Britney Spears Hits Back

By: Shannon Gossage

Spears came under fire after she was photographed with her eight-month old son, Sean Preston, asleep and slumped forward in his car seat in the back of her car facing forward. California motor-vehicle code states that babies who weigh 20 pounds or who are less than a year old should have their car seats facing backwards. As for the picture, it was reported that California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Marshall said, "The seat is facing the wrong way. We like it when the child’s head is facing back."

Spears released a statement via her spokesperson claiming that she did nothing wrong. The statement read, "It has been reported that there is a photo of Britney Spears driving with her child sitting in a forward facing child safety seat in the back seat of the car. Having a child in the child safety seat facing forward in the rear seat is in compliance with California law. There is no law in California requiring rear-facing seats. In fact, there are only ten states that require a child to be in the rear-facing seat, and in tow of those states it is not required if the infant is more than 20 pounds. Britney’s son weighs over 20 pounds. As such, Britney Spears was in total compliance with California law with the forward-facing child safety car seat with the baby strapped in properly in the back of her car."

Spears, who is expecting her second child with husband Kevin Federline, has to be extra careful. Already the Department of Children and Family Services has visited Spears’ home twice investigating two incidents involving her son. The first incident occurred in February when Spears was photographed driving with Sean Preston sitting on her lap. She blamed the paparazzi for the incident and claimed she feared for her life and that of her son’s life and had to evacuate the scene immediately. The second incident occurred in April when Sean Preston fell from his highchair and bumped his head. Neither Spears nor Federline were home at the time and it was later reported that Spears fired the nanny that was in charge of the baby at the time. No charges were brought in either case.