Josiah's Journey

I can't be sure, but I'm thinking it's almost time to get another vehicle.

Josiah has always loved being in motion.

Doesn't matter if it's Rick's 2 door compact car and Josiah is crammed in the back seat.

Doesn't matter if it's my big red van and Josiah has a nice captains chair all to himself.

Doesn't even matter if it's the back of my bike and Josiah is squished in a way too small for him toddler seat.

As long as movement is involved, he is all over it.

Used to be that Josiah would sit calmly in his seat and stare out the window. Sometimes he'd dangle a string or some beads on the floor beside him.

Not anymore. Now, Josiah has taken to banging his back against the car seat with great gusto.

He bangs his seat so violently, I'm quite surprised he hasn't broken any of the seats yet. I'm not kidding.

Josiah is in sheer delight the entire time. He squeals. He giggles. He babbles. Actually, he is most vocal when he bounces in the car.

Today I did a little experiment. I turned the radio off in the middle of Josiah's bouncing. Instantly, he stopped. He grunted a bit. He was not happy.

I turned the music back on. He squealed and bounced.

When I pulled in the driveway, I turned the music off again. Josiah didn't even notice this time.

He bounced with wreckless abandon. I captured it on video.

It does my heart good to know that there is something my little guy loves so much. Wonder if I should get him a car seat to keep in the house?

We could take a captains chair out of the van, set it on the floor and strap him in. He could go to town bouncing and banging around and we would know for sure he was safe and theoretically, in one place.

My guess is that captains chair would be propelled across the room given the intensity with which this boy bounces.

I'm sure Josiah is not the only child with sensory issues that enjoys bouncing in his seat. I'm sure other parents are dealing with similar issues and doing everything they can to keep seats in their vehicles from breaking. Replacing a seat is not cheap.

So, I have 2 ideas. The first is to invent a car seat that gives some feedback when a child with sensory issues is seeking input.

Maybe a large, heavy duty spring attached to the bottom of an extremely sturdy chair.

You know, like those large animals-on-a-spring things they have at neighborhood parks for kids to bounce around on. Of course, this special seat would also have to meet safety standards.

The second idea would be a whole lot easier.

It's inevitable that we will most certainly need to replace our van sometime soon. To ensure Josiah doesn't break any seats in another vehicle, I'll just get a Vespa. A turquoise Vespa.

I've been wanting one for a while now anyway.

Josiah could ride in the sidecar.