Could Your Family Live Without a Car?

No, I don’t have a car.

I’ve never owned a car myself, although I’ve been able to drive since I was 15, and at least once a week drive a family member’s car to accomplish household errands.

I grew up in a car owning family, so until adulthood I had in my mind a car was absolutely necessary in any household, even for singles. Not to mention people with young kids or babies.

How I Discovered A Car Isn’t Always Necessary.

Living abroad gave me the opportunity to experience true car free living. Having neither relatives nor close friends with a car, I quickly learned to rely on public transportation or my own feet for everything outside home.

However, it was when I had my baby in Japan, with no car nor car owning relatives, when I realized it was possible and even advantageous to stay car free when you have little kids or babies.

Of course, owning a car could be convenient in many cases, especially in environments with scarce or nonexistent public transportation offer. Anyways, here are my reasons for considering going car free when you have babies or kids:

• Riding the bus or the train has been found to be safer than riding or driving a personal car (this according to US data, but probably it’s also safer in most parts of the world);
• On public transportation you can concentrate on the needs of your baby or toddler, so they usually go calmer and happier than in a car;
• As you spend less in gas and other car related expenses, you can go further, stay longer and have more fun;
• You can babywear, breastfeed, and EC on the go– The EC part, of course, requires some skills ;
• By far less environmental guilt than car owners;
• You get to know nice people on the go, while your kids learn real social skills;
• If your kids are like mine, they’ll love to learn the names of the stations and routes, read maps and guides, and all thing related to riding a mass transportation system, making it a cheap unschooling resource;
• Once you get used, you become proud of your car-free living, resulting in less anxiety about buying a new model or budgeting for car maintenance.

I know for some people it’s not possible to live without a car, especially for those with no access to public transportation. However, you can always set up a car free day or even a car free week or month to introduce your kids to other ways of transportation and its benefits.

Take the money for the bus tickets and enjoy!

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Related posts:

1. How to Live Well Without Owning a Car
2. 5 reasons why I love my child’s scooter
3. How to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Your Car
4. Recycling on the Go