one small vent--please don't judge

[jillian]

why do i seem to be the only one of my IRL friends who care about car seat safety?!? My aunt and one of my friends both insist on leaving the car seat straps so loose that their kids can get out of them and I could fit an infant on top of a toddler in these harnesses. No matter how I phrase it I am deemed one of the following:

1. "car seat nazi"

2. "too worried, nothing is going to happen to them"

3. "insane/crazy/some take of these"

 

 

Why am I the only one who seems to give a flying f*** about car seat safety. It isn't like we live in a tiny town where the speed limit doesn't go over 25, we live in Houston (or at least they do), do most of their traveling (to/from work, school, errands) on very busy roads with a speed limit of 45 or more and/or on freeways w/ a speed limit of 60+

 

It stresses me out, I won't take the kids anywhere ever without tightening seat(s) and will not ever put them in their seats anymore--i refuse to enable them.

 

it upsets me so much but i can't do anything about it, i can't say anything. *sigh*

 

sorry just a rant.

[Crimson Wife]

I think it's probably a generational thing. My parents are always complaining that they think the straps on my kids' seats are too tight and it's too hard to buckle them in. I blame my pediatrician and say she told me too follow the "two finger" rule. They also complain about the at least 60 lbs. rule for booster seats and I tell them to bring it up with the state legislature :glare:

[Mom2J112903]

I am the car seat nut around here-and people simply do.not.get.it.

 

I recommend RFing to the absolute max and then booster until the adult seatbelt fits correctly. So if that means RF to age 5/6 and booster until 10/12, so be it.

 

J is very happy in his SK Monterey at 6.6yrs/50lbs :D

[jillian]

I think it's probably a generational thing. My parents are always complaining that they think the straps on my kids' seats are too tight and it's too hard to buckle them in. I blame my pediatrician and say she told me too follow the "two finger" rule. They also complain about the at least 60 lbs. rule for booster seats and I tell them to bring it up with the state legislature :glare:

my aunt i could understand a little bit (she's in her late 30s) but my friend is only a week younger than me (we are both 24). i just don't understand how pediatricians aren't spreading the news. both have had c-sections and i know when i had mine they made us watch a video about proper car seat safety (among others) and used the "two finger rule" and such.

 

i just can't bring myself to do it anymore, i care so so so much about car seat safety but i cannot let them use me as a care giver (helping my aunt with her triplets--even the very small twins and soon to be third triplet are this loose in the seat so loose that they get their hands caught around the harness).

[emzhengjiu]

My daughter rode in a booster seat until recently. Several people younger than I am laughed because I would send her booster seat along with her if I weren't driving. I'm also very serious about seat belt use. No sharing of seat belts is allowed in my car. Several people have been angry with me because I refused to take their children in my car when the kids would have had to share a single seat belt. I once saw an accident involving a child not properly buckled in a carseat. It's heartbreaking to think the child might have survived otherwise.

[shinyhappypeople]

my aunt i could understand a little bit (she's in her late 30s) but my friend is only a week younger than me (we are both 24).

 

It's not her age, she's just making a foolish choice. I say that as a late-30s mom. Car seat safety is a big deal. I've never run into a mom who was that lax about buckling up.

 

Anyway, I'm totally with you. It would drive me nuts to see a child not buckled in properly.

[Perry]

It's not her age, she's just making a foolish choice. I say that as a late-30s mom. Car seat safety is a big deal. I've never run into a mom who was that lax about buckling up.

 

:iagree:

 

I'm over 50 and seat belts and car seats are non-negotiable in my car. If someone doesn't like it, they don't ride.

[dirty ethel rackham]

An almost 50 mom who is anal about car seats. I have lived with ridicule for years on this. I once saw a show that describes the forces on the tiny body of a child during a fairly low-speed car accident. It was eye opening. I also know of a mom who's baby was killed (head trauma) in a fairly minor car accident because her baby was not buckled in properly.

 

When I taught childbirth classes, I had parents bring in their car seats to the final class and we discussed safety. Also, I gave out a detailed booklet on this to every parent who took my class.

[Harriet Vane]

:iagree:

 

I'm over 50 and seat belts and car seats are non-negotiable in my car. If someone doesn't like it, they don't ride.

