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 with Josiah crammed in the back seat. Doesn’t matter if it’s my big red van where Josiah has a nice captains chair all to himself. Doesn’t even matter if it’s the back of my bike with Josiah squished in an entirely too small toddler seat.

As long as movement is involved, he is all over it. Used to be Josiah would sit calmly in his seat in the van 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 reckless abandon.

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 the 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 who 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 to provide sensory input when a child with sensory issues is seeking feedback. 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 we will most certainly need to replace our van sometime soon. To ensure Josiah doesn’t break any seats in our next 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.