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Car Seats as Contraception

journals.uchicago.edu

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Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#121

Post by tohnjitor »

Someone1234 wrote: post #36
rimbo789 wrote: post #31

As a parent of 2 a big reason we won’t have a third is the massive step up in transportation costs. Having to get a third car seat would require us to go from our Kia to a minivan. And then there is the cost of the car seat alone. Then there is the time cost of wrangling kids in an out of them. My toddler can easily make it 15 minutes to buckle her in just on her own. A third would mean easily 5 minutes of to get eve…

Yep, there is like two brands that specialize in three across. A lot of new parents haven't yet realized that a carseat is wider than the average adult. Meaning that cramped middle seat isn't getting a third seat without very careful consideration and the right vehicle.

A Honda Odyssey can fit three car seats across in the middle row. A Jeep Wrangler 4 door can fit three car seats across in the back seat.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#122

Post by rayiner »

fxtentacle wrote: post #102

While I believe this article to be correct, Germany is an interesting counter-example: Germany first introduced mandatory child car seat laws on April 1, 1993. [1] That year, fertility was at 1.28 kids per woman. Since then, it has increased to 1.62. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindersitz https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/deu/ger...

You can’t compare those numbers because the population in 1993 and today comprises different groups who are materially different in terms of fertility rate. Last year, the fertility rate for women with German citizenship was 1.23.

The other major change is that in 1990, you had a reunification of east and west germany. Fertility rates in East Germany were low before reunification and collapsed right after reunification. But they recovered from the early 1990s to the late 2000s. So the 1993 aggregate average is artificially low. In neighboring France, the fertility rate in 1993 was 1.7.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#123

Post by tohnjitor »

kelnos wrote: post #95
SAI_Peregrinus wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can also usually just turn off the passenger-side airbag. I know there's been a button on every car I've owned to do so, for when you've got something heavy in the front seat that isn't a passenger.

I've never had a car where you could disable the passenger-side airbag. We did have a car like that in the 90s, but it didn't come that way from the factory: my mother had a mostly-irrational fear of them (she was on the shorter side, but not so short that it could actually be a danger for her if it deployed), so we somehow got an aftermarket mod that let her disable it when she was riding in that seat. Of course, sh…

Some newer vehicles will automatically disable the front passenger airbag if there is nothing in the seat or if there is weight in the seat but less weight than a typical adult.

Pickup trucks without a backseat have long had the ability to manually disable the passenger airbag.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#124

Post by [deleted] »

bradley13 wrote: post #78

Wow, talk about the law of unintended effects! Without going into the specifics of car seats, I do think we overemphasize safety. The article mentions saving 57 children. How much are 57 lives worth? The answer is not infinite - a life has a numeric value, ask any insurance company. Every safety regulation ought to pass a cold-blooded cost/benefit analysis. Few of them do.

[deleted]

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#126

Post by nslsm »

fxtentacle wrote: post #102

While I believe this article to be correct, Germany is an interesting counter-example: Germany first introduced mandatory child car seat laws on April 1, 1993. [1] That year, fertility was at 1.28 kids per woman. Since then, it has increased to 1.62. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindersitz https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/deu/ger...

Those who have children can’t afford a car.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#127

Post by delfinom »

mullingitover wrote: post #2

> We show that laws mandating use of child car safety seats significantly reduce birth rates, as many cars cannot fit three child seats in the back seat. Wouldn't the real cause of the depressed birthrates be the requirement to own a car in order to have children? If you aren't a slave to your vehicle there's no problem with the available space for car seats.

Have you ever tried taking kids on public transit? God forbid you try to take 3 with you.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#128

Post by delfinom »

decafninja wrote: post #90

My wife and I are DINKs. We drive a smallish CUV. Her cousin drove it, fell in love, and bought the same car. It’s really a perfect allrounder - looks nice, is luxurious, more than enough space for us, even drives like a sports car (or at least as close to a CUV can hope to). Then said cousin had a baby. People around him scolded him for not selling the car for something much bigger - like a Kia Telluride or a Honda…

I know someone who had one child and then spent the pandemic finding a car and buying an overpriced, and significantly oversized Escalade. He of course detailed his struggles, especially financial the entire time to us wonder what the fuck was going on. Apparently the whole pressure was from his and his wife's entire extended family.

Jfc my parents raised me and my brother out of a fucking Buick sedan. Modern Americans are spoiled as fuck.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#129

Post by delfinom »

em-bee wrote: post #117
decafninja wrote: post #90

My wife and I are DINKs. We drive a smallish CUV. Her cousin drove it, fell in love, and bought the same car. It’s really a perfect allrounder - looks nice, is luxurious, more than enough space for us, even drives like a sports car (or at least as close to a CUV can hope to). Then said cousin had a baby. People around him scolded him for not selling the car for something much bigger - like a Kia Telluride or a Honda…

People around him scolded him that's one of the bigger problems in todays society. people acting like they know better and judging others for doing things differently.

Because it would make their bad financial decisions feel bad in this situation :3

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#130

Post by steveBK123 »

I've mentioned this in another thread when the topic came up, but this has other effects like availability of backup childcare.

With kids, unbelievably, needing some form of car seat until the age of 8~12.. you are limited in who can help with pickup/dropoff/after school programs to someone who borrows your car or is doing so often enough to buy the correct sized car seats for each of your kids. The upper limit being 12 is pretty wild considering we then let them drive at 16.

Oddly of course in the US, if your kid is taking the school bus they are entirely unbelted and without a safety seat from the age of.. 5.

As an uncle to multiple kids under 10, I end up only spending time with them in their own home or when they are brought over.

Contrast that with my upbringing spending time with cousins/aunts/neighbors being driven around by whoever I was staying with for the afternoon.

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