Hi Everyone 
, thanks for the congratulations on passing my test the other day, it really overwhelmed me the replies i got. i am going on to do my class one straight away. the question i am asking is, my children are pestering me bigtime to come away with daddy in his big lorry when he gets class one of course. what i would like to know is are you allowed to take your kids with you ( i do mean one at a time lol ) is there a law against it? and if it is allowed has anyone taken there kids with them and how were they? did they get bored or like it?
Hi Margatemafia,
Late congratulations on the pass (well done!).
In my experience taking kids is the best thing you can do if the firm will let you.
Always check with the T.M. if this is O.K. and if you have permission then why not?
You will always see youngsters in cabs during school holidays,as long as they can wake up early enough to travel to the yard with you.
I took my youngest with me once (she was 7 at the time) on a day run and she really enjoyed herself. My lad who was 11 on another occasion also loved being out with his Dad on the road (low loader work so plenty of diggers,road rollers,J.C.Bâs etc).
All I can say mate is take the kids with you when you can. Be prepared for plenty of toilet stops that you doânt need, have plenty of pop and crisp money in your pocket (It cost me loads!) and take plenty of pens and colouring books if junior trucker gets bored.
Apart from that - Enjoy! you are doing a job that takes (or cantake you away ) from home for days on end. Show the kids whatever oppurtunity you get what you do for a living.
Good luck.
thanks niall, i got 4 daughters and three of them really want to go out, the fourth being a baby so no chance. my wife thinks they will get bored easily as they have the attention span of a nat. my wifeâs dad used drive a car transporter for lawsons in sheerness and he took her out a couple of times and she got bored stiff and thinks ours will be the same. also my driving instructor said the same thing they would get bored and the examiner who took me out yesterday said same thing too. but there you go i will give it a go and see what happens, would be really nice if they do come out and enjoy it 
thanks for that niall nice one mate.
margate
My eldest now 6, use to come out with me a lot, but both have grown up going out for the odd short trip.
Both my two have been away with me countless timesand visited a great chunk of Europe doing it. The oldest is 19 now and he doesnât come away anymore but my 12 year old does. They both really enjoy/enjoyed it.
Many larger employers donât allow it, but many family hauliers donât have a problem. Also some places donât allow children on site even if they stay in the cab.
However my brother used to take his boy out in the truck, even doing nights out, The first trips were with his wife there aswell, but his boy enjoyed it so much he went on his own. He loved it so much that my brother couldnât creep out of the house during school holidays with out his boy waiting for him.
On a slightly different note I bought the new Truck & Driver today and had a good laugh at Shobbas take on Junior Truckers, esp the lad âwateringâ his pedal car 
Still seems to be plenty of juniors in the cabs during holidays. Long may it continue.
Calv
Thatâs one of the best Shobbas ever I think.
margatemafia:
what i would like to know is are you allowed to take your kids with you ( i do mean one at a time lol ) is there a law against it? and if it is allowed has anyone taken there kids with them and how were they? did they get bored or like it?
THe problem nowadays is more and more companies you deliver to DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN UNDER 16 ON SITE. Most of the major supermarkets and blue chip companies operate this policy. I have actually been turned away from Safeway at Warrington when I had my lad with me.
My lad liked it but a 2hr wait at a drop isnât very interesting for them although he is mad about lorries and was happy watching them moving around the yard. I donât know your kids but you need to be able to trust them not to play with the controls whilst youâre out of the cab which could be up to 1/2hr at a time with them unsupervised. THe main problem being the park brake.
nice one conor, something to think about mate, as for trust i know every parent says it but my kids aint no angels but i could trust them not to play about with controls
i used to go with my dad all over europe in the school holidays. i got that truck mad that i could tell when he was coming by the engine note! (he had a bedford tm with the detroit in it.) hes now retired and when i was on european he would drive me mad wanting a run out :laughing: . ive got two girls 3 and 6 and would love to take them with me but the job i`m on now isnt suitable(supermarket night trunking). oh well! maybe when i get the perfect job⌠
Personally I think its great to take kids out in trucks, lets face it one of the worst aspects of trucking if youâve got kids is not seeing them for days on end sometimes.
A word of warning though - a few years ago I had a work mates( one of the fitters) son (age 11) with me for the day. He used to come down to the yard a lot, loved trucks etc, and the boss said he go out with me on some local runs. We ended up picking up an old shunter to run back to the yard after dropping our unit off for service at workshops half way through the day. It had no passenger seat belt - no probs 5 minute journey back - half a mile away from getting back a car failed to stop at t junction on our left and hit the nearside rear wheel at approx 50 mph, with no trailer it pushed us through 90 degrees and we rolled completely over into the opposite carrage way. Amazingly we escaped with only bruises but when we climbed out could see that the vehicle that had been coming towards us in the opposite lane had stopped about 6 inches of hitting us as well. It was a truck fully laden with steel, and the driver had his lad in with him as well. He told me he couldnât believe heâd been able to stop and had got his son to hide in the footwell as he was convinced he was going to hit us ! He said that was it, his son was never going out in the truck with him againâŚ
Tiny