Rear-facing car seat in Double Cab?

c0ld29 · June 22, 2015

As I near 60 and see co workers my age trying to build decent retirement funds, after sacrificing all their adult lives for their kids and paying for expensive college educations, I don't miss any of it. My wife and I could retire now if we were to trim back. But we're not ready to make that step just yet

1. Learn to budget, save, and live within your means.

2. Have kid take out student loans and/or work their ass off to pay for college.

3. Retire.

Your coworkers missed a step somewhere, unless they had something unavoidable happen to them.

nards444 · June 22, 2015

1. Learn to budget, save, and live within your means.

2. Have kid take out student loans and/or work their ass off to pay for college.

3. Retire.

Your coworkers missed a step somewhere, unless they had something unavoidable happen to them.

Agreed and I see it all to often. The same sentiment in here is what I hear from friends, that of what the kids wants, how do the kids feel, we dont want them to be upset, bla bla. Meanwhile parents are sacraficing things they have and dont have to make sure little johnny has everything he wants. If you cant afford it, you cant afford it kid or no kid. The same mentality applies to this idea that parents are responsible for their kids colleges, it wouldnt hurt to make them pay for some it, and teach them some responsibility and ownership along the way.

Spurshot · June 22, 2015

Near as I can tell, raising kids has mostly predicable costs involved, over the long haul. Planning a budget should include Planning for the lifetime expenses of kids...before making the decision to have kids. Most people I've known (not all) just have the kids and try to make it work. That often results in mom and dad not doing the things they would like to have done in their lives. Things from nice dinners out, when you want to, to vacations, houses, and even new trucks.

Additionally, I look at my choice as a ecologically "green" choice. If I had 2 children, they would consume a lifetime of resources, and have a "carbon footprint", if they decided to each have 2 kids, etc, etc.. My decision had the overwhelmingly single largest impact any decision I will have made toward conservation and environmentally friendly choices.

nards444 · June 22, 2015

Near as I can tell, raising kids has mostly predicable costs involved, over the long haul. Planning a budget should include Planning for the lifetime expenses of kids...before making the decision to have kids. Most people I've known (not all) just have the kids and try to make it work. That often results in mom and dad not doing the things they would like to have done in their lives. Things from nice dinners out, when you want to, to vacations, houses, and even new trucks.

Additionally, I look at my choice as a ecologically "green" choice. If I had 2 children, they would consume a lifetime of resources, and have a "carbon footprint", if they decided to each have 2 kids, etc, etc.. My decision had the overwhelmingly single largest impact any decision I will have made toward conservation and environmentally friendly choices.

Well said. Out of most of my friends I had kids late(late 20s early 30s, lol) they all had kids by the time they were mid 20s. And they would haggle me and my wife. But we went to college, had our fun, got our jobs and home to where we wanted it. We just had our kids not to long ago, and yes we have had to sacrafice some dinners out and some other things, and do some budgeting, but for the most part life has not changed, we can do what we want when we want. Funny thing is the same friends, kind of ask and sometimes act jaded at how we can still go on vacation, have boats, and otherwise live a life want free in our socio ecnomic class. But your right most of our friends were the type that kids thinking they could figure it out, whats even funnier is they kept having them.

arkenzo · June 22, 2015

Don't get me wrong, children are great, in moderation and when you're financially ready to give them a respectable life style. I just turned 31, my wife is 29, we have a solid financial foundation now, we own two properties, our home in West Covina, and a 4 unit rental in Los Angeles. We're trying now.......Maybe 1 or maybe 2...Depends if we screw up with the 1st one lol...

raym0016 · June 22, 2015

When you have kids is a HUGE determining factor on cash flow. I am 39 and have a 6 month old. I am going to buy a new $45K+ (MSRP) truck at the end of this year. If my wife and got married earlier and started having kids earlier, I don't think I would be in a position to buy that truck in a few months. I bought my house at 27 and my wife bought her condo at about the same age (now rental property). We both had fun in our 20's while establishing ourselves as individuals with our careers and finances, etc. The way I look at it, we skipped the first first marriage and divorce:)

arkenzo · June 22, 2015

Most of my child hood friends had kids really early, some 17, some 20, some mid 20's, still at home with their mommas or living in a small apartment. No problem with living in an apartment, but having kids and still living at home with your momma? That's a problem...You're too busy ****ing and she's too busy sucking that you can't get out of your bedrooms and get a higher education or a better paying job to get the hell out of mommas.