 

:iagree:

 

I'm not over 50, but it's non-negotiable in my car too. I have a cousin who DIED due to not being belted--the other eight people in the minivan who were belted properly walked away with bumps and scratches. Since my cousin was not belted, she was thrown when the car went off the road and she died.

 

I too have friends who don't have the same standards. I get pretty steamed about it myself.

 

As an aside to Perry--I would never, ever have guessed when I met you that you are over 50. You look absolutely fabulous.

[3lilreds in NC]

I've been very blessed that my family follows my rules (and I don't live near them so it hasn't been an issue regardless).

 

My best friend from college has told me that her inlaws have traveled from FL with kids sitting on other kids' laps in the back seat of their car, and the scary things they do with the other grandkids and car seats. Sue tried to tell them how to put car seats in properly for the grandkids who were infants, but they argued with her and even called their other son - who agreed to let the grandparents do their messed up car seat plan. :confused: Needless to say, Sue doesn't let her son ride with them in a car anywhere.

 

I do not know if it's lack of education, or what. I can't imagine it.

 

Our issue has been that my kids are so tall, they've outgrown their car seats before they were 3. Thankfully, they make seats with a much higher weight capacity now. When Emma was 2/3, our only option was to put her in a belt-positioning booster. Isaac has a great seat that will hold him in a 5 pt harness for quite a while yet.

[Starr]

I am also non negotiable about car seats and seat belts. A former neighbor of ours stopped by when her little guy was 4 while visiting from out of town and reminded me of how I taught her to us her car seat correctly. She then told of flipping her car over in a snow storm and how he stayed safely in his car seat. Sometimes it matters. Keep up the good work.

[kalanamak]

I have been shocked by intelligent parents who have every safety device possible, and who act as though we are reckless parents for the biking and water sport kiddo does, but who stuck their teeny just 3s into backless boosters I still haven't move to in my nearly 8...because it was convenient.

[Geek]

I'm a car seat Nazi and wear that label with pride. If anyone has a problem with that, they can kiss my [deleted].

 

You are not alone.

[laurad1125]

Anyone of any age in my car has to be properly restrained or I don't drive. No negotiations. Better for them to be annoyed with me than dead.

 

I still make my 11.5 year old ride in a booster. At his last check up, we asked and the pediatrician said 2 more inches. He's been the only one of his friends in a booster for years.

 

I too have noticed people with car seats with such loose straps that they can't be doing any good at all. I've also seen people with cars seats in the car that weren't buckled in?!?!

 

A police department around here has a "seat belt convincer" that they bring to various public events. It simulates a crash at 35mph. For adults, they give them a "baby" to hold. People are astonished at how much force is involved at even this low speed. I wish everyone could take a turn.....

[ChristusG]

Yep, carseat fanatic here too. My kids are both still in 5 point harnesses and will be till they outgrow them (and we bought the biggest on the market). I always pull their buckles tight and check that they are buckled in right when we get into the car. They are not even allowed to ride around the corner without being in their carseats.

[laurad1125]

I am also non negotiable about car seats and seat belts. A former neighbor of ours stopped by when her little guy was 4 while visiting from out of town and reminded me of how I taught her to us her car seat correctly. She then told of flipping her car over in a snow storm and how he stayed safely in his car seat. Sometimes it matters. Keep up the good work.

 

 

Wow, that's awesome!!!!

[WarriorMama]

why do i seem to be the only one of my IRL friends who care about car seat safety?!? My aunt and one of my friends both insist on leaving the car seat straps so loose that their kids can get out of them and I could fit an infant on top of a toddler in these harnesses. No matter how I phrase it I am deemed one of the following:

1. "car seat nazi"

2. "too worried, nothing is going to happen to them"

3. "insane/crazy/some take of these"

 

 

Why am I the only one who seems to give a flying f*** about car seat safety. It isn't like we live in a tiny town where the speed limit doesn't go over 25, we live in Houston (or at least they do), do most of their traveling (to/from work, school, errands) on very busy roads with a speed limit of 45 or more and/or on freeways w/ a speed limit of 60+

 

It stresses me out, I won't take the kids anywhere ever without tightening seat(s) and will not ever put them in their seats anymore--i refuse to enable them.

