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It is automated. Has been for many decades. Hit up ebay and search for "swyngomatic." There are ones that are spring-powered and more modern ones use a couple o

It is automated. Has been for many decades. Hit up ebay and search for "swyngomatic." There are ones that are spring-powered and more modern ones use a couple of d-cells (or a wall wart if you're enterprising.) That and a white noise machine (set it low, their ear canals are very straight so they're sensitive to noise, although babies get used to noise around them given time and sleep through it, which is more practical / useful. You can also just do what people have done for tens of thousands of years: wrap your kid against your body and go about your business. Putting your kid in a car (self driving or not) is putting them in the most dangerous situation they could possibly be in - car crashes are the number one cause of death for kids (in the US.)

ssl-3 2y ago
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deleted 2y ago
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willcipriano 2y ago
> Putting your kid in a car (self driving or not) is putting them in the most dangerous situation they could possibly be in - car crashes are the number one cause of death for kids (in the US.) It would follow that since no children die each year playing in active volcanos that's the safest thing they could possibly do. Kindergartens should be filled with magma.
- wdh505 2y ago
  Serious preventable accidents happen at 60+ MPH. Generally a slow 20-45 mph (35 mph average) drive around the neighborhood is much safer as there are almost no "serious" accidents. Source: an organization with a fleet installed some driver tracking gps's and looked at the data over a year or two.
  - badpun 2y ago
    Those stats are probably very different for babies, who are more fragile and could get seriously hurt even at lower speeds.
    - throwaway7ahgb 2y ago
      Where are the stats on infant motor deaths where the baby is secured correctly and car speed is <= 40mph?
      - hedora 2y ago
        Most car seats are improperly installed. If you have one, get its installation checked by a professional. In the SF Bay Area, you can have CHP check it for free. The full-time job of the officer that checked ours is investigating accidents where kids in car seats died. Almost all the child fatalities around here are due to improper car seat installation. We had it dangerously wrong. Before the appointment, I read the manual twice and spent something like 60 minutes installing it. The seat used the latch system with a top anchor, it was a new car and we had a top-ranked car seat. All the straps were connected up correctly. During installation, I sat on it with all of my weight, pushed against the ceiling of the car with my back, pulled the tightening strap until it felt like it'd break, and then pulled harder. The straps were still too loose. I'm not small. Our last car seat had a failure mode where one of the latch straps would just self-release every 1000 miles or so. I'm not sure if it was user error or not. It happened twice. After that experience, I think part of the certification process for car seats and cars should involve proving that the majority of people that have never installed a car seat (i.e., first time parents) can get it right on the first try without reading the manual. The test group should include people with physical impairments, and should include at least a dozen popular car models going back a decade. (Car certification should be the same, but with multiple car seat models.)
        throwaway7ahgb 2y ago
        100% this should be mandatory reading for all new parents. Since you mention only SF, for anyone else who happens to read this, just go to your local Fire Department. They will 100% either know how to secure it for you or guide you to the correct place.
bluejekyll 2y ago
Something every new parent should learn (which some parts of car rides mimic), learn about the 4th trimester. Then learn the 5 S’s to mimic the womb: Swaddle - wrap the baby Side/stomache - position like the womb Shush - white noise Sway/swing - walking or bouncing Suck - a finger, a sucker, etc These were a life saver for my son. Most nights it was just swaddle + sway, on bad nights it took all 5. I think the reason cars work for so many baby’s is that car seats, the rhythm, the white noise from the car, etc… these all do the same thing.
- pc86 2y ago
  Our first is just out of this period and it really was pretty rough. It look us a month or so to come across the 5 S's and it made a world of difference. We also somehow got very very lucky in that he didn't need to be transitioned out of the swaddle, he just grew to dislike it so one night we just stopped cold turkey and it was fine. We've had friends that have had to do the one arm in / one arm out, swaddle the legs, etc. and transition over days or weeks to get any sleep at all.
  - bluejekyll 2y ago
    My son would always wriggle around until his hands were up next to his face (this is like 11 years ago). I started swaddling him in that position. We had an ultrasound picture that showed his hand in a similar position, so I guess it carried over.
    - pc86 2y ago
      Same, almost all his US pictures show him with hands next to his face and he sleeps like that most of the time now too.
- _zoltan_ 2y ago
  I disagree about giving them anything to suck on for the night. IIRC there's even research that could lead to late speech or trouble with speech later on.

