Hot Ghetto Mess

I read somewhere that this was going to be the title of some BET show, but it was renamed because "Hot Ghetto Mess" was deemed offensive. Well, offensive maybe only because this term is completely outdated, so summer '06. But sometimes it is the way we describe Bahrain.

We new moms call it ghetto Bahraini-style, that is, the method by which you travel by car without securing your infant in a carseat.

There are no child carseat laws here or in Saudi Arabia. Are you kidding. The average Arab family has 3-4 toddler children, and they overrun the car's capacity by at least two or three people at a time. You know grandma and auntie have to come along, too. It's the clown car phenomenon. I would laugh all the time back in the States, seeing the Asian families drive down 405 in the Honda Accord, 6 people to each 5-seat sedan. Only I can laugh because I'm Asian.

It's absolutely the norm over here to carry your infant or toddler in the lap. In the US, you can't even bring your baby home from the hospital without a properly installed infant seat. The nurse probably walks out with you to check. Since Elena came early, we didn't have a carseat yet. All we had was this plastic baby carrier gifted by one of the pilots. It is so flimsy I could sit on it and crush it. In no way was it made to be a car seat, but Jeff hooked it into the car and we drove merrily home. (Not really, we were terrified the whole way since the American in us made us paranoid)

But wouldn't ya know how quickly we slide down the slippery slope of laziness. The island is small. My friends live literally 3 miles away. It takes more time to snap the baby in the carseat than it is to drive to their houses. So I admit to taking risks and not always using the carseat, just keeping the baby in the bassinet and putting it wholesale in the backseat (but always with someone sitting back there with her, like this makes it safer.) This other American new mother hasn't even used her car seat yet, just uses this travel basket. Amazing how when it is not law, we don't feel the need to be diligent.

But I'm not going to do that anymore. It's dumb. I have this great, heavyduty carseat, and I'm not going to think of it as a hassle to use it. I don't know if carseats were around when I was a baby, but I doubt it. Seat belts weren't even compulsory until I was probably 8 years old. But now that we have a car seat, wouldn't I feel silly if something happened to the baby because I didn't use it?