 

it upsets me so much but i can't do anything about it, i can't say anything. *sigh*

 

sorry just a rant.

 

I have the same problem with a friend of mine and I just don't get it. I've casually tightened the harness on her daughter's carseat when we're driving together ("Ooops, that's a little loose, let me just tighten it for you"). Another time we were going somewhere together and she was putting an infant seat into the back of the car (without a base). "Oh, do you need a locking clip for that? I have an extra one..." (she did need one to install it properly, and I knew that full well...and yes, I'm enough of a carseat freak that I have an extra locking clip in my purse...).

 

"No, it's fine," she replied.

 

Oi.

 

And her story of putting her 5-month-old into a front facing carseat because she was going on a trip with a family member and had forgotten to get the kid's proper carseat from her dh's car before he went to work...that curled my toes.

 

Don't you care? I want to scream. People just really don't think an accident is going to happen to THEM.

 

She also thinks I'm nuts for always taking the extra 5-10 to heat up the car in winter so I can put my kids in without bulky winter coats. The fact that you can't get a carseat buckled tightly enough over those coats is just plain silly to a lot of people.

 

All this blabbing to say...I feel your pain!

[OFIH]

I am a fanatic about car seats. If you need one, you better be in one, or you can go in someone else's car. I won't risk a child's life because a parent doesn't want to take 5 minutes to deal with it. My children are both in 5 point harnesses and that's not changing anytime soon. They both have hypotonia (weak muscle tone that's neurological, not physical). If we have a wreck, I want them fully protected. They are called accidents for a reason. You don't plan on having them.

[JulieD]

I'm a fanatic about this, too. It seemed like I was the only one for a long time. I'm so happy now, though. Several of the girls who babysat my babies have kids of their own, and they are quite possibly more fanatic about it than I am! So don't give up, you never know when you'll make a difference.

 

Julie D.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

Another car seat fanatic here. My best friend is completely opposite from me. Considering we spend probably 5 of 7 days a week together, including going out a lot, it becomes an issue.

 

My 4.5 yo DD is still in a 5 point harness. Her 3 year old is also still in a harness, but the straps are so loose the little girl will be ejected in the case of an accident. I'm *sure* that the 3 year old will be in a booster before my daughter, and I know it'll create problems then. ("But A isn't in a baby seat!!") The 3 year old also unbuckles the chest clip and puts her arms and shoulders out. OH, and add on top that the car seat is NEVER properly installed, unless I do it. (They have to switch the car seat in and out of 2 cars). It makes me *so* nervous.

When we ride in my car, A knows she will be in a car seat with tighter straps and has learned that she has to keep everything buckled.

 

The same friend has a 3 month old, and guess how loose his straps are? -sigh- The other day I tightened them up and said "We aren't letting Mommy ruin another kid." :D She heard me, but didn't take offense. She knows I love her kids and only want the best for them, even if what I think is best is a little stricter than her idea of best.

[jillian]

Thank I am so glad I"m not alone!!!! No one gets in my car or anyone's car without be properly restrained. I feel so much better. Now another question....

 

How would you handle the situation with my aunt, would you just let it drop or would you try and talk to her? Her nerves are so frazzled with her triplets and toddler. I really want her babies to be safe but don't want to start a family war.

[Matryoshka]

my aunt i could understand a little bit (she's in her late 30s) but my friend is only a week younger than me (we are both 24). i just don't understand how pediatricians aren't spreading the news. both have had c-sections and i know when i had mine they made us watch a video about proper car seat safety (among others) and used the "two finger rule" and such.

 

 

Hey, she's young. I'm 46 and a total car seat nut. Late 30's is not one of the generation that was a parent when there were no car seat rules. I have been known to tighten kids if I see them too loose. The seat should not move *at all*, and yes on the two finger rule.

 

One of my older two just got out of her car seat (booster) a few weeks before her 12th birthday. I'm was very happy to hear that my SIL's pediatrician just read her the riot act and had her put my 9.5 yo nephew back in his booster!

 

I try not to lecture my friends (virtually all of whose kids are now past car seats proper and some of whom could still use a booster), but no one rides in my car without proper restraints... I have extra boosters if they no longer have one of their own. :D

[proverbs356lady]

Glad to see others that strictly enforce seatbelt safety! My almost 10 year old still uses a booster seat. And she will until a seatbelt fits her properly.

