Car seat rant

[SaraEmily]

Why are the rules for proper usage not made more clear? Last week, a friend of mine posted a picture on fb of her 5 month riding in a forward facing car seat. Now today another friend has posted one of her 6 month old. It drives me crazy!

But in a way I feel like it's partially the car seat companies fault. When I was shopping for my convertible car seat, the weight limits say things like: rear facing 5-40 lbs, forward facing 20-100 lbs. I can see how that might make someone think that it's okay if they didn't already know any better.

So why aren't these rules made more clear? It's such an important issue, and yet so many people are uninformed. And not just that, but doing the straps properly is another thing that a lot of people (or at least the people I know) never seem to do correctly. In almost every picture someone posts, they have the straps so loose that they barely look like they hold the baby in, and the chest clip is at the baby's crotch.

If people aren't going to do any research about car seat safety, then car seat companies should be more clear about safety guidelines. This is a pretty pointless rant, but it bothers me so much.

 

[_Mouse_]

I know the feeling I get so mad when I'm out and i see a child that's way to big for an infant careseat. I mean really 6+ inches of your child's legs are hanging over the edge of the carseat how do you not see they are to big for it!
as soon a my son's feet hit the edge of his carseat we got a bigger one.

Spoiler

https://carseatonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/FAQ4.jpg

I just can't get over how you can miss the instructions in the manuals of the carseats. Its very clear in the manuals on how to use the carseat and what weight for the forward facing and rear facing. Like come on there are pictures seriously

 

[greats]

Bothers me too, hun! Some parents just trust the box way too much instead of actually reading the instructions and guidelines and doing research.

 

[wifey29]

I totally agree. The woman who lives opposite moved her LO ff at five months and my sil never tightens the straps on hers. Her ds is six months. The straps are so loose that i could probably put ds on his lap and they still wouldn't be tight. She might as well not bother, theyd be no protection in an accident.

 

[Ktothema]

The way ds is going he'll have to front face soon. His head pokes out of infant seats and hes not far off being 9kg which is the limit of his birth to 4y one rear facing. I'd rather forward face him than have him unsafe rear facing. I'm assuming this isn't the case with your friends though.

We get people here who don't even put toddlers in seats. You see them jumping up and down in the back. Its ridiculous.

 

[SaraEmily]

The way ds is going he'll have to front face soon. His head pokes out of infant seats and hes not far off being 9kg which is the limit of his birth to 4y one rear facing. I'd rather forward face him than have him unsafe rear facing. I'm assuming this isn't the case with your friends though.

We get people here who don't even put toddlers in seats. You see them jumping up and down in the back. Its ridiculous.

I know at least one of them has the option to rear face til 40 lbs because I have the same car seat that they do. They just choose not to. And she has a bigger car than I do, so there's really no excuse. I can understand in your case, though.

 

[DragonTamer]

It drives me nuts as well...i know someone who actually took her daughters rear facing car seat and she rigged it to face forward because she was too cheap to buy a forward facing seat.That was 12 years ago...a couple years ago she posted a picture of her three children in the back seat and her two boys who BOTH should have been in boosters were not properly restrained. The one boy was in a booster but in the middle with just a lap belt, it states CLEARLY on the seat not to use with lap only belts... her other boy, not in a booster with the shoulderstrap behind his back....i couldn't help but be concerned for her children.

 

[Indi84]

My little guy is tall, I reckon he might be hanging out his infant car seat way before a year, I've looked into extended rear facing but none fit in my car, my maxi cosi caribo (sp?) is the only one that fit, and even then only short people can fit in my front seat now! so I'm going to have to switch when he hits the weight limit or height (whichever means he can stay in it longest, though I'd never put him ff until he was the correct weight)
Does this mean I'll have people thinking I'm a bad mum because I can't a afford a new car?
different for your friend, Wii could rear face but doesn't. If I could I'd get a bigger car and extended but I can't afford to. :-\

 

[SaraEmily]

It drives me nuts as well...i know someone who actually took her daughters rear facing car seat and she rigged it to face forward because she was too cheap to buy a forward facing seat.That was 12 years ago...a couple years ago she posted a picture of her three children in the back seat and her two boys who BOTH should have been in boosters were not properly restrained. The one boy was in a booster but in the middle with just a lap belt, it states CLEARLY on the seat not to use with lap only belts... her other boy, not in a booster with the shoulderstrap behind his back....i couldn't help but be concerned for her children.

Wow. I think that's the worst case of car seat misuse I've ever heard of.

 

[SaraEmily]

My little guy is tall, I reckon he might be hanging out his infant car seat way before a year, I've looked into extended rear facing but none fit in my car, my maxi cosi caribo (sp?) is the only one that fit, and even then only short people can fit in my front seat now! so I'm going to have to switch when he hits the weight limit or height (whichever means he can stay in it longest, though I'd never put him ff until he was the correct weight)
Does this mean I'll have people thinking I'm a bad mum because I can't a afford a new car?
different for your friend, Wii could rear face but doesn't. If I could I'd get a bigger car and extended but I can't afford to. :-\

I hope you don't think I was saying you're a bad mom! I'm so glad that my car seat fits our car because I definitely wouldn't be able to afford a new car either. Sometimes you just have to do what works best for your situation. It's just when people could rear face longer and choose not to that irks me. Or people who don't try to educate themselves about issues like this. When it comes to my child's safety, I research everything. I don't understand people who don't bother, whether it be car seat safety, weaning, or whatever.

