I'm learning that there are two kinds of parents. There are those who stay informed on the latest recalls and recommendations along with those who hear from friends and make positive changes to keep their kids safe. And there are those who put their fingers in their ears and say "la la la la I can't hear you" to any new thing they hear.

I've seen this way too many times with car seats. Specifically keeping kids safe and safer thanks to new discoveries in car seats. Particularly when new car seat recommendations are given out.

We have to be open as parents. I've learned this. We have to listen to each other and not feel if someone has important information before you, then that means they are a better parent or that you shouldn't learn from others. Even if that parent is a newbie.

The good news is more parents are listening. And more are following the newest car seat rules ... but we should ALL be. The stats are eye-opening.

Congratulations to our winner, angiewith2!

It's been one helluva birthday week here on The Stir. Thank you thank you thank YOU for making it all so fantasic. The final giveaway of the week: An Evenflo Symphony 65 All-In-One Car Seat.

Car safety seats can be a hassle. One second you're using an infant seat, the next you're crying realizing how time flies and it's time for a toddler version. With the Evenflo Symphony 65 All-In-One Car Seat, you won't have to worry about changing things up. The cool thing about this seat is its designed for rear-facing use for infants, forward-facing use for toddlers with internal harness, and ALSO as a belt positioning booster for older children up to 100 lbs! Can you say SCORE?!

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We've all had mommy fail moments. Come on, even you. It's because that despite our best efforts, we aren't perfect. Though our husbands don't have to know that. There are some of these moments that we all come out of unscathed, but some are downright dangerous and make you say, "My gosh what in the heck was I thinking?!" I'm sure this 30-year-old Swedish mom who thought that breastfeeding her 3-week-old baby while driving is realizing her mistake. This mommy fail moment caused her to get into a car accident, rear-ending a truck that was braking in front of her.

Her two older children were in car seats in the back, but her newborn was on her lap nursing as she crashed.

Whenever a law changes, there are always going to be people who get annoyed and not want to follow that law. But when it comes to car seats and booster seats, this is serious business. This is what can protect your child from being harmed or killed in a car accident. Even the safest drivers have accidents -- that's why they are called accidents. Plus, you do have to worry about all the other drivers on the road who don't care about your child's safety as much as you do. This new booster seat law, going into effect on January 1st in California, may save hundreds of thousands of kids' lives.

Why wouldn't we want to follow it? Sure, it may make your child a little annoyed, but as most car seat advocates say, an annoyed kid is much better than a child who is dead.

The previous law for boosters in California was that children remain in a booster seat until the age of 6 or weighed 60 pounds. Here's what you need to know about the new law, to keep your kid safe and avoid being fined.

Kids get bored, especially when in the car, which can result in whining, fidgeting, and even crying. And far too often, parents turn their rear-facing child around because they think a forward-facing child will be happier.

We know that the absolute youngest a child should be forward-facing is 2 years old, but kids can get testy, bratty, and bored before then. So, along with my own solutions, I asked around and came up with a great list of ways we can keep toddlers rear-facing and happy and safer all at the same time.

Yes, it's possible!

I was so happy when Colorado bumped their booster laws up to the minimum recommended 8 years old and 4'9", but I know that just changing laws isn't going to be enough to make all parents use car seats properly. Still, it's a step forward and I'm also glad when states with unsafe laws update theirs. California has just passed a new booster seat law!

I spoke to Californian Anne Hamilton, a certified car passenger safety technician, who is also on the board of SafetyBeltSafe USA. Her own family was in a terrible accident that ended with the car upside down on top of rocks, and she's written her own pamphlet about best practice of car seats. I asked her to help explain California's new booster laws to moms.

Here's what she had to say:

NOT how she rides, obviously.When people are told they should go see a Car Seat Safety Technician (CPST) or take their seat to a check-up, most people roll their eyes, figuring they can do it just fine themselves. However, 84 percent of kids have at least one critical misuse of their seat -- that means MOST OF US use our seats wrong, and dangerously so.

There are also way too many people who just don't use seats at all, or use them so wrong that their child is in more danger than you could even imagine. On the highway that goes through my town, I saw a little girl no older than 4 in the backseat lean forward and stick her head out the driver's window (two-door car) to look around. When the car started moving, she got on her knees on the back seat so she could look out the back window. Things like that really make you understand why car accidents are still the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14, killing over 30,000 kids a year. What can we do to fix this?!

Maybe it's the culture in Los Angeles, but every time I go to a different grocery store, there are so many options for children in the grocery cart, I wonder what's next: A teenager cart equipped with an Xbox? I've seen infant seats, booster seats, plastic cars that fit two toddlers or big kids attached to the front of the cart, and carts that have a traditional seat that fits two kids instead of one.

But even with all of these options, we can never be too safe when it comes to putting our children on top of a shopping cart, where the risk of falling exists. Sadly, a mom in Macon, Georgia learned this lesson in the most tragic way when her baby fell from the top of the shopping cart onto the ground and died.