I remember having to avidly research how we could fit three car seats/boosters into our smallish sedan. We did figure it out but it was not an easy solution. "Don’t make it harder to have a family. Make it easier." In many situations larger families are disadvantaged when registering for programs (sports, art, music, you name it), as it gets very costly. For this reason I use a "family first" costing system for my homeschool co-ops: each family pays the same price, whether they have one, two, or six children. This allows many families to participate in hands-on science classes, Latin, sports, etc who could otherwise not afford it.
My husband and I had 3 children in 3 years (starting right after his grad school), and also moved three times in there. With all the costs associated with those life changes - and living on one income - the hassle of loading our child into fancy, slim Diono carseasts has seemed better than shelling out a small fortune to buy a minivan. For now, at least.
We were lucky in that my parents had a cheap van they could sell us, and we also got all our car seats as hand-me-downs (I know not everyone approves of hand-me-down car seats, but the ones we got were in good condition). But realistically I don't think we would have ended up buying a new minivan so the Diono carseats might have been our choice too had things been a little different for us.
Also, I love that easy's point about how being car free can actually be easier. That's not me reality right now, unfortunately, but my dream is to live the life I've seen among parents in places like Paris, where a car just wouldn't be necessary.
I grew up in Brooklyn as 1 of 5. We took the bus a lot. I wouldn't argue cars should be more dangerous for children; it's the car itself that poses a problem. If I'm forced to use this in effect deadly machine, I do want my child to be as safe as possible.
Also. On the list of reasons we haven't had a second child yet, #1 is concern over finances (I have the healthcare but daycare for 2 is basically my whole salary). Car seats are not on that list.
I remember having to avidly research how we could fit three car seats/boosters into our smallish sedan. We did figure it out but it was not an easy solution. "Don’t make it harder to have a family. Make it easier." In many situations larger families are disadvantaged when registering for programs (sports, art, music, you name it), as it gets very costly. For this reason I use a "family first" costing system for my homeschool co-ops: each family pays the same price, whether they have one, two, or six children. This allows many families to participate in hands-on science classes, Latin, sports, etc who could otherwise not afford it.
Love it. that's a super interesting way to do it!
Reminds me of two essays (in the realms of fertility decline & the friction of carseats):
The New Malthusians by Lyman Stone
https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/culture-of-life/the-new-malthusians
The Case of the Carseats by Addison Del Mastro
https://thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/the-case-of-the-car-seats?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=329870&post_id=89285142&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email
My husband and I had 3 children in 3 years (starting right after his grad school), and also moved three times in there. With all the costs associated with those life changes - and living on one income - the hassle of loading our child into fancy, slim Diono carseasts has seemed better than shelling out a small fortune to buy a minivan. For now, at least.
We were lucky in that my parents had a cheap van they could sell us, and we also got all our car seats as hand-me-downs (I know not everyone approves of hand-me-down car seats, but the ones we got were in good condition). But realistically I don't think we would have ended up buying a new minivan so the Diono carseats might have been our choice too had things been a little different for us.
Also, I love that easy's point about how being car free can actually be easier. That's not me reality right now, unfortunately, but my dream is to live the life I've seen among parents in places like Paris, where a car just wouldn't be necessary.
Ha- I just saw that we had found the same car seat solution. It seems Diono is the one true friend of a family trying to hold on to a sedan...
Great read! Thanks for your diligent research and excellent writing!
I grew up in Brooklyn as 1 of 5. We took the bus a lot. I wouldn't argue cars should be more dangerous for children; it's the car itself that poses a problem. If I'm forced to use this in effect deadly machine, I do want my child to be as safe as possible.
Also. On the list of reasons we haven't had a second child yet, #1 is concern over finances (I have the healthcare but daycare for 2 is basically my whole salary). Car seats are not on that list.