OT: Am I the only one who makes my kids sit in the back seat of the car??

[lovingeire]

I have a 12 year old and I can count on one hand the number of times he's ridden in the front seat. Once with me and the rest with his dad. He did ride on my husband's motorcycle once in an emergency situation (aka we didn't have any other way to get him home!) and I nearly had a heart attack!

 

[pacrosby]

Negligence (dictionary.com)
1.
the quality, fact, or result of being negligent; neglect: negligence in discharging one's responsibilities.
2.
an instance of being negligent: a downfall brought about by many negligences.
3.
Law . the failure to exercise that degree of care that, in the circumstances, the law requires for the protection of other persons or those interests of other persons that may be injuriously affected by the want of such care.


Let's face it we cannot wrap our children in fluff but I know with the knowledge that I have that I do the very best that I can within reason and ability to keep my children safe. I have no doubt that if I was in a accident that I would ever second guess putting my children in a seat belt or having them sit in the back seat. My children wear helmets when skating or biking. I will always have it in my heart that I am doing the best that I can. Regardless of the law which I do choose to follow. Prior to it being law I as a child ALWAYS had to wear my seat belt because my grandmother worked in ICU and CCU and refused to move the car unless every person was buckled. Airbags were not a issue as they did not have them. People did not drive 70 miles per hour when I was a child either. In addition There were fewer cars on the road. People also smoked in car, smoked in restaurants, did not have car seats, had lead paint, sucked in asbestos at their jobs and in their houses. Most people do better when they know better. Negligence is having the ability to do better while knowing better and doing less anyways.

But we could always do better. So where and when do you draw the line? There is always something else you can do that will make you and your kids safer. Hindsight is 20/20. "If only I had....."


Again, not a single person here has advocated against the use of seat belts...just for the use of alittle common sense. Some people here act as if the simple act of getting into a car is the equivalent of playing a game of russian roulette when in fact the risk of an otherwise safe driver (being defined as one who obeys the rules of the road and practices defensive driving) getting into any accident, let alone a serious life-threatening one, is very small. If someone really believes that the definition of negligent is when someone does not go to the same lengths as they do to insure absolute safety in the face of such a small risk, then I'd say that makes them pretty arrogant. And really only interested in a game of 'can you top this' and 'who's the better parent'. Neither of which are games I have any interest in playing.

 

[Colleen27]

Negligence is having the ability to do better while knowing better and doing less anyways.

I think this boils down to a difference in worldview. I believe the above is almost always true in life; most of the time, we know there are things we could be doing to be safer but we often choose not to for whatever reason. I don't think that makes us negligent, and I don't think people who draw their line differently than I do are better or worse parents for it (barring extremes, of course).

 

[crl]

My DD was in a 5 point harness until she was 8. Then we moved her and DS age 6 into booster seats so we could fit an infant seat in between them. Now that we have 3 kids and DD is age 9, She has had to make a few short trips in the front seat of DH's car since 2 car seats take up the entire backseat. We normally just avoid having him with 3 kids in his car, but mine has been in the shop so sometimes you have to make due.

 

[momfeez]

I told my kids when they were bigger than me they could sit up front. Well, I'm 5'3"...who knew they'd take after their dad (6'6") and be taller than me when they were 12??

So, the "rule" got changed to you can ride in the front seat when you turn 14 so that you can sometimes pay attention so you won't be totally ignorant when you get your permit.

However, DS1, who is 15 1/2, still rides in the back and refers to me as his chauffer!