The way these guidelines are going, Mama’s gonna need a carseat!

Posted on March 22, 2011 by elizabeth

[NOTE: this post is not serious. I DO advocate car seat use. Please don't endanger your children's lives by taking my smart ass humor seriously. Thank you. Carry on.]

Has the whole car seat thing gotten a little out of control?

I mean, dude, the way these new guidelines are going, Mama’s gonna need a rear facing, five-point harnessed car seat. Latched. Into the back seat.

This gives a whole new meaning to the term: Back Seat Driver.

Look, I’m a little woman. In high heels? I’m like maybe 5’5.” Even my eleven year old is taller than me!

The only way I see myself staying out of a car seat is by getting fat (not an entirely bad idea: I’ve actually been SEARCHING for an excuse to take myself off my diet!).

Maybe I’m just stupid about physics (VERY LIKELY), but I’m just wondering how far these guidelines will keep going before they become entirely impractical.

As my friend Kat noted, “Toddlers are strapped into cars as if they’re blasting into outerspace.”

For reals.

Last week I told my kids that when I was their age? I rode in the open bed of a pickup truck down the freeway to the beach. My kids were shocked. SHOCKED! And scandalized. Like, MOM! OMG! YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN ARRESTED!

I know, I know. Those 80′s, man. They were some wild times.

Look, I’m ALL for safety (I will, begrudgingly, adapt to the guidelines). And yeah, if I saw a mom letting her kids ride in the open bed of a pickup truck, I’d get all upset and think she was being totally neglectful.

But. Still.

My opinion is? Car manufacturers need to GET.WITH.THE.PROGRAM. Like where, for example, are the cars with exterior air-bags? Because I see that solving lots of problems. Instead of car accidents, we could have fun little bumper-cars that go all marshmallow-y on each other. And then our kids would be like: wheeeeeeeeee!

OK, maybe I’m being unrealistic.

Am I being as unrealistic as these crazy-ass guidelines that pretty much require the strength of Hulk Hogan just to wrestle, wrench, tighten and strap these car seats into place?

For a petite woman like me, carrying my twins’ car seats around practically broke my back. They were so heavy! It was like moving heavy, industrial equipment. Without a dolly.

Ouch. Just writing about it makes my shoulder hurt.

Or maybe I’m mistaking that pain for the ache of nostalgia. Ah, for the good old days when my sister and I freely romped around the back seat, slept on the car floor, rolled over into the “way back” and made silly faces at other cars through the rear windows!

My children are so deprived.

[oh, look! comments are open! do say hello! it's been so long! ]

This entry was posted in Childbearing, Funny Kid Stories, Her Royal Mommy-Ness, Parenting--toughest job out there, SmartAssery. Bookmark the permalink.

http://emaconly.blogspot.com/ Emily M.

I just died. That is one of the best ideas I’ve ever heard. External airbags. It’s genius.

Also? One of my friends is still *technically* supposed to be in a booster seat. She’s 13. (She’s also small enough to slide through the seat belt no matter how tight it is. We’ve threatened her with a car seat.)
http://chroniclesofachristianheretic.blogspot.com Sandra

how embarrassing for tiny 12 and 13 yos who are struggling to break that Little Kid identity, searching for Almost Grown Up friends in junior high, then their mom rolls up to the school and they have to strap into a car seat. Who would choose safety over reputation? I mean, Really?
http://www.ordinarilyextraordinary.com/ Amy Nabors

My son who is 11 is rather small for his age (although not the smallest in his grade) should technically still be in a booster seat. In the 5th grade! Can you imagine how much he would be ridiculed by all the other children if he got in the van in the carpool line and had to sit in a booster seat?
http://twitter.com/CaleeL Calee

I don’t know why the manufactures of minivans haven’t tapped this market. We rode in a VW van (not a stupid Routan) in London that had a car seat booster thing (fit the 2yr old) built in. Brilliant. Why don’t they realize that mini vans will most likely haul around kids that need these types of seat and offer accordingly?
Also, glad to see you’re back to thinking about the important things in life
http://www.walkingtochina.blogspot.com Sandy

Or you could come to China where I live where there is no car seat law! After two years here, I no longer pass out every time I see a child on the lap in the front seat or standing up in the car.
Maybe something in the middle of the US over-regulation and China’s under-regulation of this issue would be appropriate here.
Anonymous

