Ohio recently passed a law that now requires children ages 4 through 7 to ride in a booster seat. And I have a son who will be 7 for two more months. Guess what that means? Yep, we pulled the booster off the top of the freezer in the garage, dusted off the spider webs, and set it back in the car.
{stepping on soapbox}
I totally get the reasoning behind this law. The seat belts are made for an adult, not a child, it's safer, blah blah blah. I just think it is ridiculous. Andrew looks utterly ridiculous in that seat. This kid has (surprisingly, perhaps) sat very calmly in a car for the past 3 1/2 years with out a booster and nothing has happened. He has been comfortable and well-behaved. And while I am all for keeping kids safe, I am not - and I repeat NOT - a huge fan of over-regulation. Whether or not my particular child is in a booster seat has nothing to do with anybody else. You may have a child who will not sit still in a car, but I don't (one of heaven's tender mercies). So why can't it be my choice?
If you want to regulate someone, why don't you get stricter about those idiots who text while driving? Or what about those drunk drivers? How about cracking down on people who actually kill others while intoxicated instead of giving them a mere 30 days in jail? (Yeah, I'm talking to you, Mr. Cleveland Browns player Donte Stallworth.) If it weren't for fools like that, my kid wouldn't even need a seatbelt at all.
OK, OK, I know my logic is faulty. I know the government just has our best interests at heart (doesn't it always?). And for two months, Andrew will be sitting in a booster. Because ultimately I do believe in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
But I don't have to agree with it. Or be happy about it.
{stepping off soapbox}
Pssst...I also don't make my kids wear bike helmets. They have them, but if they don't wear them, so be it. I never did and I survived. So there, Ohio state legislature!
You now have permission to tell me what a bad mother I am. Ready.....GO!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
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Posted by Amy Franklin at 3:27 PM
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12 comments:
I can't believe they made that a law in Ohio. I HATE over-regulation. I too understand the need to keep kids safe, but we are slowly losing all our freedom little by little in the name of safety. Katy was furious when we moved here and after having been out of a booster seat for years had to start using it again, she feels his pain!
The booster seat, I can't see that. But the helmet, well... I gotta go along with the legislature. The kids would be cited here if caught without one.
I can't imagine my Allie having to be in a car seat until she's 8. She's only 3 now and already in a booster-- there's no way she would make it another 4-5 years!
I guess I didn't think about it, because every time we've moved the age limit was higher and higher... so poor Dylan (who by the way is the size of a 9 year old) has always been in one. My big beef is how it's different from state to state. What the heck. So those traveling to more strict states have to go and by a car seat just for that trip? Ugh
Brynnley is LESS than thrilled that she has to go back into a booster seat as well. Crazy.
Can you see me trying to sqeeze Becca back into a booster seat when she was 7 almost 8? I'm with you on the helmet issue, so I am also a bad mother. Brook Park police give the kids a free ice cream cone coupon if they see them wearing a bike helmet. Needless to say, my kids have never had a free treat!
Totally agree with you. The problem is that the over-regulation does not take into account personal factors and situations - it forgets to let us be agents unto ourselves -
In Virginia there was a poster in the pediatrician's office to keep them in boosters until 4'9". We've moved so much I can't keep track of what's what. So, my 6 & 7 year olds still use them. If they had older siblings, they probably wouldn't. I think the boosters help them see better out the windows. And, they clearly define personal space.
I have to agree, I think it should be a parents' choice.
Booster seat, silly. We have that here, too. My kids wear their helmets--tho close to home, we are not too strict. Too school is a must. Brain surgery made us really want to protect their heads :)
I have a husband who is a little obsessive about obeying every law to a tee, so ALL of my kids are still in a booster seat, yes, even Scott--11! He won't even let him ride in the front seat yet because you're supposed to be 12.
Of course, Sam is still in a toddler car seat, but the three others all sit in boosters. Sigh. (They don't seem to care though, it does help them see better out the window.) But truth be knownst, I'm a little more like you. Oh what Daddy doesn't know while he's away. ;) I let them jump off cliffs, because, well, their friends told them too. hehe
I forgot to say that it's because regulation here says 80 lbs or 12 years old in the booster! Whatever, my kids don't really complain. I think they are just used to it, that's the way it is (even though most of their friends don't sit in boosters.)
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