Lesser of Two Evils
Life in Beit Frummie is hectic. It has always been hectic, but this year, with PC’s new job (did I mention he has a new job?), things are especially hectic. And for the first time in a very long time, I arrived at the preschool without Peach’s carseat.
In the Golden State, a child must be secured in a child restraint system if s/he is six years of age or older, but less than 16 years of age, or who is less than six years of age and weighs 60 pounds or more.
[For the record, Peach is three-and-a-half years of age and weighs 38 pounds.]
Not long after our first [Beernut] started preschool, we learned that a two-car family needed two car seats. But even then, we often found ourselves playing musical car seats, whereby a seat must be transferred to whatever car will be transporting said child from Point A to Point B. Once-in-a-very-great-while, one of us (parent, grandparent, sitter, etc) would arrive for pick-up without the requisite seat. But that has never presented much of a problem as the school kept some extras in reserve for just such an occasion.
So imagine my dismay when I learned about a recent policy change at the preschool. It seems that the school has discontinued this helpful benefit due to liability. It seems that if a forgetful parent was to borrow one of their seats and get into an automobile accident, the school could be held liable.
So instead, parents are told to drive carefully.
While the parent is ultimately responsible, I would think that there is a better solution…
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Frume Sarah's World 
When our kids were little, we had car seats installed in each of our cars all of the time. That way we didn’t have to count on our flaky memory nor move the seats back and forth. More recently, a niece of mine got an extra one cheaply at a garage sale and solved the problem. Drive safely? Absurd! It’s not like it’s a good thing to drive dangerously if the child is buckled in!
Yes, we have a car seat for both cars. Except that sometimes other people pick up the kids…
We negotiated with the school to hold onto a few that belonged to the “parent pool”. We in essence we not borrowing from the school. It’s a crazy worls and takes a loopy road sometimes.
Now that is thinking outside the proverbial box. Impressive.
we may have an extra one if you would like to take one of ours. let me know!
We’ve got two. That’s not the problem. On this particular day, I was driving in a third car…
I’m confused by the part about the child under 6 who weighs 60 pounds or more. What about the child under 6 who weighs 59 pounds or less? (As do most under-six-year-olds I know.)
Most six-year olds? Heck, at the rate she is growing, Poppyseed won’t reach 60 pounds til junior high…
Jami, it’s a simple Talmudic equation:
There are two tana’im (conditions) to make someone patur (exempt) from sitting in a car seat.
1) Age 6 or higher
2) 60 pounds or more
Anyone who weighs less than 60 pounds has to sit in a carseat. Once you reach 60 pounds, if you’re still under 6 years old, you’re still required to sit in a carseat. Possibly, if you have some genetic condition that makes you over 16 years old and somehow less than 60 pounds, you might be exempt.
Hey, the parents on “Little People, Big World” are even able to drive – with certain modifications made to their cars.
Thanks for reframing it in Jewish!