Photo by abjbrewer

When many of my mom friends drive long distances to visit family for the holidays or go on vacation, they often set out in the middle of the night. This way, their kids sleep and they don't have to listen to the whining about being bored and the "are we there yet" refrain. I guess that's one way to go on road trips with kids.

But then Mom and Dad are always behind one day of sleep for the entire vacation. To this mom, who's stockpiled, oh, about six years of sleep deprivation now, that's the exact opposite of "vacation."

I'd much prefer to drive when we are all awake and actually, well, try to enjoy the trip. My husband and I are thinking about taking our 5 and 6 year old to Maine at Christmas, but it's a five-hour drive. I don't mind that so much because I'll be napping to the iPod so I can tune the kids out; it's my poor husband I'll feel for.

Photo by abjbrewer

They're safe!

They work!

Okay, so you knew that. But here's some other stuff  you may not have known from a recent Children's Hospital of Philadelphia study involving 7,000 children ages 4 to 8 involved in real-world crashes:

• Children ages 4 to 8 who are restrained in the rear seat of a car in a belt-positioning booster seat are 45 percent less likely to be injured in a crash compared with children using a seat belt alone.

• There was no difference in the level of protection offered by backless versus high back booster seats.

• Of those riding in booster seats, children involved in side-impact crashes saw the greatest reduction in injury risk.

A lot of CafeMoms say they allow their teens to own their own cars. Most either make their children earn the money to buy one themselves, or they purchase a reliable used vehicle and require them to pay for the gas and insurance.

That's pretty much what my parents did -- we went halfsies on the purchase. And that's great for convenience and independence, but there's a drawback to letting your teen have their own car, especially in their first year as a new driver.

Teens who own their own cars, or who are the main driver of a vehicle, are much more likely to get into a fatal crash that kids who ask their parents to borrow the car keys.

Photo by cozycabinmom

I remember being 15 and taking my parent's old olive green Chevy Caprice that was the size of a boat a little too wide around a sharp turn, and watching my mom in the passenger seat turn the color of snow at the sight of the oncoming car. A real close call, that one.

Yeah, I sure don't look forward to the days when my own kids are learning to drive. But when it happens, I'm going to remember these words of advice from one experienced mom in the Connecting With Your Teenager group:

Photo by DragonLuv

Driving to and from school is the first time that many teens are in the car without parental supervision.

As a mom, does this freak you out?

Here are some suggested guidelines that may help to alleviate at least some of the stress that comes with driving teens...

Anne_80 is facing a difficult dilemma I'm sure any mom with teenagers wouldn't envy. Her 18-year-old son was arrested for a DUI that resulted in an accident. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured; but now, she's trying to decide whether to leave him in jail until his trial date to teach him a lesson or bail him out.

Photo by The-Autism-Mom

A lot of moms have mixed feelings about their teens getting driver's licenses. On the one hand, it means freedom from having to carpool your kid everywhere, on the other, you have to worry about them being safe out on the road. Still, just because they don't have a license, doesn't mean they can't drive.

Sorry guys. Many high schoolers and even 19 and 20-year-olds who feel like they can handle a beer or two--and consequently resent underage drinking laws--have no argument now. Researchers who studied the impact of those laws and alcohol-related traffic fatalities, have finally concluded that the laws are not merely a good idea in theory--they really do save hundreds of lives.

This one is best in southenrmunchkn's own words.

"My 9-year-old was riding her bike yesterday and accidentally hit the neighbor's parked car. She was honest about it and told the neighbor what happened. We were told not to worry about it and the other kids in the neighborhood had also damaged her car (but took off instead of telling the truth) so she would have the scratch fixed when she had the rest done. A few minutes ago she came over to tell me she is filing a police report. Now I'm worried. What can they do?"

Reed Sorenson as a kid! Total racer at heart.

And you thought you were worried about your kid on the road.

Meet Becky Sorenson, Georgia-based mom of 22-year-old  NASCAR superstar Reed Sorenson. In actuality, Becky's not overly worried about her son (who whizzes around race tracks at 200mph). She's attended or watched every race he's entered and says, "I still get a thrill out of every lap he runs." Sure, Becky acknowledges the inherent danger in her son's sport, but notes that he uses every safety precaution that is available. "I can't let myself dwell too much on the danger factor because I know there are very stringent safeguards put in place by NASCAR," she says.