What it’s really like to be a taxi driver… for your kids
Six things I learnt being the designated driver for my children (and why it’s not as bad as it sounds)Any parent knows that once your kids hit their teen years (sometimes even in the tweens), your relationship changes.
As they assert more independence and rely more on their friends for support and quality time, parents can often be given the backseat (excuse the pun). That’s until, of course, they need a ride; which is conveniently when they become their child’s personal taxi service.
For me, Mum’s Taxi Express saw an increase in jobs throughout 2025: my eldest started high school, which meant new friends, new activities, and a busier social schedule than ever before.
Others had warned me that being a taxi-driver parent is one of the inevitable things that happen as your children get older, and, to be honest, I wasn’t keen. The idea of chauffeuring my daughter and her friends around town at any hour of the day wasn’t my idea of fun, nor did it seem particularly productive for ticking off an item on my own to-do list. But I’ve discovered it has its positives, too.
Here are six things I learnt being a taxi driver for my kids.
Always on call
One of the perks of my job is that when I clock off, I’m off. I don’t have the additional responsibility of being on call that some jobs entail, and this is just how I like it. Now, though, as the taxi driver of a teen, this is no longer the case.
So far, it hasn’t been too bad (something I expect will change once she gets older, gets a job, and goes to parties), however, there have still been missed buses, wet weather, and the occasional “I can’t be bothered” phone call asking me to pick her up from various locations at all times of the day (often at inopportune times).
It’s expensive
Yes, petrol is expensive. Yes, the more you drive, the more petrol you need. These two realities mean that being a taxi-driver parent, going back and forth across town, adds up.
A full tank that once lasted two weeks is now gone in one, which over the year is quite a sum.
Little recognition
Another thing about being a parent is that you are often taken for granted, which can mean a lack of thanks when you take your child to sports, school, friends’ houses, or their many social events.
Sometimes this gets overlooked, but there are times when I adopt my inner taxi driver and ask for payment for my services to remind my kids that I don’t have to drive them places, so that some gratitude would be nice.
The mess
When you’re a taxi-driver parent, you’re in a unique position: you’re not a paid professional driver, even though you are, in many ways, doing the job of one. So, while your kids might not leave their rubbish in a taxi, best believe they’ll happily leave their mess in the family car.
Whether it’s discarded food packaging, a school bag, sports equipment, water bottles, or jackets, often between point A and point B, some kind of mess is left.
Overhearing moments
Okay, so I said being a personal transportation service wasn’t completely bad, and it’s true – there are some benefits.
As a taxi-driving parent, escorting your children and their friends to places, you often hear a lot of information you wouldn’t otherwise. And while it is sometimes a bit eye-opening, it is also wonderful to listen to friendships blossom, to witness memories being made, and to be a fly on the wall, experiencing these moments as they grow up.
The in-depth conversations
But probably the biggest lesson I’ve learnt from driving my kids is that sitting side by side in the car, or even in the front and back seats, can be the perfect setting for deep conversations.
There is something about being in the car, where the environment is casual, where you are ‘doing something’ every day, and something where you are side by side rather than face to face, that allows teens to open up about what is happening in their lives.
Whether it is a friendship problem, a struggle at school, worries, or new things they want to try, the car is often where these topics are raised and discussed openly, and the connection between you and them is strengthened.
And, it’s this alone, that makes the mess, lack of ‘thank yous’ and any other negatives of being an unpaid taxi driver, all worth it.
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