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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
FarmingBride
member
Too old of a carseat at daycare....
FarmingBride
member
My son is still in his infant car seat. I bought the SnugRide32 so I could use it longer--up to 32 lbs and 32" or less in height. He's definately going to be a child that outgrows the carseat due to height and not weight. He's 21 lbs or so, but is currently at 30". Head still is much below the 1" minimum from the top--so we are still go. I want to keep him in the safest seat position and rear facing as long as possilbe as well.
I take my son to daycare in the SnugRide32 carseat and leave it at daycare so she can use it in her vehicle too. My daycare provider is 28 weeks pregnant and is starting to get a belly. She doesn't carry him in his car seat anymore because she can't fit thru doorways with it and it's too much for her--completely understandable. She wanted to know if I would take a look at her operator's manual for the convertible carseat she has if we wanted to switch him to that seat in her vehicle. She gave me the manual and registration info.
Manufacture date is 07 May 2002. I have Baby Bargains book and revisited the car seat section and it's not recommended to use a car seat over 5 years old. Which this one would be 8 1/2 almost 9 years old. She told me it has never been in an accident. What should I do? I think that's too old or am I just being too picky? But I really don't think child safety is being picky. She also told me that she purchased it for Norm (a now older girl at her daycare). My son is the only child at her daycare on Monday and Wednesday then on Tuesday, Wed, and Fri there are a total of 3 of them. Therefore, my daycare provider will make random trips to town to run errands and story hour on Fridays. Some weeks they are out on the road 3 times a week other weeks it's just once a week. The furthest that she travels with him is 1 hour away.
What is the protocol on car seats at daycare? Is that my responsibility to purchase one for her? Or is that her responsibility? Or if I could like what she provides then is it my responsibility? What should I do? I have already purchased a convertible seat when I bought all the other baby items. So I already a convertible. Do you usually have a convertible and your daycare has a convertible or do you use the same one?
My options:
1)Let her use an old car seat to haul my son around?
2) Purchase a new carseat for her
3) Tell her to purchase a carseat. My thought here is that she is having a baby in Feb. she will need one for herself anyways. And her new infant will not be in the convertible right away, my son could then be in that convertible of hers
4) Tell her to keep using the SnugRide32. I really don't know what the big deal is why she can't just continue to use the SnugRide32 until he grows out of it shortly. All she has to do is carry the careseat out to the car (another trip I guess) then put him in it if she can't handle him in the seat anymore. By then maybe she will have figured something out with her new baby and got a car seat.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Too old of a carseat at daycare....
#4 Handsdown. I would not allow her to use the old carseat.
ETA: I've changed my mind. I think I would do this:
Go Phils!!
Your son will grow out of this seat soon enough, so you'll have to figure this out sooner or later anyway. If it's causing stress for your provider, it's better to tackle the problem sooner.
I personally would not have a problem using an older seat if it was never in an accident, was in good condition, installed properly and securely, and my child fit in it appropriately.
If you do not want to use the carseat that she is providing you, then I think you need to purchase another carseat for her to use. She already offered one, I don't think it's right to make her buy another one. You can certainly mention that it is not recommended to use carseats older than 5 years and leave it up to her, but if she refuses to buy one, it's on you.
That's kind of tough. I think using the expired seat should be crossed off the list. Even if its never been in an accident, it is expired for a reason, so I would just flat out not use it. So that leaves you with using the existing one, your buying a new one, or her buying a new one.
If your DCP is anything like mine (I love her dearly) chances are pretty low that she'd go for that. Plus, do you really want her choosing any old seat? What if she gets a used one from someone she doesn't know? If it were me, I would cross that off your list.
So, then your options: convince a very pregnant woman to continue to use the old seat. If you can do this, and you think she'll go for it, great. If not, go out and buy a convertible seat. You're going to need one sooner than later anyway, so you may as well get the one you're going to use now. Then when the time comes you can re-visit it. If it were me, I would buy DCP the Cosco Scenera at Walmart for $39 (very highly safety rated, but no bells & whistles and sort of uncomfortable looking, but OK for short, infrequent drives) and get yourself the one with the bells & whistles when you're ready to swap him. We got the MyRide65 after much hemming and hawing and we love it.
GL!
Not sure about where you are, but where I live, using expired carseats is not only not recommended, but if you are in an accident with one - there is no coverage for the child within the seat. So there is NO way I would use one ...
Since your little one is getting to the limit on his seat, if you are planning on sticking with this daycare provider - I would buy a new seat for him now. You will have to eventually anyhow.
The other option would be to just put the snugride in her car in the morning and have her pull him in and out - leaving the seat in the car. We did this with DS for quite some time. The seat was so heavy to carry but we weren't ready to buy a convertible. It worked for us!
I was talking to my DH about this the other day actually, my grandma had an old car seat but was expired. I was trying to tell her they expire and we can't take it. She couldn't understand why they would expire. My DH is an engineer and explained it that over time the plastic weakens. Even if it hasn't been in an accident it still isn't safe because plastic only has a certain shelf life. After that it can become brittle and break easier.
If it were my, I think I would buy a new convertible carseat for your daycare provider to use because you will probably need to buy one within the next 6ish months anyway because your LO is getting to tall. Just my .02. GL!