since he was happy and content, the parents were also able to spend what you deem 'quality time' with their other child as well.

You never know the full situation.

 

[clareita]

I wonder if the OP has ever been on a plane for 7 hours (5 1/2 hours in the air and 1 sitting on the runway before takeoff) with a 3 year old. Our portable dvd player was a lifesaver.

I agree that they are used too much, but that doesn't mean they don't have their uses. We didn't get one in our minivan because I think they watch enough tv in the house. That said, if we were taking a long road trip, I would rent one for the trip.

 

[DVCsince02]

You can't change the colour of your urine by shouting commands at your pen*s when going to the bathroom...

That was so funny!

I agree that DVDs can be over used. But, some families only get a small amount of vacation and just because your children are with you doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to sit on your balcony and enjoy a cup of coffee while the kids watch a show for a half an hour.

Just my opinion.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

Wow so you never watched TV as a child? Not even a disney movie? Thats just amazing. (reflect a bit more..I bet you come up with one)

We spend our vacation playing, interacting and having wonderful family time.. There is nothing wrong with watching a movie while sitting in a seat for a 3 hour flight.

Keep the guilt trip to yourself

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

You can't change the colour of your urine by shouting commands at your pen*s when going to the bathroom...

That was so funny!

I agree that DVDs can be over used. But, some families only get a small amount of vacation and just because your children are with you doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to sit on your balcony and enjoy a cup of coffee while the kids watch a show for a half an hour.

Just my opinion.

Yep- he is pretty much fabulous, definately makes life interesting hard work (probably more on his own than the other 3 together) but amazingly loving and makes me smile constantly Right now we (ourselves and his staff at school) are practicing being on planes so it doesn't entirely throw him a loop!

 

[MichelleinMaine]

48 hours down and back to WDW. We sing, play I spy and the alphabet game, card games, travel board games, make up stories, read aloud... and watch several movies along the way too.

My parents didn't have DVD players on our family vacations, but I know they wish they had at times

 

[cpbjgc]

I will start with full dicslosure. We sometimes use a DVD player for long road trips, but haven't used it for over a year and a half.

Having said that, what is the opinion of the OP (and others) on:

1. Kids using a Gameboy/Nintendo DS/PSP in the car on a road trip, or anywhere?
2. Kids listenting to MP3 player during a trip?
3. Kids reading a book or magazine during a trip?

These are also all "conversation killers", but seem fairly common place to me.

 

[KayLuvsMickey]

My children watch very little TV because they are very hyper so they like to run and play (and rip sheet rock out of the walls)

However, on long car rides we do take one along with the rule that they may watch 1 movie only, the rest of the car ride we play games and sing "disney" tunes and my oldest tells strange jokes that I never get...oh sorry...anyhow, what I am trying to say is that every family has their own rituals for car rides and plane rides, ours includes a little TV! Thats just how we roll!

 

[DVCsince02]

I will start with full dicslosure. We sometimes use a DVD player for long road trips, but haven't used it for over a year and a half.

Having said that, what is the opinion of the OP (and others) on:

1. Kids using a Gameboy/Nintendo DS/PSP in the car on a road trip, or anywhere?
2. Kids listenting to MP3 player during a trip?
3. Kids reading a book or magazine during a trip?

These are also all "conversation killers", but seem fairly common place to me.

1. My kids are too young for these, but okay on longer trips.
2. I listened to my walkman, and I'm okay.
3. Perfectly fine with me.

 

[disneynewman]

Jeremy,
If you are ever on a plane or in a restaraunt with my family and you see us using a DVD player, please, introduce yourself, I'd be happy to turn the thing off and you can witness an autism meltdown from my 5 yr old. And then maybe you can tell me how I should have a conversation with him. He will gladly repeat back to you everything you say.
And really...in all the times your mother talked to you, didn't she ever say "If you don't have anything nice to say....don't say anything at all."

 

[PrincessRora]

Growing up I lived in New York, and Mom and dad both worked hard to make sure my brother and I had the same opportunities as everyone else. They decided that we definitely needed to visit Disney World, but they couldn't afford going to the parks, the hotels, AND plane travel. So we would drive and Dad would hook up a TV with a VCR in our car (this was before DVD players were inexpensive and portable). We'd sing songs, play games, and just talk, until we sort of exhausted ourselves. Then, to prevent whining, Mom would hop in the backseat with my brother and I and we'd watch a disney movie. When it was over, we had a whole other topic of conversation: which of the characters from the movie we couldn't wait to see. Some of our best memories of vacations have come from those conversations. My favorite was Dad claiming he didn't want mom to meet Prince Charming because he couldn't compete with a real prince. The the whole routinue would start over, sometimes with mom watching, and sometimes just by ourselves. This kept my parents sane, and my brother and I (who were extremely prone to sibling rivalry) from arguing too much. And yet, we still managed to spend amazing amounts of quality time together as a family. Other than during the trip, we'd have the TV in the hotel on before bed and when mom and dad were getting ready in the morning. Four people and one hotel bathroom means taking turns and getting up really early if you wanted to be at the park for rope drop.

So yeah, don't knock it until you've tried it.

 

[Honeymooner04]

I really dislike posts like this. It doesn't serve any point except to make the OP feel like he's a better parent than the rest of us who think the portable DVD player is the best thing since sliced bread. JeremyGNJ is going on my ignore list.

 

[twinspluscade]

Let me first say that this post if not DIRECTED at anyone. I'm not writing it based on any *particular* thread on the subject (though I have seen many), but rather was triggered by some things I saw this weekend.

What I want to say is. I think Portable DVD players and in-car DVD players are such a horrible creation.

They only serve as a way to "shut the kids up", and the undermine the family time that you get to spend together. Mostly they're used in cars, which these days of double-income families, is one of the precious little time that parents get to spend with their kids.

When I was young, my mother was a house-wife, and she spend all day with us ...every day. She never needed to sit us in front of a movie for an hour and half....and we spent our time in the car TALKING. What wonderful memories (even the memories where i was getting in trouble). There's no replacement for that!

I've read about people bringing these devices on their disney trip to use on the airplanes or in the hotel room, and I just dont understand it AT ALL. It's vacation, and its such a great opportunity to spend "down time" with kids....it should be taken advantage of.

First off....we're planning a 26 hour car-ride with our kids this September. You better believe we'll be bringing our portable DVD player. . To be honest, with that long of a car ride I think it would be insane not to.

Second.....I agree with you on the portable DVD players to a certain extent. We only use ours for car trips over 2 hours, and have never used it outside car trips. I personally would not use it in a restaurant, etc. but that's just me.

Third...I'm a "housewife" (I prefer the term "stay at home parent", myself), and my kids are not in school yet. So I am literally with them 24/7. In fact, we just got back from a nice walk uptown. Dh is lucky enough to get off work at 4:00 p.m every day; and soon he will be cutting down to working just 4 days a week. . In other words, we have TONS of family time. So I certainly don't feel guilty for letting my kids watch movies on long car rides.