How did you ride in the car as a child?

[MissKatie]

Back in the day before anyone was educated about car seats, how did YOU ride in the car as a child? Did you have a seat? Do anything else crazy?

We did all kinds of appalling things, and I'm only 19.
I was put into one of the very first car seats with a base when I was born. No idea how it was installed. Mom said it never really felt secure snapped into the base. 3 point, obviously, and used with a pretty thick aftermarket head support.

After that I went into an FP T shield, FF, either outboard in the back or in the front passenger seat. I used it long after my shoulders were above the slots AND my ears above the seat back. With bulky coats on a regular basis.

Sometimes my dad drove my mom to work in his two-seater and I rode on her lap. I would've been about two or three. I remember once they took my car seat and installed it for the ride home, but I guess that was too much of a pain and after that I just rode home in the belt.

When I stopped using the T shield I was in nothing. Usually kept she shoulder belt in front of me but often under my arm. My sister ALWAYS tucked hers behind her. One of us also often rode in the center lap only belt so we could sit next to each other.

When I was 7 my mom got a new car with a bench seat in front, center lap belt. I rode in that seat. Driver side air bag too. She also sometimes let me steer :eek: Sometimes even though that car had plenty of belts and space my sister and I would share the passenger L/S belt. We also loved to lean the seat back all the way and lie down in it, especially when we were on hilly country roads.

We also used to car pool to girl scouts when I was 6-12 years old. I remember 3 of us either squeezing into one girl's dad's pick up front bench next to him several times, and other times the other two girls rode in the BACK (it was covered, but still no belts and he had an AXE back there!). That I refused to do because I was always a stickler for seat belts.

When I was 13 we drove all the way to Florida with me in the back seat sitting on a pillow because I could "see better".

Given that, I'm not surprised I knew nothing about car seats at first!

[unityco]

My parents bought a GM Love Seat (toddler) for me in 1973, but I have no memories of using it. My brother and sister were only a year apart, and my parents only ever had that one seat, so one of them would have been out it early (or put into it late!) I remember wanting a booster seat at some point (so I could see better,) but Mom said no. Generally, we rode around in belts, often two to a belt, or often in the back of the Blazer. Oh how times have changed!

My MIL *loves* to tell the story about how she *knew* someone who was in a crash while holding her baby, and it died as her airbag. :( Because of that, she says, she knew better than to hold her children in the car. She had a basket they could lie in that sat on the floor of the backseat! :eek: Her BIL *made* a seat for his kids. Crazy times!

[abacus2]

I was born in 1978. TN was the first state in the nation to get a car seat law that year, so I had a seat of some sort. AFAIK, all my parent's seats were purchased new. From the time I was 5 until I was 7.5, I rode in the center of the back seat of a 4 seater car with a makeshift seatbelt my mom made by belting a heavy leather men's belt around the metal legs of my two sister's carseats. I don't think any of us were in any type of seat after we turned 4. I was 14 when my parents purchased their 1st car with shoulder belts in the backseat. (My two youngest siblings rode in the front and rear center lap-only belts, though.)

[my2kidsSafe]

my mom mentioned i had some sort of carseat, but i am not sure which kind and for how long. I do remember sitting on my dads lap and driving down our street a few times. Another thing that is so scary, is i played softball and one of our big things was to go out for ice cream after we won, and we would sit in the back of our coaches pickup truck and sing and cheer all the way around town.

[New grandma]

I was the seventh of 8 kids and I am OLD. We only used the car to go to church on Sundays and maybe 2 or 3 times a year for trips to see cousins. No seat belts available, we rode three across in the front with the youngest on Mom's lap and four across in the back with the two youngest on laps.

We walked every where including the grocery store. We bought groceries in the morning and the store kept them till my Dad picked them up on the way home for lunch.

My kids all rode in car seats but most of them were ones you've seen on Classic Seats' posts and they went in LBB at about 3 till 5 then in seat belts. I was considered a kook for insisting on that. I don't remember HBB being available then.

[canadianmom2three]

I was a preemie, and my mom has told me about how she got the newest and greatest thing for me, which was a GM infant love seat. It was apparently very new to the market, and she felt so fortunate to get it from her brother, who worked for GM. After that, however, I have no idea what I rode in, I've never asked her:eek: I would assume the GM toddler love seat, but I will have to find out! I do recall lots of trips laying across the back seat, or in the cargo area of our van though:whistle:

[ctbcleveland]

I too had the GM Love Seat! Born in 77 and my uncle worked for GM. It was his gift to my parents. The seat was all metal with brown foam around it. I will try to find a picture of this monstrosity.

My brother was born in 1982 and I remember him having a backless booster. I am surpised how similar they are to the ones today! His also had this harness that bolted to the car. It reminded me of a CARES harness.

[sunnymw]

We lived in Germany at the time--mom was German, dad military--so whatever infant rear-facing seat was sold at the PX. I know it had a 3pt harness and no base... there are some really bad quality pics in old photo albums somewhere.

