I/My parents did [thing] and I'm okay!

[Aragarthiel]

I hate it when people try to use this. I see it a lot when it comes to basic safety rules, like putting a baby to sleep on its back or wearing a seatbelt in a car. It's pretty much refusing to acknowledge that there were people who died or were injured by going against what should be common sense now.

For example, every time I see a news story that says something about seatbelts, I can expect comments along the lines of "I rode in the back of my Pawpaw's rusty old truck with my six cousins and our dog, and I survived!" But when I was only in the second grade, I remember our school being put on lockdown one morning. It turned out that one kid from the grade above mine had been running late to school and rode there in the back of his parents' truck so he could hop out when they reached the school. When he tried to jump out of the back of the (still moving) truck, his foot caught the side and he landed on his head. He had to be air-lifted to the nearest trauma center with severe brain damage, and I'm not sure if he ever made it. The school was locked down so they could clean up the mess he left.

I feel like if I tried to use the excuse that I rode in the back of a truck and survived (which I can't remember ever doing), I'd be ignoring the fact that a third-grader died because his parents let him ride in the back of their truck.

[TheHuckster]

Argh, yes, this annoys me, too. When my grandmother was alive, she used to complain about how they don't make cars like they used to, citing that in the 1930s, a car could "hit a tree with nary a scratch" whereas nowadays they fold up like an accordion... completely missing the fact that the reason for such newer designs was to soften the blow to protect the driver and passengers.

In the same vein, it also annoys me when someone believes if their parents employed a certain philosophy that worked well, then it means it should work for everybody, and everyone should use it. Nevermind that every child is different, other environmental factors might have played a role, and the success of said philosophy depends on the parents' execution of it, too.

[BlaqueKatt]

I feel like if I tried to use the excuse that I rode in the back of a truck and survived (which I can't remember ever doing), I'd be ignoring the fact that a third-grader died because his parents let him ride in the back of their truck.

exactly why it's called "survivorship bias"

[Aragarthiel]

exactly why it's called "survivorship bias"

I didn't know there was actually a term for it. Thanks.

[Gravekeeper]

My grandparents didn't use seatbelts or had us wear ours. I don't think "I turned out fine" I think "I'm lucky to be alive and not permanently disfigured". >.>

[protege]

Argh, yes, this annoys me, too. When my grandmother was alive, she used to complain about how they don't make cars like they used to, citing that in the 1930s, a car could "hit a tree with nary a scratch" whereas nowadays they fold up like an accordion... completely missing the fact that the reason for such newer designs was to soften the blow to protect the driver and passengers.

Uh, I'd like to know where she got that info. Considering 1930s cars were very much like carriages still, if one hit a tree, it (not to mention the driver and passengers) would get seriously fucked up. Cars then really weren't designed for safety--they'd crumple up like a tin can during an accident. It wasn't until much later--the late 1960s and '70s that companies like Mercedes and Volvo started including such features. Now, there are things to absorb the force of the impact.

But, I hear everyone on the seatbelt thing. When I was a kid, you could still legally get away without wearing one in Pennsylvania. IIRC, it didn't become law until the 1980s. Even so, my mom always made sure that I was buckled up. My dad on the other hand...not so much. He never fastened his seatbelt, usually because "my parents didn't have to, so why should I?"

That is...until he was seriously injured in 1993. He was parked along the street somewhere, and was pulling out...and some old fool in a 1970s Pontiac hit him square in the driver's door. The guy was going fast enough that the impact sent our 1987 Ford Tempo down the street (sideways) a good 40 feet

He was pretty damn lucky that he only got some facial cuts and a concussion. He could have easily been ejected through the windshield or passenger window...and possibly thrown into a pole...or have the car land on him

There are a lot of things that were accepted practice when I was a kid--riding in the back of station wagons, building tree houses, not wearing a helmet while bike riding. How I managed to survive my childhood, I have no idea.

[Aragarthiel]

One other thing- I don't get the memes about "I drank from the garden hose and turned out fine." Was there ever anything wrong with it to begin with, besides maybe ingesting some dirt (which every kid does at some point anyway)?

