If you’re five years old or younger and are less than 55” tall, first of all, bravo on taking the initiative to get online and look up this guide; you’re ahead of the curve. Second, you must make sure that you are fastened into a child passenger restraint system while traveling in the back seat of any vehicle you enter. This should not involve a ball of twine and a roll of duct tape. Make sure your restraint system is federally approved. It should have straps and buckles and whatnot.

There are only a few exceptions as concerns the child restraint rule:

1) If the vehicle is regularly used to transport passengers for hire;

2) If the vehicle is a school bus with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds;

3) If the vehicle is an antique or a motorcycle;

4) If the child in question has an individual education plan statement indicating that the use of restraints is not safe.

5) If all of your toys are kept in the glove compartment and the child cannot reach the glove compartment while in a safety restraint. How are you going to recreate the International Space Station if you can’t reach the Legos? *NOTE: this is not a legitimate exception, no matter how cool you think Legos are. **SECOND NOTE: we are WELL AWARE of how cool Legos are.

Also note that air bags, when deployed, can be injurious to very young children. For this reason, lil’uns shouldn’t ride in the front seat of an airbag-equipped vehicle. They should also not be packed into the front seat with Styrofoam peanuts.