 

[aliss]

That's a shame. I would let them both know. They are looking at an $ ticket, I suppose money talks. For those who don't know, this is illegal in OP's state until age 1, regardless of weight.

 

[SaraEmily]

That's a shame. I would let them both know. They are looking at an $ ticket, I suppose money talks. For those who don't know, this is illegal in OP's state until age 1, regardless of weight.

That's actually a good idea. I didn't plan to say anything, because I know how defensive people can get about things like this. But maybe if I just mention that she can get a ticket for it then it won't sound so bad. I'm not sure if I want to say anything yet, but if I do that's a good way to bring it up. Thanks.

 

[midori1999]

My little guy is tall, I reckon he might be hanging out his infant car seat way before a year, I've looked into extended rear facing but none fit in my car, my maxi cosi caribo (sp?) is the only one that fit, and even then only short people can fit in my front seat now! so I'm going to have to switch when he hits the weight limit or height (whichever means he can stay in it longest, though I'd never put him ff until he was the correct weight)
Does this mean I'll have people thinking I'm a bad mum because I can't a afford a new car?
different for your friend, Wii could rear face but doesn't. If I could I'd get a bigger car and extended but I can't afford to. :-\

What car have you got? The new Mamas and Papas ERF seat is much smaller than others on the market, it's isofix only though.

 

[candyem]

I am currently having car seat issues of my own and have found people unsure of what advice to give.

LO is almost 11 months and his head is touching the good of his infant carrier. I don't want him ff yet, ideally not until he is at least 1 and a half (we have looked into erf seats but too expensive so we were looking for a seat that he could tear face in a bit longer - until 28lbs - then ff when I feel more comfortable.

I went in two shops this weekend (mothercare and halfords). In the first I was told he is ready to ff (even though I said I would prefer him to rf) and the second agreed that he should go from his carrier to ff but to wait as long as possible. He showed me how ill fitting one of the seats I described was and told me it would be my best option to get a good ff seat in a month or two.

Both of their advice contradicted things I have read. I can see how easy it is here in the uk for people to allow their child to ff too early. If I hadn't come on here I wouldn't have thought to research. I have two friends with younger children who already ff (even though much less than the weight allowance)

 

[x_WelshGirl_x]

This annoys me too, for alex's 1st birthday we went to softplay, MIL brought BIL, SIL and our 6month old nephew, he was in a ff car seat MIL uses for our 2 year old neice, the straps are at the middle level and OH had told her he shouldnt be in there yet and atleast should move the straps down, MILjust shrugged and said "I just pull them tight" atleast if anything was to happen it wouldnt be on our heads, they never listen to any advice so after that we're not giving anymore.

 

[pinklightbulb]

You see this often in my country as there are no ERF seats on the market and RF seats only go to 12kg. It turns my stomach.

 

[SpringerS]

In almost every picture someone posts, they have the straps so loose that they barely look like they hold the baby in, and the chest clip is at the baby's crotch.

If people aren't going to do any research about car seat safety, then car seat companies should be more clear about safety guidelines. This is a pretty pointless rant, but it bothers me so much.

See this is interesting because there is a lot of different information out there. In Europe chest clips are illegal as they have been found to be dangerous. It can be hard to pick a seat and which instructions to follow as there is conflicting information out there. I decided to only use a seat that passed the Swedish Plus Test, of which there are only 3 or 4 in total and only 1 suitable from newborn. So it's easy to see why people make different choices or are confused about safety.

 

[aimee-lou]

For me I had to be practical. My LO weighs 27.5lb (which is 12.5kg). He passed the 9kg weight criteria when he was 4.5 months! Even for most of the bigger RF seats and infant carriers available readily this is too big. He's only just 9 months (will be 9 months tomorrow in fact) so I had to just keep him RF as long as I could without him being unsafe, then move him to our FF seat. We lasted until 3 weeks ago, when we put him into the car in the infant carrier and the whole thing tipped backwards when I went to put him in (with the seatbelt attached). I just couldn't risk it doing that in the car if he pushed off with his legs (which I think is what he did).

We have a Maxi Cosi Tobi FF seat which is the 9m-4y one. It has recline positions etc and is so secure in our car when you try to move the seat, the car moves! He is happy, fully reclines, well secured in with the straps (incidentally I've never seen chest clips, only crotch ones) and I'm so pleased he's now the correct age as I hate him being in the wrong seat. As it is, he wont last long in the Tobi, as the seat was previously Earl's and when Earl was just over 2 we had to buy a new car seat for him as he had outgrown it. Eddy is much larger than Earl was. We have a 1-2-3 which Earl currently uses as a highback (again he outgrew the straps on the 1-2-3 so is now in the standard seatbelt!).

I would rather my children be properly secured appropriately for their size/weight than be squeezed into something that potentially wouldn't work in an accident. It's a hard call, as you're stuck between the devil and the deep blue. I know I could shell out for yet another car seat for both of them, but we have another baby on the way, and as it is we'll need to buy new ones (and possibly a new car) in a few months. Now he's 9 months, I can breathe again for a while, but seriously, I had no other choice.

What really irks me though - while I know I don't stick the rule 100% - is when people still just put carry cots on the back seat. My life - how easy is it to strap in infant carrier in?