Reply to At what age did your kids sit in the front seat of the car?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]No one wants their child to die in a car accident, obviously. But when did we become so risk-averse that tolerating any risk at all is tantamount to child abuse?

I'm old, and when I was a kid, we didn't even have car seats (or shoulder belts; lap belts were optional). On long car trips, I sat on the lap of whichever parent was in the front passenger seat.

Miraculously, I made it to adulthood. (Except it's really not miraculous, the odds of someone dying in a car accident -- although higher than the odds of a plane crash or a stranger abduction -- are still pretty small.)

Better auto safety (car seats/shoulder belts/airbags/etc.) is a good thing, of course. My baby is rear-facing and my daughter's in a booster. But it seems bizarre to me that a child might have to ride in the back seat until s/he is old enough to drive. [/quote]

[b]So did you get in a severe car accident without a seat belt in the lap of a parent in the front seat as a child[/b] and survived? Because the reasons these laws are in place was to prevent child deaths taking place with out car seats, seat belts, airbags, boosters, sitting in the back that occurred when accident took place.

[/quote]

No -- that's my point. Fatal car accidents are simply not that common. (Something like 2/3 of the ones that do occur involve a parent driving drunk.) There is a risk of getting into an accident every time you get in your car, yes. But it's a very small risk; severe collisions are not inevitable.

I understand if people want to gear their kids up for a demolition derby every time they get in the car, that's certainly their prerogative. But I don't like a climate where parents are neglecting their kids or "must not really love them" if they're willing to accept a very small amount of risk.[/quote]

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