Car seats are a racket. Pricey, ugly, heavy, and awkward. Oh, and did I mention that you won’t be allowed to leave the hospital with your new babe unless you have one installed? And, I believe, inspected by the local fire department? Blackmail, I’m telling you.
And here’s the kicker: you will need something like three of these monsters over the course of your child’s development. Three! They’ll take up half our attic! And why must you have all of these? Because recent regulations require your child to be seated in the back seat of the car until the age of 12. As in, the child remains in the back seat (hello, Taxi Mom!) until roughly the same time as he begins to learn to drive. So much for bonding time in the car!
And how does the government (with the help of the seat manufacturers) get you to buy into this? By both making it illegal to do otherwise and by scaring you with descriptions of how your child’s head may pop off, his insides may be smooshed, or his body projected through the front of your car in the event of an accident. A number of these gruesome scenarios would, interestingly enough, be caused by the new safety features that are standard in cars today, like adult-oriented seat belts and airbags. Thank you, safety specialists.
I’m not one to shirk on safety, but I am rather appalled that I won’t be able to have my kid anywhere near me in the car until he’s driving it! Or until she’s ready to go to college!
Erin
Alan Schmierer
You make it sound like you can’t talk to a kid in the back seat. Moms have been doing this for decades. 🙂
Yep. The evil that is carseats. Sometimes you can buy one (or two) carseats that can convert to different sizes. You also have to be careful about picking one up for cheap at yardsales or on craigslist. They are often recalled, over 6 years old, or have been in an accident. All big no nos. Just wait till you have more than one, or want to put them in or take them out fast.
Just make Sydney do it.
As for the fire dept making a safety inspection (I believe here at home you are encouraged to have the Sheriff’s department check them) I can think of nothing worse than spending big $$$ for the car seat, putting your precious baby in it – then discover, too late, that you had it installed wrong. No sympathy here – it’s just one of those must do tasks to ensure you did the best you could to protect the child.
One of my fondest memories is reaching into the backseat, when you were very small, to hand something to you – and you reached out and took it. We parents steal those moments of endearment when we can.