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2nd Trimester
MrsCarroll.6-10-07
member
Car seat info - please read =)
MrsCarroll.6-10-07
member
Someone in one of my local mom groups just admitted she turned her baby's car seat around at 9 months - within the last couple years. NINE months old. I can't see straight over her stupidity. Our kids are very similar in age so I know it isn't a "Well back in the day" kind of thing. I hope a lot of people know this kind of information, but from what I see daily, a lot of people don't know.
At my hospital they don't even check that I HAVE a car seat when I leave, they ask, but they don't check. No one ever told me how to correctly buckle in the infant into a car seat (buckle should be right at nipples/armpits and straps should be tight no pinching the straps at all.) The friends I have helped with this are usually stunned "Why didn't someone tell me this?"
So here are a few posts about car seats...
https://www.safercar.gov/parents/RightSeat.htm
or here: https://www.healthychildren.org
Here are a couple more humorous blog posts that give great information:
Part 1 and Part 2 (not my blog).
And for anyone that has older children, this is information that will be coming out next year or sometime saying about using the LATCH system versus a seat belt install on bigger children's car seats: https://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/06122012new-car-seat-changes-for-2014/
I post these links on my own Facebook sometimes because it is awkward to tell my friends sometimes "You're doing it wrong" but I have done it before. I've corrected strangers too, it's like telling them their baby is ugly. It gets a fantastic reaction usually =/ but maybe it made them think about it and Google some information at home later.
Also something random that I've dealt with. At my gym they would often hand my daughters back to me in their carrier already with a blanket all tucked around them. They never buckled them in. Ever. It took me only one trip to the grocery store and home before I realized that and checked their buckles every time.
Anyway, that's it. I am sorry if I'm annoying anyone or bugging you with this, I will also re-post on the other tri boards too. If this information helps ONE person or saves one baby in a crash it will be worth it to me.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Car seat info - please read =)
Another great resource is car-seat.org and The Car Seat Lady has some great blog posts and you tube videos to help with proper use.
I am a Child Passenger Safety Technician and am happy to help anyone out with questions too. I don't often check PMs here but you can email me: laurencpst@gmail.com
Mrs. Carroll, you are obviously very passionate about this topic. Have you ever thought of getting certified as a CPST? My friends and others thought I was just a nosy nut about car seats before but now they take me seriously and when I see strangers with misuse, I can give them my business card and set up a free car seat check/consultation. the safekids.org site has certification information.
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What state are you in? I want to live there! LOL
Here in IL the law is still the old "1 and 20" (oh, how I loathe out out of date most car seat laws are!) but thankfully there is the AAP recommendation to rear face until at least 2 years old.
It really is best and safer for kids to remain rear-facing for as long as possible/to the limits of their seat. My son is going to be 3 yrs. in 2 months and is still happily rear facing in every car he rides in. His legs can reach almost all the way up the back seat of my car but I know he is safer and he has never once complained about his legs; he usually either bends them in like he's sitting cross-legged or he will let them hang off the side of the car seat. All that to say that their leg length really has nothing to do with whether they are ready to be turned FF.
While that may be the law where you live, it's actually recommended and safer to keep them RFing as long as your carseat allows for. Most car seats on the market today go up to 40/45lbs for RFing which, for most kids, is well beyond 2 years of age.
My 4y/o (in December) is only 37lbs so he is still rear facing comfortably. Yep, their legs are scrunched but their pretty limber and find ways to be comfy. He usually sits with his legs crossed.
Great information. I remember reading an article that gave an alarmingly high percentage of parents who inadvertently install the carseat incorrectly, essentially making all the bells and whistles of the carseat nonexistent in a crash.
It is a law here that the hospital staff must see AND inspect both the car seat base as well as the car seat itself before mom and baby leave the hospital. It also helps that FI is a paramedic, and he is trained to know the proper installation measures too, because any parent can drive up to a fire station to ensure that their carseat is installed correctly.
Also, I would FREAK OUT if I realized that my child wasn't strapped it but they have stuffed a blanket all around him, OP! Did you ever say anything to the gym? Maybe have them let the parents KNOW that the babe isn't strapped in?
I don't know that the laws have actually changed on this one yet. The AAP and I think the NHTSA advice against turning until the kid outgrows the rear facing seat.
We turned my daughter at 2 1/2 and 35 or so pounds. Mainly because she kept breaking her car seat fighting me to get in that way. I felt guilty for months, I still do. I'm sure Britax is happy because they haven't had to replace my parts again lately!
My younger daughter is a bit smaller than my older daughter so I might be able to keep her RF a bit longer.
I've heard of a lot of people asking a Police Station or Fire Station for checks and not all of them are certified or know what they're doing.
To Lifesadance - I have thought about it. I know people have asked me to check their straps before and their installations. I have prefaced everything I've checked with a "I'm not certified but I will help with with what I know". I might email you to ask you more about this!!