Hilarious and wise, EE! I can sorta almost picture you strapped into a car seat, driving your car…and I don’t even know you. So funny! I didn’t know other people called it the ‘way back’, too! I am a tad older than you and remember those good old days of livin’ free in the backs of open truck beds, inside the station wagon, etc., and my mom was ahead of her time (in the 60′s) by insisting on special ordering seat belts for the middle of the front seat and for four kids in the back seat…just in case. But when it came time to take a nap or whatever on a long trip, you bet we unbuckled and slept on the floor and all stretched out on the seat and in ‘the way back’-the best place! And nary a fatality nor even a scratch…and like you, I grew up in wild and woolly California…freeways, crazy mountain roads and all!
http://grace-filled.net jen

yeah… my almost two year old son just outgrew his rear-facing seat a few months ago. then again, he’s also in the 90th percentile for height and the 10th percentile for weight. (the wic people in pomona gave me crap every time i came in because he’s underweight. my response: his dad was the same way.)
http://thechuppies.blogspot.com/2011/03/i-would-take-her-thorn.html Kara

I’m cracking up…
Yeah…it’s a bit much.
Gone are the days when we would lie on the floor and nap during long car rides.
http://grittygrace.com Martha Brady

i too loved the idea of external airbags:) that could solve a LOT of problems:) it is still difficult to imagine how so many of us survived our childhoods in the 50′s, 60′s and part of the 70′s w/o all this equipment. how did we do it? (survive, that is!)
http://www.amysadventures.org Amy

I’m even smaller than you–5’2″–so I definitely would be strapped in a car seat. Actually, I really do need a booster seat. Here in Africa we don’t have adjustable seatbelts so my belt harness cuts straight across my throat. If we are ever in an accident I’m not sure I’ll survive without a broken neck.

Most of the time I don’t wear a seatbelt and just quickly put it on when we approach a roadblock. Yeah, I’m a rebel.
Denise

It is indeed ridiculous. My 6 1/2 year old is teeny, and we used to joke that we’d have to drive her to prom still strapped in her Britax. We finally took her out of it and got a high-back booster. At the rate she grows, she’d be in that big seat until she was 12.
http://www.joyinthisjourney.com Joy

I’m much too pragmatic to get caught up in the car-seat craze. I need my kids to be independent, yo! I can’t be buckling all three of them in and unbuckling them out every time we get in and out of the car! And they simply cannot manage a 5-pt harness themselves. Seatbelts for all, please!

(All kidding aside, why the heck don’t mini-vans come with built-in adjustments for older kids? Then we’re not denting the seats with car seats that aren’t installed right half the time anyway.)
Katy-Anne

Someone the other day told me my kids needed to be rear facing until age 2. I told them the state said I only needed to have the rear facing until they were 1 or 20 lbs, whichever came first. To which I got a lecture on “safety”. I said to her that my two oldest had been in a major car wreck, forward facing, and had been fine. If they had been rear facing, they would have broken their legs. Seriously, how to they expect them to sit when rear-facing? All cramped up? Mine cannot do rear facing any more after age 1 because, well, their legs are too long.

Now my brother in law, who just got out of a car seat will need to go back in. Putting kids in car seats until they are 12 or so is just utterly ridiculous. Thankfully, what the “recommendations” are and what the law is are two different things in Mississippi. (And I see many toddler not even in car seats in Mississippi, I guess they just don’t care. I do have my toddlers in car seats…just the forward facing ones).
KatR

And it’s not just car seats! Playgrounds these days are all rounded edges and sanded wood with a floor made of rubber to cushion everyone’s falls.

My playground growing up? That metal slide that got to the temperature of molten lava in the summer and would take the skin off the back of your legs if you dared go down it. Ah memories.
http://mecerone.blogspot.com mary beth

So for those of us not-yet-moms, are these guidelines enforced or will you just get dirty looks at the park and carpool lane?

