by Michelle Stein posted in Parenting

My 6-year-old son has been bugging us lately to ditch his booster seat. "But look, I'm big enough now!" he announces, sitting up as tall as he possibly can in the minivan. "Um, nope. Sorry, buddy. You still have many more years in that thing."
He can complain all he wants, but I'm not budging on this one -- especially after watching this now-viral video from Eastern Virginia Medical School. The video, which was posted on Facebook by Eastern Virginia Medical School, shows exactly what can happen when kids stop using a booster seat too early. With nearly 8 million views and over 174,000 shares, it's clear the video's message has struck a nerve.
In the video, a mother and son hop into their vehicle and head off to what I'm assuming is a soccer tournament. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Kid in the back seat" Check. Everyone buckled" Check, check. Mother and son are chatting in the SUV when an oncoming car suddenly veers into the wrong lane. Their lives change in an instant. After the mother regains consciousness, she hears sirens wailing. She notices she's bleeding and then discovers her lifeless son in the back seat. The frantic mom ends up riding with her son -- who is hooked up to multiple monitors and machines -- in an ambulance and then accompanies him while his injuries are evaluated at the hospital.
"Mom, tell me again where he was at in the car," a doctor asks.
"He was in the ba...