Milestones {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

Did you realize that the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has suggested guidelines for child car seat and booster seat usage that go beyond laws in most states?  In fact, until recently, Texas did not have a decent booster seat law.  (A new booster seat law went into effect last year.)

Personally I think many people allow their children to get out of their booster seats way too soon.  And their children find the shoulder strap does not fit them well and they may put it behind their backs making for a very dangerous situation in the case of a wreck. 

The guideline that the NHTSA encourages that I have always looked for when determining my kids readiness to leave the booster seat is, to quote the NHTSA site, “A child using a seat belt should be able to sit all the way back against the vehicle seat back with knees comfortably bent over the edge of the seat.”  And while I have not been legally required to have my daughter in a booster seat, she has remained in one until she met this guideline.

Well, as of this weekend, my now 9 year old daughter meets those guidelines.  Yes, people, I now have a child who is no longer in any kind of car seat or booster seat.  See for yourself:

It may not seem like a big deal to you, but this child of mine has been in some kind of a car or booster seat for the last nine years.  For her to now suddenly be big enough to not need one is just another one of those “passing of an era” moments.

Her daddy fussed at her pretty good when we realized all this.  We keep telling her to stop growing but she continually and habitually disobeys us. 

What are we going to do with her?

Can someone seriously please make time stand still?