My 4 year old nephew has a little booster seat (expensive phonebook?) which I like because he’s so short… but I can’t imagine sticking him back in a car seat!
http://catholicpostergirl.stblogs.com Emily

“The way back”! Yes! My parents had a Ford Taurus station wagon in the early 90s (yes, the maroon one, like everyone else) and that is EXACTLY what we called the trunk/seating space in the back. Awesome.
Here in Ohio, there’s age AND weight requirements. When I was 11, I had undiagnosed CF, and I weight 56 lbs. So…I should’ve been in a car seat. Um, yeah. That would not have flown. This is entirely ridiculous.
Love the bumper car idea. Someone needs to get on this.
http://www.powerofamoment.com Susan

This post made me laugh out loud…such a nice way to start the day! I, too, remember a bunch of us neighborhood kids riding in the back of pickup trucks to get ice cream, riding bikes without a helmet, etc. Those were the days.
http://bellwhistlemoon.blogspot.com/ mary bailey

So funny! Nothing like flying down the highway in the open bed of a pickup truck! The 80′s, those were good times.

For the record, though, I did actually keep my son in a booster seat in the car until he was in second grade. He wasn’t the requisite height of 4’9″ yet and also the car I drove at the time had the seat belt across his neck without the booster seat. Then we bought an SUV and the seat belt fit him just right. He was extremely relieved!
http://ainesahm.blogspot.com Canadian Anne

I agree it’s gone from the sublime to the ridiculous with this. Actually, I’ve heard of some who think kids should be rear-facing till age 4. Both of my kids are in the 90th percentile for height. We have about a 12 hour drive out East to visit my Mom…I can’t imagine how uncomfortable that trip would be…let alone they’d be picking their noses with their toes.
My kids are both in booster seasts. Next up…80 lbs. or a certain height whichever comes first to ditch the booster seats.
I’m wondering where families with more than 2 kids are supposed to put all the carseats????
http://www.kathleenbasi.com Kathleen@so much to say

Love it! I realize people drive faster now and there are more people on the road, but it just seems to me like this whole thing is completely ludicrous. Talk about over-protection! My blood pressure goes up every time I think about it. As if it’s not hard enough for kids to be in the car as it is. I just have to take a deep breath and realize that none of it is as important as I think it is
http://www.darcysheartstirrings.blogspot.com Darcy Saffer

Ya know what, maybe if they started making cars that actually FIT car seats, I wouldn’t complain so much about all the “guidlines”.

Also, my children don’t fit facing backwards. Their legs have to be bent and squished. I turned my 15-mo-old forward because of that. Now, someone’s gonna tell me “well you just need a different car seat”. I don’t think so. I’m not going out to buy THREE new car seats just because someone decided the change the rules. Yeah, car seats are a pet-peeve of mine.

http://www.elizabethesther.com elizabeth

YES! MY POINT EXACTLY! If car seats are mandated by law, where are the cars that actually FIT the car seats? Our options have been limited to: a Suburban. It’s the only vehicle that has wide enough seats.

http://faithandfood.morizot.net/ Scott Morizot

The car seat and seat belt requirements don’t bother and I’ve raised kids throughout much of their development. I drove on many long trips with my oldest daughter back before car seats were required at all. I drove sometimes (not on the highway) with her in my lap. And on long trips as a baby she would normally sleep in the middle of the front seat. I don’t think the ancient car I owned back then even had functioning seat belts.

By the time my older son was born, they wouldn’t let you leave the hospital without a new-fangled rear facing car seat. We rented one from the hospital. And things progressed to the point where my youngest would be horrified if anyone tried to go anywhere in a car without a seatbelt!

That’s not really a bad thing. Auto accidents are still one of the most probable causes, statistically speaking, of serious accidental injury or death. And as we learn more about the way bodies at different developmental ages respond to the severe stress of the forces of an accident, we improve our protection against them.

Asking how we all survived to adulthood is, in many ways, an example of asking the wrong question (or at least a silly question). We survived or we wouldn’t be asking the question in the first place. And most of us survived because we didn’t experience a serious accident. But a lot of people weren’t so lucky. When I think back over my life, I realize there have been many people in it over the decades who have been severely injured or killed in car accidents. Do seatbelts and properly installed car seats always make a difference? No. But if I’m in a situation where they matter, I want all the odds in favor of my family that I can get.

http://theincorrigiblegingers.blogspot.com Rachel

I totally agree with you, Scott. I understand the point of EE’s post and I definitely don’t want my kid going through life in a plastic bubble, but car accidents are the leading cause of death for children in the USA. If your kid is going to die young, it is most likely to be in the car. So I’m all for making sure my little guy is super safe. And saying “WOOOOHOOOOOO we made it without seatbelts in the 80′s!” is a fallacy, because some people, sadly, didn’t. So my most recent post is actually about car seat safety, because keeping your toddler rear facing is one of the best things you can do to make sure they, y’know, live.