I don't know what I rode in after that, except I have a very vague memory of right before my dad leaving (age 4?) of riding in a FF harnessed seat... but I do clearly remember riding in a shield booster and I was sometimes allowed to buckle it myself (what fun!). I rode in that until we moved to the US, where I then rode in, well, nothing but a seat belt (age almost 7, but I was small) and was even allowed to ride in the front seat a ton.

When I visited family in Germany at age 8, I was always required to sit in a backless booster or on top of a ton of blankets wherever we went. :D I liked it! I could SEE!!

[An Aurora]

I can remember having a OHS seat in one car, but we didn't usually use it. In my mom's car I was usually loose jumping around the back seat :rolleyes:. I can remember that we had a truck with jump seats and my parents folded up the seats and laid down pillows and blankets.

I do remember being about 3 and being in my mom's VW bug, and it caught on fire (the engine is right under the back seat, and that's what caught on fire). I remember her panicking because she had a hard time getting me out of my seat.

ETA: my sister rode in a Johnny Jumper bolted to the ceiling of the van because my mom didn't like her crawling all over her as she drove.

[laccaycol]

I dont think i ever rode in a car seat:eek: I was born in 79, I Remember one whole car seat and that was for my brother that is now 19 i dont even remember one for my brother that is now 17 not even boosters lol. We drove from Alaska to AZ and i remember riding in the back on top of all the luggage sleeping up there in the back window. We never ever wore seatbelts:eek:
I didnt start wearing a seatbelt until my dd's dad would make me he wouldnt drive the car unless i put it on lol. I was 16. I even remember when i was 5 i got in my moms car and drove it down the street with her chasing me lol. obviously she caught me cuz im not dead lol.

When my mom let me drive for the first time there were no back seats in the van(dont know why they were out) and my little brothers were with us and i went to turn the corner and when i hit the breaks i hit them too hard and my brothers went rolling. scary:eek:

[KAK22]

I'm 31.

My mom had a big RF hard plastic monstrocity that she got from her sister. Similar to the Graco-Century Infant Love Seat in the Pictorial.

I know we also had a white with brown plasticy leather seat that was FF. They all just basically buckled in, no installing.

I did ride in a backless booster with lap belts :doh: through 5th grade, but that was so I could see out the window and not get carsick. My mom made me get rid of it because she didn't want her child going to middle school in a booster. I remember being ticked because I was much more nauseous after that.

However, I do remember riding around in the front seat all the time, doubling up or lapping it in the back seat, and in Girl Scouts one of our leaders had an old station wagon and she would fold the back seats down and about 20 of us would pile in and just sit there! YIKES!

[southpawboston]

i grew up without seat BELTS, much less an actual car SEAT. i was "free to roam about the cabin" as they say in the airline biz.

[featherhead]

I've seen a picture of myself in an infant seat. I also remember using a shield booster for a very short while when I was maybe 4. My parents drove a nice Pontiac Paresienne. It had the fold down "hump" in the middle, and that's what I sat on. Only lap belts, of course. My brother is 5 years younger than me, but I can't seem to remember what kind of seat he sat in. I think by the time he was two, he was sitting on the "hump" in the front seat.

[HEVY]

Never even wore a seatbelt until I was 14.

[MaggieQ]

I remember sitting in a blue OHS seat. I also rememberlaying my head on the sheild so I know my harness was too loose! I remember sitting ina sheild booster too. We used to drive around in the back of the mini van with the seats taken out. Once for my birthday 10 friends, my parents, my sister and I drove two hours away in a 7 seater van...you do the math.:( That was a very uncomfortable trip!

[Simplysomething]

I'm told, by my mother, that I had some sort of car-seat when I was an infant. No pictures of it exist, but then again--precious few photos of me as a child exist (hello, 3rd child here. lol).

We always wore seat belts in my mothers car. I always used seat belts when they were available.

My fathers vehicle--didn't have belts. I recall on the trips between his home and my house....holding onto the trucks DOOR, because that made me feel slightly more safe.

I recall, when I was about...8-9, going to Florida to my aunts in her station wagon--and we'd stretch out in the back, it was made up like a bed.
Scares the crap out of me NOW, but it was kind of fun--at the time.

Other times, I remember lying down in the backseat, with the buckle..fastened around me. @@. lol

[TechnoGranola]

No car seat for me. My parents had a TWO SEATER MG and apparently I used to sit on the centre console and colour while they drove! We were in an accident when I was about 2 or 3. Some guy drove through a light and hit the front end of the MG which caused it to spin around a full 360, and my mom said my crayons went flying but somehow I still stayed put in the middle!

As an older child we used to lay in the back of my aunt and uncle's station wagon when we went on trips. As a pre-teen I always slept across the back seat if we were driving on the highway. I seem to recall leaving the seat belt on though because I was scared to take it off! :D Lap belt only of course because there weren't shoulder belts in rear seats then.

[Tammyfh]

We started in some carseat/highchair/.... (5 way set) That was supposed to be new and safe and my parents saved up every last penny to get it.

I can remember moving with my bro and I (2 and 3) both seatbelted in the same belt passanger side of the truck. When we were all in the truck my bro was in my mom's seatbelt with her and I sat in earthquake position on the floor between her feet. We only had the truck for about 1 1/2 years.

