A few nights ago, when I was channel surfing instead of sleeping, I came accross an episode of “What Would You Do?” with John Quinones on ABC.  It’s really just a dressed-up version of one of those cheesy candid camera shows from the 90s.  Real people encounter a public dramatization of a rather off-the-wall situation.  Their reaction–either intervention or inaction–is aired so the viewing public can speculate as to what they would have done. Would I have told off the waitress who was hitting on my husband?  Defended the woman being abused in the park?  Helped up the homeless man who fell down on the sidewalk?  I found it to be a terribly interesting sociology experiment and went to bed feeling charged with activism, ready to stand up for my fellow man and for the sake of doing what is right.

The next day, I was walking out of Target with my little tribe of four and noticed the couple behind me with their newborn baby girl.  They were holding hands and smiling, seemingly basking in the happy, transparent haze of new parenthood.  Our cars were parked side by side, so I stepped aside and allowed them to their doors ahead of me, commenting that it would probably take me far longer for me to complete the arduous task of buckling four car seats than it would take them with their one.  This would have been the end of our encounter, had I not watched the car speed off a few seconds later with the mother in the back seat, BABY ON HER LAP, and a Baby on Board sign swinging in the back window.  There was no car seat in sight.  As I processed what I had just seen, my little girl asked me, “Why doesn’t that baby have to go in a car seat?”  Well, where do I begin?  For starters, if a three year old is calling you out on improperly adhering to child restraint laws, you should be ashamed of yourself.  I shrugged my shoulders and went about buckling my little ones safely into their seats while John Quinones voice repeated over and over in my head, “What Would You Do?”

In most regards, I am a HUGE proponent of choice.   As a parent, I give my children hundreds of choices every day and allow them to mold their days and the direction of their lives around their unique interests.  As a member of this community and the shared space we call parenthood, I respect the choices that others make for their children.  We all do it differently, and I think that’s great!  I don’t judge.  Somehow, this seemed different though.  These parents had made a choice that was not theirs to make; they had defected on their responsibility to provide a safe environment for their child.  I had an unsettled feeling that the baby could die and that my inaction would make me just as responsible.  I felt compelled to abandon my ‘live and let live’ motto by advocating for this child.  It was as if my inner mama bear had been released.

As I approached the stop light to exit the parking lot, I saw the car again.  Pulling up alongside, I got the driver’s attention and pointed to the back seat, mouthing “That baby needs to be in a car seat,” and gesturing to the kids in my back seat.  Lead by example, right?  He waved me off and proceeded to drive across Rt 2, toward Bellani.  I took it as a sign…and what did I do?  I summoned my inner private investigator and followed him, keeping a few cars in between us so as not to create a road rage situation.  The couple, to my dismay, parked in the lot and walked into the beauty school, instead of next door to Bellani where they would have gotten the parent education of which they were so desperately in need.  (Although I briefly entertained the idea of dragging the couple in by their ears and sicking Kelly or Shannon on them, I decided that that plan had the potential to go awry…)  So, I went with plan B, picked up my cell phone, and reported his position to the Warwick Police Department.  The dispatcher took the license plate and vehicle information and assured me that an officer was on the way to talk to them.  While I didn’t actually wait around for the police to arrive or for the family to return to the parking lot, I’m assuming that they made contact and that the baby is now safe.

Days later, I am still wracking my brain as to what possible scenario would put me in a car with unrestrained kids and can’t actually think of a single one.  Errands at Target and the beauty school certainly wouldn’t make my short list.  The ladies at Bellani have spent the last few years working tirelessly to promote child safety through parent education, public awareness, and by providing excellent product availability.  Any member of their delightful staff is happy to talk to new or seasoned parents regarding what type of car seat is the best for your child, and on-staff car seat technicians offer the service of properly installing it in your car. Through a partnership with Safe Kids USA, they were able to hold a car seat check event in conjunction with last year’s anniversary party.  The word is out there, and most parents educate themselves on the use and proper installation of child restraint seats.  Until now, I had assumed that everyone knew how important it was to keep kids safe in the car.  Most hospitals won’t even discharge a baby without a quick inspection.  If car seat safety is important to you, what would you do if you saw someone else putting their baby in harm’s way?

This entry was posted on Friday, August 27th, 2010 at 9:53 am and is filed under Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can trackback from your own site.