Millennial Minivan Mom

I’m thirteen years old, sitting in the third row of my friend’s mom’s minivan. Big & Rich’s “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” is playing on the radio, and we have a large group of friends singing the entire song (not fully understanding the lyrics we were singing) while on route to the local bowling alley for Cosmic Bowling. Life is simple, only worrying about what to wear and wondering if the boy I had a crush on would be there, too. I remember being so happy in that moment, and I reminisce and am incredibly appreciative that we could all be in the same vehicle singing and laughing together.

Fast forward 19 years, and I am now a millennial minivan mom, blaring Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and Harry Styles’s “As It Was” with my two children in my minivan. I know it may not be cool, unique, or fast, but when my husband and I were looking at trading in my vehicle last summer, I knew I wanted a van, and I am not ashamed. I always envisioned myself driving one someday in the future when my kids would be older and wanting to take their friends places, like cosmic bowling (and when I would be older, too), but after toting around one large, slobbery dog and two demanding, crazy toddlers 18 months apart in age (and all the stuff that goes with them when traveling), I knew I needed the space and convenience that a van offers. Here are a few main reasons why I love having a van as a millennial mom with young kids.

Sliding doors.

This one cannot be understated. These kids try to be so independent all the time, including when opening their car doors, climbing up into the vehicle, and clipping into their car seats. I love not having to worry about my children opening their doors and dinging any innocent vehicles near us.

Various seating arrangements.

Most of the time, I have my kids in their own bucket seats in the second row of my van (I removed the middle seat and currently store it in the garage until it’s needed for additional seating). It is nice having the middle seat open so they are able to climb up into their car seats, and give them some sense of independence (the downside being that sometimes they bypass their car seats entirely and make a beeline to the back of the van to play). We have a Honda Odyssey, which has “Magic Slide” second-row seats, so on days when the kids want to play a game or share a blanket, I can slide one bucket seat into the middle and have them next to one another.

Stowable third-row seats = bigger trunk space.

On a day to day basis, I do not need my third row for seats (although we have used it many times when road-tripping with extended family), so I stow my third row seats in the floor storage and give myself extra trunk space. This makes transporting strollers, wagons, pack ‘n plays, bouncers, swings (the list of baby/toddler items goes on and on), and my 70-pound dog much easier. We have also used our extended trunk space to have a picnic when we got rained out at a playground lunch date. The kids loved sitting back there and having space to stretch out, although I didn’t love wiping up yogurt, berries, and hummus afterward! 

Maybe no one is eyeing my new whip or thinking that being a millennial minivan mom is cool, but I love the functionality and comfort that come with my mom mobile. And I know someday I’ll have plenty of seats in my van to drive around my children and their friends, whether to concerts, sporting events, or cosmic bowling.