Car Seats

Today I would like to discuss car seats.  In light of the the new AAP recommendations, I am interested in what other parents are doing in terms of car seat use.

Basically the new recommendations are:

1. Children should be rear facing until 2yr old or until the child hits the maximum weight limit for rear facing on their car seat (some seats that is as high as 35lbs).

2.  Children need to be in  booster until at least 8yr old and reached the height of 4'9".

I completely recognize the fact that these are recommendations not laws and you can choose to follow them or not, but at the same time they are making the recommendations because lives have been saved.

Which leads me to my questions.   As a parent how do you make the right choices regarding car safety?  Do you follow the recommendations with out bending a bit?  Do you follow your state laws?  Do you do a little of both following your gut a bit and following the recommendations a bit.  And what you do for example when my 8yr old has been out of a booster for 2 years now, however has not reach the new height recommendation, do I put him back in a booster?  What if you have a 6.5 yr old you took out of the booster do you now fight to put them back in?  How about your 1.5 year old who has been forward facing for 6 months now, do you turn them back around?

I am telling you, parenting is not easy.

Then there are state laws which have so much variation it is really unbelievable.


For example:

In WY if you are 8 or younger you have to be in a car seat.  No questions asked period.

In FL if you are under 3 you must be in a car seat and other than that their is no other specifications.

(That's a five year age difference, what are you to do if you move from FL to WY with your 6yr old?  You have to put them back in a car seat?!?  And if you move from WY to FL with your 5yr old? Now he is safe without a car seat because he is in FL?!?)

Then there is states like CA where they govern weather or not the child is rear facing, or in  convertible seat or in a booster.  They also have laws governing at what age you can ride in the front seat.

Oh and can I mention it is really hard to find these laws on-line and when you do it is almost impossible to decipher them, as to weather they are laws or suggestions.  The site I linked to seemed to be the best.

Then you have the fine associated with not having your child properly restrained and again the variance is amazing.  All the way from Michigan where the fine is $10 dollars to Nevada where the fine is $500 plus you will get a point on your driving record!

As a parent, especially with multiple children it seems very over whelming.   If I was in WY all four of my children would still be in some form of car seat.  In other states I would have to have 3 huge Britax size car seats and a booster.  Then if I was in FL only AJ would have to be in a car seat?!?

Seriously as a parent it is a lot of information to process.  Obviously I want to follow my state law, and I want my kids to be safe but where do I draw the line.  Serafina, I know will not hit 4'9" by age 8.  So do I make her sit in a booster seat until she is an early teens?!?  It is so hard to imagine dropping her off in 6th grade and her climbing out of a booster seat!?  And when she goes home with a friend, does she have to carry her booster seat into school with her?   Really it seems weird.

With all this I would like to end with a little survey.  Not for any other reason then I am just curious what really world parents are doing regarding car seat safety.