Don't You Know That's Not Safe?!

I was secretly very proud of myself when I took my car and carseats to the highway patrol free car seat inspection and was told I had installed mine correctly!

What bothers me more than seeing inproperly used carseats is seeing kids not in a car seat. Mom's in the backseats holding newborns next to the car seat while dad is driving. Little ones in laps, or five kids in the back of the car.

I don't consider myself an overprotective mom, even pride myself at having and using many of the "free range kids" perspectives. But carseats are a whole other issue. Car seats are not optional. Buckling is not optional. Taking the time to do it right is not optional.

No, you are not. I, too, notice all the things you mentioned and they drive me CRAZY! I am constantly *fixing* people's carseats - positioning them more tightly in the car, moving straps up or down, adjusting the tension, moving the buckles, etc. I feel like I'm the carseat nazi! But I don't care! It drives me nuts to see misused carseats!

The random studies that come out on carseat safety usually indicate that MOST families don't have their kids in right.

HOWEVER... cut your friends some slack. Most of the time when we take pics of our kids in car seats we're not actually moving but are in the process of getting in or out. <laughing> I actually had a blistering slam from someone calling me a bad mum for allowing my son to sit on my lap and "drive" the car in a picture. We were parked. But I got chapter and verse in any event. As in ANY time we were physically in the car kiddo had to be strapped in correctly. Um. No. Whist DRIVING one needs to be strapped in correctly. If one is taking pics while driving then the parent isn't strapped in correctly, either. Turning around in your seat (as a passenger) negates most of the good of being belted, and obviously, the driver should NOT be snapping pictures of the back seat, but paying attention to the road.

Also... unless you duct tape them so they can't move... toddler move straps and buckles around a LOT. It's something of a constant "Put that back on your hard parts." or "PUT your arm back in this instant!" comments coming from the driver looking at the toddler in the back seat.

I also know many parents who have turned their car seats fwd facing PURELY for the fact that when they stop the car, they find their child half out of their seat (manipulating the straps in their rear facing seat). So they don't even know to snap at their kids (errrr.... tell them nicely) to fix the durn strap... or to pull over and rebuckle them. Many that have had this problem have taken photos of their backward facing child to show police & or family if questioned as to WHY they don't have their child rear facing. ((Even the little mirrors don't work in most, much less all cases... because they only show so much, and because some cars don't have the right angle to mount them to show ANY)).

In the "slack" category... while many people are idiots, and many more just ignorant... many VERY conscientious people just have to follow different rules. My son was turned around at a little over 6 months because he outgrew rear facing seats. His shoulders were a couple inches over the highest hole, and we had the biggest infant seat at the time. Same problem with the 5 point... we had to go to shoulder straps under 1 year. NOW they have seats that can go backward past 30lbs, and 5 points that MIGHT have fit him to past a year... but at the time, the SAFEST thing was what we did. With a note taped to his seat by our local seat inspector at the Police Station exempting us from tickets, because to follow the letter of the law would have put our son in great danger.

even though kids will wriggle out of them, and sometimes unbuckle them altogether, it may be dangerous but in my lifetime i remember when babies were just held by the passenger parent, and kids buckled into the regular seatbelt, no boosters. weve come a long way.

I was always a crazy car seat lady, and boy does it drive me crazy when I see kids unsafely buckled. The other day I saw a dad spend about 10 minutes getting his infant daughter in her carseat-he made sure her shoes were straight, her hat securely on, dress pulled down, carseat cover zipped and on straight...but he never bothered to buckle the baby!

Sadly, about 90% of car seats are used or installed improperly.

No I agree! I am also bad about "food safety" pictures. I saw a "friend" had a picture posted of her 4 month old eating a fistful of cake...I just about died! Anyways...I agree, it is so hard to not say something. I mean, if something ever happened to that child and I didn't say anything, I would feel horrible, but I just can't ever bring myself to send them a sweet message about it. :)

I hear ya! This drives me nuts too! I don't know what it is about people. I guess they think just because the kid is strapped in the seat it will magically save their lives, but don't take the time to make sure they're buckled in right. Not sure what else to say except that I've seen it too and it breaks my heart since I know those children would be in a lot of danger in the event of an accident. :-(

We're pretty picky about the carseats. I notice carseats that aren't right in pictures too. My hubby gets them in so tight that you can't wiggle the seat at all. LOL

Carseats are my brand of mommy crazy too. I just turned my 31 month old around because she is right about at the weight limit for rear facing. I would have kept her that way longer if her seat had a higher limit. Everyone thought i was crazy for keeping her that way but they are so much safer that way!

I'm with you on that. Drives me crazy. Also makes me mad when tv shows/movies show babies in infant car seats facing forward.

OMG...I am the same way! When one of my co-workers brought his son into work once (the baby was about 3 months old) I noticed he wasn't in his carrier carseat very securely. I was talking to the baby, but I made sure Daddy could here...I said "You need to have a talk with that silly Daddy of yours...you need to tell him that your carseat isn't buckled correctly! Such a silly Daddy!" My co-worker then said he was unaware that it wasn't buckled right, so I showed him how to buckle it correctly. My boyriend's ex (his 3 year old daughter's mother) has their daughter in a backless booster already! We still have her in a 5-pt harness (buckled correctly). When we told her that the booster isn't safe for her age group and height/weight, she said she couldn't afford a new carseat...she drives a '07 Chrysler Pacifica...if she can't afford a carseat to keep her daughter safe, than she shouldn't be able to afford a car that's only a couple years old! There's also a pic of her daughter in the front seat of her car...in her booster...but still...the front seat! She's 3 for crying out loud! The car was obviously on the road...you could see the gas station signs at the intersection (we knew exactly what intersection). She may not have been moving, but she was definitely on the road. Sorry to vent, but your post brought out the carseat nazi in me too! Geez...what's more important...saving a couple hundred bucks or your kid's life?

Nope, I am a stickler too. But please cut your firends some slack. I mean I never take a pic of my kid in the moving car, mostly it's when we are either just getting in or about to get out...I would think that that might contribute to it looking way worse than it is.

I'm a car seat nut.

I let it be known to my FB friends. There is a FB fan page - The Car Seat Lady. Friend her and post her stuff. Also - FB is a great place to speak your mind. Some will tune you out but you never know who's mind you will actually change. I am outspoken when it comes to carseat safety AND texting while driving!

Also - you'd be surprised buy how many parents make car seat mistakes and don't realize it. Ugh... I know - really??? You are driving around precious cargo and you don't take the time to make sure everything is installed correctly and your little one is in their seat properly, yet you'll make sure you read your IPhone manual cover to cover.

Rant out. :-)

I totally agree~ I do the same thing~ Also on that teen mom show--one of the girls is notorious for strapping her infant in incorrectly--it drives me crazy! I am super cautious about carseat safety!

M

my old tv station used to do car seat check points for this reason and big news stories on it. more use it wrong than right. most parents dont know its wrong.

No, you are not the only one! I am so particular about it that my brother (a police officer who was specially trained in car seat safety and installation) is the only one who installs my daughter's car seats! I even consulted him before buying any seats. (By the way, he recommends Britax as very safe seats.) Keep on checking the kids!!! I will do the same!!!