My neighbors for example, they're in their early 30's, have 2 kids, live at home with her momma, joint income possibly in the mid 70's possibly 80's. We (wife and I) just couldn't do that, we had to have everything set up just right before we bring a child into this world. Are we going to spoil the snot out of him or her? Probably, more than likely, but **** it, i was spoiled as a child and so was she, we both turned out just fine.

Humble is the key

Chadwilliam1 · June 22, 2015

I put money into each kids 529a . I don't mind helping my kids out with college but I wont be burdened with it all it once. This way I get a tax break as I go along .

Rawyzf · June 22, 2015

I put money into each kids 529a . I don't mind helping my kids out with college but I wont be burdened with it all it once. This way I get a tax break as I go along .

Exactly what we do as well, to help where we can, while we can.

nards444 · June 22, 2015

I put money into each kids 529a . I don't mind helping my kids out with college but I wont be burdened with it all it once. This way I get a tax break as I go along .

Same here. He gets a small amount put in there every month. After 18-19 years it is what it is, and he will be responsible for the rest, and we plan on buying food, slipping money here and there, but the rest is on him.

There are academic/athletic scholarships, grants, military,student loans, hell even how about he gets a job to pay for it. So the idea of its the parents burden is absurb, call it selfish if people want, but I will in no way burn my retirement for a kids college, not happening.

Spurshot · June 22, 2015

At least you guys have a plan. Most people don't. My folks had no plan. My sister didn't. She had her first kid "accidently" as she was told by her doctor not to have kids. The second batch she had were twins. They all turned out fine and the kids are in their 30s now.

I've been watching one of my sister in laws raise a couple kids. They are at Vanderbilt now. Great kids. But it was her project to make them into overachievers. That kind of stuff rarely just happens. Parents make it happen.

TxTruckMan · June 22, 2015

I raised a set of twins in my 1996 Extended Cab Silverado - same size or smaller than a current DC - and it didn't have a rear door. One was in the middle and one behind the passenger. It was tight, but they fit. The passenger seat had to be moved up slightly. But that's what you get if you want a DC. If you want comfort, then get a CC. That's what I did when my third kid came 2 years ago. Loading and unloading was a bitch. I went from 2 rear facing seats, to 2 front facing seats, to 2 front facing and 1 rear facing. The hardest part was all the buckling. Without any doors, it was hard to reach back there and verify everybody was strapped in properly. The CC is TONS better. If you think you'll be having any more kids, get the CC. You're a dad now - function over styling. Will it fit? Absolutely. Is it the best choice? Probably not.

TxTruckMan · June 22, 2015

Another point to ponder is the fact that while most states only require a child to be rear facing until age one, that does mean that you have to spin them around on their first birthday. I think everyone agrees that a child's safety is the most important factor. My wife is a surgical tech working exclusively with neuro surgeons. Most of their cases involve spinal injuries. ALL of the spin and neuro surgeons asked recommend keeping a child rear facing until two years old.

The purpose of rear facing is to reduce the whiplash effect during a collision. Simply put, even after 12 months, a child does not have the neck strength to provide enough compensation to prevent neck injuries caused by whiplash. So even though my son will turn one in a couple of weeks, we will continue to keep his car seats rear facing for the foreseeable future in both my CC and her Pathfinder.

This was one of the reasons that I went with the Crew Cab model.

Many states are moving toward changing the laws for this exact reason. Rear facing until 2 is about to be the norm.

TxTruckMan · June 22, 2015

As I near 60 and see co workers my age trying to build decent retirement funds, after sacrificing all their adult lives for their kids and paying for expensive college educations, I don't miss any of it. My wife and I could retire now if we were to trim back. But we're not ready to make that step just yet

SOOOO nice to not have kids

My wife and I waited 8 years to start having kids as we enjoyed our "Honeymoon" years. We were afraid of losing our freedoms with having kids - and you do lose it. But the joy and love and excitement that you gain more than makes up for whatever you lose. We now have 3 kids (6 year old twins and a 2 year old) and we wouldn't trade a single second. Kids aren't easy, and they're not for everybody, but they're worth every sacrifice.