To DVD or to not DVD?

When I was a kid, I vividly remember Dad's roadtrips to the Gold Coast: We'd leave at 2am to get up the majority of the Pacific Highway early enough to miss the traffic.

In those days, it was a single lane goat track the majority of the way: Landmarks included (but were not limited to) the Big Banana, the Big Prawn, the Car in the Tree, the Big Clam and Ayer's Rock (well, a replica of it at Leyland Brother's world!).

My sister and I would be camped in the back of the sedan with pillows, books and magazines. As we got older, we were lucky enough to get walkmans. I first molested my ears with New Kids on the Block and Ace of Base, watching the scenery of New South Wales scream past.

My sister and I would fight non-stop.

"She's on MY side"
"That's MY Dolly magazine!!!"
"You can't I-Spy in the car, that's cheating!"

But unless we were using synonyms for trees, sky and road, she had a point.

My dad always had control of the radio. I learnt all the words to Gene Pitney's "Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and the ocatives required to perform Julio Iglasias' " Me Olvide de Vivir" and Roy Orbison's "Crying"... songs I always swore I hated as they were Dad's music but strangely I find myself downloading more and more onto CDs for myself!

And with the beginning of our own roadtrip looming, I begin to think about the kids, their comfort and entertainment... as well as mine and hubby's sanity!

So off to JB Hi Fi we went to look at Dual Screen DVDs. Never mind we already have a single, working portable DVD player at home. That was purchased when we had one child. It was used once, two years ago, when we first drove from Sydney to Townsville.

On looking in our third store, I explained to hubby that we didn't need new DVDs for our kids. They can read, play with small toys, draw (pencil ONLY in my car thankyou!) and enjoy the ritual of the family road trip.

They must endure Big Mangos, waterfall lookouts and Cassowary spotting. They will come to loathe Linkin Park, Jack Johnson and Pink. We will be able to eventually tune out the whining, bickering and taunting, allowing them to sort it out for themselves. They will learn the art of conversation, playing games like I-Spy and Alphabet.

We will take the single player, but they can share it... and only as a treat if they behave.