Car Sassy

With my grandchildren at this age I would pull off the road and just sit. I would say just once that we would get on the road when they stopped doing whatever they were doing. Then I looked straight ahead and didn't say anything. I only had to do that a couple of times. I would say, do you want me to pull over and they would stop.

If you don't have things in the car for him to do, doing so will help keep in occupied and less likely to misbehave because he's bored.

I only had to pull over once. ;)

Pack a magazine or two, and then, yes, when he doesn't respond, pull the car over. "It's not safe for me to drive when you are (name distracting/annoying action), so I will wait." And then, get out your magazine and put your attention there, even if you are only pretending.

I have friends who have done this-- the first time, they say, usually takes a while for the kids to believe it's real and quiet down. Also a bummer when "well, we had to stop driving for so long, now we don't have time for (fun destination/playdate) etc. " What's really boring to the kids is just sitting there, on the side of the road, getting NO attention.

Then, once it stops, if it starts again, pull over again.
Frankly, I wish more parents would do this. I have taken plenty of rides with friends where their kids were just screaming the whole time. We do not let that go on. If we have to pull over, you bet you are also going to lose a privilege at home as well. My kid is 6 now, and he's perfectly capable of being quiet when we need him to be, esp in dicey traffic-- but at three, just pull over and ignore the heck out of them.

My 5 yr old does it sometimes, pushing the limits. The car is the same as the house. She loses privileges immediately or as soon as we get home.

I've pulled over and asked them to get out. They smarten up instantly.

it's good not to over-react, but when a child is testing limits, just ignoring doesn't do the trick. they still don't know what the limits are.
distracting the driver is not acceptable. it's harder to use 'when we get home you will lose ___ privilege' because 3 year olds live in the moment. when possible, pull over and sit in icy silence. this isn't always possible, of course, but surprising effective for most kids.
khairete
S.

The more you respond to it the more they do it. Until you swat their hiney for it. They they stop. A swift swat on the rear often gets kiddo's attention when nothing else does. He'll know you mean business.

It's not just one of those things you should ignore. Hubby can't ignore it so he's at risk for an accident when your kiddo is doing this. He cannot do it while dad is driving.

We put the obnoxious child behind the passenger seat. This way if he's kicking and stuff he's kicking someone besides the driver. If the driver is alone in the car with kiddo he can move the front passenger seat up all the way and flip it as far forward as it goes. Then kiddo can't reach it.

When we're in the van we can put the middle passenger side seat down and actually put kiddo in the back row. This way he can't reach anything. Letting him know we don't want him sitting closer because he annoys the driver is also a good way to let him know of your disapproval.

Pull over. Tell her you'll start driving again when she's ready to behave.
Or turnaround & go home.
A distracted driver is an unsafe driver.
Good luck!

The magazine option Nervy Girl recommends is a great option. I get kids that behave like this in my school bus and I have pulled over and taken out a book more than once. I tell them to take their time calming down because I'm in no hurry plus I'm getting paid and they are not. It's fun to see how fast kids make each other behave when they really want to go home after school. I've never had to do this with my own child but I imagine it would work just as well.

I keep a spanking spoon in the car. My girls know I am not afraid to use it.

Different things work for different kids. My son likes to watch for things outside the car. When he was little we would have him look for certain colors of road signs, count trucks, and so on. My daughter couldn't care less about those things, but she's happy as long as there is music playing. She will sing along to just about anything but music is the only way to get through a road trip with her.

Marie C. Has good technique.

You have figured out that he is testing limits. The problem is you haven't showed him what is the limit. As far as he knows, there is no limit.

Don't allow something you know to be dangerous. Stop it before it starts. Stop it just before the being loud and kicking the seat.

Find kid's songs and sing with him to distract him.