As any parent knows, the closest thing to hell on earth is a lengthy car trip with unruly children in tow. From the incessant “are we there yet?” whining to the constant fighting and bickering, it’s enough to sour a holiday before you even get there. If you’re sick of yelling until you’re blue in the face, here’s an insidious blackmail hack that will ensure they behave like little angels.
Family holiday picture from Shutterstock
After reading our post about humiliating annoying kids at birthday parties, a friend wrote in with the following tip:
On long car journeys, take a large bag of treats with you. Every time your child misbehaves, throw some of the treats out of the window. Good thing I don’t have kids.
Is this a genius idea, or what? While we’re usually against littering and food wastage, we think it’s a small price to pay for the glorious peace and quiet it will cause. Just make sure no cops see you tossing Freddo Frogs on the highway, or your kids will definitely have the last laugh!
See also: Ask LH: What Should I Look For In A Family Car? | How To Destroy Annoying Kids At Birthday Parties
This post is part of our Evil Week series at Lifehacker, where we look at the dark side of getting things done. Knowing evil means knowing how to beat it, so you can use your sinister powers for good. Want more? Check out our evil week tag page.
Comments
2 responses to “How To Force Your Kids To Behave On Car Trips”
Sounds like a great way to be fined for littering.
Keep Australia beautiful!
Solution (and more effective):
Take the Freddo frog out of the wrapper, take a bite, explain to children that chocolate is great but its not for those who do the wrong thing, then throw the rest out of the window storing the wrapper in the compartment in the door.
At the end of the trip, show the kids how many Freddos they missed out on by misbehaviour by revealing empty wrappers! Encourage better behaviour on the trip home.
I would’ve thought the answer would be duct tape, not littering and wasting food. Clearly I have my priorities straight; duct taping up kids = ok. Littering and wasting food (if you can call most lollies “food”) = bad.
I agree, this article clearly supporters littering the countryside.
I expected better lifehacker, we don’t break laws – we hack them.
LOL dont duct tape them….. just eat the lollies urself instead of littering. Hint . If going on a long car journey 4hrs or more keep ur kids up late the night before and start the journey as early as possible. worked for me and i live in WA and any journey in this state is a long one.
Good luck
I use a Freddo’s multi bag and eat one if they muck up. Only takes 2 or 3 before they get the message. The kids get what’s left at the end of the trip. One time the 3 of them had to share one freddo between them (bag holds 20)
Saves on the littering, and I get some chocs!
Would it not be a better idea to just eat the food –
– so they cant?