There are few things that I said I would “never” do once I became a parent, I think it’s because with two younger sisters who were so much younger than I was I had grown up with littles and had a pretty good grasp on the reality of raising children. Declaring my hatred of minivans and vowing I would never own one, however… well, let’s just say I have a good chuckle about that nearly every day as I’m peering at my four little mess-makers sitting in the back of my van.

If you had told me that one day I would be writing a blog post on all the reasons why I love my minivan, I would have told you that you were wrong. Yet here I am sharing four reasons why I’ll happily rock the “mom van”.

Say what you will but nothing beats a minivan when it comes to convenience.  Mike and I did a lotTON of research before purchasing and when you factor in the space, flexibility of seating, and all the little features that came with the particular van we bought, there’s no comparison. When we looked at different types of vehicles it seemed like you were always either sacrificing leg room, number of seats, or trunk space. Anybody with even one child can attest to how much extra “stuff” you need when you travel anywhere with a kid in tow. When I think about how crammed we were in our crossover SUV even just with two kids (Let alone once we had three! Shudder!) and how much more space we have now when we go on trips, I can’t believe it.

We knew we wanted to pay cash so we purchased a pre-owned minivan… buying a new one can be like making a mortgage payment; but the same is true and often worse with any other large vehicle, like say, an SUV. Sure, a big SUV can give you lots of room too–and trust me, we looked at them–but when you take into account not only the price tag of the vehicle but also the gas mileage you’re going to get? No contest.

It’s true; my kids have called our minivan “the shiny fast car” since the day we bought it. I don’t know why… it’s not like I drive it any faster than I used to drive our other car but they just love going places in “the shiny fast car”, and if the car is cool I must be cool by association, right?

Maybe most importantly I drive the “mom van” because I have been blessed with four little ones that know me by the name mom. Our car, our house, our hearts are all full. Actually, we do have two more seats in our van so it’s not completely full… wink wink. Yeah, I doubt that I would drive a minivan if I didn’t have a handful of children, but I’m okay with them being the reason that I “have” to.

I would like to add that I am in no way bashing vehicles that aren’t minivans. I want you to rock whatever mode of transportation works for you and your family, whether it be a minivan, sedan, or unicycle. I just feel like minivans often get a bad rap (coming from a former offender) and I wanted to share why it works so well for our family of six.