ssl-3 2y ago

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deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

willcipriano 2y ago

> Putting your kid in a car (self driving or not) is putting them in the most dangerous situation they could possibly be in - car crashes are the number one cause of death for kids (in the US.) It would follow that since no children die each year playing in active volcanos that's the safest thing they could possibly do. Kindergartens should be filled with magma.

wdh505 2y ago
Serious preventable accidents happen at 60+ MPH. Generally a slow 20-45 mph (35 mph average) drive around the neighborhood is much safer as there are almost no "serious" accidents. Source: an organization with a fleet installed some driver tracking gps's and looked at the data over a year or two.
- badpun 2y ago
  Those stats are probably very different for babies, who are more fragile and could get seriously hurt even at lower speeds.
  - throwaway7ahgb 2y ago
    Where are the stats on infant motor deaths where the baby is secured correctly and car speed is <= 40mph?
    - hedora 2y ago
      Most car seats are improperly installed. If you have one, get its installation checked by a professional. In the SF Bay Area, you can have CHP check it for free. The full-time job of the officer that checked ours is investigating accidents where kids in car seats died. Almost all the child fatalities around here are due to improper car seat installation. We had it dangerously wrong. Before the appointment, I read the manual twice and spent something like 60 minutes installing it. The seat used the latch system with a top anchor, it was a new car and we had a top-ranked car seat. All the straps were connected up correctly. During installation, I sat on it with all of my weight, pushed against the ceiling of the car with my back, pulled the tightening strap until it felt like it'd break, and then pulled harder. The straps were still too loose. I'm not small. Our last car seat had a failure mode where one of the latch straps would just self-release every 1000 miles or so. I'm not sure if it was user error or not. It happened twice. After that experience, I think part of the certification process for car seats and cars should involve proving that the majority of people that have never installed a car seat (i.e., first time parents) can get it right on the first try without reading the manual. The test group should include people with physical impairments, and should include at least a dozen popular car models going back a decade. (Car certification should be the same, but with multiple car seat models.)
      - throwaway7ahgb 2y ago
        100% this should be mandatory reading for all new parents. Since you mention only SF, for anyone else who happens to read this, just go to your local Fire Department. They will 100% either know how to secure it for you or guide you to the correct place.

bluejekyll 2y ago

Something every new parent should learn (which some parts of car rides mimic), learn about the 4th trimester. Then learn the 5 S’s to mimic the womb: Swaddle - wrap the baby Side/stomache - position like the womb Shush - white noise Sway/swing - walking or bouncing Suck - a finger, a sucker, etc These were a life saver for my son. Most nights it was just swaddle + sway, on bad nights it took all 5. I think the reason cars work for so many baby’s is that car seats, the rhythm, the white noise from the car, etc… these all do the same thing.

pc86 2y ago
Our first is just out of this period and it really was pretty rough. It look us a month or so to come across the 5 S's and it made a world of difference. We also somehow got very very lucky in that he didn't need to be transitioned out of the swaddle, he just grew to dislike it so one night we just stopped cold turkey and it was fine. We've had friends that have had to do the one arm in / one arm out, swaddle the legs, etc. and transition over days or weeks to get any sleep at all.
- bluejekyll 2y ago
  My son would always wriggle around until his hands were up next to his face (this is like 11 years ago). I started swaddling him in that position. We had an ultrasound picture that showed his hand in a similar position, so I guess it carried over.
  - pc86 2y ago
    Same, almost all his US pictures show him with hands next to his face and he sleeps like that most of the time now too.
_zoltan_ 2y ago
I disagree about giving them anything to suck on for the night. IIRC there's even research that could lead to late speech or trouble with speech later on.