In my local mommy group my quote my friends joke about it "Broken legs can be fixed a lot easier than a broken spinal cord." I know for a lot of you this is far off, so just keep it in your "look at later" stuff if you need to.
Yes. Freaked out was one way to put it. Next time I was there I said something and now I check myself and casually tell other moms too. Luckily my daughter was so small she couldn't wriggle out of the seat at that point yet.
I was watching the Duggars the other day (don't hate) and it looks like they are still using their carrier for their little Michael and he is just about popping out of it. So know when to stop using the carrier too. I have a friend that could use it until recently her daughter was so small but other people have to switch earlier.
the IL laws were updated:)
https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/drivers/childsafety.html
good post, this is one of my pet peeves. This and parents who don't vaccinate.
It's not difficult to Google local fire/police stations to verify if they are certified or not. Here, most stations are required to be and the EMTs/officiers have to take further, special training for carseats alone.
But ultimately, it's up to the parents to do the research before stopping in at any ol' station, thinking that anyone and everyone is certified. Also, I can only speak for EMTs, but they are not going to pretend to be certified if they are not; their main goal is still the child's safety and therefore, if they haven't had the proper training, they'd direct that person elsewhere.
Totally, that's my point. People just don't know sometimes. I have friends that have said "Oh I'll just ask this cop." My husband did that to our cop neighbor with our first daughter. Some people just don't know.
I love to see certified car seat inspections set up for free at various places locally and I wish they did it more. For me one of my mommy groups did it for $5 a car they would inspect it by one of the local car seat safety groups in Orlando area.
I hope I didn't offend anyone here by the way I said anything, I didn't mean to. I only wanted to basically give you some information and you do what you want with it. I think it was taken wrong on 3rd tri. =/
In our area (Texas) they do Saturday info things at local fire stations where you can take your car and car seat (no matter the style or age of the child etc) there and they will make sure it is in properly. They also make sure to review the rear facing and size recommendations with you, plus what to check once the baby is in seat (if you don't have a child already).
We plan on doing this before the LO's arrive so we can ensure they are in properly. The EMTs that are doing it are certified and better yet it completely free!!!! They are not every Saturday but I think once per month. You can also visit a local firestation at anytime to have them help you. If not one there is certified they will radio to see where someone is available in your area.
This is something that started recently in my area and I found it by googling car seat help + my area.
06/12 - BFP!!!!
Beta #1 15dpo - 256
Beta #2 18dpo - 1097
6wk U/S on 07/02 ~ TWINS!!!
EDD 02/21/13
09/10/12 Found out it's two Boys!!!! Sam and Jake
Jacob and Samuel born 1/29/13 at 36 weeks.
This. We read the instructions for our car seat and were completely baffled, so we're definitely going to have someone knowledgeable step in and do it for us!
My understanding (from the State Troopers and attorneys I know) is that the minimum per the law is still only "1 and 20" but they do have new recommendations out. I WISH that the recommendations were law and don't really understand why not. That said, the IL Child Passenger Protection Act (that you linked to) does give some gray area for officers if they chose to ticket someone with, say a forward facing 18 month old, based on the recommendations for best practice outlined in the Act. If a child would still fit in the seat RF then according to the Act they should not be FF. Again, gray area... that if the police can argue one way, someone's defense atty can argue the other way. If manufacturers would put higher minimums on their seats then people would be forced to use best practice instead of out-of-date laws -- if they're using a seat FF and aren't meeting the minimums for FF, then they're not in an "appropriate seat" per the law. Ugh... it's so frustrating!
A lot of fire/police are not trained in it. The safekids.org site can lead you to checkpoints and techs in your area. You can also connect with techs on car-seat.org 's forums.
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My husband's coworker's wife is a NICU nurse or something and she said that we should install the car seat with both like that because it is safer. It took so much fight to get him to listen to me instead of her.
I am also a CPST, and while the recommendation is becoming more well known, the law has not changed to 2 in any state. Fact is, it probably won't either, because A) the laws don't reflect best practice now (in my state a 5 year old can wear just a seat belt) and
it will be met by too much criticism. While many people are choosing to educate themselves on the importance of rear-facing, there are still many more that refuse to accept that it is that much safer. Also, people will argue that seats for extended rear-facing aren't affordable, etc.
Should it be law? Yes. Will it be law anytime soon? Nope.
Also, in my city there is 1 (no that is not a typo) certified police officer, and he only recently became certified. The funding for police officers and fire fighters to take the class is not in the budget. It was $175 for me to take the class.
I am glad you posted this. We were actually just criticized (for being overly cautious) this past weekend for keeping our son rear facing still. He is 2.5, but his car seat says that the limit for rear facing is when his head is 1" from the top so we just plan to keep him facing that way til he reaches the limit (which will be pretty soon).
I think to some it seems overly cautious and it is a hassle on long car trips, but still better to be safe!