But EE, I get where you’re coming from, and definitely don’t envy you trying to strap twin toddlers into 5-point harnesses.

Katy-Anne

Keeping your toddlers rear facing is the best way to break their legs, which is actually a pretty major injury. It’s also the best way for them to choke on something and you not be able to see them, and the best way to make them uber cranky because they don’t fit properly in the rear facing position. It’s also the best way to make sure you can’t see them if they unbuckle themselves.

It’s sure NOT the best way to keep them actually safe.

http://theincorrigiblegingers.blogspot.com Rachel

Katy-Anne,
With all due respect, studies
have shown that forward facing children are more likely to get leg injuries (and every other kind of injury). There are NO documented
cases of rear facing children sustaining leg injuries in a crash. As for choking and unbuckling, we use a mirror in front of our rear facing son that we can see in the rearview mirror. It’s a good solution! I’m just saying, that the well-documented facts are on the side of extended rear facing.

http://www.elizabethesther.com elizabeth

True! Lots of kids died in the 80′s from poor seat belt restraints. Here’s my main issue: since cars are so unsafe, how come we’re not holding car manufacturers accountable? The other issue is: it’s not enough to get the car seat in the car. You have to tighten it and latch it, the chair needs to be at proper angle, etc. I mean, you almost need an entire prep class just for learning how to install car seats. WHICH IS NOT A BAD IDEA, but I’m just tired of parents being harangued and harassed when really, why aren’t car manufacturers being prodded into action? Remember the Toyota debacle with all the failing brakes? Where is the outrage for children who die in unsafe cars? *sigh*

http://grace-filled.net jen

actually, they made us do that in the hospital before we could take daniel home. a video and a nurse going out and making sure it was done correctly.
Elizabeth

Have you seen the integrated carseats on Dodge caravans? I can’t for the life of me figure out why this hasn’t taken off. ALL backseats should come with one or two! They are great for the past-rear-facing stage. I would like to add that broken legs are better than snapped necks, so, yeah, rear-facing is annoying. And a good thing.

Deborah L

I agree with you, Scott.

http://faithandfood.morizot.net/ Scott Morizot

I’ll note that we also need society enforced rules and laws like this because it’s been shown again and again in study after study that our risk-evaluating tools haven’t adapted to our modern environment. We consistently underestimate the severity of common risks and overestimate very small risks. Without the laws, we would hop in the car without the kids secured for a quick trip to the grocery store or soccer field because it’s a short, familiar trip that doesn’t *seem* risky to us. But statistically, those actually have some of the highest levels of risk associated with them.

http://www.elizabethesther.com elizabeth

I agree with this. I’m just irritated and overwhelmed that the onus is ALWAYS on the parent to come up with after-market solutions for keeping their kids safe. Maybe car manufacturers should hold some responsibility in creating safer cars. If there were safer cars, we wouldn’t have to come up with secondary solutions that are less than ideal.

http://faithandfood.morizot.net/ Scott Morizot

Car manufacturers do have a lot of responsibility for creating safer cars. It’s a responsibility enforced by law, regulation, and the courts (through lawsuits) and publicized by safety tests, including independent ones like those conducted by the Consumer’s Union.

But I have to point out that physics imposes some real limitations here. Whatever car manufacturers do, you are still going to be moving at high speeds in objects weighing thousands of pounds. And you are human being subject to error surrounded by other human beings in their high mass, high velocity containers also subject to error. And you are all moving in an physical environment that will throw surprises at you. Nothing can be done to eliminate those conditions.

As we learn more about the way the forces involved in a crash impact the human body, and especially a still developing, small human body, we are able to craft better guidance for reducing the risk of serious injury or death. That’s why these guidelines evolve over time.

I’m also not sure there’s much more that car manufacturers can do to help facilitate car seats if we require that any given seat in a vehicle be able to accommodate a newborn infant, a full-sized adult, and everyone in between. From a design perspective, that’s a huge range. And we don’t yet have the technology that would allow a seat to reshape itself to meet the custom, specific needs of anyone who might need to use it.

Katy-Anne

How about the responsibility of other drivers to drive correctly, and if they don’t, to revoke their licenses? Most of the accidents I know of are because one driver was being an idiot. How about more patrolling of drivers?

Katy-Anne

I really believe that this whole car seat debacle is basically about the almighty dollar. Somebody is greedy for more money, and to do that they need to change the guidelines so that people have to buy new seats so that the corporations can make more money. Has nothing whatsoever to do with safety.

