Before we started having kids, my husband John outlined his plan to ensure that they would grow up conservative. He wanted us to act and talk like bleeding-heart liberals so when our kids rebelled, they’d run to the right–exactly where we wanted them to be.
We couldn’t really follow his plan, but as long as we have legislators like Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, in office, our kids will learn the value of limited government simply by reading the newspaper.
Evans’ Assembly Bill 2108 proposes to ban children under 13 from sitting in the front seat and also would require children to use car seats or booster seats for two additional years – until their eighth birthday or are 4 feet 9 inches tall.
I can’t wait to show my oldest daughter the article in today’s Sacramento Bee on the bill. I know that she’ll ask me why that lady in the legislature thinks that she knows better than I do what is right for our family. My daughter already thinks of herself as a Republican (she was one of two kids in her class who supported Bush in the last election), but this will have her asking for a subscription to National Review for her next birthday.
While I kept my kids in boosters until their 8th birthday and don’t let them sit in the front seat, we don’t need a law telling parents what to do. Most parents I know have their kids in boosters until the kids simply aren’t comfortable in the seats anymore. For parents who don’t put them in booster seats at all, this proposed law is not going to make them be more responsible.
Why is an 8 year old who is not yet 4’9" tall safe sitting without a booster seat if 7 year old of similar height isn’t? There are old ladies who aren’t 4’9"–maybe we need adult booster seats too?
If Evans’ bill makes it to the governor’s desk, he can demonstrate his belief in limited government by vetoing it. He’s a parent. He should tell the legislature to let parents be parents. We don’t need the government telling how to raise our kids at every turn.