A story on the Today show about new car seat guidelines. Interesting....what do you think?
Personally I am not going to be putting a middle schooler in a booster seat...that is extreme and ridiculous. My 11 year old has a friend who just turned 12 and isn't 4'9" yet.....and according to this he should be in a booster, I have nieces and who would have still been in a booster till they were 14!
I am okay with the guidelines for smaller children (although I was looking forward to turning my baby around soon but I won't yet). I will buy a bigger convertible carseat and keep him in that until he fits the weight/height suggestions (does anyone know what those are BTW?)
I am a firm believer in car seats/seat belt safety. I used to call a number in Utah when we lived there to report people whose kids weren't buckled. My kids are buckled all the time, so it's not that I have a problem with putting my kids in carseats...it drives me CRAZY when kids aren't in car seats and buckled....but I am telling you my almost 12 year old would NOT sit in a booster (fortunately he is tall enough we don't have to worry about it) and I wouldn't make him.
10 comments:
Saving a child's life is not "extreme." The number one killer of children in this country is car accidents, because children are not properly restrained. Parents find it "inconvenient", and yet if they realized that their convenience could kill their child, they would re-think their decisions. It only takes one mistake to realize it, and there's no do-overs in this situation.
If adults, teens, and children are too "small" to be safe in a vehicle, then that person needs to fix it. Safety should be the most important priority, ESPECIALLY when we are talking about our kids! So what if it's weird to be in a booster at 14? When did safety and proper restraint become the sign of weakness/immaturity?
Do NOT, NOT, NOT turn your baby around! Cheryl, holy cow --he is so young. People do not realize that babies can have what's called a kind of "live" decapitation. These children do NOT have the strength to protect "whip-lash" and it might not KILL them, but it will maim them for life.
Again, not a risk I'm willing to take. I didn't turn #5 around until after he was 18 months old, and that's just because he outgrew the seat.
My friend is a vigilante when it comes to carseats, and I don't blame her! Here are some good links to information:
http://crunchyveggies.blogspot.com/2009/10/should-your-child-be-in-booster.html
http://crunchyveggies.blogspot.com/2009/08/this-is-why-im-crazy-about-carseats-and.html
I will follow guidelines with my baby...that's not my issue. If you think a middle schooler is going to let you put him/her in a booster and carpool with friends to and from school, then you haven't had a middle schooler yet.
You're right. I haven't had a middle schooler, yet. I also haven't had cancer, served a mission, or become a grandmother. I see this as a moot point.
I was responding to your reaction of the "Extreme" article and your questions, not insulting the way you parent. And do you realize how hard it was to convince my 6 year old, after having been in a backless booster to go back to a five-point harness? Did I care? No. I explained why we did it, and now it's just normal to them. If all cars were built to save children, then it would be normal for all our kids. But they're not. And so we need to do something about it.
I can't agree with you that 14 year olds in boosters is unreasonable. If they aren't the right height/weight, then it's not unreasonable, it's logical. If kids don't wanna do it, that's not my problem --at the very least, parents should do all that they can to keep their kids as safe as they can, regardless of age or willingness on the kid's part. If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work. I just figure it's worth trying.
But Cheryl, you don't have to agree with me. You won't convince me to change my mind, though.
and you won't convince me either :)
:)
Interesting points on both sides. It is a balancing act to protect our kids and yet not get overly paranoid as parents.
I will have to do more research, but I'm kind of wondering if there couldn't be an overhaul by the automotive companies to re-invent restraint systems to be more versatile.
There are so many things that 'could' kill you or your kids, we should be as protective as we can of the known dangers and take reasonable precautions, but, for example, just because tall trucks do better in accidents, I'm not going to push that everyone buys one. I think it's good to have as much info. as possible and then let every parent choose for themselves.
Going by height requirements, I'm only a couple of inches out of a booster seat. I'M GOING TO BE NEXT!!! I'm guessing that most of my children will be shorties like me...so that is definitly NOT going to work. High schoolers in boosters...HA!
I can just picture myself moving a booster seat for Megan to one of her friends cars when they come and pick her up. She would be mortified!
I agree with you. I read a book recently (Freakonomics) that explained how booster seats don't really do much to save lives anyway.
Cheryl -- popping by to tell you that you won my DownEast give-away. Congratulations! Come by and let me know how I can contact you.
Great blog, by the way.
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