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Why do I read this sort of thing?

  • Jun. 16th, 2009 at 6:55 PM
moss
This article? You don't want to read it. If you have kids, you really don't want to read it, and if you have a child still in a rear-facing carseat, you really, really don't want to read it. But you probably should anyway as long as the laws about this sort of thing get more and more restrictive.

When I first ran into a discussion about this sort of incident (Salon's Broadsheet has had several lately), someone posted a few stats about the number of children killed by airbags vs. the number forgotten in a car. Something like 8 airbag-related deaths (according to an NYT article I found, only 2 of those were infants in rear-facing seats) over 10 years vs. 36 per year accidentally left in a hot car (or an average of 360 a year). Why can't we parents make the decision for ourselves about this? Apparently you can get a serious ticket for having a child in the front seat even though a lot of cars have the option to turn off passenger-side airbags. I still get pissy about the fact that you have to put your 9-year-old in a booster seat (in the back seat, of course!). Has my lack of risk aversion gone too far?

Also, pro tip: never read the comments for these types of stories. None of these people have ever forgotten anything ever and would totally pass the written exam they propose that all potential parents take in order to get a license to breed. Me? I totally see how it could happen, and it scares the shit out of me. I'm glad we're moving back where we won't have to drive much anymore.

Comments

( 8 comments — Leave a comment )
[info]hazenhammel wrote:
Jun. 17th, 2009 04:35 am (UTC)
"Me? I totally see how it could happen, and it scares the shit out of me."
Living in constant terror is part of being a parent. It's good for you. Builds character!

And eventually you will do something stupid, hopefully non-fatal. Like the time I was pushing the boys around in a shopping cart (don't try this at home) and one of them stood up just as I hit a bump. He still has a little bald spot on the back of his head to remind me to feel guilty about it. O god the blood! (Head injuries bleed a lot).

I try to draw a sharp distinction between things I don't want to regret not doing, usually involving basic physics and definitely including booster seats, and things that rely more on unproven medical theories, like mercury in vaccines causes autism.
[info]igorxa wrote:
Jun. 17th, 2009 07:26 am (UTC)
great article. i can't believe how assholish some of those lawyers are. and i can definitely see myself forgetting. i know my gf would absolutely forget. good thing we're not having kids. also, those commentors are the lowest forms of life.
[info]princessmargo wrote:
Jun. 17th, 2009 05:56 pm (UTC)
"i can't believe how assholish some of those lawyers are..."

who are you?
[info]lady_gairfowl wrote:
Jun. 17th, 2009 08:23 am (UTC)
I read that article a couple of months ago, after my husband posted it (with no warnings!) on his LJ. It's such a well-written article, but oh, god. We're only thinking about kids at this point, and it's terrifying. Did you see the companion piece about prevention?
[info]trunkbutt wrote:
Jun. 17th, 2009 02:04 pm (UTC)
Oh God, I read that article (I didn't even have to look to know which one you linked) right after Paloma came home from the NICU and I bawled for like an entire day. I told Tedd that we'd always, always, always check. If I'm by myself, I make a point of bringing her in first if I have groceries or something and I'm still paranoid about it. The funny thing is, though, that at this point the carseat is only ever in the car if she's in it so it would be kind of hard to forget her. But still, I'm wicked paranoid about it.
[info]roninspoon wrote:
Jun. 17th, 2009 04:22 pm (UTC)
This is the most important sentence in the entire, long, emotionally devastating article.

"Fennell believes that prosecuting parents in this type of case is both cruel and pointless: It's not as though the fear of a prison sentence is what will keep a parent from doing this. "

Criminal legislation that does not serve as a deterrent to the crime, is useless.
[info]hazenhammel wrote:
Jun. 18th, 2009 12:43 pm (UTC)
As you know very well, my libertarian-leaning friend, people pass laws against things to give themselves the reassurance that they are "doing something" about a problem, even though all they are doing is making it worse.
[info]roninspoon wrote:
Jun. 18th, 2009 03:07 pm (UTC)
Those people are stupid and a poison on my liberty.
( 8 comments — Leave a comment )