How do you guys feel about the booster seat laws being put in place?

[Quack Shack]

I'm in NC (land of unlucky traffic cloverleafs and speed traps) and there are laws pending that would require a child in a booster seat with a 3 point harness until they are 100 lbs. I searched high and low to find a harness that would hold a child up to 65 lbs (there were only 2 options in my budget price) because I know that if it passes, I would have another booster seat purchase. I know I've seen on CNN stories where children secured in a carseat have survived being thrown from the vehicle in an accident. I don't want to chance it. Bottomline is it's a law here (just like helmets for minors and no tobacco on school properties) and to show a good example to my kids, we follow the law. I don't know about you but my brother and I KNOW we must have had some guardian angels to have survived our childhood. Those angels musta worked overtime and yes, it was a different time.

 

[georgialee]

I don't think the gov't puts these laws in place to mandate what we're doing. I think they do it b/c there has been an enourmous amount of research done to PROVE that booster seats keep kids safer than a seatbelt alone.

I would rather take every precaution necessary than one day regret that I didn't.

about the rest of it.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Kids can't make the choice to wear seatbelts, adults can. There are many laws that protect children and this is just one more. Yes, children should be treated differently from adults. We have many laws in place to protect children from things that some parents think are okay.

Personally, I think any parent who doesn't do what they can to protect a child is being stupid. JMHO. Not all boosters are big and bulky. My soon to be eight year old son is tall and light, and sits in a booster. His booster is only the seat part, and it is much narrower than a standard car seat. Two of this type of booster can be put in the back of almost any car.

The way people acted in the past shouldn't be used to say we don't need regulations about things. Saying "when I was a kid no one wore seatbelts, why do we have to have them now?" is the equivilent in my book of saying "when I was a kid we dumped the raw sewage in the river, why do we have to have a sewage treatment plant?" We gain knowledge, information and technology over time. It should be put to good use.

On the other hand, maybe social darwinism should have it's place. If you are too stupid to use cheap and effective safety equipment, maybe you should be allowed to endanger yourself and your offspring. The gene pool might be better for it. JK

 

[babylady4]

Quote:
How much are booster seats now? (I just did a quick search at Target and found them to be anywhere in the range from $16 to $350) I said selfish because when people make statements like how they will not comply with legislation due to their own personal opinions, they are not thinking about the best interest of the child who is depending on the adult to make sound decisions for them. I heard people complain about the WI law before it went into effect, and it was the same issue; nobody is going to tell me what to do with my kids. I have always felt that the safety of the child was more important than the gov stepping on my toes. Kids are precious and I would protect them at all costs.

I find it hard to believe that people in KY have been completely oblivious to what the lawmakers have been working on. If the legislature was considering this for a while, the residents in KY have had time to figure out what they needed to do to accomidate such a law. When they passed the law in WI, they gave people a year to become compliant. Did they not do that in KY? We also have a law prohibiting anyone under a certain age and weight to sit in the front seat of a vehicle, so I suppose we were better prepared for this legislation. Since our law was inacted during different financial times, I think it would be prudent of the citizens of KY to contact their legislators with their issues on the current booster law and how it is putting an undue financial burden on it's residents.

I do not see how you can't put 2 kids in booster seats in both vehicles, unless the truck is not an extended cab. Here you would not be able to transport your kids in the front seat of the truck anyway.

Then don't expect the Gov to give you welfare, WIC, medicaid, student aid, energy assistance, etc....... Like I said before, I do not want to pay for the medical bill of someone who decided not to use all of the safety devices at their disposal, I am not a millionaire either. Yes it is your own personal choice not to keep you kids in a booster or to not wear a seatbelt, or to not use a helmet. I have no empathy whatsoever for you then when you have been involved in an accident and you are severely injured or have family members killed due to your choices, and I do not feel that I should in any way shape or form have to pay for you to recieve medical care because of a choice you made.

I'll say it again; you can replace things, you can't replace your child.

 

[Sillystunt]

Quote:
In this state, that ticket can get a visit by CPS, not saying it's right, just saying it's the rules.

umm, yeah ditto in Florida! That's crazy and i had 2 preemies~ No excuse!
But your god given right to do so~

i am surprised at how many don't! Has anyone ever seen what happens to someone when they go through the windshield or propelled from the car? I mean as an adult, your choice but people buckle up your kids, 15 years you could get if they died. Trust me it happened to a girl i knew, sad, so sad!

 

[mom'sfolly]

This one is directed at the OP, specifically.

As a 17 year old, you are currently subjected to laws designed to protect children. These include: drinking age, legal contract age, smoking age (your state may have a lower age than my state), marriage age and others. Until recently you were not allowed to drive or hold a full-time job. You are still included on your parent's insurance and income tax. While you might not agree with these laws, they are in place for your protection, the seat belt law is no different. As a society, it is in our best interest to protect children. These laws change over time, and reflect the changes in society. What was allowed in the past doesn't mean it will be allowed in the future. Two centuries ago children worked in factories at 10, drank and smoked by 12, had children at 14 and died by forty. Society changed, laws changed and the world changed.

