This morning we posted an article called “10 Stereotypes of Minivan Drivers” and we woke up with a whole bunch of minivan lovin’ mamas that were fired up!

Here’s this mornings post that was deleted so we could include it in this “both sides of the fence” article. 

Let me start by saying if you drive a minivan, I get it.  They are convenient, roomy, and make sense for a family.  But for me, the word minivan makes me squirm a bit in my seat.  We are a family of five and by now we could be part of the minivan club but for some reason I refuse to give in to this one mom stereotype.

Austin Moms Blog strives to be a positive environment for all women and if we hurt you this morning with our minivan hating post, we sincerely apologize. We love to make fun of ourselves and do our best not to take ourselves too seriously. At Austin Moms Blog we share a TON of content… some is informative… some is educational… some is helpful… sometimes we get virtual high fives and thumbs up… and then sometimes we get some serious hate. We take it all in stride, because above all else, we are passionate about bringing moms together in the journey of motherhood.

With that said, here is MY article in DEFENSE OF THE MINIVAN! 

Ok, ok. Full disclosure: I don’t currently drive a minivan. In fact, I purposely avoided minivans when I bought my car a year and a half ago. I am, however, a total minivan convert, and you can bet your fanny it’ll be the next vehicle I purchase.

1. Fewer bruises. My son rapidly entered the “no me do it” phase of life after I bought my SUV. This includes climbing into the vehicle all by himself. The bruises that kid has on his shins are quite alarming. I’m pretty sure I’m about two and a half car rides away from CPS knocking on my door and opening an investigation. Minivans have a lower profile and require less climbing in order for little ones to get in by themselves. They literally only need to step up. Genius!
2. Sliding doors. Minivans protect vehicles nearby from door dings {and consequently protect moms from nasty looks} with their sliding doors. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to bang my door into the vehicles parked next to me in order to have enough room to reach in and get a kid out of the backseat. It does not make me feel like a good person. The problem is even worse when your little one is still an infant, and you have the entire car seat coming out with them. The fact that the door of a minivan can open completely without you worrying about how close you are to another car is a total game-changer for me.
3. Sliding doors, part deux. Nowadays, minivans have those awesome self-closing doors. They stop if they feel any resistance from, say, a kid’s head or appendage. Hello?! No more worrying about my child slamming a hand in a door! Seems like a no-brainer to me.
4. Lower center of gravity. When I bought my SUV, I bought it because it had the best safety rating out there. You know what will always beat it, though? A minivan. It’s just a fact, brought to you by the amazing world of physics. A lower center of gravity makes it inherently safer than a truck or SUV, but it still has the room for your entire clan. Also, why are you trying to be higher than everyone in your SUV, anyway? You’re literally looking down on everyone around you. That’s not very nice.
5. They really aren’t that ugly. Get over yourselves, SUV addicts. If minivans were really that ugly, then why are all the SUVs slowly starting to look like them? Gone are the days of the boxy SUV. Say hello to a more streamlined, curved sport utility vehicle, better known as the Minivan Wannabe.
6. Better fuel economy. You SUV lovers really just can’t even argue with that. Try. I dare you. I’ve tried. I lose. Every. Single. Time.
7. Less sibling drama. I very recently had The Great Minivan Debate with one of my dearest friends, who is currently 37 weeks pregnant with her first child and also car shopping. Even she, a self-proclaimed “minivan hater” admitted that she is fairly certain all of her Barbies kept their heads because she and her brother sat so far away from one another in the family minivan growing up. Remember the “I’m not touching you” game? Or the “she’s breathing on me” chorus? Now imagine that your children won’t be sitting close enough to one another to even have those issues. Seems pretty sweet, right? Sure, the kids will find something else to do in order to drive you absolutely insane, but it’s nice to limit their choices.
8. Easy access to all areas. Your SUV has a third row of seats, you say? That’s cool. So does a minivan. How exactly do you access that third row in your SUV? Oh, that’s right. You have to climb over the second row. Heaven forbid there be a kid sitting there, perfectly positioned to receive a soccer cleat to the forehead. Ouch. In a minivan, there is an aisle. Heck, you could probably hire a minivan attendant to pass out cups of ginger ale and honey-roasted peanuts from her little silver cart if you wanted. The aisle in the second row is actually that big and convenient.
9. All-wheel drive. A lot of SUV advocates hide behind their vehicle’s all-wheel drive capabilities. Well, it’s time to find another excuse. Most minivans are coming equipped with all-wheel drive these days, and you really can’t argue with that, especially when paired with the smoother ride of the lower profile vehicle.
10. Cupholders. Good grief, there are so many of them! Little Timmy wants some water and juice? Not a problem, Mom. He has more accessible cupholders than he does hands. Boom.
11. Not even the least bit pretentious. Yeah, I know this was supposed to be a list of 10 things, but I couldn’t help but bring up the most important reason of all that I’ve become a minivan convert: the attitude. Think about it. How many parents have you heard declare that they wouldn’t be caught dead in a minivan? Let’s be real for a second. Who are you trying to impress with your giant black SUV? You’re missing out on all the luxuries of a practical family vehicle, just so you can maintain some level of “coolness?” Please. At some point it was time to scrape the Greek letters off the back window of your SUV. That was the same point when “being cool” stopped being so important.

Drop the mic.

Me and the author of the original article are very different, but aren’t we all? We cheer on one another regardless of our differing opinions about the cars we choose to drive or whether we breastfed or formula fed or had a natural delivery versus a c-section delivery. We do this, because we are all supportive moms and understand that we are simply doing the best we can with motherhood.

Cheers to all of you awesome mamas!