Sunday, August 3rd at 2:13 pm, Hawaiian Pacific Time, Jill and I became gr andparent s again (grandson born July 1st). This grandchild was a beautiful baby girl, Kamalani Renee Perkins. She was 6 pounds and 7 ounces stretching out at 18 ½ inches long. She is quite beautiful and perfect in this grand pappy’s eyes.

With the birth of both of the grands I have noticed that things have sure changed since my kids were born. As a matter of fact I’m getting quite an education in parenting today. And this education is not just with the new born grands but even the older grandkids, Killian and Selah Belle.

To begin with, getting the child home from the hospital is quite the adventure. We just put the kids in a carrier and buckle them in the car then head home. Nope, not today. It is a special carrier that is part of a larger unit that converts into a child’s car seat. And the car seat is what a child has to ride in until they are a certain age or weight. And I just recently learned that a car seat has an expiration date on it! I was going to put one of the car seats I used for Killian and Selah Belle in pickup to use for Harper. However, I was told that the seat had to be inspected and make sure the expiration date had not passed. What? It has only been used half a dozen times and sat in my office since then, how can it expire?

Definitely a different time? I remember using a car seat until the kids were two then graduating them to a booster seat that lifted them off the seat about 4-6” and strapping a seat belt over it. Then a year of two later, we just strapped them in or they strapped themselves in the car. These new car seats have a restraining system equal to that of an astronaut or race car driver.

Now I, riding in the car as a kid, running in the back seat, riding in the floor boards playing games or sometimes crawling up over the back seat and laying down in the back window. Once in a while a sudden stop would be made and send you flying, usually on top of the ones sitting right below you in the back seat (Memories).

Wonder if parents today would let the kids ride in the back of a pick-up truck? We would sit on the tailgate dragging our feet as we drove down the road. Sometimes for longer trips we would sit in the back on the fender wells. And, on an occasional trip, we would lose all sanity and stand up against the cab of the truck.

My older grandson is a skateboarder. To see him get ready to go out and ride you would think he was going skat-ing for Roller Derby. Helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, shin guards and who knows what else. However, he has not broken any bones (one up on me). The same is for bike riding: Helmet, pads and other safety gear is a requirement for going around the block. My safety equipment was a long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans (verses cut-off shorts) to protect losing any skin in the event of a crash. The other alternative I thought was better… don’t wreck (didn’t work for me most of the time and I ripped a lot of shirts and jeans).

Even the playground equipment is different. Slides once metal (always a treat in the summer) are now mostly plastic, chain swings where fingers were caught and pinched are now ropes or cables, merry-go-rounds (that would make you so dizzy you would puke) that went in circles at the speed of light (and send you flying off into outer space if you didn’t hold on tight) are now gone.

The kids’ toys seem to be holding to ones my kids had or even me. Lots of toys that make noise (my favorite), many that help the child develop mentally and hand/eye coordination. Only difference I can see is the warning labels.

Warning labels seem to me to be more of common sense. Lots of pieces, of course the kid is going to put it in their mouth and attempt to swallow. That’s what kids do (and some adults). It seems that common sense would be to not let child have it to play with. And, what is with a warning label on a detergent pod? Put up the pods in the laundry room (out of sight/out of mind). But, I can remember as a kid, never thinking of eating or drinking laundry detergent (I know they did not have pods back when I was a kid).

Just seems today that parents have to read all the warning labels before letting kids play with anything or wrap the kid in bubble wrap to protect them going outside. I’m not necessarily opposed to this, it’s just that this is part of how kids learn. If you do something and it hurts or injures you, you are less likely to repeat it.

Please do not think I am cruel, blind or just a bad parent. I did raise three kids (mostly by learning by things I did as a kid that didn’t work out so well) and they have all lived to be adults and now parents themselves. I have just come to realize that it is a different world we live in. A lot of things have changed and probably for the better of our children.

My point to all this is that in a world that is ever changing, I am reminded that God never changes. Hebrews 13:8, Psalm 102:27 and Isaiah 40:8 all tell us this. It is good to know that some things never change.

Trying to Figure Out This Car Seat Bro. Tim