 

[scbatz33]

Being mindful of my own advice, I will respond to you querry

Quote:
Here, I am going to assume that you mean the general "you" as opposed to ME in particular. That way no one here will be offended by your assumption that I, specifically, receive ANY form of welfare assistance from the government. Just for clarity's sake, I DO NOT receive assistance from any government agency to feed, cloth, house or in any way pay to raise MY children. Nor do I EXPECT any such assistance. I pay my way as I expect everyone else to do. I do not feel I should have to pay anyone else's medical bills, either.

I am NO WAY opposed to protecting minor children. I do, however, believe that I am allowed to CHOSE to wear a seat belt. I am an adult. I pay my own way. I expect nothing from this government but to leave me to the rights "of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". I can vote, drink and gamble if I so chose, yet I can't run to the convenient store with out putting on a seatbelt?

My post - as I clearly stated was in opposition to being told that I had to wear a belt. I have said - repeatedly - that my children wear them and always have been in compliance with the law. I also said I found it hypocritical that I have to wear a belt in my car when I see motorcyclists riding down the road at 60+ mph with out belt or helmet. To me, and my DH, this is a ludicrous delineation. I was merely pointing out the inconsistency of state and federal laws when enacting these "protect the citizenry" types of laws. And, that in some instances the tightening of these laws can make it hard on those of us who are in the lower income bracket. But to extrapolate that lower income means welfare recipient, well that's an unfair leap of judgment.

 

[saddina]

I just want to hop in with a suggestion, In CA there's several programs that provide free car seats and bike helmets during the year. You may have similar ones in KY, places to check: hospitals (infant seats only here), highway patrol, elks club, PAL. It may take a few calls, but the programs are there to help with the costs.

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Quote:
How much are booster seats now? (I just did a quick search at Target and found them to be anywhere in the range from $16 to $350) I said selfish because when people make statements like how they will not comply with legislation due to their own personal opinions, they are not thinking about the best interest of the child who is depending on the adult to make sound decisions for them. I heard people complain about the WI law before it went into effect, and it was the same issue; nobody is going to tell me what to do with my kids. I have always felt that the safety of the child was more important than the gov stepping on my toes. Kids are precious and I would protect them at all costs.

I find it hard to believe that people in KY have been completely oblivious to what the lawmakers have been working on. If the legislature was considering this for a while, the residents in KY have had time to figure out what they needed to do to accomidate such a law. When they passed the law in WI, they gave people a year to become compliant. Did they not do that in KY? We also have a law prohibiting anyone under a certain age and weight to sit in the front seat of a vehicle, so I suppose we were better prepared for this legislation. Since our law was inacted during different financial times, I think it would be prudent of the citizens of KY to contact their legislators with their issues on the current booster law and how it is putting an undue financial burden on it's residents.

I do not see how you can't put 2 kids in booster seats in both vehicles, unless the truck is not an extended cab. Here you would not be able to transport your kids in the front seat of the truck anyway.

Then don't expect the Gov to give you welfare, WIC, medicaid, student aid, energy assistance, etc....... Like I said before, I do not want to pay for the medical bill of someone who decided not to use all of the safety devices at their disposal, I am not a millionaire either. Yes it is your own personal choice not to keep you kids in a booster or to not wear a seatbelt, or to not use a helmet. I have no empathy whatsoever for you then when you have been involved in an accident and you are severely injured or have family members killed due to your choices, and I do not feel that I should in any way shape or form have to pay for you to recieve medical care because of a choice you made.

I'll say it again; you can replace things, you can't replace your child.

I haven't seen one thing in the paper or heard one thing on the news about any booster seat legislation. That's not to say it wasn't put out there, but not in places readily available to common people here. And 80% of the people here drive trucks, and they aren't extended cabs. This is a rural farming community, and there isn't room in an old Ford for booster seats.

I just think if they were going to do this, they should have went about it differently. Like you said, there should have been a compliance period, and it should have had greater publicity. Everything is down-home simple here. Cornfields for miles, tractors driving down the roads, all the guys wear hats and tuck their wranglers into their work/cowboy boots. Booster seats just aren't talked about or really used here. I guess they are now though.

 

[sangel4you]

Quote:
Well said

In resonse to the last part of this posting as well (which I agree with) I have to say I JUST posted on a different topic that I started about my DH not wanting me to get a new chick and asking how everyone convinced their DH to fall in love with their chickens. All I wanted was an answer to that. Not an inquiry into my private life, etc and yet somehow the post turned into a 9 page rant on the ethics, morals, and values behind marriage and control issues. Serisouly people. Nothing is taken at face value on the boards anymore! And everyone is entitled to their opinion but nastiness and name calling to ppl we dont know are not part of them! As a few other posters have said...we all have our own story and noone's is the same so lets not judge. I realize I myself have gotten sucked into the negativity and judgement on the boards lately and made posts I am not proud of, but I also woke up and realized it's not the same as it was 4 months ago around here. I came here wanting to make friends and talk about my chickens. And in all honesty, instead of all I've found is some sketchy chicken information to which a person cant get an answer to most times anyway, and a bunch of very judgemental people. I have to admit, this saddens me a lot. I miss the way BYC was! Sorry for the slightly off topic post, but it seems every thread I read is usually half way off topic anyway sooooo.... I needed to say this somewhere before I lost all hope.