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• Parents annoy kids on road trips?
• Survey of 2000 children
• Parents lose their temper, swear at kids
Cologne, Germany – Kids are often blamed for being a disruptive influence on car journeys but according to a survey, parents are creating just as much tension while on the move.
Having to endure parents singing is the number one pet peeve for children on family road journeys, a Ford survey shows.
Kids also complain that badly-behaved parents shout at other drivers, swear and pick their noses.
ARE WE THERE YET?
A survey of 2000 children in Europe reveals that 66% say their parents are annoying on car trips; parents serve up snacks, TV shows and movies to get them to behave; and dads get the thumbs up for being the better drivers – especially from boys.
Regardless of snacks, smartphones, and tablets, the most likely response from children to a boring car journey is unsurprisingly: “Are we there yet?”
The survey was conducted in order to better understand what children like and don’t like about travelling in cars and reveals surprising differences from country to country:
• Singing parents are least popular in the UK - 39% of children ranked this as their biggest pet hate.
• Children in France, the only country that didn’t rank singing as the worst habit, were twice as likely to complain about their parents shouting at other drivers
• 61% revealed parents got angry or used “naughty words”, with French parents the worst offenders (74%). Italy is the only country where less than half of parents lose their temper (39%)
• Asking: “Are we there yet?” when bored is the most likely response overall (63%). Children in the UK and Italy are more likely to ask mum and dad to put on some music
HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS TO BEHAVE
When it comes to getting children to behave, 26% said parents gave them smartphones to play with,and 20% watch TV/DVDs. UK parents are most likely to offer a snack (29%).
The best-behaved children apparently are in Germany, where 38% claim their parents don’t need to make them behave in the car.
Though both boys and girls across all countries identified dad as the best driver (61%, it was Italian dads that got the biggest thumbs up (67%), and UK mums who came closest to being the favourite (45%).
Children most likely to highlight nose-picking as the worst parental habit are in the UK, then Italy and Germany.
How do you get your kids to behave during road trips? Do you have stories to share on family journeys in SA? Email us and we'll publish your stories on Wheels24!
