Carseat Safety (for all my mommy friends!)

This is probably going to be mostly links, but I've seen some horrid things lately and I need to vent a little.


1. All small children need to be in proper carseats. Those children need to be fastened into those seats for them to keep them safe. Merely having them in the vehicle does the child no good!!

2. Keep your child rear facing as long as possible. There are carseats out there that are not that expensive that keep kids rear facing up to 30-35 lbs. If you really want to be safer, there are more expensive options that rear face up to 40 lbs.

3. The laws are the bare MINIMUM of safety!!! I cannot stress this enough! Just because the law says that you can turn your 20 lb 1 year old forward facing does NOT mean it is safe!! Just because the law says that your 30 lb preschooler can be in a backless booster doesn't mean that it is truly safe.

4. Belts should be tight, no more than two adult fingers should be able to fit between your child and the belt.

5. The harness clip should be even with the child's armpits.

6. A five-point harness is the best type of restraint.

Why rear facing is best. Video.

Benefits of a 5-point harness. Video.

Forward facing vs Rear facing.

Not using seatbelts or child restraint.

I shudder when I think of the horribly inadequate seats I had for my first couple of kids. And I am so very thankful that we've never had a crash. My eldest probably would have been killed in the seat she was in as a toddler if we had been. I wish I'd looked into car seats before I was having my sixth baby. It is sad to think how ignorant I was! I followed the letter of the law and the manufacturer's specifications for what size a child had to be for those seats but never really considered the actual safety of the seats. So I hope that this information will get to someone else who, like me, just has not thought about it. Not because I did not care for my kids or was unconcerned for their safety, but just plain uninformed. :D

www.car-safety.org

Church and State

US Constitution Art. 6 Sect. 3 "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

That boldened part is very important; especially in light of the accusations flying around that "Obama is a Muslim" or a "Muslim sympathizer". Constitutionally it does not matter if he is or not!! Using those accusations as an argument about why one does not like him as President is just ridiculous. There are so many other things that are really worth worrying about. To constantly bring that up in discussions about Obama's qualifications or fit-ness for the Presidency is what is called an ad hominem attack or perhaps a red herring. It has no relevance.

I am tired of hearing it brought up. Of course those who do bring it up always point to the fact that Muslims are our enemy. But are they really? Are we not allies with Saudi Arabia and Egypt and Kuwait and Pakistan and UAE? All of those are Muslim nations. Are we not providing military aid (nice euphemism for war, isn't it?) to Iraq and Afghanistan? Those are also Muslim nations.

It makes no difference if Obama is a Muslim, something he has consistently denied, or not. Those who do not like Obama need to get it through their thick head that according to our Constitution it DOES NOT MATTER!! It is completely irrelevant! His, or any other elected official's, religion cannot, should not, be used as an argument against him.

Now on to the First Amendment!

The First Amendment states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

It seems to me, judging by many of the comments I've seen of Facebook and other places, that Conservative Christians would like very much for that Amendment to not be there. They like the freedom of religion in theory, but they don't seem to like the fact that it is all inclusive. They seem to wish that Muslims were not allowed the same freedom that they claim to prize for themselves.

For example, today there was a post on FB about whether or not the US should restrict immigration of Muslims. Most of the comments ran along the theme that, Yes, the US should not let Muslims in or if the US does that they should be forced to give up their religious practices and assimilate into western society.

Those sentiments are so wrong. So detrimental to true liberty. That same liberty that so many Christians claim to stand for and be thankful for.

The ideology of many Christians, at least in the way they approach the legislation of 'values', is that only one set of beliefs should be protected and that any belief that does not fit with that is wrong and should be made illegal. Here's a post on the gay marriage issue, and how it is not really a matter for the state to decide. And here's a post on why I think that CPACs are not really a good thing. I agree with those Christian values, I just don't want my government forcing them on the rest of the population.

In matters of one's personal life I agree that the Bible is the final authority for Christians, for all men really. I also believe that in matters of state it is the Constitution of these United States, and not the Bible, that is the final authority. If Christians wish to effect a change in the moral climate of this nation let them do their Father's work and preach the gospel and let the Holy Spirit do his work and quit trying to use the US legislature to do it.