Chiropractors Say the Darndest Things

I generally avoid Facebook (big time waster) but I take a peek now and then to see what my former classmates are up to. Recently one of them posted that 80% of children's safety seats are installed incorrectly, and you can learn the right way to install them and become the local expert. (I'm guessing it involves a weekend seminar.) I pointed out that if 10% are installed wrong, it might be a communication problem, but at 80%, I'd call it a design problem. I also pointed out that the manufacturers have a vested interest in constantly changing designs and passing tighter regulations, thus forcing parents to buy new seats. My kids wear hand-me-down clothes, but with all the restrictions, if you have two kids, chances are your first kid's car seat will be illegal by the time you second kid needs it. (Did you know they have expiration dates?)

I immediately found myself at the bottom of a dog-pile. I must not have kids. (I have two.) I'm knocking something I don't know anything about, and ought to become educated and teach others. (Let's see, between my own kids and those of friends and family, I've been observing the evolution of car seat design and regulations for over twenty years. I've installed several models of safety seats in various car models from three major American manufacturers. I installed them according to the directions, but there's an 80% chance I did it wrong, because I'm a parent—must mean I can't read the directions on birth control products—not an expert who had to take a special class.) Don't I expect to replace my kids' other stuff every 10-15 years? (A lot more often than that actually, but because I went to chiropractic school, I can only afford to buy stuff at Goodwill and WalMart clearance. After one kid is done with a toy, a shirt, or whatever, it's still usable for the next kid.)

I guess some people are just desperate to appear to be experts in something.