So it happened again. A local friend of mine (a very nice girl, but definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed) posted pictures on a certain social network of her children in the car. What did these pictures consist of? I'm glad you asked!
To the left, we had a forward-facing small-for-age 11-month-old, which, might I mention, is not only stupid, but illegal in all 50 states. This same one had the chest clip at roughly diaper level (it's supposed to be at armpit level), and loose straps.
To the right, we had a forward-facing TINY 2-year-old (which is totally legal to do, but completely idiotic in light of all the information we have today). This one had loose straps also, and the chest clip at throat level, and all cockeyed.
Both were in hands down the worst carseat on the market. It's one of those that's supposed to be a 3-in-one, but has a super short shell, and doesn't actually function worth a crap in any of the capacities it's supposed to do. It's a horrid seat, and anyone who did any amount of research at all (we're talking five minutes, even) would never put their kid in it just judging by how many times it's been recalled alone!
So yeah, anyhow, this super genius puts the "adorable" evidence of their stupidity (can't say ignorance, because she's been informed of best practice on multiple occasions) in photo form, and blasts it into cyberspace for all the world to see. Holy crap, dude. My fingers were so itchy... I wanted to tell her how badly she was putting her kids at risk, and how idiotic it is to blatantly disregard mountains of research which says that what she's doing is completely moronic. I held back, though... somehow.
My whole thing is this: Why the hell is it always the people who have the worst carseat use on the planet, who insist on taking ten million pictures of their kids in the car. I must say, I have NEVER felt the need to take a picture of my kids in the car on a daily basis. I have carseat pictures, but mostly to show extended rear-facing and extended harnessing, and frankly, I never took those until I realized how many misuse pictures were out there, and decided to show a correct example for once. I've never once thought to myself, "Oh, my kids are so cute in the car! Let me take a picture!" I don't know, man... maybe I'm too busy driving or rockin' out to notice, or maybe it's because my toddler rides rear-facing.
Whatever it is, it slays me. You never see people who actually use carseats correctly posting pictures for their friends to see, that are "just because" pics in the car. When we do, it's always followed by a caption like, "Orren's now extended rear-facing!" or "Look at our new Radian!" It's never, "ZOMG! Mii kidz r so effin cUtE!!!111 lOOk At thIs!!" accompanied by a carseat picture, showing a great representation of everything that nobody should ever do if they have any hope of their child ever surviving any accident.
So I say again, to any random person who may stumble upon this:
-Research your carseat purchases. You can find good ones in every price range. Avoid 3-in-1 seats. Just buy a nice convertible, and then get a booster when the kid hits like first grade. You won't spend that much more.
-Use it right. Chest clip at armpit level, straps tight enough that you can't pinch any at shoulder level. Straps coming from at or below shoulder level for rear-facing, at or above for forward.
-The absolutely bare bones minimum standard of the law for forward-facing is one year AND 20 pounds. But you know, I want to ask you this. Is the bare minimum required by law good enough for your kid? It's not good enough for mine. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends leaving children rear-facing until the limit of their seat. All seats on the US market today rear-face to AT LEAST 35 pounds.
-Most states do not have a harnessing requirement, but rather a proper use clause in their general law which states that you must use SOME kind of carseat until a certain combination of age, and weight or height. (In Texas, it's 8 years OR 4'9". Many other states have 8 years OR 80 pounds.) This does not mean it is wise to put your 30 pound 3-year-old into a booster, although many are rated for that age/weight. Maturity is a major factor in readiness for booster use, and most kids are not ready for that until close to 6 years old. How hard is it to harness anyhow? I mean, one way or another, you've got to strap your kid in. A 5-point for your little kid takes like 2 extra seconds beyond what a seatbelt would. Is your kid's life worth that tiny amount of extra time?
-No child who cannot pass the 5-step test for seatbelt use should ride without a booster.
- "We survived!" is NOT a valid excuse for being haphazard and ignoring the laws of physics as they pertain to your child's safety.
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