Does the new car seat bill go too far?
Ever since moving to Florida five years ago, I have been amazed by the number of parents who don't use car seats. Heck, many don't even make their kids wear seat belts. This just blows me away. Are you really too busy to take 30 seconds to possibly save your child's life? My wife and I actually ended a close friendship because they would babysit our daughter and drive her around with no car seat. This was even after we told them how strongly we felt about it.
The new bill being floated around by Florida lawmakers would require children ages 4 to 7 and shorter than 4' 9" to ride in a booster seat. Senator Thad Altman, the senate bill's sponsor, says that children using booster seats are 59 percent less likely to be injured in an accident than those just using seat belts.
This isn't the first time lawmakers have tried to pass this. Back in 2001, Jeb Bush vetoed a similar bill calling it a "de facto tax on families living paycheck to paycheck". However, Florida and Arizona are the only two states that do not have similar laws. Is it time for Floridians to pay up for the sake of our kids?
Personally, I have a tough time with this law. I support our current law which says all kids 3 and under must be in car seats, but once they turn 4 they can move into a seat belt. Now maybe 4 is a bit young to be without a seat, so I agree that maybe we should tweak the guidelines a bit. However, a 7 year-old who is almost 5 feet tall seems a bit large to me for a booster chair.
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Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work.
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Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s.
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Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters.
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces.
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 15, and Lily, 7, and is married to a journalist, Bob Norman. She covers Broward County government, which is filled with almost as much drama as the Norman household. Almost.
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator and the father of a 7-year-old girl, and two boys ages 4 and 3.
Kyara Lomer Camarena has a 2-year-old son, Copelan, and a brand new baby. 
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