A comment was made to Gwennie by one of the teachers at her school yesterday, whilst she was getting into the car at car pool line.
It really got me thinking and inspired me to write.

Teacher: “Do you have a baby at home? Or are you the baby?”
Gwennie: “No? Why do you ask that?”
Teacher: “Because you have a baby seat instead of a big girl seat.”

Gwennie is 5 years old. She weighs 39lbs. In my car she travels in a forward-facing convertible car-seat with a 5-point harness.
She has a booster seat in my husband’s car.

The reason I haven’t put her in a booster seat in my car is because she still fits perfectly into the car-seat…. she can strap herself in easily, which is very useful during busy car pool when I can’t leap out to help her, plus, despite the fact she is already 5 years old, she is not yet 40Lbs which is the recommended weight (along with the age of 4 years) to move up to a booster seat.

Honestly, I think the 5-point harness is much a safer dealio. Gwennie is very petite and I am not entirely comfortable with her being in a booster seat yet. Also, her convertible car-seat is made to hold her up until she weighs 70lbs. I notice that in some States they require that a child stay in a forward-facing car-seat between the ages of 4-7 years.

I wish I was a little quicker with my wit and tongue. I was rather taken aback when this faculty member made fun of G being in a “baby seat” still. In fact, she made me feel a bit of an idiot and rather inferior, until I had time to think about why I choose to keep G in a car-seat. Let’s face it, she mostly rides with me and we drive 25 miles each way to school every day in rush-hour traffic. Personally, I think she looks and feels a lot more comfortable in her car-seat… plus it is a heck of a lot safer.

Fortunately for me, Gwennie was unperturbed by the comments made. I would have been cross if she had suddenly decided that she didn’t want to be in her seat anymore because of some thoughtless remarks!

What do you think??? Am I being a helicopter mum?