 

We were in an accident about 2 years ago which caused our van to flip. Most of us had bruises from the seatbelts. Surprisingly my then 8 year old didn't have any bruises or scratches and stayed firmly in her carseat. She was still in her full carseat. She learned first hand how important seatbelts and carseats are.

[fivetails]

 

I still make my 11.5 year old ride in a booster. At his last check up, we asked and the pediatrician said 2 more inches. He's been the only one of his friends in a booster for years.

 

Curious - what height was your ped referring to? I've actually had a few people comment to me that our petite dd13 - 4'10" (maybe 4'11") and 85lbs - could use a booster. :001_huh:

 

I'm never sure what to make of that - considering that she can get her beginners permit in six months (they can get them at 14 here - they can't do the road test until 16 though) and DRIVE a vehicle.

 

I don't think they make boosters for the driver's seat. ;)

[nd293]

I'm with the OP on this. It drives me nuts when people have car seat straps loose. What are they aiming for with the car seat - better height to project their kids from the car in the event of an accident? I have the straps tight enough that there is no chance of the child getting out. If ds wears more clothes than usual, I have to loosen the straps in order to buckle him in, then re-tighten.

 

I doubt this issue is strictly about car seats, though. In my experience some peope are more able/willing to mentally separate themselves from possible consequences than others. Are you also more generally security conscious (locking doors and windows, not letting kids far from your sight) than your aunt and friend?

[Hannah C.]

I completely agree on the car seat issue, and on everyone being buckled in when driving. In fact, TX now requires everyone in the car to be wearing a seat belt as far as I know.

 

I think some of the booster seat laws are a bit odd though. It just seems weird to me that a 10-year-old or even a 12 year old would still be in a booster unless they were super small for your age? Do any of you ladies have links to more info/research about the usefulness/purpose of booster seats? :) I'd like to educate myself more.

[jillian]

There are a couple disturbing videos out there showing what happens when little ones aren't restrained properly. I say it's time to show the videos to them and see if they would prefer that their child ends up like that.

I have posted on facebook and had the comment from both of these individuals that it is so so scary and they use their seats properly. What also really chaps my a s s is that my friends hubby is a member of the local FD and sees what can happen. He has ridden the ambulance and KNOWS and yet does nothing

 

I'm with the OP on this. It drives me nuts when people have car seat straps loose. What are they aiming for with the car seat - better height to project their kids from the car in the event of an accident? I have the straps tight enough that there is no chance of the child getting out. If ds wears more clothes than usual, I have to loosen the straps in order to buckle him in, then re-tighten.

 

I doubt this issue is strictly about car seats, though. In my experience some peope are more able/willing to mentally separate themselves from possible consequences than others. Are you also more generally security conscious (locking doors and windows, not letting kids far from your sight) than your aunt and friend?

 

my aunt isn't very lax in other aspects in fact she barely let her son eat solid food til he was almost 2; that's a whole other rant. My friend on the other hand tells her 8 month olds that if they don't stop crying she'll

Spank the s h i t out of them (as far as I know she never has). She also leaves them in their playpen for most of the day until it's time to feed them

[dirty ethel rackham]

How would you handle the situation with my aunt, would you just let it drop or would you try and talk to her? Her nerves are so frazzled with her triplets and toddler. I really want her babies to be safe but don't want to start a family war.

 

Here is a tack I have taken ...

 

"Oh gee, I saw a program on TV/youtube video/whatever on car seat safety the other day and it just haunted me. I just couldn't get these images out of my head and kept worrying about all the little babies I know. Boy, I would sleep better if I knew that your precious babies were strapped in tight. Could you just humor me? "

 

I had people laugh at me and my "melodrama", but they complied to ease my anxiety.

[Peela]

I have never come across this issue. My parents were strict about "buckling us in" my whole childhood, even before it was compulsory (when I was very small). I have been the same. I have never come across anyone who was slack about it. All modern cars here have retractable seat belts so that the tightness is not really adjustable, but its not uncomfrotable either. For kids in kid seats- you just make sure they woulndt fly out of the seat if you hit something.

Perhaps send a You Tube of a car accident?

