³ÉÈËXÕ¾

A bunch of new state laws went into effect for 2020, and once again, Washington is the laughing stock of the country. There is one law in particular that I take very personally.

Children up to the age of 13, if they are 4-foot-9 or shorter, now have to ride in a booster seat. Can you imagine dropping your kids off at middle school as they unstrap themselves from their booster seat? It’s insanity.

If you go to a middle school, you’ll see there are a lot of kids who have not hit a growth spurt yet. Now they have to sit in a booster seat like a little kid?

When I was about 5, we took a road trip to North Dakota. My mom had this big, ridiculous Oldsmobile 98, and I would run around the backseat floor while she was driving. My brother did not believe the car could go 120 miles per hour, so my mom proved it to him — all while I was standing up in the back. I survived.

David Boze: The good, the bad, and the ridiculous new laws here in WA

This law also states that all kids under 13 — even those who are tall enough to be free of the booster seat requirement — have to sit in the backseat of the car. I cannot tell you how many lovely conversations I had with my daughters at that age as I was driving them around. Now the government is going to take that bonding time away from parents?

And then what about the parents who went through all the expense of having babies and finally got rid of stuff like booster seats as their kids aged out of them — is the state telling them that now they have to go out and spend money on a new one for their short 12-year-old?

Finally, in a state that talks all the time about not discriminating and being inclusive — what about the short kids? Who is protecting the short kids? I know the kids are still out of school for Christmas break and might be reading or listening to this, so if you are a short kid, know that this is the radio show for you. I promise that I, Dori Monson, will be the only person in the media to stand up for you.

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.