BellaOnline Forums Family Moms Get RID of the Minivan!!

OK seriously, nothing is more cliche and depressing than a mom driving a minivan. So many moms complain about how their lives as moms wear them out and they feel like a phantom of their former self. As a mom, I think it's very important to still try to feel like your non-mom self. Get dressed up and go out on a date with your husband or boyfriend. Feel sexy! Get a babysitter while you go to an art class or cooking class, or whatever interests YOU. It's ok to be selfish sometimes- the kids want their alone time too! And get rid of the minivan! You don't need it! It will only depress you further!

I recently got rid of my minivan for an Audi A4. The 2 kids fit in it just fine and I certainly feel much sexier driving it. My husband actually wants to get an Audi TT LOL!! He currently has a Jeep Grand Cherokee. We are sick of fitting into the "parent" stereotypes and are trying to reinvigorate our lives. Since he wants a TT I entered him in this contest- hey why not give it a shot right? Better than buying a new one!

www.staples.com/hon

I am sooooo ready to get rid of my van. I have had a van for the last 14 years (not the same one of course). I have a son going to college, and my daughter will get her permit next week. My youngest is 14. I don't need to lug kids and 5 of their friends any where. I want to get something smaller with better gas mileage!

I've been looking into Crossovers and realized they are the perfect replacement for people who don't want to enter minivan land. I think the Dodge Journey is the best looking crossover right now. You get the modern look of an SUV but you still get the cargo room of a minivan--the price and the gas mileage doesn't hurt either!

We bought a VW jetta when I went back to work (I wanted a mini coop and the kids fit OK)

We still have the mini van (a year later) -- my husband wants to sell the VW 'cause we'd get more for it and drive the van again.... no!

We've never had a mini-van. I remember seeing a car crash many years ago, and the mini-van was totally crumpled. I was too freaked at that point to ever even consider getting one. I'm sure they are about as safe as any car, but I just could never get that picture out of my head.

I like the new Volvos. Boy, have they changed a lot over the years.

I can't wait to get rid of my van. I've had it for six years. It's a Mazda MPV, and as far as vans go, it's great. It handles like a car. Unfortunately, we have four kids at home, so it'll probably be a few more years before I can get the car I really want. For now I'm looking into maybe a Honda Fit or a Toyota Yaris. I commute 40 minutes each way for work and it's just me and one child making the commute, so I could really use a little car that gets great gas mileage! It'll also be good for the weekends my husband has to drive 2.5 hours each way on Friday and again on Sunday so his two can visit their mom. The three of them and the kids stuff will fit just fine!

I just bought a new one and find it best for my family as I like the captains chairs for the kids in the back. I moved up from a 1993 Ford Aerostar to a 2003 Dodge Caravan Sport. Went from ebay motors to car dealership this time.

ariel, won't it be so weird to switch to such a substantially smaller car? The journey I was talking about gets really good gas mileage, about 19mph in the city and 25 on the hwy. It's much smaller than a minivan but still pretty roomy on the inside.

When you have more than a few kids, the lure of a mini-van is hard to resist. I used to have a sports car and loved the way it handled and parked. I shudder to think of what it would cost to drive it with today's prices. That car looked good and made me feel good in it, but when you have babies that need car seats interior size becomes very important and an aching back makes easy loading and unloading an issue.

I see DH and myself ditching the big van for a sporty model somewhere down the road just for fun, but for now mini vans with good gas mileage and lots of storage are more practical.

I couldn't live without my mini-van right now. At least not unless I got some gas-guzzling SUV.

I have 3 kids (16, 10, 5) and they are all involved in school and sports. We need the room!

Now when my husband and I go out on dates, we use his car, it is a little sportier.

Maybe once the kids are all grown and driving (oh shudder) I can get a "me" car - but that's part of being a mom, you have to consider family.

I completely agree with you Michelle_Launch, it's about a roomy interior and convenience these days not my image. Like I ever really had one! :-)

I need a place for the golf clubs, the stroller and other baby gear that will later be replaced with sports gear. I don't see me getting a "just for me" ride for a good many years. DH has a pickup truck so that he can haul mechanical stuff when he needs to so we have a garage full of very un-sexy automobiles.

I love my minivan.

But, I also support a mother doing what she needs to for her SELF. And, I wouldn't call it selfish time... because, in the end, your husband and your children will benefit from it as well.

I have four children and soon after having the first, I started a business called Mommymorphosis - helping mothers redefine and recreate themselves throughout motherhood. It's now called On The Verge of Me and still just as important - no matter what kind of car you drive.