[emzhengjiu]

Booster seats lift up the child so the adult shoulder belt fits properly. At least that's my understanding but I don't have any research studies to reference.

[ScoutTN]

I'm a car seat Nazi and wear that label with pride.

You are not alone.

 

Keep up the good work! Indoctrinate as many as possible. Ignore the scorn and persevere with serious safety!

 

Most of my kids's friends are in boosters, but mine are in Frontiers for 4 or 5 more years at least!

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I am also very anal about the car seats. I am constantly harping on my sister-in-law and step-MIL because they let my 6 yr. old niece ride in no booster. It is actually the law here now that she still needs to be in the booster. I found out last week that they had too many people in the car and couldn't fit my niece on the seat, so she sat UNBUCKLED on the bump in the floor. I was livid! I hope they get stopped by the police and get fined.

[Matryoshka]

Curious - what height was your ped referring to? I've actually had a few people comment to me that our petite dd13 - 4'10" (maybe 4'11") and 85lbs - could use a booster. :001_huh:

 

The rule of thumb is 4'9", so she's above that, but not by much. Although the gold standard is the five-point test, which has more to do with the length of the femur bone than overall height.

 

Weight doesn't really figure into it at all.

 

As far as being able to drive a car at 14 - that's nuts on so many levels. Actually, there have been studies that have shown that it's unsafe for kids - of any height or weight - to be in the front seat before they turn fifteen, because their bones have not yet gained enough density and mineral content to withstand the airbag in a crash, even if they're six foot tall, 180 lb. boys. Laura Corin linked this report on another car seat thread.

 

Here, you have to be 16 to get a learner's permit. In most countries, I think it's 18.

[EKS]

I completely understand.

 

When kids are transported in my car, I make sure that the car seats are properly installed and that children are secured.

 

When other people transport their own kids, I don't worry about how those kids are secured. Frankly, it's their problem.

 

I make sure my own kids are secured properly at all times in whatever car they are riding in. My husband is a firefighter/EMT and has seen too much horror for it to be any other way.

[fivetails]

Curious - what height was your ped referring to? I've actually had a few people comment to me that our petite dd13 - 4'10" (maybe 4'11") and 85lbs - could use a booster. :001_huh:

 

I'm never sure what to make of that - considering that she can get her beginners permit in six months (they can get them at 14 here - they can't do the road test until 16 though) and DRIVE a vehicle.

 

I don't think they make boosters for the driver's seat.;)

 

The rule of thumb is 4'9", so she's above that, but not by much. Although the gold standard is the five-point test, which has more to do with the length of the femur bone than overall height.

 

Weight doesn't really figure into it at all.

 

As far as being able to drive a car at 14 - that's nuts on so many levels. Actually, there have been studies that have shown that it's unsafe for kids - of any height or weight - to be in the front seat before they turn fifteen, because their bones have not yet gained enough density and mineral content to withstand the airbag in a crash, even if they're six foot tall, 180 lb. boys. Laura Corin linked this report on another car seat thread.

 

Here, you have to be 16 to get a learner's permit. In most countries, I think it's 18.

 

See now, the idea of putting a 13.5 year old, grade nine kid in a booster seat... can you imagine, realistically?

 

She does sit properly - the whole test thing.. belt is where it ought to be, feet are where they ought to be, etc.

 

Actually - regarding learners permits.. in many provinces, teens can get their learners at 15.5 if they're in driver's ed, far as I know... Alberta does have a lower age - but it's just the learners permit.. they can't do the road test until they're 16, and even after that they're still on this "graduated" system.. there's a second road test to get the full, though if you want you can just keep your GDL for however long. On the learners permit, there are LOTS of rules - specific hours, requirements about who is teaching, etc. They aren't just out there driving around. ;)

 

When we first moved here, I did think it was a bit crazy.. but after I talked with a lot of people who've lived here their whole lives, I realized it might not such a bad thing.. the teens who get their permits at 14 usually have a lot more practice time before they go for their road test - two years, at least. (as opposed to when I got mine - the law said I could do the road test three months later!)

 

I think it's a holdover from farm/rural kids needing their licenses early.. I dunno.

 

Regarding height though - I have an aunt who is 4'10". She's in her fifties now, I think, and she's been driving with a big cushion on her seat forever. :laugh:

[KJsMom]

I completely understand.

