Rules Rule!

Copied from my MySpace blog. Originally posted August 21, 2006

As a parent, there is a lot to keep straight. There are rules and laws that you have to follow. Some of them are obvious.

Like the rule that says don't leave your baby home alone while you go out dancing. (it's a good thing I HATE dancing).

Or, don't get your 18 month-old son drunk. That one just means more beer for me!

Some of them are less obvious, at least to me. Like if you put one cheerio on your son's high chair tray, he will eat it; but if you put ten cheerios on his tray, he will play with them and throw them on the floor. The dog loves it when I forget that one.

One thing that I have learned since becoming a parent is that many Canadian provinces, including Ontario (where I live, which is why I am pointing it out), have a law that says that they must be in some kind of special child restraint in the car until they are 80 lbs. So, we bought one of those carseats that shifts through the various stages and eventually becomes a booster seat until he hits the 80 lbs mark.

Some people scoff at this law, saying "when I was a kid, my parents threw me into the car, and where ever I landed was where I stayed for the 18-hour drive" and such things.

But I take these things very seriously. I think it's important that we protect our kids. As we learn more and more about how to best protect kids, and as there are more and more cars on the road, we need to adjust our thinking to accept things like booster seats until they hit 80 lbs.

Which is why I was so pissed off when, a few weeks ago, I saw a show on TV that completely disregarded this law. They didn't care about the 80 lbs rule at all! They were just sitting there, in the car with no safety seat at all. And nobody seemed to care.

Well, I cared. And that's why I wrote to the producers of the show to complain.

Eventually, I found out that it was actually OK, even though it looked dangerous. Apparently, the girls that were on season one of Canada's Next Top Model stay just above the 80 lbs mark if they keep their fingers out of their throats until at least mid-afternoon.

My bad. Sorry to the CNTM contestants for assuming that they weren't keeping their own safety in mind.