A new child-restraint safety law is in effect this month. It looks like more parents are going to be saying, "Don't make me come back there," since children under 13 will be riding in the back seat under a $101/ticket mandate.

As a fan of making free, responsible choices, it's hard for me to swallow every safety precaution mandated by law. Of course it's safer to buckle up, sit up straight, eat right and wear sunscreen, but where should lines be drawn? It's a habit to buckle my seat belt, but I wonder whether it is a bit more than police officers signed up for to give lectures on safe automotive parenting.

Parents who care will do what's best for their children. Parents who don't won't be reformed by citations.

But that's only my opinion. What's yours?

(Photo by Holly Pickett, The Spokesman-Review)

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