I never said FEDERAL or STATE aid did I? A lot of other states have non-profit organizations that will help parents and guardians find an size/age appropriate child seat then help with partial or even full payment depending on the need.

Grammy07-Look into a Graco Nautilus for your grandson. It is a child seat to booster conversion. That way he can't get out of his seat.

My youngest is 10 years old and I can't get the child safety locks to disengage. Sometimes, I have to go around and open the door from the outside for passengers. I complain about being a Taxi, but really it's much worse. I look like their chauffeur - driving them everywhere and having to open the door for them...

grammy07 .. No i am not going to bash you.. I am concerned though. Is your granchild needing a Car seat? Is he/she not able to fit in one? I know the laws say they need to be a certain height. It's been so Long my kids are in their 20's.. But I thought they had to be in a car seat until 4yrs of age or a certain height? Just wondering, My daughter has a Car seat that is also a Booster seat for Our granddaughter whos 1.5, it will last until she grows out of one.. I know it was costly, so I was wondering if people can't afford these. I feel they need to be helped out.. A child safety is my concern.. You did the Correct thing about the car locks. Everyone should make sure these child safety locks are in place..

I know I will probably get bashed here but......I have a 3 year old grandson that travels with me almost daily. With his size I have had to purchase a booster seat that the lap/shoulder belt is all that holds him in as this was all that I could find that he would fit in. That being said it is easy for him to unbuckle himself, which he has, but I will stop as soon as is safely possible, scold him, and buckle him back in. One thing that I have done since he was 2 and figured out how to open the car door was to use the child safety lock feature on my car. I know that everyone feels/thinks that once you buckle a child in and start driving that if the child unbuckles his/herself that you can stop on a dime and get them back in said seat and buckled back up. That isn't going to happen. I have done everything that I can think of to keep my grandson from unbuckling himself and usually he stays buckled but there are times when he does and I am in an area where it is not to just stop and correct him immediately. I am not siding with this mother but do know from experience that it happens and I am sure she feels horrible about this.

Just a quick comment on "maybe you guys could do some research where people can find monetary help getting purchasing infant and child seats in our area". I bet this person has a smart phone. Not a cheapo, but something like an iPhone. They probably use all of the premium features and have a whopping monthly bill. They probably also eat out a lot and buy expensive foods like $7.00 per pound meats. But this person can't afford to purchase a child seat? Currently 49% of Americans are on federal assistance of some kind - give me a break!

VISDmom, I just want to clarify one of your points. You CAN call the police if you see a child unrestrained...the operator is going to want a lot of details. (This may not be all of them just what I remembered) 1) The make, model, and color of the car 2) (If possible) license plate 3) Number of occupants 4) Direction car was heading. 5) Where was the child (Front seat in lap etc) I have actually called them for this and was able to call the police. While running my errands I actually drove past the officer and the car I called in being pulled over. I don't like getting someone "in trouble" but it makes me hope that they will go get or use their child seat to prevent possible accidents like this one.

VicAD, maybe you guys could do some research where people can find monetary help getting purchasing infant and child seats in our area. Thanks for all that you do!

I agree with the comments here, but would like to add something for you to think about. In order for police to pull someone over for having children unrestrained in a motor vehicle, they actually have to see/witness it. And just because you see a police car pass a vehicle with an unrestrained child in it, doesn't mean that a) the child was obviously unrestrained at that particular moment, or b) that the officer was perhaps on the way to another call at that particular time. Please remember that we are not like Houston, Corpus, or Austin; we do not have hundreds (or even many tens) of officers on the street at any one time.

Secondly, the article states a citation was issued. It does not state what the citation entails. Some citations might include a future court appearance. Also, the police department does not hand out punishment such as community service. That would be dealt with by the DA and the judge/jury.

I am trying to be respectful to all concerned here. I don't like to see words like "judge" with respect to other people, but in this instance it is difficult to NOT use that word. Our children our precious and should be treated as such. Some of this very young generation, who seem to have babies on a whim, act as if they are dolls to be admired, but not cared for, not taught. But I digress. I am grateful that no police bashing is overly apparent in these posts, but I feel an undertone is there.

Please know that for the majority of these men and women, their sole purpose in putting on the uniform each and every day is to put themselves between you the the "bad guys." It is difficult to have the question constantly in the back of your mind of whether or not your spouse will come home at the end of his or her shift. They do their utmost to keep us all safe.

God bless all of you, and I hope you have a truly wonderful holiday season.

Yes now that we know not only did she not have her restrain right and te child opened the door due to her not being put in the proper child carseat I believe she should get more than just a citation one thing it doesn't say what condition the baby in I say to the extend of her injuries should be more than a citation probation community service who to say what is she going to do differ but a car seat. Make sure the child doesn't open doors something needs to be taught

So was the 5 yr old in a booster seat as well? Where I work I daily see carloads of kids unrestrained in vehicles & they never get pulled over.

OK, now we got the full story and can judge accordingly.