It’s been just over a year since we got the new van and I think it’s worked out very well. Having the sliding doors on both sides is nice. The remote control for the doors at the front is nice as well — no more yelling at the kids to shut the door. Of course, since the doors are powered even Charles can shut them (he can’t open because he can’t reach the button while he’s strapped in his seat1).
At the top of the list, however, is just having sliding doors. This is brought home to me if we take Mom’s car. Corwin just throws the door open with little concern for what might be near by and I doubt that Charles will be much better about it. A sliding door, however, can’t be swung out far enough to hit another car or some structural element of the parking lot. I wonder if I will be able to get a car with sliding doors in front for when Corwin is old enough to drive…
1 Although, now that I think about it, Charles should be able to get out on his own. He can unstrap himself from his seat and he knows where the door button is.
I can confirm that Charles has extracted himself from the van all by himself. Normally one of us opens the doors when we stop, but this weekend I was distracted by something and Charles unstrapped himself and opened the door.
