Lets Get It On

You hit the nail on the head. I agree 100%!

Bluebarber, perhaps you should get a medical opinion on this, did you run it past your child's pediatrician?

If the poster lost his/her job, then they are mobile. Move somewhere and get a job that keeps you home. Period.

I can't understand how you consider most of these posters close-minded for looking out for the well-being of the child, while you are looking out for the selfishness of the original poster. Sorry that's cutting, but it's the truth.

It's been said a hundred times on this thread and many more times on the messageboard over the years...the road is no place to raise a child. They need freedom, a learning environment, and the ability to interact socially with others their age, be it friends or schoolmates. The child will NOT get that on the road. McDonalds and truck stops? Give me a break. :roll:

Follow the advice of several of these posters and speak to a pediatrician. Fill them in on the "job" and see what their take is. You'll be lucky if you don't get reported to DHS right then and there. And of course, let's not forget all the Nosey Joe's out there. It will only take one to see your child on the truck, put 2 and 2 together, get your plate number, and call DHS. I've seen it happen several times over the past few years..spoke to drivers (well-meaning ones at that) that lost their kids to the state because they thought it was OK to bring their child with them on the truck for an extended period of time and were now fighting a desperate fight to get them back.

The OP said he/she was researching this and had it figured out. I call BS on that. If you had researched it, you would have run into so many negatives about the plan that you would have immediately abandoned it in favor of something more sane and realistic.

In the end, driving a truck is a job, just like any other job. If it doesn't fit your lifestyle (having kids), then find a different line of work for the time being. There are millions of other jobs out there. Take one of those until the child is much older. Then get back to driving if that's what you want to do and take the child on week-long forays during the summer. That's what childhood memories are made of...not living in the truck 24/7.

Good luck to your child. At this point and unless you see what you are setting your child up for, he/she will need it. :sad:

I think it's perfectly fine to have a 18month old in a 18wheeler. I've been driving for 15years and have seen many of the "old timer's" leave this industry...in the old days this was a Lifestyle, career that a family man could be proud of...these days it's all about Big Business and Corporate Greed..and
insurance regulations.

The cab/sleeper of a 18wheeler driven by a Professional Driver is probably the safest place on the road. You did not state if you were a single mother, or a driver's wife or co-driver- any of these would be perfectly reasonable reasons for having a 18month old onboard. But, because of insurance reasons you'll probably need to think about leasing or buying a Truck.....or have the baby on-board on the Q.T.( which can only be done...if you're a team/ driver's wife)

I just thought I would give my 2 cents, as a child I did go an trips with my dad in the truck, only for about a week at a time and I can tell you that it can be very boring for a young child, so much so that I sometimes couldn't wait to get home. Sometimes we would have to go to a place where they didn't allow children and I would have to hide in the bunk til we left. I think it is fine for an occasional trip, not for long term.

I wonder why someone would want to have children and then selfishly want to subject them to that kind of a lifestyle. That is no life, bouncing around in a truck all day long, no other kids to play with, just sit him in front of the DVD player. What selfish parents you must be to not want what is best for your child.

Oh, the memories this thread brings back I took my kid out on the road with me when he was 8 yrs old. Though it was for only 4 days, he could hardly wait to get back home. Years later, he told me the only reason he went, was because he didn't want me to be lonely. All the while I thought he was dying to go over the road with Dad

That's funny. My 10 yr old just told me that he wants to go with me for a week when I get my own truck (still a trainee). If I was 10 I'd be bored out of my mind. What is there for a kid to do out there? Personally, I think truckstops are no places for kids.

Well...if he's 10 and you're just a trainee(new to Trucking) I'd say he's saying "Dad I love you, look up to you" and want to spend some time with you! You'd better change your way of thinking about having your kid on the truck with you...or Are you not planning on staying in trucking very long? The years will slip away...my son is 19 and I trucked his childhood away(last 14 years) There's plenty the two of you can do on a Truck together....and he can bring along a XBox for when Dad is driving and it gets Boring. Just keep him close and watch out for him at the Truckstop...be sure to teach him not to walk along close to the front of the trucks(being short...he'll be hard to see) always think safety. And keep the CB off.

Come on you guys, can't we all just get along. Sound like a bunch of children. I think we all have bigger problems in our own lives and also this industry. Lets try and address the problems we need to fix in our line of work and then after we fix that we can all attack each-other. Problem solved. Anyways everyone stay safe.