A little over 41 years ago, another Army wife--a young captain's wife--was very upset about the new laws requiring children to be in seat belts. She had to drive from Ft. Campbell, KY to Washington, DC, and her 18-month old "just wouldn't" sit in one place long enough.
I said, "What does 'just wouldn't' mean?"
She said, "Well, he cries and screams and tries to get out."
I said, "And when you ignore him because you love him enough to be pissed at you, and he cries and screams and eventually learns that he is not a voting member on this issue and wears himself out and he falls asleep and arrives at your destination in one piece even though you had to slam the brakes on and everything on the seats went flying around...then what happens...when you let him cry it out...now...so you can establish who is in charge before puberty hits?"
She said, Oh!?!"
Idiot.
Shortly after this, we did an emergncy run home from Germany because my FIL was dying. We got a rental car and a child seat and drove from Delaware. Mini Sue was one. SIL and her husband--coming from FL-- let their son, age 18 months, roam the back seat on his own. When they hit the brakes, kid went flying and ended up with a huge--like the size of a lemon--contusion.
My genius MIL's comment? "Well, isn't he just All Boy?"
I wanted to kill them all.