When my kids were little, I faithfully followed every rule and regulation. They sat in car seats. The rungs in their cribs were the correct distance apart. We even made our own baby food and froze it in ice cube trays. 

The grandparents rolled their eyes at us and said, "you kids survived even though you knocked around the backseat of the car. We fed you solids right away. You got formula." My aunt loves to recall the time that she breastfed her son, while driving a car. 

Whatevah, mom! Eye roll. We didn't want to risk anything, when our kids' lives were at stake. So, we refused the antique crib and paid top dollar for the safest car seat at Babies R Us. 

Even back then, I realized that car seats were a major pain in the ass. You can only fit two kids in the backseat of a regular car, so more people buy SUVs and pollute the air. It makes it harder to car pool and share parenting responsibilities. They are heavy. Babies have to face backwards, which makes them cry all the harder. We just retired Ian's stained and stinky booster seat, and everyone was a lot happier. 

Yesterday, I broke the news to Jonah that not only was Ian supposed to go back in a booster seat, but he was, too. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that kids should face the rear of the car until, they are two, and that kids as old as 12 should remain in their booster seat. 

We're choosing to ignore this new recommendation by the AAP. You have to balance safety with commonsense. Besides, Jonah would probably die of embarrassment. But if my kids were still little, I might take their recommendation about keeping babies in the rear facing car seat more seriously. 

Question of the Day: What do you think about these new recommendations?