Tough Decisions
As a parent and as a car seat technician, I have made tough decisions. For example, there have been occasions, where I had to travel with four children in a 5 seater car. Luckily, I have the education to know that the oldest, harnessed child should be placed up front with the seat pulled all the way back away from the airbag. I also choose to only use a specific seat that I know has less forward head movement in a crash even without a top tether (top tethers can’t be use in the front seat). Not ideal. Not as safe as that child in the back seat… but far safer then squeezing four children in the back and sometimes, in life, you can’t just stay home… you have to get where you’re going. I get that.
My issue comes when people don’t think… or don’t even know to think about these tough decisions.
I bet if you asked any parent of a child with cancer if they had a simple $40 fix, would they cure their child, they would undoubtedly say yes. The average child can be secured in a car for about $40. We are lucky, in my family, we have not faced a child hood disease or other situation that could result in death. But, because I’m educated in Child Passenger Safety, I know my children are more likely to die in a car accident then from a childhood disease. I also want to raise children who are aware of the dangers in driving as they get older and eventually drive themselves. That means each and every day, I evaluate if our situation is the safest it can be… and try to use my tools to do so.
So why is it, that parents consistently make really bad decisions when it involves car safety even when they know the possible results? It’s just not OK to drive around with four children in the back of a four seater car (no car seats), and two adults up front. This is a situation that demands attention. This is a situation that cannot be ignored. This is a situation in which every person in that car is at risk… the four children from ejection or serious seatbelt injury, and the driver and passenger could be impacted by an child as they eject the car. This is something that could happen with even a 10 mph accident.
I understand times are tough. I understand there are many people struggling and many people who are consumed by anxiety and stress over each and every day. But putting your kids at risk does not improve this anxiety… and frankly could lead to even more (arrest for child endangerment, serious injury or death to a child, death of a parent… ect.). Beyond that, there is a solution. This is in fact not a tough decision. The decision should be, not everyone goes in the car. One adult stays home with some of the children. It might not be as social for the adult, but at the end of the day, this means each person is safe (so long as they are in proper seats).
When I’m doing car seat education, I believe my role is an educator. I am there to educate parents on the law, the physics of a crash, and the safety tools available to them. Beyond that, I am a mandatory reporter in my current role as a CPS at a local non-profit. My role is not to sit there and report people, but more to educate them so I don’t have to report them. Parents are there to make the decisions, but without the tools and information to make those decisions, children like the children in this situation are put in danger on a daily basis.
