-
Car seats: they're not optional!!!
- Mar 13, 2010 at 9:34 PM
- By
- Comments (23) Total Views (730) Everyone can see this journal post.
I am cross posting this from my blog.
It's taken me a while to calm down enough where I could write sensibly
about this topic. I'm not going to apologize for the subject matter,
either, because I feel so strongly about this subject.
I have always been one of those car seat people. I have always
used a size and age-appropriate seat for all three of my children.
Imagine my horror when I witnessed a child just over one year of age
riding in her mother's lap as she departed church a couple of weeks
ago.
I was leaving church and happened to be parked next to
someone I only causally know. We say "Hi!" when we pass in the hallways
and that's pretty much the extent of it. I've never even been
introduced to her husband. She walked up to the passenger side of her
car with her child on her hip. I smiled and nodded through my closed
window because I was on the phone with King Waffle. I watched her open
the front passenger door and sit down with the child on her lap in the
front seat. I cut my eyes to the back seat and didn't even see a car
seat in the vehicle. I stared in utter disbelief as her husband backed
out of the parking spot and proceeded to drive away. All I could do was
begin yelling at King Waffle, "Oh my word, they're driving away!!! They
have their baby IN THE FRONT SEAT!!!" I had a short, fleeting thought
that maybe they drove separately that day and that he was driving her
around to her vehicle. The next thing I saw just floored me. They got
out into four-lane traffic and still had the baby in the front seat. I
can't even say for sure that I saw mom buckle her own seatbelt. I
started towards home, completely stunned. Then, my conscience got the
best of me and I made a u-turn. We attend a fairly large church and it
requires that law enforcement direct traffic after church lets out. I
pulled into the turn lane and motioned for the officer to come over to
my car. He stepped over and I began to tell him what I'd just
witnessed. He seemed concerned as well. I gave him their last name and
a description of their car and the direction they'd headed. I later
found out that the couple lives less than a quarter mile away from the
church and that they were most likely already home by the time I
reported them. However, that doesn't excuse the fact that the child was
unsecured. The child is young enough that she needs
to be in a rear-facing convertible car seat. I don't care how far
you're traveling, a child needs to be in a car seat. They're made for a
reason. They're made and designed to keep your child safe while
traveling. It's likely that the car they were traveling in never
exceeded 20 MPH that day. But, what if someone had rear-ended them?
What if he'd had a momentary lapse in attention and he rear-ended
someone else? In the first situation, it could cause the baby to hit
the dash. It might not hurt an adult, but it could really hurt a baby.
In the latter situation, it could cause the airbag to deploy and really
cause some serious damage. I really want to confront this girl, but I
want to do it in a loving way. I want her to never, ever, EVER
have her child unsecured while riding in any vehicle. I don't want to
be sitting in the service one Sunday morning and hear the preacher say,
"We need to remember the ________ family. They were in a crash this
week and their baby is in ICU with extensive injuries because she
wasn't in a car seat."
Car seats are there for a reason. There
are car seat laws for a reason. Both are to keep children safe. I still
don't know how to approach her. I don't like confrontation and don't
want to make things awkward for any future encounters. The bottom line
is that I want her to keep her child safe. I don't want her to suffer
the heartache of having to bury her precious daughter.
If I
knew then what I know now, I would still have Noob in a rear-facing
position even though she's three years old and 30 pounds. I would have
rear-faced all of them until they were 35 pounds. Noob will stay in a
five-point harness until she will not fit into one anymore. Poodle and
Slick are in boosters; Slick still uses the high-back booster to help
the seatbelt fit him as it should to offer him maximum protection.
If you're unsure about your state's laws, I urge you to check them out. You can find your state's laws at http://www.seatcheck.org/. If your child will fit in a child safety seat, PLEASE use one. Find a local agency who can install
the seat for you where it will offer the most crash protection. There
are people who are certified car seat technicians at most police and
fire stations. If none are there, they will be able to direct you to a
place that will help you find the correct seat and make sure it's
safely and securely installed in your vehicle.
I hope the cops
found their house that day and gave them some sort of warning or a
ticket for not having that sweet baby in her car seat. I hope I'll
never see it again.
Check out these links:
http://babyproducts.about.com/b/2009/04/02/aap-to-change-rear-facing-car-seat-recommendations.htm
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/pages/Car-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families-2010.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3A+No+local+token
Comments:
Jennifer, great post. I can't believe people don't care. It baffles me.
you have a right to be concerned. it doesnt matter where they were going-its not worth the risk.
Car Seats are important just like school zones NO ONE PAYS ATTENTION maybe if enough read post like yours they will learn to listen to the SAFETY for All Children! Thank you for posting a very well written post! Hope you post it on your church bulletin board. :)
way to go! voting UP
Very good...thanks for the info. Voted POP!
Grrr to the parents! YAY to YOU!
How scary! I can't imagine in this day and age EVER doing that!
Good for you! I am glad you know their last name to at least give that. Many times we see this happening and have no way of telling an officer how to find them :(
HA HA...my hubby said hopefully they caught up with Brittney Spears and her hubby :P
Already a member? Click here to log in
Videos
Bio-Identical Hormones and Synthetic Hormones - Suzanne Somers Breaking Through
Suzanne Somers Breaking Through
Suzanne Somers talks to her gynecologist Dr. Prudence Hall, and Dr. Abe Morgentaler [author of 'Testosterone for Life'] about synthetic hormones, bio-identical hormones, and how these hormones affect our bodies in different ways. Bio-identical hormones can be incredibly helpful in treating, and potentially eliminating, the many side effects of menopause. Find out more in this episode, and don't forget to subscribe to see a new episode of Suzanne Somers Breaking Through every Thursday!
Watch More Videos from CafeMom Studios ››
You GO Jennifer! Awesome post!
- used2chaos
Message Friend Invite