A friend and I were speaking earlier today regarding how we had “inherited” a lot of our parenting practices from our mothers. Fortunately (in my opinion), we both had moms who wanted us to enjoy ourselves but also gave us some firm behavioral boundaries. They were parents first and friends second.
Our parents did a lot of crazy things too though. We joke that it’s a miracle that we all made it to adulthood in one piece since there were not as much safety education and awareness. (The 8 Reasons Children of the 1970s Should All Be Dead post highlights several of the most glaring health and safety concerns that were overlooked in a fun way.) I thought of point #2 – “Lost and Not Found: Seat Belts” when my friend Nancy asked if I could share a PSA on seat belt safety tips for tweens with you. Although child safety seats and seat belt usage overall were not popular in the 70s, this is one area where change is good. As the late Maya Angelou said,
“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
While I believe in letting tweens have as much freedom as they can responsibly handle, that doesn’t apply to wearing a seat belt. My tween son (along with any other tween who happens to be riding in our family car) wears a seat belt. Period.
Seat Belt Safety Facts
-One passenger (age 8 – 14) is injured every 8 minutes in a car crash.
-There were 1,522 kids (ages 8-14) who died in car, SUV and van crashes from 2009 – 2013. Almost half of them were not wearing a seat belt.
-The percentage of child passengers who die while riding without seat belts tends to increase with age and is most evident among 13 and 14-year-olds (regardless of their seating position).
Disclosure: This is a public service announcement (PSA). I was not compensated to share this message with you. I just think that it’s a helpful reminder!