Wednesday, August 12, 2015

New Child Passenger Safety Laws

Beginning September 1, New Jersey will begin enforcing a new set of car restraint laws. The most significant change to the law includes having all children under the age of 2 and 30 pounds secured in rear-facing car seats. The law also more specifically lays out the progression of moving from a car seat to a booster to a seatbelt.

The legislation includes these stages of carseat usage:



a.
A child under the age of 2 years and weighing less than 30 pounds shall be secured in a rear-facing seat equipped with a 5-point harness.

b.
A child under the age of 4 years and weighing less than 40 pounds shall be secured as described in (a) until they reach the upper limits of the rear-facing seat, then in a forward-facing child restraint equipped with a 5-point harness.
c.
A child under the age of 8 and a height of 57 inches shall be secured as described in (a) or (b) until they reach the upper limits of the rear-facing or forward-facing seat, then in a belt positioning booster seat.

d.
A child over 8 years of age or 57 inches in height must be properly secured by a seat belt.
If there are no rear seats, the child shall be secured as described above in the front seat except that no child shall be secured in a rear-facing seat in the front seat of any vehicle that is equipped with an active passenger-side airbag. The aforementioned is acceptable if the airbag is de-activated.


Thursday, August 6, 2015

When... Then... Contingencies

A big part of teaching children to be responsible and self-directed is in the delivery of directions. There are many things that children may not want to do... pick up their toys, put their shoes on, brush their teeth... and having children do these things without getting into a power struggle can be one of the most challenging parts of raising children.

With the use of when...then statements though, many of the potential power struggles can be completely averted. By keeping directions positive, children can keep their sense of control in the situation without the adult losing theirs. Here is how some of these statements may sound:
  • When your coat is on, you may go outside.
  • When your hands are washed, you may have a snack.
  • When your blocks are put away, you may play with your trains.
These contingency statements almost always begin with the word WHEN to show that you trust and expect your child to cooperate. The second part of the statement tells the child that she will have what she wants after she meets the expectation. As with all limit-setting strategies, a contingency should be stated in a neutral, non-punitive way, but with a firm expectation of cooperation.