October 25, 2023
The Importance of Drive-Thrus: A Perspective from a Busy Mom
A while ago a newspaper article showed up in my Facebook newsfeed about a petition to ban drive thrus in a neighboring city.
It had thousands of comments. And hearts. And angry faces. I was so confused. How could anyone feel that strongly one way or another about drive thrus. What did they ever do to anybody?
Well, after reading through countless comments it became clear. Food places that have drive thrus appeal to lower income people. Therefore, bringing down the cities appearance and value. Which was news to me.
I was so shocked. I don’t know one person that would say no to a drive thru Dairy Queen Blizzard or a McDonald’s Happy Meal. But I guess that’s just me.
As I sat there thinking about it, I couldn’t help but wonder if this is the way the world is going. Cities with only beautiful restaurants that cater to a certain type of person.
They are forgetting a few very important groups of people:
Parents of small children. A mom who doesn’t want to lug 4 children into a restaurant. A dad who just worked a long day and wants to bring home something quick and easy to eat.
Parents of disabled children. A father who has a child who is unable to dine in a restaurant. A 10 year old boy with autism who isn’t able to sit in a public place quite yet.
And people who are disabled themselves. A person who maybe can’t walk into a restaurant or who doesn’t want to be stared at.
They are forgetting families like mine.
For 7 years our autistic son wouldn’t allow us to go through a drive thru. He’d scream and kick and rock our vehicle from side-to-side. For some reason he could not handle them.
And since we can’t to this day go to restaurants either, we either get food to go and eat at home or we cook.
But we worked on it for years. We practiced. We made social stories. We talked it through.
First, we order, then we wait, then we pay, then we get our food, then we go home. We built up his tolerance. And it’s amazing.
Now, my son and I are frequent customers of our Starbucks drive thru. It’s our date. We enjoy going together. Also, something new.
So, consider this my petition to save the drive thrus. And remind you that as a society we have bigger things to worry about.
Sincerely, a busy mom!
We love drive thrus!!
Finding Cooper’s Voice is a safe, humorous, caring and honest place where you can celebrate the unique challenges of parenting a special needs child. Because you’re never alone in the struggles you face. And once you find your people, your allies, your village….all the challenges and struggles will seem just a little bit easier. Welcome to our journey. You can also follow us on Facebook.
