From: CREECH@LSTC2VM.stortek.com (Teresa Creech)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Baby Cries in Carseat
Date: 25 Aug 92 23:55:11 GMT
Organization: StorageTek SW Engineering

Now, I am going to respond to the response to my own post.  I don't think
I've ever done it before.  Here is the post that I'm responding to:
 
 
.In article <1684E6B4C.CREECH@LSTC2VM.stortek.com> CREECH@LSTC2VM.stortek.com (Tresa Creech) writes:
.>I have a friend with a 6 week old baby boy.  She called in tears last night.
.>Seems that Charles HATES to ride in the car in his carseat.  He cried all the
.>way home from the hospital ( 1 1/2 hours) when he was discharged.  He has
.>cried during almost every car ride he has taken since then (including a trip
.>from Kentucky to Flordia :^( ).
.> [stuff deleted]
.>Since the trip to Flordia (when he spent many hours snuggled in Moms lap
.                                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
.>because they couldn't stand the screaming), he has been more clingy and
.>wants to be held, but he doesn't scream uncontrolably anywhere but in the
.>car.
.>
.I would like to get the opinion from misc.kid.parents out there
.on this one.  I apologize that I'm following up to this article
.w/out offering any suggestions, but seeing this post made me want
.to ask this.
.
.I know I'm going to get tons of "*you're* not a parent so you can't
.possibly know what it's like to deal with a constantly crying baby...etc"
.responses, but here goes anyway...  When I read of/see parents who hold
.their babies in their laps (for *whatever* reason) it really gets to
.me.  There are far too many stories of children in accidents getting
.thrown right through the windshield or through the window.  Every time
.I see it I get a sickening feeling in my stomach because the parents
.should know better, and would have worse problems than constant crying
.should a car hit them.
.
.I am honestly interested in the opinions of all you misc.kidders out
.there on this.  Am I alone in this.  My SIL took care of her twins by
.herself and had the same problem with my nephew -- constantly crying
.choking, etc.  Her solution was pulling over and going back to him
.until he was better. I'm not saying this is the best idea, but this
.is what she did in the same situation.
.
.Flames to /dev/null. I'm just interested in serious opinions. I'm
.not interested in a fight. Thanks. :)
.---
.Jackie Brady/jackie8@cc.bellcore.com/908-699-5458
.(My company has nothing to do with my opinions.)
.Consequences, schmonsequences...as long as I'm rich! -- Daffy Duck
 
I think that *Everyone* knows that kids/babies/etc are not safe outside
of their carseats in a car.  Certainly my friend knows.  It wouldn't do
any good for me to nag her about it.  She is a brand new, nervous mother
who was in the car with her in-laws (who are very critical of her and her
abilities as a wife/mother) with a baby who was making himself sick by
crying.  I don't know if I would have done any differently.  I do know that
if it were NOW (ie, 4 kids later with understanding in-laws), that I would
NOT take the child out of the carseat, but that is me not her.
 
I cuss at people whos kids are obviously not buckled into any kind of
restraint.  I think that it is inexcusable.  My kids were taught from
day 1 that if you are in the car, you are buckled in.  (This helped
a whole lot when we were traveling in an airplane - a buckled up child
is easier to handle!!)  All of my kids know this and the little ones yell
"I'm not buckled yet!" if I put the car in reverse to back out of the
garage.
 
The main reason for having kids buckled is for their safty, obviously!
But there are other reasons too.  It's easier to control kids who are
securely buckled in.  It cuts down on sibling fighting.  In short, it
makes my job as parent/driver easier.
 
But, it takes years to address and change these attitudes.  My father was
a nurse - he always said that while working in the Emergency Room you could
usually tell who had their seat belts on and who didn't - the ones who
didn't were usually dead.  (I know that there are exceptions to every rule.)
Because of this I ALWAYS buckle and ANYONE in MY car buckles up or they don't
ride with me.  I don't try to address what they do in their own cars.
 
The thing that I can't understand is - WHY AREN'T THERE SEATBELTS IN THE SCHOOL
BUSSES!!!  The kids need them.  Surely the driver would have an easier and
safer trip if the kids were buckled.  How much does it take to put seatbelts
in a bus?  Could the PTA have a fund drive to start adding the needed
seatbelts?  I wouldn't mind buying a few (at LEAST 4 - for each of my kids).
How much EXTRA do seatbelts cost on a new bus?  If all of us have such a
strong opinion about the necessity of seatbelts, then why isn't there more
of a push to have them on the busses???????
 
Thanks,
Teresa
 
PS Thanks for all the good suggestions for my friend.  I will pass them
   along to her.