I love to have a blog filled with the fun and joy of having and raising children but Saturday we had a very serious experience and I have to hop on a soapbox in my post for today.
I have had so many conversations with other moms who complain about their kids' car seats. "They are so big!" "They are so expensive!" "My kids don't like them so I barely tighten the straps." There are a lot of reasons that car seats can be obnoxious but I have always been a worry wart so I am way overprotective about what car seats our kids use. Even though my four year old is big enough and old enough to use a booster seat, I still have him in a five point harness because he still fits in it (the shoulder straps can move two notches higher!) and it is way safer for him! I wait to turn my babies forward facing and when my kids complain that the buckles are too tight I tell them if they are tight then they are safe.
On Saturday we were all driving to the grocery store and when we stopped at a red light, we were rear ended with everybody in the car. There was no sound of tires screeching so the person who hit us was not slowing down, they were accelerating. I screamed at the moment of impact because I felt the back of the headrest hit my head and was immediately confused as to what was happening. I also screamed because your brain wants you to turn around and look at your children but your body is unable to move by your own doing because it is busy being moved by the force of the collision. My four year old began to cry and continued for about 20 minutes. He was hysterical and inconsolable. Everyone else was fine.
The other person's speed was not "that" fast, but even a collision like that is scary, especially with all your little ones in the car. My body was shaking and I was so scared but being the Mommy, I had to just hold it all inside because I didn't want to scare any of the children. As soon as we pulled over, I got out and examined each kid. My beautiful baby never even made a peep! The damage to the vehicle is still unknown and we are taking it in today. It's unclear how badly damaged the bumper and tailgate are. I immediately filed an insurance claim and all four car seats have to be replaced due to being involved in an accident. I couldn't believe that! But I am so thankful all of my kids were in five point harnesses.
It's easy to want to move your kids up to the next car seat because it's easier or they are older or they are bigger but you know what? I don't care! I want my children safe, as safe as they can possibly be so I will continue to put my children into car seats with a five point harness until they truly outgrow them, not when the law says they are big enough to not use them. I am convinced that if my four and six year olds were in booster seats (that most don't have anchors on), that they would have had injuries from the force of the impact. A seat belt has to feel an impact before it can brace against it, a five point harness doesn't. We have always talked to our kids about being safe in the car and I know most people around us think we are way too strict and anal, but Saturday was more than enough for me to feel justified in keeping my kiddos in the safest car seat possible.
Someone once told me when my oldest was a baby, "Remember that each upgrade in a car seat, backward to forward facing, five point to booster, booster to just a seatbelt, is a DOWNGRADE in safety." I always remembered that and now I pass that on to you. Please buckle your kiddos up nice and tight because you love them enough to do so!
That's all for my soap box rant today and thanks be to God for keeping my family safe!!
Thanks for reading!
Busy Mommy Blogger
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