Belt your kids in. BACKWARDS!  If they are two or under and weigh less than 40 pounds, that’s where they belong — in the back seat, facing backwards strapped in a car seat. See the full instructions here.

Drive off when they’re belted in and there will be no more screaming back there within a few minutes so you can ditch your ear plugs. At that age, little kids fall asleep fast in a moving car. If you have a wreck, they’ll probably start crying again. But they’ll be alive. And you always have your earplugs.