 

I make sure my own kids are secured properly at all times in whatever car they are riding in. My husband is a firefighter/EMT and has seen too much horror for it to be any other way.

Mine too. He came home telling me about an accident where an infant seat was ejected from the vehicle in a crash. Thank God the baby was strapped properly into the carseat because when they found the seat upside down quite a distance from the vehicle she was ok.

I would much rather be late, frustrated, and inconvenienced than to have to go through what that mother did. I cannot fathom the thought process that says it is ok to overlook something so important.

[Mom-ninja.]

To the OP I don't have an answer to your question. It drives me mad to see kids not properly buckled.

 

My dad tries to resist every now and then but I put my foot down. Once he took my 6 yr old to the store while I was gone. My dad drives a truck so ds was in front seat with only the adult belt. I was livid and let my dad know.

 

My 9 yr old sits in his Regent happily, my 6 yr old is in his new Nautilus, and my toddler is rear facing in a Marathon. My 6 yr turned forward when he was 4.

[Barry Goldwater]

One casual chat with an EMT I knew provided all the convincing I might have needed...even b4 kids...that's all I'm going to say on it.

[McKay]

I'm a long time car seat/seat belt fanatic. Years ago we hit a patch of ice and our car went over an embankment and flipped. The oldest was in a car seat, upside down, perfectly safe. After that experience I became even more convinced of the necessity of safe restraints for children riding in vehicles.

[msjones]

I hope this isn't a hijack. I think it's related to the OP's question...

 

Can anyone answer this question for me? Here in WA we can't put a child into the front seat until they are 13. 13! My 11 year-old is 5' 1" and weighs 90 pounds. He is the size of many adult women and will be my height by the time he is 13 (at the rate he's going). Why does he need to be in the back?

 

For the record, I do follow the front seat law, and was a tight car seat buckler-- but this front seat law seems a little overboard to me. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

[bairnmama]

I've read this whole thread and honestly I think that auto makers need to make their seatbelts more adjustable so that they properly fit smaller bodies! According to the height restrictions and the five-point test... I (and many friends and family) would have needed a booster through at least 1 yr of college! There are still vehicles I get in where my feet don't sit flat on the floor, the lap portion rides up to my stomach, and the shoulder belt is on my neck. My mother would prefer that I drive a car w/o a driver's airbag because of how close I have to sit to the wheel in order to reach the pedals - which of course makes the seat belt ride closer to my neck, too. She's afraid that the force at which it comes out will be too great. Small adults need to be kept safe as well as children! I have been in many car accidents over many years (none my fault btw), but was hurt worse in those where I was buckled in as opposed to those where I was not wearing a seat belt at all. :confused:

 

And for the record, my dd was in a 5-point harness until she was almost 5, but my ds was in a booster with a back at just under 4 yrs old.

[Laura Corin]

I'm with you. My ten year old rides in a high-back booster; my thirteen-year old, who is taller than I am, is not allowed in the front seat until he's fifteen and his skeleton is strong enough to deal with the strain. I know people think I'm mad, but that's okay.

 

Laura

[Mom in High Heels]

I'm the car seat/safety fanatic in my group of friends. Wait, no, I have one another friend who is a fanatic too. Indy will be 8 this month (OMG!) and he is STILL in a 5 point harness. He has a Britax seat that I can sit in comfortably. He can ride in a booster (and has in dh's car, though I hate it), but I prefer he be in his seat. He prefers it too. It's more comfortable. In Germany, kids have to be in a booster until age 8, but he'll sit in his seat or a booster longer than that. He was RF until he was 4. It drove my mother crazy, but he never complained. He didn't know any different. He as kind of weirded out when we turned him around. He's a tall boy with looooong legs and they didn't fit RF anymore, so I turned him. He thought is was strange.

 

I have friends who have 3 and 4 year olds who are in boosters. It makes me crazy. I don't preach to them, but I do make a point of letting them know that a 5 point harness is the safest option for their children. I don't understand how people can be so casual about their kids safety. :confused:

[Perry]

Can anyone answer this question for me? Here in WA we can't put a child into the front seat until they are 13. 13! My 11 year-old is 5' 1" and weighs 90 pounds. He is the size of many adult women and will be my height by the time he is 13 (at the rate he's going). Why does he need to be in the back?

