Scream with me, please.

OK, I know, I know... others will do as they will. I get it. Here's the thing, though. WHY is it pretty much only the people who can't use their car seats correctly who ALWAYS twitpic images of their kids in the car! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear crazy Ft. Bliss girl:

Your 1-year-old could totally still rear-face. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that he should. It's not cute to see him forward-facing. It's sad. Oh, and that chest clip is so low he'll probably fly right out of his harness in any impact. Tighten the straps, too.

K thanks bye...

Oh, and PS:

Please get your 3-year-old out of that backless booster, and into something with a harness. I don't care how big he is. Maturity is a huge factor in readiness for booster use. My 6-year-old is ready for a booster. She can sit in the proper position for a whole car ride. No 3-year-old on the planet is mature enough to do that. Oh, and your booster is CRAP! That belt path routes the lap portion right over his abdomen instead of keeping it on his thighs where it belongs. Have you ever heard of "submarining"? It refers to the tendency of a child restrained by a seatbelt (generally in a booster) sliding under that seatbelt in the event of an impact. If your booster doesn't keep the seatbelt on the thighs rather than the abdomen, then you are ASKING for your kid to submarine in an accident. Oh, and one consequence of submarining is the throat getting slit by the seatbelt. Sound like fun? Spend more than $10 on a car seat next time.

OK, I think that's really it.



Man, I just don't get people. I was a single mom when I had Erin. I had next to no money, but I still bought her the best car seat I could find at the time, and learned how to use it properly. Yes, these were the days before anyone knew about extended rear-facing, but I read up, got her good stuff, and learned how to use it right. It's not hard. It bothers the crap out of me when people who claim to be good parents simply ignore facts and put their kids' lives at risk as a direct consequence of it.

I'm 99% sure, no I'm 100% sure, I wouldn't be 1/10 as annoyed by this if it wasn't always these people who take pictures of their kids in the car and show them off to everyone. I mean, shit, what's so cute that happens in the car?! I have pics in the car ONLY to demonstrate proper car seat and booster use (and I only took those because these other idiots are doing the wrong thing, and I wanted to show the right way!) My kids don't do anything cute in the car. Well... maybe they do. I wouldn't know because my toddler rides rear-facing, and my big girl is always too obsessed with whatever electronic media she's got (usually her Tag reader or her laptop) to do much else in the car.

I guess it comes down to this: If you suck at car seats, that's not something you want to immortalize in pictures which you share with everyone you know via blogs, social networking, twitter, or what have you. It's not cute. It's annoying, and you look like a fool. That is all. Really.