Tag: safety

Navigating Booster Seat Safety: What You Need to Know

~ SA Otey

When do you let your kids out of a booster seat? Whenever I want to, that’s when. I understand safety guidelines, but how is a booster seat going to help at the rate of speed that I drive? Or as a matter of fact, someone else is driving? A crash at that speed the child might as well be sitting on a stack of glued-together phone books.

I remember lying in the front seat of my Dad’s Dodge Dart when we had a wreck, and I believe I hit the windshield. But that part is fuzzy. I turned out fine. If a child can put their feet on the floor with their back to the seat and the seatbelt doesn’t choke them, then they are ready to toss the booster seat. Not out the window because I do not believe in littering.

I recall taking a nap in the front seat of my Dad’s Dodge Dart when my father had a wreck, and I believe I hit the windshield. But that part is unclear. I turned out just fine.

*Disclaimer, don’t break the law, check your local guidelines and follow them. Or at least, don’t get caught or wreck. Oh, who cares you are going to do what you want anyway.

Front Seat Safety: Age and Weight Restrictions Explained

~ SA Otey

When do you let your kids ride in the front seat? Well, hopefully never. Maybe when they are old enough to drive. Once they make that move from the back to front, they will try to control the A/C and SiriusXM settings. We have a 100-pound rule in our state; once they reach that weight threshold, they can sit in the front seat. We figure by then they will be tall enough as well. So we have to control their diet so we don’t end up with a 100-pound 3-foot weeble wobble in the front seat. There are some stipulations.

Why Kids Need the Thrill of Old Swings

~ SA Otey


In our age of helicopter parenting, we now have to ensure our kids don’t fall off swings. The super swing disc looks like a great idea, but it’s not cheaper than an old tire tied to a rope to a tree branch that will snap at any moment. I mean, that was the whole point of swings, the danger! Swinging on an old rusty hole-ridden swing set with uneven legs rocking back and forth is how we tested our limits of fear.

There was always that one moment when you reached the height of the upper support bar and felt as if you were going to break free of gravity and sail into the treeline behind you. It was flying off the swing or crashing onto the gravel below. No, we didn’t have rubber mulch back then either.

I’ve let my kids fall off the swing set, walk behind them, and get clobbered by the person swinging. You know what? They never tried it that way again. They have to learn the hard way. Let them fail, just don’t laugh at them when they do. Well, don’t let them see you.