Andrea bindewald

I agree!
http://www.elizabethesther.com elizabeth

I wouldn’t go that far. There’s definitely enough research and studies to show that car seats have dramatically reduced child fatalities in car accidents. If there is someone who is in it for profit, it’s the car manufacturers. Instead of safety, it’s often profit. I would love to see car manufacturers take the concerns of parents seriously.

brooke

Actually … listen to this … she is right:

http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/carseats_a_history/
Katy-Anne

Well then why do they keep changing the regulations? Why suddenly do my kids need to be changed from safe forward facing seats back to rear facing?

We are all for car seats. Just not for breaking the kids legs for the sake of making a buck for someone else.

http://thehomespunlife.com Sisterlisa

“Well then why do they keep changing the regulations?”

To boost the economy with the paychecks of parents who don’t want to go to jail for not having the right carseat.

Deborah L

Um… Katy-Anne? That’s just silly. Really, really silly.
Tami

That is the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard. Your two year old still isn’t big enough for a booster anyways, so the seat he/she is probably sitting in can be rear facing as is.

Andrea bindewald

I think the new guidelines are ridiculous and unneccesary. I man come on what is next, making our kids where helmets while riding in a vehicle? Or better yet, let’s just put our kids in a big plastic bubble so they never get hurt. Really? Not to mention a pain in the butt it would be, I wouldn’t want to lift my two year old, to a rear facing car seat in the back of a mini van. My two year old is heavy, talk about back problems.

Tami

If you can’t lift your two year old into a minivan, maybe you shouldn’t have a minivan.
I don’t understand why mom’s are so concerned about their own inconvenience to disregard the safety of their own children.

I hope your child(ren)’s sake you’re never in an accident.

Betsy

Couple of comments:
I remember driving around with my parents as a kid (70s) when card didnt even HAVE seat belts. We moved from Texas to Florida in 1980, driving on the interstate with NO belts! OMG.
My family was in a wreck when I was about 8 and the only one hurt was one of my younger brothers who was riding on the ENGINE COVER in our van!
It amazes me that all of us “older” folks managed to arrive to the 21st century alive and well without all the regulations, rules and CRAP that we have today. How in the world did our parents manage to think for themselves?????
Also, I have a friend, who is 31, who fits Florida’s booster seat guidelines. She’s only 5′ or so and might weight 115. According to Florida law she should still be in a booster seat! How ridiculous is that?

Tami

For all of the comments about how ‘we survived’ in a world with no seat belts, you also have to remember that cars where made a LOT different then too. If you were in an accident you didn’t usually total your vehicle – today’s cars are quite the same. Therefore the safety regulations shouldn’t be either.
http://thehomespunlife.com Sisterlisa

totally agree.

http://www.ayoungmomsmusings.blogspot.com Young Mom

I’m going to have 4 kids in carseats in another 6 weeks, and none of them are over 40 pounds, so they can’t be in booster seats. They are all in full size 5 point harness seats, but they face forward after they grow out of the infant seat.

Katy-Anne

Yes, I will soon have 4 in car seats, all forward facing with 5 pt harnesses except the baby who will be in the infant, rear facing seat. But then again, she’ll be able to fit in the rear facing seat, unlike my toddlers.

http://inspired-vintage.blogspot.com Kels

Exterior air bags would be great but you know what would be better would be if the interior airbags did have the potential to kill this 5’3″ female if they ever happened to go off. They say that air bags are safe but if i got into an accident there is a risk that an air bag could break my neck at the speed they eject. best case scenario i only break my nose. I am not sure of all the new regulations but i am sure in one state or another would probably be required to be in one too.
Deborah L

I don’t have a problem with child-restraint guidelines. I’m quite happy to let knowledgeable people (ie. paediatricians and spinal-cord specialists, etc.) do the research. My four children (including my 65 lb almost-9-year-old) are in appropriate restraints. No big deal. My small 5-year-old remains in a 5-point harness and will do so until he is able to move to the next step. I’d rather be safe than sorry. My husband and I are both health-care workers and have seen the devastation that comes along with spinal-cord injuries. This whole matter should not be taken lightly.

http://www.elizabethesther.com elizabeth

You know, it’s not like I’m advocating NO car seats. Clearly, I *will* go along with the guidelines. I do, actually, trust research. I do what I can and I try to uphold the guidelines as best I can, but I also understand that a lot of these things are outside my control. I’ll wear my seatbelt and make my kids wear theirs–and stay in their car seats–but I can only control so much.

