Chris'isms

Chris is a firefighter and an engineer. Two things he knows a lot about are safety and logic. While I mock him for some things such as the length of time it takes him to build or repair something- the reason is that he actually does it right (with incessant research and discussion with multiple groups of friends) So I am convinced he only wants the best so sometimes he constructively criticizes.

I have learned a lot from Chris but two things I can no longer tolerate seeing because of his concern for these safety issues. So I perform this public service message, so I don’t have to be annoyed when I see these exceptionally common concerns.

1. WEAR A BICYCLE HELMET & WEAR IT CORRECTLY.
I am not really talking to grown ups here- I am not the government, I wont tell you what to do, even if it is a good idea. If you have a child, start a good habit by making your children wear a helmet. However, a helmet is of NO VALUE if the helmet is not properly placed on the child’s head. The helmet is supposed to protect the brain- this is true particularly for the frontal lobe. Place the FRONT of the helmet on the forehead and strap it snugly (two fingers width). Do not place the front of the helmet in the middle of the head- it will not protect the front part of your child’s brain- where all the good stuff is.

2. Car seat safety- Chris read the instruction manual for the car seat. He is a firefighter, he knows about car seat safety. Three issues, one is less of a concern for me, but you can judge for yourself.

a. the top part of the buckle needs to be placed around the sternum of the child- not down by the diaper.
b. the straps needs to be tightened, not loose.
c. the infant seats have a handle for carrying the seat- that handle should be lowered when driving and not ready to be picked up. Convenience sometimes trumps safety here, presumably if you have done a and b, there will not be a concern about the handle. Thankfully D&A are done with those seats.