I think what bothers me the most are the people who still think it's safer for a baby to ride in a lap in the front seat than in a car seat. Yes, they do exist. I don't know how anyone could think a squirmy baby is safer held loosely in someone's arms than strapped down in a vehicle going 50+ mph.

[KabeRinnaul]

I don't know how anyone could think a squirmy baby is safer held loosely in someone's arms than strapped down in a vehicle going 50+ mph.

I don't know why anyone would want to. My kid is two, and I only wish there were more situations where it was considered appropriate to strap him into a chair for extended periods.

[protege]

One other thing- I don't get the memes about "I drank from the garden hose and turned out fine." Was there ever anything wrong with it to begin with, besides maybe ingesting some dirt (which every kid does at some point anyway)?

I think that has to do with the "unless the water is filtered, you're gonna die" crowd. You know, the people that live in sterile homes...yet get sick when they enter the "real world"

I don't know how anyone could think a squirmy baby is safer held loosely in someone's arms than strapped down in a vehicle going 50+ mph.

This is troubling to me as well. After all the safety campaigns, all the studies done regarding auto safety...why do people still believe this? In a crash, the force multiplies exponentially. If an unstrapped kid goes flying, they're going to get fucked up, or even ejected from the vehicle. Why people cannot understand this, I have no idea.

[Aragarthiel]

I don't know why anyone would want to. My kid is two, and I only wish there were more situations where it was considered appropriate to strap him into a chair for extended periods.

Mine's one and a half- I know the feeling. Though if I really need it, I have no problem strapping her into her high chair with a toy or something for 15 minutes.

What really gets me is that babies are small, and can easily go flying out an open window in an accident. If you happen to be on the interstate or another multi-lane road, that baby can easily end up in traffic and I'm pretty sure we ALL know that's not a good thing. I'm just glad those idiots are rare now.

[Sleepwalker]

Was thinking about the seatbelt nonsense the other day, when someone posted that seatbelts weren't a good thing because they knew someone who had been seriously injured by one, their boob 'half severed' during a crash. Taking that w a grain of salt to begin with, but I am imagining the force it would take to make a cloth strap cut that deeply into flesh... and wondering what they thought would have happened w all that force with no restraints.

[Bloodsoul]

My dad on the other hand...not so much. He never fastened his seatbelt, usually because "my parents didn't have to, so why should I?"

My grandpa has this same attitude; then again, he's going to be 90 this January.

I think whatever he personally hits into will end up the worse of the two.

[Aragarthiel]

Was thinking about the seatbelt nonsense the other day, when someone posted that seatbelts weren't a good thing because they knew someone who had been seriously injured by one, their boob 'half severed' during a crash. Taking that w a grain of salt to begin with, but I am imagining the force it would take to make a cloth strap cut that deeply into flesh... and wondering what they thought would have happened w all that force with no restraints.

You also have to be wearing your seatbelt correctly, as I know wearing it incorrectly could cause injury, but I think that's more along the lines of internal bleeding. When I was pregnant I had to make sure I had mine on around my belly because it could cause even more damage if worn incorrectly.

[Sleepwalker]

You also have to be wearing your seatbelt correctly, as I know wearing it incorrectly could cause injury, but I think that's more along the lines of internal bleeding. When I was pregnant I had to make sure I had mine on around my belly because it could cause even more damage if worn incorrectly.

Yeah, I figured as much, but even giving them the benefit of the doubt it didn't add up as a reason not to wear a seatbelt.

[s_stabeler]

Was thinking about the seatbelt nonsense the other day, when someone posted that seatbelts weren't a good thing because they knew someone who had been seriously injured by one, their boob 'half severed' during a crash. Taking that w a grain of salt to begin with, but I am imagining the force it would take to make a cloth strap cut that deeply into flesh... and wondering what they thought would have happened w all that force with no restraints.

If I had to guess, I'd imagine the belt was going up between her breasts- or was otherwise side-on to the breasts- which is not the correct way to have the seatbelt anyway. (I'm not 100% sure, but I think the belt is supposed to be flat against your breasts to prevent exactly that happening.) In which case, said person was lucky that the situation wasn't worse.