Melissa Joan Hart Shares Road Trip Must-Haves And How to Find the Best Car for Your Family
by Parenting.com Editors
Melissa Joan Hart is a veteran actress and mom, but she will actually be playing a parent for the first time on her upcoming Netflix show, No Good Nick, opposite Lord of the Rings actor Sean Astin. While she’s tackled hard roles in the past (like playing a certain teenage witch), she knows firsthand just how hard picking the best car and road trip accessories for your family can be. With so many features to consider and, of course, safety being of the utmost importance, finding a reliable resource to help you on your car buying journey can really help you make this important decision. Whether you are upgrading from a smaller car or buying a car for the first time, looking to resources like Kelley Blue Book (KBB) can really help families make informed choices about which car to buy. KBB recently released their top picks for the Best Family Cars of 2019 and enlisted Hart to help spread the word. As she is a mom to three boys ages 6-13, she knows all about car safety and what families should look for when making this big purchase. We talked to her about this and about her road trip essentials when she’s traveling with her family!
Why did you team up with KBB?
I love to drive. I was always the one that was behind the wheel. My family and I, we do a lot of road trips. We’re not big flyers so we love to get in the car and drive and bring the dogs. We can bring a bunch of stuff. We can leave when we want. Kelley Blue Book just released their Best Family Cars of 2019, so everybody can go and check out the best family cars and pick one based on what’s important to them. With my family, three boys who like to wrestle and get rough in the car, we need to have a DVD unit. It’s nice to have them all be able to tune into a movie or watch something and be entertained for however long that car ride might be.
Do you have tips for parents who are buying their first family car?
Of course parents are so concerned with safety. You can go to KBB.com and look at the safety ratings for all the cars. Especially people who are upgrading to a family car, they want to know what’s the safest option. But for families with older kids like me, it’s all about the cup holders. The one we’re looking at has a vacuum system in it. On a long road trip, chips will get ground into the floor, so to have a built-in vacuum is definitely a bonus.
You mentioned your boys can get wild in the car. Do you have tips for parents to be safely focused on the road with crazy kids in back?
Pull over the car. If they’re getting out of hand, you have to take that time out to pull over safely and have a little family chat. My 6-year-old, right now, thinks it’s funny to scream in the car, and I have to explain to him that that’s not okay. Pulling over and getting face-to-face with them just like our parents did. Remember the old saying, “Don’t make me pull this car over?”
Does your family have any fun games they like to play on road trip?
Automobile bingo is fun. We have the bingo cards, and you have to find things like a tractor, a school or a flag. They’re really into old-school entertainment.
Whether you’re a family of road trip enthusiasts or are just venturing into taking car trips, we have rounded up a few items (inspired by our interview with Melissa Joan Hart), to help get you and your family on your way.
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