 

Because of the airbags. Did you read this, posted by matroyshka earlier in the thread?

 

The study found that children 14 and younger were at high risk for serious injury from air bags when they sat in the front passenger seat during car crashes. In contrast, air bags had a protective effect for children aged 15 to 18. In addition, the study showed age may be a better indicator of risk than height or weight. Several body changes during puberty, such as muscle mass, bone density and bone mineral content, may help explain why body size isn't a good measurement of risk in children.

These results were consistent with several previous studies.

 

[dirty ethel rackham]

I hope this isn't a hijack. I think it's related to the OP's question...

 

Can anyone answer this question for me? Here in WA we can't put a child into the front seat until they are 13. 13! My 11 year-old is 5' 1" and weighs 90 pounds. He is the size of many adult women and will be my height by the time he is 13 (at the rate he's going). Why does he need to be in the back?

 

For the record, I do follow the front seat law, and was a tight car seat buckler-- but this front seat law seems a little overboard to me. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

From what I understand, it is not about size, but about maturity of the skeletal and muscular systems. I have to run or I would look up my source.

[Matryoshka]

Can anyone answer this question for me? Here in WA we can't put a child into the front seat until they are 13. 13! My 11 year-old is 5' 1" and weighs 90 pounds. He is the size of many adult women and will be my height by the time he is 13 (at the rate he's going). Why does he need to be in the back?

 

For the record, I do follow the front seat law, and was a tight car seat buckler-- but this front seat law seems a little overboard to me. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

Read this and consider yourself enlightened. :)

 

I'll be waiting till they're 15 before they're allowed in the front seat - neither height nor weight is important in this equation. Science trumps convention. I don't see any reason they need to be in the front seat - plenty of room in the back.

[Laura Corin]

I hope this isn't a hijack. I think it's related to the OP's question...

 

Can anyone answer this question for me? Here in WA we can't put a child into the front seat until they are 13. 13!

 

A twelve year old may be adult sized, but his/her skeleton is not strong enough to withstand the forces of the front seat/air bag. This is a quote from an article:

 

Our results support current recommendations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics that all children <13 years of age ride in the rear seats of vehicles. We found significant increases in risks of injury for all age groups of <13 years for children in the front seat.

 

And this is about front seats with airbags, giving a higher limit.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Renee in NC]

I'm with you. My ten year old rides in a high-back booster; my thirteen-year old, who is taller than I am, is not allowed in the front seat until he's fifteen and his skeleton is strong enough to deal with the strain. I know people think I'm mad, but that's okay.

 

Laura

 

How tall is your 10yo? I thought they were not supposed to be in the high-back booster if their head is above the back?

[Renee in NC]

I'm the car seat/safety fanatic in my group of friends. Wait, no, I have one another friend who is a fanatic too. Indy will be 8 this month (OMG!) and he is STILL in a 5 point harness. He has a Britax seat that I can sit in comfortably. He can ride in a booster (and has in dh's car, though I hate it), but I prefer he be in his seat. He prefers it too. It's more comfortable. In Germany, kids have to be in a booster until age 8, but he'll sit in his seat or a booster longer than that. He was RF until he was 4. It drove my mother crazy, but he never complained. He didn't know any different. He as kind of weirded out when we turned him around. He's a tall boy with looooong legs and they didn't fit RF anymore, so I turned him. He thought is was strange.

 

I have friends who have 3 and 4 year olds who are in boosters. It makes me crazy. I don't preach to them, but I do make a point of letting them know that a 5 point harness is the safest option for their children. I don't understand how people can be so casual about their kids safety. :confused:

 

How does an 8yo fit in a 5-point harness? Even the Britax Marathon only goes to 80 pounds (and the back is too short, isn't it?)

[Matryoshka]

How does an 8yo fit in a 5-point harness? Even the Britax Marathon only goes to 80 pounds (and the back is too short, isn't it?)

 

My kids aren't in high-back boosters, but I must have way skinnier kids than average, because my 9.5 yo is about 63 pounds and one of my 12yos is still only 68 pounds. I have no trouble imagining an 8yo that's under 80 lbs.