Recently I was part of a discussion regarding car seats, obviously I am all for car seats, it was more regarding the rules, regulations and safety ratings. Saying I was part of the discussion is overstating my role and involvement, I simply asked a question. But by engaging I was able to read the passion and knowledge that many women had regarding this subject. And why wouldn’t they?! If there was ever something to become passionate about it is the safety of our children. There is nothing that we as parents hold more dear to us than our kids and we want to protect them as best we can.
Something else that stood out for me was the education regarding car seats that these women had sought out. When we become parents we have so much to learn and this particular group of women had not only done some of their own research they had reached out to a professional in the field of car seats for consultations and advice. Brilliant! (I didn’t even know this was a profession)
We buckle our kids in religiously without fail and without exception, we buy the appropriate buckle system for their height and weight because the consequences of not doing it every single time we get in the car is just too great to live with. These consequences are easy to fear because they will happen immediately, our child could become injured, disabled or worse (I can’t even think of it). But would we have the same diligence and zero tolerance for exceptions if the consequences were 20 or 30 years down the road?
If this isn’t the first time you’ve read a blog post from me you might be drawing the connection I am about to make…
We are in charge of that seat belt getting buckled just like we are in charge of breakfast, lunch and supper. We can’t be expected to know everything about everything and this is exactly why those parents in the car seat discussion had done some research and consulted a professional.
Food has changed since we were kids and continues to change, the marketing industry has made sure of that. They have created confusion between cute food, beautiful food, healthy food, convenient food, quick food, etc. The lines are blurry and it can feel overwhelming and frustrating to know which exceptions are ok to make and which foods require a zero tolerance attitude.
I want to be really clear here that I am in no way parent shaming, I am simply pointing out that when we know how to protect our kids from danger we do it fiercely and unquestioningly. When it comes to food, so many parents just don’t have the information. There are a number of TOXIC cancer causing, diabetes creating, heart disease promoting foods out there that are being marketed to children. The consequences of feeding our kids these foods are 100% going to happen…we just wont see those consequences for 20-30 years.
Accidents are the 4th leading cause of death in Canada and when you break it down further vehicular accidents are actually the 9th leading cause of death in Canada. I’ll give you 3 guesses as the the top 3 causes….
- Cancer – related to the food we eat
- Heart Disease – related to the food we eat
- Stroke – related to the food we eat
Again I am an advocate for seatbelts and appropriately sized car seats. I am also an advocate for protecting the long term health of our children.
We need to learn how to protect the inside of their little bodies as fiercely as we protect the outside!
Plant Based Jenny 