It came completely naturally for me. My mom was always a stickler about us buckling up (my dad wasn't, which was a source of major arguments between the two of them!) and she always had us in car seats up until the ages that were recommended at the time. I can remember my little brothers, who are now 20 and 22, being in a shield booster - ughh, but that's what was available at the time. When I was pregnant with my oldest DS, I was obsessed with all things baby, high chairs, cribs, strollers, and of course, car seats. I researched and researched and ordered online (one of the first things I ever ordered online) a 5 pt Snugride with the up-front adjuster. It was rare back then to see 5 pt Snugrides. I had friends having babies at the same time and they all had 3 pts because that was what was available in the stores around here. The nurses at the hospital were even impressed with it, which made me feel good!
And, then, 3 years ago, my cousin's 4 yr old son was killed in a car accident. He was in a regular adult seatbelt, no booster or anything, and died from brain injuries. This cousin is more like a brother to me, he even lived with my family when I was young. So, I know firsthand that losing a child is the worst thing that a family could ever have to go through. It was one of those very rare severe rear impact collisions and was the fault of a man who fell asleep at the wheel. At that point, I went back to my research and stopped using our Mighty-Tites! Now I can't believe that I relied on them for so long, especially when it's pretty easy to get a seat in without it! I feel like doing my research and spreading the word about CPS, if it spares another family the pain of losing a child, is worth it.