Car Seats as Contraception • Hacker News Board

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#141

Post by brailsafe » Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 5:04 PM UTC

fnands wrote: post #116

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...

Could be as if you live in a city in Germany you don't necessarily need a car? But I would be surprised if car seats are the main driver here in any case.

Certainly not as much as the U.S or Canada, but not as little as Tokyo or Netherlands. I found various cities easy to navigate without one, but they seemed oddly car-centric as well. Berlin is very car and very public transportation somehow

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#142

Post by brailsafe » Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 5:06 PM UTC

justonceokay wrote: post #110

throwway120385 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you aren't a slave to your car, you likely live in a walkable area where the cost of a 4-bedroom apartment or house is going to be pretty high. I'm not saying you can't raise kids in a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment, and when I lived in apartments many families had kids in a 1-bedroom apartment, but it's very tight and many people would consider it a significant hardship for both the kids and the parents. I would also a…

Only on very modern times would you feel the need to have that many bedrooms for 3 kids. Of course that’s because you can’t banish the kids from the house until sunset anymore

Even two bedrooms in my city are ~$750k+

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#143

Post by nostrademons » Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 5:10 PM UTC

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.

Diono and Clek, for those who are curious.

It's coming to mainstream seats though. Graco has had the Slimfit3 LX out for a couple years now; we had 6 (3-across in a Toyota Corolla and Honda Fit) and they worked great except for the kids not really liking them. Britax has the Poplar and One4Life Slim; Chicco apparently added the Fit3x when I wasn't looking.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#144

Post by ivell » Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 5:34 PM UTC

piker wrote: post #86

It’s this everywhere: the constant fear of not raising children perfectly in every aspect puts downward pressure on a family’s desire (and perceived ability) to have more children.

I don't think it is about raising children perfectly. I think people knowadays are more educated about negative psychological impact to children and therefore there is a change in parenting style which takes more effort. More quality time, no corporal punishment, more understanding and kindness and so on. The effort to raise children therefore has increased (fear based parentingis rather low effort). I think it is for the good. Those who are able to make that commitment raise the kids. (I dont say that negative styles don't exist, but society in general has improved on parenting styles)

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#145

Post by JonathanRaines » Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 5:45 PM UTC

> We estimate that these laws prevented fatalities of 57 children in car crashes in 2017 but reduced total births by 8,000 that year

These two options are not equivalent. I will take 8,000 3rd children not being born over 57 kids dying in car crashes every time.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#146

Post by BobaFloutist » Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 6:05 PM UTC

sollewitt wrote: post #135

Ir0nMan wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are putting 12 year olds in car seats!?

In CA AB-435 is written to apply a 5-point fit test to anyone under 16.

Is that not just further formalizing "Use a car seat until the kid is big enough that you would expect seat belts to function properly"?

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#147

Post by stephenbez » Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 6:29 PM UTC

alsetmusic wrote: post #113

orthoxerox wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who expects mothers of young kids in the US to be away from the home?

> Who expects mothers of young kids in the US to be away from the home? Where in the USA do you live where I can support my wife and kids on one income? We'll move immediately.

A relative of mine bought a house in central Illinois for $90k a few years ago. She's a single mom and works as a bank teller.

There are plenty of places that can be afforded on a single income if you work in tech and can work remotely.

Examples: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10-Regina-Dr-Paris-IL-619... https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/804-N-Walnut-St-Pontiac-I...

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#148

Post by marssaxman » Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 6:49 PM UTC

tialaramex wrote: post #94

xboxnolifes wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A __3-bedroom apartment__ is considered very tight for raising kids? How many bedrooms do you need to raise kids?

If you make kids share a bedroom it drastically decreases the margin for tension between children because they don't have anywhere else. That can work, of course, but it might not and too fucking late for the kids if it doesn't. That can mean physical abuse, but it can mean things like one kid loves loud music and the other wants to read quietly alone, or their sleep schedules naturally don't align well - if you were…

Having grown up in a family large enough that giving each of us our own room was not even an aspiration, this point of view just doesn't make any sense to me. You learn to get along, that's what happens. You learn to respect shared spaces and accommodate other's needs. The kind of individualism you describe is a luxury, and one can live well without it.

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#149

Post by IAmBroom » Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 6:49 PM UTC

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.

Same as it's always been.

"Small town" attitudes; grandmothers judging young mothers; elders complaining about youth...

Re: Car Seats as Contraception

#150

Post by jacquesm » Tue, Mar 31, 2026, 7:03 PM UTC

stephenbez wrote: post #147

alsetmusic wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Who expects mothers of young kids in the US to be away from the home? Where in the USA do you live where I can support my wife and kids on one income? We'll move immediately.

A relative of mine bought a house in central Illinois for $90k a few years ago. She's a single mom and works as a bank teller. There are plenty of places that can be afforded on a single income if you work in tech and can work remotely. Examples: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10-Regina-Dr-Paris-IL-619... https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/804-N-Walnut-St-Pontiac-I...

Banks still have tellers?