Cohen Joanna S, Howard Mary Beth, McDonald Eileen M, Ryan Leticia Manning
Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
Pediatrics. 2024 Apr 1;153(4). doi: 10.1542/peds.2023-063445.
Maya arrives at the clinic after a long bus ride with her infant and toddler. When the pediatrician asks about childcare, Maya explains that her aunt babysits while Maya works. Maya does not own a car, but her aunt sometimes drives the children in her car, which is not equipped with car seats. Maya is unable to afford them and is reluctant to ask her aunt to purchase them, fearful of seeming unappreciative. The pediatrician offers Maya an infant car seat and a booster seat from the clinic’s supply, but Maya pictures herself, hands full with an inquisitive toddler and a fussy infant on the bus, and declines.
玛雅带着她的婴幼儿坐了很长时间的公交车后抵达了诊所。当儿科医生询问育儿情况时,玛雅解释说她工作时由她的阿姨照顾孩子。玛雅没有车,但她的阿姨有时会开车送孩子们,而她的车没有配备儿童安全座椅。玛雅买不起儿童安全座椅,也不愿意让她的阿姨去买,担心显得不知感恩。儿科医生从诊所的储备中给玛雅提供了一个婴儿汽车安全座椅和一个增高座椅,但玛雅想象着自己在公交车上,手里抱着好奇的学步儿童和哭闹的婴儿,忙得不可开交,于是拒绝了。