For many, especially those who live in the city, public transportation is an essential part of their livelihood and lifestyle freedom. Without needing to worry about traffic or scraping up money for gas, pedestrians can grab a ride at their leisure and go wherever they choose. Contrary to popular belief, you can apply the same freedoms to parents. While parents would typically choose the comfort and privacy of their own vehicle, bringing your children on the bus can often provide them with rich growth opportunities. This is why public transportation is good for kids and how parents can make the most out of each family trip.
Why Use Public Transportation
Even without factoring your kids into the equation, public transportation offers a series of benefits for everyone. From catering to those with limited mobility capabilities to reduce the overall production of air pollution, these tools provide a service that fits a variety of needs. This is especially the case if the transportation company is using more advanced technology, such as electric-powered vehicles.
But the general public isn’t the only thing that benefits—group transportation vehicles can also accommodate young families. With extra space for stroller and bag storage, these services make sure that each passenger has what they need to be comfortable during transit. Better yet, this extra storage also means that you don’t have to worry about packing up a car.
The Main Benefits for Kids
It’s no secret that kids need constant supervision and stimulation to keep them safe and well-behaved in a public setting. Fortunately, the environment of bus transportation makes it easier for you to provide these needs and even teach them skills that they’ll need later in life. The following are just a few of the additional, noteworthy benefits:
Promotes Positive Cognitive Development
Whether a child is heading out on a school field trip or to the store, they’re often excited to get outside their comfort zone and experience something new. Through public transportation, they’ll encounter new people and places, and you’ll be able to teach them how to act in these situations as a result. Broadening their horizons in this way will help them gain a better understanding of the world around them, which improves their social skills, spatial awareness, and general manners.
Provides Family Bonding Opportunities
When you’re spending all your time during an outing behind the wheel, it can be difficult to interact with your kids in the way you want. Disciplining them can be ineffective from a different seat, and you’re missing out on an opportunity to spend quality time with them. Fortunately, public transportation allows you to sit with your kids and provide them with more of your attention. Many families even use this opportunity to play non-disruptive games and point out the wonderful sights through the windows.
Encourages Physical Activity
Since public buses only stop at designated locations, pedestrians have more opportunities to walk between their stops. This keeps your kids active and expels some of their excess energy so that they aren’t as disruptive during the ride. It’s during these walks that you can also further bond with your kids by making up games or doing a bit of window shopping. Creating an active routine like this can also give them more incentive to stay active as they get older, leading to an overall healthier lifestyle.
Allows Access to Several Fun Activities
Since you won’t have to worry about parking, public transit can put you in contact with additional fun activities to do with your kids. Whether it’s a new museum, park, or interactive learning experience, you’ll be able to stop at whatever catches your eye. It’s easier to have a memorable day with the entire family. Plus, this promotes further family bonding and exposes your kids to a variety of different enriching experiences.
Helpful Tips for Parents
There are a variety of reasons why public transportation is good for kids. But at the end of the day, you can only obtain these benefits by utilizing the opportunity to its fullest. As such, parents must take the proper steps to make the most out of every trip. Try using a few of these tips to make the ride more beneficial for your child while making it less stressful for you.
Be Considerate of Other Passengers
When you’re traveling with your kids, it can be easy to forget that other people are sharing that space with you. But what makes public transportation so enriching is the diverse plethora of people in the seats next to you. As such, you need to be considerate of those around you and ensure your children know to do the same. This will make for a more pleasurable ride for all while teaching your kids socially acceptable behavior.
Pack Light and Stay Organized
While it might be tempting to bring a multitude of toys, snacks, and games, this will only make changing buses more difficult. In fact, the more you bring with you, the more you have to keep track of as you move from one location to another. It’s for this reason that you should be packing as light as possible to reduce the number of belongings to manage and keep yourself organized.
Keep Your Kids Involved
If they don’t receive enough stimulation, children can become bored and begin acting out. As a result, they can become uncontrollable in their search for some form of entertainment. That’s why you need to keep them engaged throughout the ride by playing games with them or directing their attention to other things. Not only will this provide them with the mental stimulation they’re after, but it will make the trip more fun for you as well.
At Schetky Bus and Van Sales, we understand that parents and kids make up a large portion of the public transportation demographic. As such, transportation services must effectively cater to their needs—especially safety requirements. One important way to do this is by regularly replacing current buses that are beginning to malfunction. That’s why we have the best new buses for sale to ensure everyone remains safe in transit and can go about a happy day.