I *am* worried, however, about 2 year olds legs breaking in rear-facing seats. Any research on that?

Deborah L

Rest assured; ample research will have been done on this very concern. I’d have to go and watch the little video again, but didn’t that doctor address the leg issue when she talked about young joints being pliable, etc.? (I may be wrong here.) I’m no expert (thankfully, I’ll leave that to the authorities in this area), but I would think that a fractured limb would be preferable to the irreparable damage that a brain/spinal cord injury would induce. Sounds harsh, I know…
Debbie

I found this useful article with links to actual studies. There is one (very small) study cited about leg injuries but it was for forward facing seats. Since adult car seats often fall back in serious accidents and a child’s legs don’t really have anything shielding them from large objects while forward facing, I would guess that is the mechanism for many of the leg injuries.

http://www.thecarseatlady.com/car_seats/rear-facing_seats_6.html
brooke

Actually, in order to keep them rear facing you have to use the much larger infant car seats. In Europe they use the Britax rear facing to 2 years old. Most babies up to 2yo would never fit in our little up-to-one-year seats. So, they would use a large seat. But the link I just posted up higher is VERY interesting. It was worth the 20 minute listen while I swept. I found it from Testosterhome.

http://heldts.blogspot.com Brianna

AMEN! Oh my goodness, it really IS getting so out of control. I have a six and a half year old son who is super small and will surely be in a carseat/booster seat until he is twelve. (Okay that actually might be kinda funny.)

It really all kind of annoys me. I currently have FIVE–yes, five–children in either carseats or boosters. I too remember as a kid riding in the back of my dad’s truck. Good times for sure!
Debbie

OK this comment got really long and i didn’t intend that when I set out. Here’s to hoping I don’t regret posting.

It is really inconvenient to have to buy new seats and to use more cumbersome seats longer, I’m irritated at the unexpected additional hassle. I don’t go as many places in the car anymore because it can take half an hour to load the kids into their seats. I totally get the desire to ignore or at least disdain these recommendations. I would love to have more convenient options and safer, more convenient new cars would be delightful. But we won’t be buying a new car anytime soon and I will not hesitate to follow these recommendations. I have a very thin 5 year old who at this rate may be in a 5 point harness longer than his 2 year old brother and I know he won’t like that. He also doesn’t like holding my hand when we cross a busy street, having to eat healthy food when he wants ice cream or not being allowed to play with power tools without supervision.

If we’re going to disregard a health and safety recommendation I don’t think this is the one to choose. Children are far more likely to be seriously injured in a vehicle accident than anywhere else. The new report clearly states that the rear-facing issue isn’t about height or weight, it is about neck and spine development typical of that age. I did turn my kids’ convertible seats around when their legs started looking cramped and they had reached the end of the “rear-facing weight range” but honestly they never complained, it was just my perception that they must be uncomfortable. I have not found any studies that support the idea that an accident would break their legs and from a physics point of view I’m not sure that could happen with a front or rear impact, the force seems like it would be in the wrong direction to do that and as they sit, their knees are usually bent. But even if it would happen I would far prefer broken legs than a serious brain/neck/spinal injury.

Cars are faster, and less sturdy than they used to be (the price of convenience and fuel economy), it makes having our children unrestrained (or insufficiently restrained) even more dangerous than it was in previous eras. Given the flimsier cars, statistics still clearly show that car seats have significantly lowered child fatalities but they still remain the number one thing endangering our childrens’ physical well being.

If we’re being rational about this and we want to do the things that most impact our childrens’ safety we will heed these recommendations even more readily than we do others like the recommended vaccination schedule, “baby proofing our electrical outlets and cleaning supplies, teaching our children about “stranger danger” or buying BPA free bottles and dishes. I think we do many of those other things so easily because they are relatively convenient and those dangers are in the news and are presented to us in a way meant to scare us (not to say they aren’t very real concerns) but the news needs sensation for people to watch. Statistically our children are FAR more likely to be seriously harmed by a car accident than from the measles, a child predator, an electrical shock, household poisoning or an environmental hormone disruptor.

http://www.elizabethesther.com elizabeth

Yes, yes, yes. You’re very right.

