Car DVD players can mean no more 'I Spy' for your family

Tracey Campana was tired of her kids fighting, squirming and asking that question all parents dread on a long road trip: Are we there yet?

So when she and her husband bought a new minivan a couple of months ago, they made sure it was equipped with a technological distraction: a DVD player.

"We went to Boston for four hours, and it was great," said Campana, who lives in Wayne, N.J.,and has two kids, ages 2 1/2 and 5. "We could talk and listen to our own radio. We're about to take our first long road trip to Cape Cod. They shouldn't kill each other before we get there, which is a nice thing."

This summer, thousands of families are packing up their minivans and SUVs for the all-American road trip, with 82 pecent of vacations driving vacations, according to the Travel Industry Association. But with the invasion of DVD players, iPods and other electronic gadgets, there may not be as many conversations or renditions of the license plate game as there used to be. Instead, the kids will get lost in movies, while mom and dad take a nap, read a book or listen to their own favorite CDs.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 32 percent of families use DVD players in their cars, a number that is expected to rise to 37 percent in 2007. More car makers are offering more in-car entertainment options: On the Pontiac SV6, a midsize sports van, for example, a standard DVD entertainment system comes with rear audio controls, headphone jacks, remote control and two infrared headphones. Other makers, such as Honda and Chrysler, offer DVD players in some of their option packages.

"It makes my ride a little more peaceful," said Heidi Kerwin, of Rochester, N.Y., who has two girls, 3 and 5. She purchased her Pontiac Montana a year ago and her kids use the DVD player during trips to Canada to watch movies such as Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo and The Sound of Music.

She admits the family sometimes must sit at their destination while the movie finishes, but it's worth it. she said. "They are not, 'Are we there yet? How much longer?' It really eliminates that. It's nice and quiet."

Some family advocates worry that relying too heavily of DVD players to maintain peace in the car will deprive families of much-needed together time, already hard to come by with increasingly busy lives.

"Car time is a wonderful connect with family time," said Bob Waliszewski, a spokeman for Focus on the Family, a Christian group that focuses on preserving traditional values. "Let's not crowd it out with DVDs and iPods. A little bit I can handle, maybe 10 percent of a total trip. But this is a neat opportunity to pass on our values and find out what's going on in our kids' lives. "

That's why Rachel Boyd has been reluctant to let her 4-year-old twins watch DVDs in the car. In fact, they don't know even know the new van has a DVD player. She said she and her husband have fond memories of looking out the car window, reading and playing car games with their siblings.

She said her husband has been tempted to turn the DVD player on when the twins are screaming on 24-hour road trips, but so far, she has held her ground. She packs goodie bags and Play-Doh. She sings songs and has even acted out a play with them in their car seats.

"The concern is they also watch movies at home, and it's hard for me to get them away from that," said Boyd, who lives in Defiance, Ohio. "If we introduce the DVD player, they will end up watching movies instead of talking to us. I have seen too many friends' kids get zoned out. They are going for a five-minute drive, the first thing they do is turn on the DVD player."

Barbara Fiese, a Syracuse University professor and chairwoman of the psychology department who studies family rituals, said DVD players are OK, as long as they are used in moderation. But she points out that family vacations are about bringing families together and creating life-long memories. Perhaps the song on the radio that everyone is forced to listen to will become the brunt of jokes for years to come, she said.

Family vacation should not be an isolating experience, added Susie Newman, a social psychologist and author of "Little Things Long Remembered: Making Your Children Feel Special Every Day." She recommends putting time limits on DVD and iPod time.

"For example, maybe late in the day when everyone is crazy, that can be a time to put a video in," she said. "Or if you are driving a really boring turnpike, where there is nothing to see, you might want to say, 'OK, kids, there's nothing to see here, play your video games, listen to your iPod.' "

Still, the device is tempting, especially when kids are used to constant entertainment from video games and the Internet.

Michele Shone of Honeoye Falls, N.Y., has three sons, 13, 11 and one almost 9. She keeps tabs on how much television her children watch at home. But the DVD player comes on even on 20-minute drives to see grandparents. She said it made an 18-hour drive to Florida much easier last year.

"For the car, it turns out to be a lot more convenient and quiet," said Shone. "If you are sitting in the car, they might as well be watching a video, playing a game, instead of poking each other."

But of course, she said the boys still argue. They fight over what to watch and who gets to hold the remote control. Once the DVD starts though, it's all quiet.