You might think, “Mmm this is interesting, not RyLee’s typical blogpost.” But you guys! Minivans help foster autonomy in so many ways! I legit almost prepared a powerpoint presentation to try to convince my husband we needed a minivan in our lives. Luckily, he saw how incredible they were without the presentation and went from making gagging noises (immature I know haha) every time he saw one, to telling everyone how awesome his minivan is!

I totally used to be the one saying, “No way! I do not want a minivan” I’m pretty sure it was the outside aesthetics, but as soon as I saw how developmental it was I was hooked! I honestly used to dread going anywhere by myself with even having only two children. It was frustrating getting them in and out of the car with the doors opening wide and trying not to hit the cars next to me. It honestly felt like such a burden and it was exhausting! Here is why a minivan is developmental and practical for your family.

1st Mom Win: Sliding Doors

Sliding doors are AMAZING! Trust me. I went from stressing about hitting cars next to me, to parking wherever I want without a worry. With the click of a button I can open the doors and quickly get my children safe, off the road and into the car. Whether I am opening the sliding doors from my key fob or my four or two year old is pressing the button on the handle, they are easily getting in and out of the car. This also helps foster autonomy in young children. Many car doors are difficult for children to open because they have to pull them hard, and when they do open them by themselves mom or dad is often times getting upset or worried about them hitting the car next to them. Sliding doors eliminate that problem and allow you to be stress free while your child feels excited that they can do it “all by themselves”.

2nd Mom Win: Folding/Sliding Seats

My sister sent a picture of her boys in their carseats in the back of her minivan to our family group text. To which my sister in-law said, “Wow! how did you get the two little children in the back of your car?!” The answer? Minivan! I watched my brother get is baby in and out from the trunk of their SUV and thought, “Oh man that looks so complicated, I wouldn’t even want to leave the house by myself if I had to do that!” With a minivan it’s so easy to get your children in and out of their car seats. One of my absolute favorite features of our minivan is that I can easily fold the seat forward, even with my infant base still attached, to allow my oldest to easily climb to the back of the car. It folds so far in fact that my sister, mother, mother in-law, brother in-laws etc. can all climb in the back without me taking out a carseat or putting a lot of effort into quickly sliding the seat forward.

3rd Mom Win: Space

Minivans are designed with a family in mind. When we were searching for a larger car when I was pregnant with our third little girl, we knew we were going to have all three children in carseats. My husband tried convincing me to get anything but a minivan, and quite frankly they just weren’t practical for a young family. All of the other cars we looked at had the second row so close to the front two seats that I’m sure there would have been some endless seat kicking. This isn’t the case in our minivan! We particularly wanted to go with captains chairs to allow even more space for children getting in and out of the car. It allows plenty of leg room for child and adults alike, which makes it easy for passengers to get in and out and get to whatever seat they’re trying to.

4th Mom Win: Automatic Trunk

Having a trunk that opens with a click of a button from the front of my car, a click of a button on my key fob, or a click of a button from the outside of the trunk makes life easy breezy lemon squeezy. I can quickly get the stroller, groceries, or anything else I have in the trunk out. This also means that while my hands are already full of groceries or a baby, I can still easily open my trunk and get everything I need!

(Side note: a lot of people ask what stroller I use and we are obsessed with the Britax brand. We have a single and a double stroller. Our Britax infant carseat attaches to both of our strollers. They are so lightweight, easily collapsable, and I can get it in and out of my car with one hand while holding the baby in the other.)

5th Mom Win: Solo? No Problemo

It used to be such a struggle for me to go anywhere by myself with just two children! It was exhausting and I absolutely dread it. Since having a minivan, it is so easy for me to get out and about even with three tiny children who still all need help getting buckled! Because of the sliding doors, sliding chairs, automatic trunk, and the buttons, I am able to easily get all three of my girls quickly in the car with ease even when I am by myself!

Having a minivan has honestly made my life so much easier! It’s no longer difficult for me to leave the house! It’s seriously a game changer and your life will be better because of it! Haha, sound dramatic? Maybe, but seriously get one. You will know what I’m talking about and you’ll thank me later!

Car Seats, Strollers and Seat Protectors

(Click on the picture to view link)

Britax B-Agile Travel System

I get a lot of questions about the type of car seats, strollers and seat protectors we use. We purchased a Britax B-Agile Travel System for our oldest when she was a newborn and never looked back! We love how light weight and easy to maneuver they are! I can easily pull my stroller in and out of the trunk of our minivan while holding a baby with no problem! I love that whether I decide to throw the double or single stroller in the car, my infant base will attach to either one. The car seats are easy to get in and out of the car and are super secure. This system comes with the car seat, base, and stroller!

Britax ClickTight Convertible Car Seat

This car seat is rear or forward facing. My two year old is currently in this one and I love it! We first bought this car seat when my daughter still needed to be rear facing, but I wanted her to have room to grow. This one was the perfect option. She was rear facing until she turned two, and now is comfortably forward facing, and I don’t think she’ll out grow it for a long time!

Britax B-Agile Double Stroller

Our infant car seat attaches to our double as well as the single stroller. Since my girls are so close in age I went with a side by side double stroller because I thought they would both like to be able to see out. It still light weight and easy for me to pull in and out of the car, and fits through a door way!

Britax Pioneer Harness-2-Booster Car Seat

Our four year old is currently in this car seat and she loves feeling like a big girl, and I love that she is secure and safe!

Britax Car Seat Vehicle Protector

We use these car seat protectors for all three of our car seats and it keeps our leather looking nice and clean! It extends a little further out than the car seat catching extra crumbs that might spill over on those long road trips!