Baby Seats

Last month, when we took Airi home from the hospital for the first time, I spent about an hour getting the car seat just right. It reminded me of another difference between American customs and Korean customs. In the U.S., we start our babies off in a rear-facing car seat. As they get bigger, we move up to front-facing car seats and then booster seats and then regular seat belts in the back seat. Finally, after a decade or more, children can sit in the front seat of a car.

In Korea, the best place for a newborn baby is in her mother's arms, even in a car. Babies can stay in their mother's arms for a few years until they learn to walk. Then, they can stand in the back or front seat and look out the windows. Next, they are old enough to run around the back seat. Eventually, they get tall enough to stick their head out the sun-roof. Finally, they get so big that they have to sit down in a seat. Of course, a seat belt is still pretty restrictive and is still optional.