There's nothing quite like the words "road trip" to bring back plenty of childhood memories. When you're a member of a four-child family, there is no such thing as pricey plane trips off to Europe or Hawaii - "vacation" equals a station wagon, a cooler full of pop and damp cheese, and miles of open road.
But there was one component of our family treks that greatly resembled travel by jet: once at cruising speed, seatbelts were optional. Like plenty of kids from my generation, I saw many a road-tripping vista pass by from a prone position in the back of the station wagon, surrounded by books, pillows and blankets. Before the pitchfork and-torch brigade heads off to my parents' house, keep in mind: that was pretty standard back then.
Over the last four decades, infant and child car seat laws were slowly toughened up in response to tragic accidents in which it became increasingly clear that simple changes could dramatically decrease the rate of death and significant injury.
I know, I know: you grew up "just fine" without all this nonsense. There's too many laws now. Parents today are just "over-protective" and want to keep their kids bubblewrapped from the day they arrive, right?
Here's the real truth: if you're reading this, you're one of the lucky ones - like me and my siblings - who arrived through childhood safely despite an appalling lack of car seat safety and a culturally casual adherence to seatbelt laws. Many children were not so lucky.
To keep kids safe, it's imperative that parents know and follow the guidelines on car seats.
But easier said than done: with different regulations in different provinces, and laws sometimes changing between one child's arrival and the next, plus recommendations that go beyond legal requirements, it's easy to get confused.
After checking out the guidelines listed by the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation and ICBC recently, due to a question from a reader, it seemed a good time for an overview:
- All children must use an age-and weight-appropriate child seat until their ninth birthday, unless they have reached the height of 145 cm (4'9").
- Infant and rear-facing infant/child car seats are for children from birth up to at least one year and 20 pounds (but more on this in a minute).
- Forward-facing car seats are for children who are at least one year old and 20 pounds, until 40 pounds; children may remain rearfacing if allowed by the car seat's specific weight limits.
- Booster seats are for children who are at least 40 pounds, until they are nine years of age, unless they are 145 cm tall; children may remain in a forwardfacing car seat with harness if allowed by the weight limit of the car seat.
With all the ages, weights and varying types of seats, it's easy for it all to start feeling complicated, and that's multiplied by the fact that many health and safety organizations have encouraged more stringent recommendations beyond the law.
For example, there's the issue of extended rear facing: the law says I can turn my child around at one year and 20 pounds, but pediatric and vehicle safety agencies throughout North America have encouraged keeing children rear facing to two and beyond.
As for the issue of a child's legs touching the back of the vehicle seat, which causes concern for a lot of people, Transport Canada is clear: "It is OK - as long as your child is still below the manufacturer's weight and height limits. - (Even if your child has reached the legal limit to be turned around) the rear facing position is still safer."
Our youngest is nearly 18 months old, and I can't imagine turning her forward facing yet; when her brother was this age, he'd already been turned around. It didn't seem like such a big deal to me then, but it does now (it's amazing what a few crash-test videos comparing rear-facing to forward-facing can do for one's perspective.)
A similar situation arises in the transition between a forward-facing child seat with a five-point harness to a booster, which uses the car's own belt.
For example, my son is over the age of four, and just a few pounds over the 40-pound line - he could, by law, be in a booster seat.
Instead, we have kept him in a five-point harness child seat that has a higher weight and height limit.
My children will never know what it's like to travel across the wide open prairies while lying on their backs in the rear of a station wagon. I don't think they're really missing anything, and what they've gained in safety is immeasurable. There are no guarantees in life, and tragic accidents still do occur, but why would we not do all that we can to ensure the safety of our kids?
For more, see www. childseatinfo.ca or call 1877-247-5551.
Christina Myers is a reporter with The Record and sister paper Burnaby NOW. Follow her at www.twitter.com/ ChristinaMyersA.
