I'm over my initial panic on this one, but I keep thinking about the issue of risk, & how to weigh it.
I found out that my 10-yr-old was being taken in the front seat of her friend's father's car to camp. (I had assumed they'd use their minivan). I was very upset, & initially thought I would have to start driving her myself (a difficult thing for me to do for various reasons). But if I do drive her, then there will be a second car on the road--& thus more risk of someone getting in an accident. On top of this, if I drive her, I must also take my other two kids, who would otherwise be off the road. This issue has come up for me a few times, in which I've insisted that to avoid a young child sitting in the front seat, two cars would have to go to wherever we were headed, or we'd have to take two trips.
I know you can drive yourself crazy with this stuff (believe me, I know! ), but I'm just wondering how far to push. I have already contacted a car-seat tech I met earlier online; she made me feel much better (esp. since the front seat is way back & the seatbelt is being used properly). Still, I feel uneasy....But I just don't know where to draw the line. As I asked my car-seat tech friend, at what point do I just do the best I can with the car that's available? Or should I be absolutely hard-line on this?
To complicate matters, this is my stepdaughter--I've since found out that her own mother often has to put her up front, since she must frequently ferry a group of four in a car where only three fit in back. Again, my impulse is to freak out. But really, by that logic, everyone has to buy a minivan if they are ever to transport groups of kids....I don't have one, & I can't expect her mother to get one either. Meanwhile, my other two kids are getting to be school-age, which will mean that soon I'll be dealing more with their being in friends' cars, or my driving their friends around.
So, maybe I should take my hard line on boosters in the back seat with my younger two (which will be difficult enough, since hardly anyone around here properly restrains their older kids past, say, age 5) & accept that my older one will sometimes be up front?
Sorry to be so wordy! I'd really appreciate any thoughts on this.
Nancy
I found out that my 10-yr-old was being taken in the front seat of her friend's father's car to camp. (I had assumed they'd use their minivan). I was very upset, & initially thought I would have to start driving her myself (a difficult thing for me to do for various reasons). But if I do drive her, then there will be a second car on the road--& thus more risk of someone getting in an accident. On top of this, if I drive her, I must also take my other two kids, who would otherwise be off the road. This issue has come up for me a few times, in which I've insisted that to avoid a young child sitting in the front seat, two cars would have to go to wherever we were headed, or we'd have to take two trips.
I know you can drive yourself crazy with this stuff (believe me, I know! ), but I'm just wondering how far to push. I have already contacted a car-seat tech I met earlier online; she made me feel much better (esp. since the front seat is way back & the seatbelt is being used properly). Still, I feel uneasy....But I just don't know where to draw the line. As I asked my car-seat tech friend, at what point do I just do the best I can with the car that's available? Or should I be absolutely hard-line on this?
To complicate matters, this is my stepdaughter--I've since found out that her own mother often has to put her up front, since she must frequently ferry a group of four in a car where only three fit in back. Again, my impulse is to freak out. But really, by that logic, everyone has to buy a minivan if they are ever to transport groups of kids....I don't have one, & I can't expect her mother to get one either. Meanwhile, my other two kids are getting to be school-age, which will mean that soon I'll be dealing more with their being in friends' cars, or my driving their friends around.
So, maybe I should take my hard line on boosters in the back seat with my younger two (which will be difficult enough, since hardly anyone around here properly restrains their older kids past, say, age 5) & accept that my older one will sometimes be up front?
Sorry to be so wordy! I'd really appreciate any thoughts on this.
Nancy