Pediartician obviously failed Physics

Moving to NYC has had its challenges, especially with a baby in tow. Coming from LA, and before that Sydney, having your own car was almost a necessity. Certainly in LA, the city with more cars than there are people in Australia, your car is everything. As a mother, my car became a baby-accessory-storage-box. From diapers (nappies for the Australians), to wipes, to car seat, to stroller, to blankets and toys, and all that goes along with a baby when you need to go out. When I lived in LA, I hugely underestimated the convenience of having your own car (even if it was a 2-door VW Beetle - not the most family-friendly car a new Mother could own).

In NYC, I am car-less. When I need to go out with my son, I no longer have the convenience of already having the car seat and stroller in the car. I need to carry the baby, the car seat, the stroller and the diaper bag, find a taxi, pile everything in, argue with the taxi-driver about not taking off until the baby is strapped in, and then at the other end, repeat it all in a reverse order.

But I really shouldn't complain. At present the infant car seat straps into the stroller and is relatively compact and lightweight. What is concerning is the fact that in a few months, Noah will outgrow the infant car seat and need to move into a toddler car seat, which is both bigger and heavier. More concerning is the fact that I know of only 3 products on the market which address the issue of attaching a toddler car seat to a stroller so that I can get around once I am out of the taxi. Two look useless for negotiating the sidewalk minefields of New York, and the other retails for $1500!

This is the problem I took to our Pediatrician on our last visit, hoping she would have some pearl of wisdom passed on from her own experience or one of the many New-York-Moms she encounters on a daily basis. What do other parents do once their child has outgrown the infant car seat?

I had a number of questions for her actually at our last visit including when can Noah where a bike helmet so that my husband can buy a baby seat for his bike and take Noah riding? Nathan had been wanting to buy a seat for 4 months, and is getting impatient, but all the recommendations we've read suggested that babies shouldn't wear helmets until 12 months + because of the weight and the strength of their necks. Our pediatrician agreed. Definately not until after 12 months, as there are still significant spinal developments which occur up until 12 months, including strengthening and straightening of the spine. She said that whilst Noah was very strong, a bike helmet was still too heavy for him at this stage. It was the answer we were expecting.

What I didn't expect was the response when I asked about toddler car seats and strollers in NYC. The pediatrician said, that since there was no law in New York requiring children to be restrained when traveling under certain distances, most parents just held their babies and children on their laps and "hoped for the best".

This just didn't seem to follow from her previous answer. So Noah shouldn't go on a bike, traveling an average of 13 miles per hour, being restrained into a child seat and wearing protective clothing. But in a taxi, traveling an average of 20 miles an hour, "just hope for the best". Basic physics would suggest this is not an intelligent, wise, or logical answer - especially from one's pediatrician. After all, Newton's first law of physics suggests that if a car is traveling at 20 miles an hour, then any person or object within the car is also going that fast and will continue to go that fast until a net force acts on them to slow them down - such as a windscreen or another person. Furthermore, a child riding on a lap is at double risk - it is not only physically impossible for a parent to prevent the child being thrown into the windshield or dashboard, but if the parent is not wearing a seat belt, or they have the seat belt around them and the child, the force of the adult's body may crush the child. In fact, motor vehicle accidents are the second leading cause of death in small children in the US.

As far as I know, the physics, logic and parental caution that I apply in Australia, LA and every other state or country is the same that applies in New York. Newton's law certainly doesn't change in Manhattan. My arms didn't become super-human when I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, and my parental concern was not checked at the airport. And surely, the spine I am protecting by not putting Noah on a bike with a helmet just yet, is the same spine I should be protecting in a taxi.