Children and Your Car: How to Help Combat the Inevitable Messes

Parents have been assigned the daunting task of keeping up with their young children. Nine times out of ten, "keeping up" equates to attempting to keep the mess and chaos that is part of childhood under control.

This chaos seems to multiply when children are confined to small spaces, such as a motor vehicle. Your car/truck/van will never look the same after having children as it did before. The space that you once kept cheerio and French fry-free will inevitably become home to unidentifiable crushed crumbs and melted chocolate pieces.

Even those parents who resolve to never allow their children to have food or drink in the car will find themselves mystified by the mess that reveals itself inside a vehicle that has carried children from point A to point B, regardless of the fact that the ride lasted less than five minutes.

Combating the mess that kids create in the car is an ongoing battle in Parent World, but there are some handy, simple tips that we parents can use to help us keep things under control without sacrificing our sanity in the process:

Keep a supply of small plastic grocery bags in your vehicle that can be used to stash garbage or collect small books, toys, etc. that need to make their way back into the house or wherever they came from.

Baby wipes or other clean-up wipes can be kept in a small bag in your glove box to be used to fight sticky messes on interior vinyl surfaces.

Invest in a small wet-dry auto vac that is small enough to keep in a trunk or under a seat. Even short car rides where no food has been consumed seem to result in sticks, rocks, and grass on your vehicle carpet and upholstery. If you do not have room to keep an auto vacuum in your vehicle, keep a small supply of quarters in your glove box instead.

If you break down and allow your children to consume beverages while en route, limiting drinks to those of a clear, sugar-free variety (i.e. water, Fresca, diet Sprite or 7-up, etc) will make clean up easier in case of spills. Sugary drinks leave a very sticky residue and are more likely to stain.

If you allow your children to eat in your vehicle, keep in mind that there will always be crumbs and messes regardless of how careful they try to be or how much you threaten them to keep from spilling...they are children; messes inevitably follow. To keep the mess to a minimum, refrain from using dipping sauces for fries, chicken pieces, and so forth as these spill easily and are difficult to clean out of upholstery, car seats, and clothing.

Young children are often prone to motion sickness which can be amplified by certain foods and drinks, especially those containing red dye. Avoid those foods and red drinks containing red dyes, and keep on hand small "throw up" plastic cups that are easier for a child to hold than a plastic bag in case he or she does feel sick along the ride.