Julie’s First Post: What Am I Doing Here?
Steven Levitt, of Freakonomics, gave a fascinating talk about car seats. Apparently, for kids over the age of two, car seats don’t really work much better than the regular old seat belts that are in our cars—free!
I’m a huge fan of Levitt, and getting to see him, in all his nerdly lispiness, is really a treat. This video also sums up for me what we’re trying to do here.
How much money do we need to spend as parents to make sure we’re doing our jobs right? How much do we trust agencies that tell us they are working for the protection of our children? How do we examine information from various sources to filter for the truth? How do we separate rumor from fact?
And most importantly, how much do we need to worry? I’d like it to be less. Or at the very least, I’d like to focus my worry on the right targets.
Any parent, up on hearing that vaccinations might be harmful, would naturally worry. But yet another study proves that the rumored link between vaccines and autism just doesn’t exist. Hooray, we don’t have to worry about that one. And it’s a good thing, because vaccinations are bad enough without the worry. I just took my son for his first round, and he was grumpy and feverish for 24 hours. I can understand why vaccinations freak people out, having gone through that. But yay—we don’t have to worry about permanent developmental damage.
I admit that I purchased cord blood banking before my son was born. If only I’d done some research, like Blake over at Domestic Father, I’d have known I shouldn’t have spent that money. I really didn’t need to worry about saving my son’s cord blood, but it seemed like a good idea. The advertising on the website of the company appealed to the careful, protective parent in me. And it was meant to do that. But finding out the real story has changed me from a well-meaning, intelligent mom to a bit of a sucker.
And now car seats aren’t really necessary? Wait, I just spent a few hundred dollars on the top of the line brand. I don’t feel too bad about that one. Our son is so big—I think he’s got to be 99th percentile for height and weight—that he will outgrow his infant car seat pretty soon. So we bought one that will keep him safe. Until he’s two-years-old, and at that point, a seatbelt would keep him just as safe, according to very sound data and an actual crash test! (Seriously, watch the Steven Levitt video. It’s great. And he’s weirdly cute—what is it about skinny Harvard economists?) After two-years-old, the car seat is mainly a way for me to avoid an expensive traffic ticket, I suppose.
Being skeptical is not easy when there is so much information—and misinformation—all around us. Not only is it tough to question certain issues without a medical degree, it’s tough to even know what to question. Who would question car seats?
I have a couple of fancy degrees from some fine institutions, but they’re both in writing and literature. So while I consider myself a critical thinker, I don’t get the real story all the time. Being part of this blog is an excuse for me to do research and ask questions and get the facts. And worry less.
Jeff Said,
October 1, 2008 @ 2:11 pm
As Julie’s husband, I too am looking forward to the opportunity to worry less.
Although after reading that, now I’m worried about something new: skinny Harvard economists, since I am none of those three things.
tralala Said,
October 2, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
hooray–this is just what I was hoping for. I am sick of trying to balance the real worries of parenting with the manufactured ones, and I am doubly tired of paying for it.
Kim J. Said,
October 2, 2008 @ 6:55 pm
Hi! I got here from C. L. Hanson’s website. I wonder if you have seen Lenore Skenazy’s website, Free Range Kids (freerangekids.com). Many of the things you touch on in your post tie in to what they are talking about over there—the balance between safety and sanity.
Many of the comments have to do with older kids (the ones who are free ranging), but some apply to the smaller ones as well.
Lenore Skenazy Said,
October 5, 2008 @ 8:15 pm
Hey — I’m so glad you directed me here. Lots of great stuff to read and think about. And I’m a Nancy McDermott fan, too! Lenore “Free Range Kids” Skenazy
INTJ Mom Said,
October 9, 2008 @ 10:16 am
Interesting information. Thanks.
Free Range Kids on NPR Said,
June 13, 2009 @ 8:45 pm
[...] my first ever post on here, I talked about learning to worry less, or at least worry about the right things. Sounds like [...]