Starting today, in Massachusetts, children under 8 years old or shorter than 4'9" are required to be in a child safety or booster seat when riding in a vehicle.
The requirement used to be for kids up to 5 years old or 40 lb. Because of how the seatbelt lies across or potentially digs into one's body, it makes more sense to go with height (I hope they make nice booster seats for diminutive adults).
It floors me how many kids I see riding around completely unrestrained, never mind with the right kind of seat for their dimensions. I really thought we'd gotten smarter than that.
(Aside to those who can't understand all this safety "hysteria" because they never even wore a seat belt as a kid and nothing happened to them? Congratulations! Unfortunately, the plural of "anecdote" is not "data." If, say, emergency room nurses and doctors ever come out against a bill like this, I'll certainly give that my full attention.)
I like the cup holders, especially since there are two for each seat, so every kid can go double-fisted!
ReplyDeleteYeah, no kidding!
ReplyDeleteMy girls think they're "drawers" and use them for little toys. I may have slipped and called them cup holders, but they don't drink in the car anyhow.
Our booster law went into effect July 1 of this year. Up to age 4 they have to be in a infant/child safety seat with a five-point harness, then ages 4-8 or 4'9" they have to be in a booster. Of course, Boy has had a booster for several years now. We have the exact seat pictured and the kids adore the cup holders/drawers. I say kidS because Girl reaches over and uses one of them since her infant/child restraint doesn't have any. She tries to sit in Boy's booster and he says "Hafta be 4!"
ReplyDeleteShe's going to be really sad when she actually turns 4 in January and we don't let her move to a booster. She's just too darn tiny yet. When she outgrows the infant/child seat (it goes up to 70 lbs - so HAH!) we'll talk. She suddenly got tall and is in the 20th percentile for height, but her skinny little butt will fit in the baby seat for a good long time. The 5-point harness is still way safer than a booster so long as she fits in it.
I admit to being almost heady with joy when Liv was finally old enough and tall enough for us to ditch the child safety seat and just wear a seat beat.
ReplyDeleteWearing a seat belt is so hard wired into her system that she automatically clicks in no matter what. I still have to remind myself occasionally.
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ReplyDelete"(Aside to those who can't understand all this safety "hysteria" because they never even wore a seat belt as a kid and nothing happened to them? Congratulations!"
ReplyDeleteYes, congratulations, you were one of the lucky ones. Some of the kids who never wore a seat belt back then never got a chance to be adults.
My mother makes those "I never wore one and I'm fine" comments all. the. time. It drives me nuts. Boo's seat is good to 60 lbs and Bug's to 40, so when Boo gets a bit bigger, I'm getting her a 100 lb 5 pt booster and Bug can have the Britax.
ReplyDeleteI liked the old days when Dad would throw his arm across in front of the four kids riding side by side next to him to keep the kids on the big bench seat of the Plymouth wagon with the fins. Run on sentence winner of the day is....
ReplyDeleteMy older daughter will be 8 in Deecmber and thankfully is tall. But she still likes her booster so she can see stuff. And she likes the built in cupholder. BUT I am looking forward to not feeling like i need to cart the booster with us when we go in someone else's car.
ReplyDelete"the plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data.'"
ReplyDeleteAmen. I teach Research Methods and wish I could have this stamped on every one of my students hands the first day of class...