Yeah, I might be talking to you.

This post won't be dealing with bottles, but if you have a baby, know someone who has a baby, are getting ready to have a baby or are thinking about having a baby any time in the future, you may want to take a look.

My kids HATE their car seats.

Well, now that he's turned around, Bubby tolerates his car seat--as long as "Joy Joy" is playing (I've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart--WHERE?). But the Boo girl, whooo boy! She does not like her car seat. Bubby didn't either until we turned him around. There are so many babies out there who love their car seats--who fall asleep as soon as that engine is running instead of screaming as though they were being chopped up into tiny little pieces......I've always envied these parents. Parents who don't dread car trips of any length, parents who can have a normal conversation in the car, parents who don't have to worry that if they were pulled over by the police the policeman would think that the child had been brutally kidnapped.

But then I started to notice something--a lot (and I mean A LOT) of babies are not being stapped into their car seats appropiately. Maybe that's why my babies scream and others don't--they aren't being securly buckled in.

Before we go any farther, I'm sure you're saying to yourself, "Maybe she's strapping those babies in too tight." Go here and look around. There should be no more than one finger width between your baby's collar bone and the strap.

ONE FINGER WIDTH.

I saw a baby the other day that I could get my whole wrist between it and it's car seat strap.


When Miss Boo was born I got cocky. This was, after all, my second baby. I knew how to use a car seat--I knew how tight to buckle her in. So, before we left the hospital, when the nurse asked me if I wanted to try to put her in myself, I was just sure I'd get it right. I'm a teacher, after all. I was going for the gold star. I buckled in my little princess good and tight for her first car ride and stood by proudly as the nurse checked my work. She smiled and said, "Good job. Better than most, in fact. But it's still not tight enough." I was flabbergasted. How could I have gotten in wrong?? I'd JUST read an article about car seat safety days before she was born. But it wasn't tight enough--and a too loose car seat is a risk I'm not willing to take with my babies. Their lives are too precious.

So what's the big deal?? According to CarSafety4Kids.com, one of three things could happen if a child is not properly stapped in:
1) The child may be ejected from the seat.
2) The child's body may contact something inside the vehicle causing severe injuries.
3) The child's body may slam into the harness straps causing internal injuries. If there is slack in the straps, the child will be thrown into the straps at the speed at which the crash occurred.

I guess my children's safety is worth a few tears!

**IMPORTANT**The information on this site is intended for educational and discussion purposes only. Please see a certified child passenger safety technican to ensure that your child is safely buckled into your car. Seriously. I might be talking about YOU.