I answer these things with the Maya Angelou quote, "when you know better, you do better" (full quote here: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.”)

As in, I KNOW I didn't use a carseat or a seatbelt growing up, my sister and I rode in the way back of a station wagon like puppies! and helmets using a bike? Um, wut? that was from 1970 through early 80s.

But I now wear a seatbelt, and my kids are in carseats, and we all wear helmets.... heck, some dogs now have their own kind of seatbelts!

I was carefully placed on my tummy as a newborn, then we learned that back to sleep was better (after a brief foray into side sleeping with bracers that children were placed in). Again, we know better so we do better....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1000 deaths

it's not just deaths - it's serious injuries as well. which I think number over 60,000 (not sure if that stat includes all injuries or just serious one.) I once took care of a child who basically lost almost all of her small bowel due to a seat belt injury. Boosters and properly positioned seatbelts are important!

Not trying to say that’s not a tragedy in its own right, but divide 60,000 by 10 million or so kids driving per year (probably an undercount). What are the odds?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s a question. My family is all small. I’m barely 5’0 and was probably closer to 4’10 when I started driving (I had to sit on a pillow to see over the wheel). Should I have been driving in a booster seat? Should I keep my kid (who likely will be that small) in a booster seat until college? When does the madness stop?

(DD is currently 7 and still in a harnessed seat because she’s under 50 pounds, but it has been a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately).

DP. My mom is 5 foot even and does sit on a booster cushion in some older cars that don’t have a drivers seat with adjustable height. Should she not because it’s beneath her dignity?

It's hard to imagine that's safer. If her seat is not adjustable, sitting higher is just going to make it harder for her to reach the pedals. Does she have pedal extenders as well? How often is she driving multiple older cars? My mom is under 5 ft and has never needed a cushion due to adjustable seats. Because her legs are so short she sits super close to the steering wheel, a few inches away. I'm not sure how effecting an air bag will be for someone like her.

Dp. It does not make it harder to reach the pedals. I'm also 5 feet tall and know this from personal experience.

Maybe, but the air bag poses a risk if you're too close. My short mom sits just a few inches away. Cars are just not designed for very short or tall people.

"The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that 10 or more inches is the appropriate distance between a driver and their steering wheel. Because a steering wheel airbag can generate a force of nearly two thousand pounds at speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour, sitting too close to the steering wheel and airbag can cause catastrophic injuries or death on impact."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s a question. My family is all small. I’m barely 5’0 and was probably closer to 4’10 when I started driving (I had to sit on a pillow to see over the wheel). Should I have been driving in a booster seat? Should I keep my kid (who likely will be that small) in a booster seat until college? When does the madness stop?

(DD is currently 7 and still in a harnessed seat because she’s under 50 pounds, but it has been a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately).

DP. My mom is 5 foot even and does sit on a booster cushion in some older cars that don’t have a drivers seat with adjustable height. Should she not because it’s beneath her dignity?

It's hard to imagine that's safer. If her seat is not adjustable, sitting higher is just going to make it harder for her to reach the pedals. Does she have pedal extenders as well? How often is she driving multiple older cars? My mom is under 5 ft and has never needed a cushion due to adjustable seats. Because her legs are so short she sits super close to the steering wheel, a few inches away. I'm not sure how effecting an air bag will be for someone like her.

Dp. It does not make it harder to reach the pedals. I'm also 5 feet tall and know this from personal experience.

Anonymous wrote:1000 deaths

it's not just deaths - it's serious injuries as well. which I think number over 60,000 (not sure if that stat includes all injuries or just serious one.) I once took care of a child who basically lost almost all of her small bowel due to a seat belt injury. Boosters and properly positioned seatbelts are important!