(I should probably warn you before you read this post that I'm kind of a nerd about this sort of thing...)
We just moved Ethan to a booster seat. He is turning four in February and had reached the top of his harness straps in his harnessed seat. We moved Jacob to a booster when he was three and a half and reached the top of the harness straps, so I figured we were doing well to make it almost to age four with Ethan.
However, someone mentioned to me that the car seat laws had changed, and that I should look into it. Lo and behold, the law now says children must remain in a harnessed child seat until they are four years old! Not only that, but children age four through seven must be in a booster seat (unless they are 4'9" or 80 lbs), and all children under 14 must wear a seatbelt. I think the old law was that children under age four were to be restrained in a child seat or booster, depending on their size, and then children between four and a certain age had to at least wear safety belts. But maybe I never understood the law correctly... Although I thought we were following what was required at the time for Jacob.
If you don't have kids in this age range, I know this is probably irrelevant to you, but maybe it will be helpful for someone. :-)
Here's a link to the car seat law: http://www.kansasboosterseat.org/download/Booster_Bill_Major_Dailies.pdf
I guess another lesson from this is if you are purchasing a forward facing seat for your child, get one with high harness slots so it will last until they are 4! I inadvertently purchased one that did not have high harness slots compared to some of the others out there - some have harness slots a couple of inches higher, which would have worked for either Jacob (tall for his age) or Ethan (short for his age) until their fourth birthdays.
Oops! Yes, the law changed July
ReplyDelete1st. It makes it really hard on daycare.
Gail
i remember standing next to my dad on the vinyl seats in the pastel blue Granada.
ReplyDeletei think i've never taken these law seriously enough. it's just too overwhelming for me to keep up with. (low-functioner) thanfully my kids have survived.
i am glad you brought your kids seats by on Sat...they needed the edges of them to keep their sleeping heads from rolling off. :)
Mel, I have those same memories of standing next to my parents on a pickup or car seat, crawling all around the car, lying in the back window ledge in the sunshine!
ReplyDeleteI never worried about car safety until after the camp team accident when Yvonne was killed. I also nearly totaled my car that summer and the two things combined have given me major motor vehicle anxiety.
You're right, car seats are good just for helping the kids get some sleep on the road. Since they can't lay on the back window ledge like I used to. :-)
glad we're out of all those stages!
ReplyDeletemerry christmas!
After working at Wesley and taking that car seat class, I think these laws are necessary, and I'm glad people actually pay attention. People have worked really hard to get them passed, and as much as we don't want to believe it, a LOT of people don't think about the safety of their children. Or, they do, and just think an accident will never happen to them - but that is one of the reasons we call it an "accident," isn't it? It's unexpected. In my experiences, car seats/boosters really can make a HUGE difference. (I'm kind of a nerd about this, too. :) )
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