So as to overwhelm me even more, the American Academy of Pediatrics and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are now recommending stricter guidelines for children car seats. These are the news stories I used to ignore.
The new guidelines include:
- Rear-facing seat until the age of 2.
- Forward-facing with harness until child maxes out height/weight restrictions for seat
- Booster seat with seatbelt until child is 4'9" tall, possibly to age 12.
Under these guidelines, I am only three inches shy of needing my own booster seat.
I love reading the comments on these stories. The parents who would rather sacrifice the safety of their child so they aren't being called a "baby" by their peers. Or the reluctance to go rear-facing because it takes two minutes longer to get them out of the car.
On the other hand, between BPA-free bottles, drop-side cribs, booster seats and bumpers it's going to be hard to keep up. Especially when I'm still trying to figure out why a three-month-old wears six-month-old clothing.
These seem a bit extreme! I can't imagine seeing a 12 year old in a booster chair! But maybe I'll have a different frame of mind when I'm a parent.
ReplyDeletei would also like to put my daughter in a bubble... but I can't so bring it on dangers and germs!
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