OK... I WANT IN...where do I sign up and where do I send my RESUME??????

I still have my Mini-Van but out of financial necessity.

I don't feel so bad driving it anymore. The air conditioning doesn't work and the heater only works on HIGH in the winter time. The Stereo is ticky and only works when it wants. I haven't figured out it's genre preference yet since it kicks out CD's in random order. They either play that day or they don't.

However, my perspective has changed someone since I started riding a MOTORCYCLE.

Yes, motorcycle. Who knew? If someone would have told me 5 years ago I'd be 41 years old and rolling on the throttle of a HARLEY, I'd have told them they were "OUT OF THEIR EVER LIVIN MINDS".... and today, here I am, every free moment I can get, on that bike going vrrrrroooom.

I haven't gotten as much flack as I thought I'd get. In fact, the other night it was a balmy 60F in our middle class neighborhood. It seemed like everyone was out enjoying the birth of SPRING. I took short ride around the neighborhood and the VROOM gets some notice...but the fact there's a woman is at the helm get's DOUBLE TAKES. And.. it's the grandmother's who are stopping dead in their tracks to clap, wave or give me the thumb's up.

GO FIGURE !!!!

I am one of those mom's whose hay-day was in the mid-80's. I was sold the adage that we can have it all. Well, HELLO... when life,family, children and career hit me FULL FACE... I got thrown into a ROLE. A confining role at that. WHY ohhh WHY... do we have to fit a STEREO-TYPICAL image?? Why do I have to cut my hair short, wear my skirts longer, blouses buttoned up higher, dismiss make-up and feeling sexy for a ROLE that I didn't have anypart in defining. It was already there... and I just slipped into it. And by slipping into a role.. what am I teaching my girls????

Yes girls you can now have it all. You can be a mom, you can be a career woman, you can have it all... but you have to do it within these well defined out-dated parameters which will drive you crazy.

Ahhhh.. no. Not for me. I decided it's time to get out of that box and re-define who I am.. who I want to be... and how I want to live my life. And that means experiencing life to it's fullest not merely being a spectator.

So... the metamorphisis and busting out of the caccoon (MINI-VAN) has started. Painful yes. Worth it?? You betcha!!!!

I love my Kia Sedona, but our real reason for switching to a van was more room for the DOGS They were awfully crowded in the back of the station wagon with all our luggage when we went to the Jersey shore.

I LOVE it, AM Z!!!

and i love the analogy of busting out of the cocoon (mini-van).
that's great!!!!

do your children ride with you?

I find this somewhat amusing.

My younger brother, who was divorced about 5 years ago, just traded in his mini-van for an H3 Hummer.

His reasoning? You cant pick up dates in a minivan!

When my mini-van died I got a Toyota Camry with a rear end spoiler and it has some detailing. I'm a divorced mom of two girls. Since my divorce I:

- Wear v-neck shirts instead of those mom t-shirt with the too long sleeves.

- Wear makeup

- Color my hair

- Think sparkley things are fabulous, but not too much sparkle

- Wear high heels

I decided not long after my ex-husband walked out that I was fabulous. hehehe

I outmoded from the minivan a long time ago, but from my mustang well before that. I even sold my stang for the downpayment on a house years ago!
I have no choice but to drive a large vehicle, my dd drives a Jeep she shares with me though-so I live through her a bit. My dh has a stupid sedan made by a company I detest and if he tries to take me out in it I grit my teeth. some cars can't be helped by leather seats and a moonroof. I like a lot of different vehicles, but I am not defined by my vehicle. Even if I drove a 'church van" I would have tribal markings or ghost flames painted down the side with the license plate that reads "abnormal"
I don't fit into people's molds too well, and I ain't interested in starting. I would like to drive a Nissan 300 and one of those Solstice's just to see how they handle.
And a granny that rides a Harley is just too darn cool. I used to ride with my dad years ago, but his bike was too heavy for my post Epstein Barre body to hold up on my own for long. someday I might consider that, but I have too many littles that still need mom at the moment.

I have a gas-guzzling Suburban, but I also have 6 kids. I drive less than 100 miles a month. We walk to the park & the grocery store & friends houses. We have company a lot. My kids even walk to dance class, singing class & drama.

I have a bicycle I ride into town sometimes (bank, post office, pay bills...)

I used to have a mini van but we outgrew it.

We plan our weeks so that we make less trips.