If you’re not hearing bickering, escalating to screaming and/or physical violence, coming from the back seat of your car, how do you even know you’re a parent of more than one child?
It’s a common experience of most mums and dads as they drive their kids to school, or sports, or social events; you’re running late, thinking of a millions things, while the kids, safely buckled into the back, having nothing else to think about…so they pick fights with each other.
Which is exactly what your brain that’s about to explode with pressure needs – not.
This is precisely this scenario which inspired a desperate Sydney dad to invent a genius hack to save his sanity in the car. It’s called the Backseat Carma, and it’s essentially a divider between the kids so they can’t see or touch each other.
Speaking to Mamamia, inventor Mark Abay – who created the idea with his wife, Georgie – explained that they got to a point with their kids where they’d just had enough.
“Our daughters were born 17 months apart and are, let’s say, ‘full of character’! Pretty much as soon as our youngest was able to talk (perhaps even before) the in-car fighting began,” Mark said.
Explaining that car rides regularly saw toy-snatching, face-pulling, scratching and kicking in the back seat, the father-of-two described a scenario that plays out in cars all around Australia every day.
“Of course, they would complain to us that ‘she’s looking at me!’,” he added.
“Meanwhile our stress levels in the front seat would climb higher and higher until we reached boiling point.
I think the defining moment in my mind, when I knew something had to be done, was when we had to slam the brakes on to avoid a crashing into the car in front during an in-car argument.”
Mark explained he realised how dangerous the distraction of driving with bickering children can be, especially as parents are often already anxious from the pressures of daily life before even getting into the car.
And so the couple designed the Backseat Carma.
"The backseat divider could have no hard edges or sharp materials and had to be secure and eco-friendly," Mark said.
"The cover is made of eco friendly PU leather so you can wipe off any marks. There’s also a side pocket for water bottles, books or toys."
The effort that's clearly been put into the design explains the price just in excess of $100. But what's the cost of a parent not losing their mind as they travel from an under-7s cricket match to a three-year-old's birthday party?
It's priceless.
If all of this sounds very hopeful and exciting to you, the Backseat Carma is available here. You know what you need to do.
Top Comments
Obviously, the designer never had siblings - they can always find a wily way to circumvent these things.
Bloody genius......he's going to make a fortune.