I think I’ll go out now and buy 20 packs of cigarettes just so someone else can leave a 1,000 word comment on the hazards of smoking. GOOD GRIEF!

http://theincorrigiblegingers.blogspot.com Rachel

Haha, sorry that we’re giving you a lot of lecturing for what was clearly a funny post. It’s not you! I think that Debbie and others are just trying to make sure that people who don’t know the magnitude of the car seat research understand that their children will be far safer by following these guidelines. It is a good post. It is a funny post. And I hope you don’t feel attacked.

Jenelyn

I’ll keep it short EE. As someone who has been in a car accident with my kids, I’ll never look at car safety, car seats, and the like the same way again. Ever. Experiences like that change you. And it did me. Some day I’ll tell you the story. Love you

http://www.elizabethesther.com elizabeth

Yep, I can totally understand that!
Katy-Anne

Yep, I had two in a serious wreck with us. Another reason why I like their car seats, and am not in a hurry to put them back rear facing. Their seats held up great.

Wrecks usually (not always, but often) happen because one driver did something they were not supposed to do. How about heavier licensing requirements and heavier penalties for idiot drivers?

I know moms with kids in car seats that often drive 20 mph over the speed limit because they think it’s funny. How about not giving a drivers license to people who think it’s funny to be a speed demon?

http://coloradogirl.wordpress.com Karie

I am all in favor of car seats and safety for kids, but there can be trauma caused by being teased for being in a booster seat in middle school. It would be nice if the seatbelts themselves were designed to adjust to the size and height of a school age child and would save space.
Denise

If we could just get better drivers who don’t cause accidents through negligence and inattention……

Katy-Anne

This is my point exactly. It’s not the fault of the car seats or whether they are forward facing or rear facing, most of it is actually idiot drivers!

Norma in Alabama

Hello. I’m new to your blog today and couldn’t help but laugh at the subject. I don’t fit the category that would need an adult car seat but I can see trying to get my 85 yo mother to ride in one. She’s a very small woman. It’s interesting that here in Alabama it is illegal for a child to ride in a car unless they are in a car seat but you can pile as many as you want in the back of a pickup truck. So come on down and we’ll take you for a spin.
Laura

I can’t even imagine how a two year old would sit in a rear facing car seat. Do they have to “pretzel”, put their feet on the top of the seat or would you need to cut holes in the seat?

And I am all about keeping our babies safe. But seriously what are they thinking?
Nurse Bee

I kept my two year rear-facing until she was about 20 months old, as studies have shown that rear-facing is safer. These are recommendations, not laws (yet) and from what I’ve read it’s mainly about trying to educate parents to re-think turning the carseat around on a kid’s first birthday.

That said, have you seen “Babies” and the parents in Mongolia that take their newborn home on the back of a motorcycle? Oh my!
http://thehomespunlife.com Sisterlisa

Some families can’t afford these fancy new car seats. I’m glad my kids are older now, but when they were all little at the same time, I couldn’t afford car seats. I was blessed to have received some as gifts. How will low income parents with 5 little ones be able to afford all new car seats, and then fit them all in a small car according to the guidelines? Not all car seats fit in all kinds of cars. I think it’s a bit ridiculous at this point. It’s as if they want us to live in fear. That way they can control the cash flow.
http://simply-rea.blogspot.com Rea

I think my biggest issue with this is that in order to comply you have to buy some crazy expensive car seats. Yes, I know that ‘you can’t put a price on your children’s safety’…but if you don’t have the money you don’t have the money. Had this been law a few years ago I would have been tasked with nearly $600 in car seat purchases. For many, many people that just isn’t feasible. It just isn’t. Most of the women I have seen nodding and agreeing with this on message boards, FB, etc. are upper-middle class with the money for both larger more expensive car seats and bigger vehicles. One of the things we learned in economics is that even safety has a set price point beyond which people are not willing to pay. I suspect we may be approaching that price point on the car seat issue.

(All that said, I’m the weird mom in my state who still has her 6 year old son in a booster seat and didn’t let my older son out of his until about 2nd grade…around here it is rare to see a child in a booster past age 4. And neither of my boys are exactly pipsqueaks, they are average weight and height, maybe a bit tall if anything.)

http://simply-rea.blogspot.com Rea

Oh, and my mom should totally be in a booster. She’s 4’11″.

The way these guidelines are going, Mama’s gonna need a carseat!

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