Loading Kids Into a Car Can Cost Parents 4 Days a Year

Being a parent is a full-time job in itself, and even though it’s rewarding, it can also be one of the biggest sacrifices parents make when they decide to have kids. They cost money, take up space, keep you from sleeping, and take away any silence, but most of these things can be managed. While time lost cannot be brought back. This means the time you spend putting your kids into the car is gone forever.

Parents Have Little Time on Their Hands

Until your kids become somewhat independent, they will rely on you to care for them in various ways, which can mean that you get little time for yourself. Simple acts like walking to the door can take up way more time than it should, and so can getting your kids in the car seat so you can drive to the store. While it may seem like an exaggeration, it surely is not.

Research carried out by SEAT, which is a car company overseas, shows that it can cost an average of 96 hours per year to get children ready to go, out the door, and into the car. That comes out to be about 15 minutes per day just to get into the car with your kids. 96 hours total out to be about four days, and that doesn’t include getting the kids out of the car.

An Entire Process to Get Into the Car

The whole process doesn’t include just picking up your kids and strapping them into their car seats. It also takes into account the time it takes to put on their shoes, outerwear, pack up snacks, gather the stuffed animals the kids absolutely have to bring with them, and of course — getting strapped in.

All that time could have been spent on doing something more productive instead of searching high and low for your child’s shoe.