I'm writing this article during a time when the price of a barrel of oil is at an all time high and the cost of gassing up our cars is astronomical.
On a recent news program (which I normally don't watch - but they got me with the promo for this story) they did a story on how to get more miles out of a tank of gas. It's called "hypermiling." Since the price of gas keeps going higher, I decided it would be worthwhile to hear what they had to say. I'd like to share the tips with you and my view of why this topic relates to parenting.
First the tips:
1. Stay at the speed limit. So many of us are always rushing to get wherever it is we need to be - running one child from dance to the softball game, picking up the other child at karate, that we often exceed the speed limit. If you stay at or below the speed limit you will be driving more safely and get more mileage out of your gas tank.
2. Let momentum take to you to the stop sign or stop light instead of the accelerator. When approaching a stop sign or a stop light, take your foot off the accelerator and allow the car to slow down by itself. We use up much more gas when we continue to accelerate until we then have to really put on the brakes to stop.
3. Use the cruise control. By using the cruise control, you will stay at a steady speed (hopefully at or below the speed limit - see 1) and use less gas. Alternatively, you can put the car in neutral (when I have my child in the car it is too easy to forget that I have the car in neutral - I did try the cruise control and it worked great).
4. Use air conditioning sparingly. When on the highway you want to keep the windows closed and use the a/c on low - when the windows are open at high speeds you create drag on the car which causes you to use more gas. But when you're driving around town (which we do a lot as parents - see 1), it's more economical to turn the a/c off and open the windows.
5. Take the extra junk out of your trunk. Carrying around extra stuff in the trunk makes the car heavier and uses more gas.
So how does this relate to parenting? I think one of the important jobs we have as parents is modeling the kind of behavior we want to see in our kids. As you adjust your driving to use these tips, you can explain to your kids that rather than be wasteful to save a couple of minutes, you want to be economical and not waste gas and money. You can also get the kids to help you clean out the trunk and put things away, a great lesson in responsibility and teamwork.
It's also good to slow down the pace at which we live (and drive). Our children are always rushing - rushing to get to the bus in the morning, rushing through dinner to get to softball practice or dance - even during the school day they are rushing to get from one school activity or class to another. The pace at which we live puts additional stress on our kids and ourselves. Slowing down to save gas and money could be the start of learning how to slow down in other aspects of our lives.
I also liked how watching my speed and using the cruise control caused me to be more mindful of what I was doing - I was really living in the moment paying attention to the new way I was driving. Being mindful and living in the moment is a great concept for kids as they always want to grow up too fast!
As they say, slow down and smell the roses (I would've said coffee, but that will just get you all revved up again!).
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Haynes Miller teaches all her parenting secrets in "Platinum Parenting," a seven week parenting makeover which transforms parenting stress into parenting joy. Platinum Parenting, because children are our most precious resource.
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