Once you get past the decent car seat hurdle, then you have to use it right. News flash, geniuses! That little clippy thing that holds the straps together goes at armpit level, not bellybutton level. I can't recall where I learned this when Erin was a baby (but I do recall knowing it), but I recall our midwife reminding us of it just hours after Orren was born, when we were getting ready to take him home from the birth center. It's common knowledge. I don't buy for a minute that there exists a parent in the entire US who hasn't been told this by someone. Same goes for loose straps. Will someone please tell me what the hell the point of a car seat is if the straps are worn so loosely that the kid would slide right out in a collision?
And this, too. If I see your toddler with their arms above the straps (As in, the straps are passing under their arms instead of over their shoulders), then I WILL call the cops on you for not having your kid properly harnessed, and you WILL get a ticket. I've done it before. Only an idiot would allow their kid to ride like that.
This topic comes up in light of the recent passage of a law in our great state of Texas, requiring all children ages 8 and under, who are shorter than 4'9" to be in an approved child safety seat. I'm unclear on whether this means just car seats with 5-point harnesses, or if belt positioning boosters are ok, but it doesn't bother me any. Erin, age 6, 38 pounds, 44 inches in height, is in a booster, but we're moving her back into a seat with a 5-point harness because I don't trust the way people drive around here, and she is not too big to be harnessed, so there's really no reason NOT to harness her. It's SO much safer.
The seat we want to get for her is the Radian, which is an awesomely rated car seat which is known to be good for compact cars. It's slightly cheaper than Orren's Britax Diplomat, too, so that's a plus. Also, when Erin's about ready to get out of it, Orren will be about ready to go into it, and he'll use it until it expires when he's seven years old. That's called getting your money's worth!!
But anyhow, the more I read on extended harnessing, extended rear facing, and the like, the more I see what a good idea it is. Car accidents are the #1 killer of children here in the US, and it's so preventable in so many cases, just by using a good car seat, USING IT PROPERLY, and not being too hasty in moving your kids up to the next level of seat. I don't understand WHY people here in Texas are in such a rush to get their kids out of car seats, and why they think it's actually a viable arugment that "they'll get made fun of" if they use a car seat until 8 years old. Um, if everyone up to that age is using a car seat, then why would any kid get singled out? People slay me.
And now some cute pics of the most awesome kids in the world, safely strapped into approved seats for their ages and sizes:
Orren, 8 months old, happily rear-facing in his Britax Diplomat:
Erin thinks car seats ROCK!! (She really does because she can see out the window!) Here she is in a belt positioning booster. She'd be better in a harness, and we'll be getting her re-harnessed within the next couple weeks when we get the money together to order her new car seat. For now, high-back booster:
And this pic is dark, but still cute. The view from the driver's side back seat door of my car. My happy, SAFE kids:
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