When the new car came around we had homemade booster cusions and a lap belt. We still rode in the back of the truck (back roads only) until the CA seatbelt law came out. Then my dad had a seat w/belts installed in the back.

I can't count the times we had 4 or more kids in the back of a honda civic all buckled in to the 2 seatbelts.

My parents seemed to have some sense of safety needs, but there just wasn't much available. We also both rode harnessed in a race car a few times ;)

[Tammyfh]

No car seat for me. My parents had a TWO SEATER MG and apparently I used to sit on the centre console and colour while they drove! We were in an accident when I was about 2 or 3. Some guy drove through a light and hit the front end of the MG which caused it to spin around a full 360, and my mom said my crayons went flying but somehow I still stayed put in the middle!

As an older child we used to lay in the back of my aunt and uncle's station wagon when we went on trips. As a pre-teen I always slept across the back seat if we were driving on the highway. I seem to recall leaving the seat belt on though because I was scared to take it off! :D Lap belt only of course because there weren't shoulder belts in rear seats then.


OH YES I remember doing that too! Think the bump only happened once with my granparents. I did a lot of laying down with the seatbelt on/twisted ;) We also sat with our legs folded or under us.

[MomofOlivia407]

I'm 36. No car seat at all for me. My sister & I used to fight to sit in the front seat. I'm older, so I imagine I 'won' more often. Mom would leave us in the car A LOT while she ran into stores. I never felt scared or unsafe.

[wendytthomas]

My mom was pretty well educated, as it turns out. I came home in a rear facing seat (1977) and rode in that until I was big enough to go in a forward facing seat. I think it was a Strollee or a Kolcraft. I'd have to see if I could find it again. Then when I outgrew that, or my brother needed it, I can't remember, I went into a backless booster and stayed there until I was six and 40 pounds and I guess outgrew it. My mom had tethers installed in her 1976 Ford, so the toddler seat was tethers, and I wore an H harness that was attached to the tether.

Once I was out of the booster, though, I could sit up front. :-)

Wendy

[An Aurora]

Wow Wendy that is impressive!!

I remember laying down across the backseat of my mom's truck, with the lapbelt buckled around my middle. Once the driver had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting an elk and I wound up hanging by my middle on the floorboard of the backseat. This was when I was in high school, and after that I always sat up and wore my seatbelt, even though I slept alot since we lived in the sticks and frequently had long drives.

[Defrost]

I was born in the 70's, and I remember my mom saying she had a carbed, but I don't remember if it was for me or my sister (also born in the 70's.)

We were in a wreck when I was 7 or 8; until then, we only had to wear our seat belts on trips "to the city," and we didn't have to wear them on cross-country trips, either. Fortunately, we all had our seat belts on at the time of the wreck, and that pretty much sold it for my mom. We always wore our seat belts after that, with a couple of rare exceptions. (I broke my femur at age 12 and came home in a full-leg cast laying across the back seat.)

[bethng]

Born in 1971 I was placed in a "car bed". A travel like bed that was just placed in the back (or most likely) the front seat next to the driver. I (we) never wore seatbelts until I was about 13. NEVER. BUT, my brother did have a car seat as a toddler. Black vinyl one. But that didnt last long. He was soon in the back seat and hanging over the front seat of the station wagon bugging my mother as she drove!:eek:

[bethng]

One more thing...my dad drove a Porsche and when he had the sun roof off we would get to stand on the seat and ride standing up with our heads sticking out the sunroof! We thought we were sooo cool!

[brooklynsmommy]

I was born in '84. We all had to be in a car seat until we were 5 years old to the day. My mom said that I was in an infant car seat, but I can't figure out which one!

[Judi]

I was born in 1970. We had a Ford Econoline van. I started out in a Moses basket, on the bed in the back. Later, dad chopped the legs off a wooden high chair and mounted it rear facing, on the motor housing. It stuck out kinda between the front seats.

[Unregistered]

No seat belts 0-6yo. (None in the 1957 car.) As a newborn, I came home from the hospital in a basket on the floor of the car; as an older baby, I sat in a hook-over-the-back-of-the-seat car seat.

Then lap belts from 6yo onward (new car, 1968), but not always worn.

Then shoulder/lap belts from 12yo onward (new car, 1976), always worn.

I was never allowed to sit in the front seat as a child. My dad was adamant about that, telling me that the front passenger seat was the most dangerous seat in the vehicle with the highest mortality rate.

Kristin

[safeinthecar]

I was born in 77 and I rode on the back dash of a 75 Maverick (You'll STILL find a 75 Maverick parked in my parent's backyard) or bouncing around the backseat or in a playpen in the back of a full sized van.

My brother rode in a car seat, but I don't remember for how long.

If we were going on a road trip, we borrowed my Grandpa's El Camino (with a camper shell) and road on big foam rubber mattresses in the back.

I also remember double belting, lap-sitting, back of pick-up truck riding, and riding laying down in a sleeping bag in the boat.

[kangato2roos]

My sister, born in 1976, rode in a rear facing carseat as an infant. She graduated to a forward facing carseat at one point and eventually to a booster seat of some sort, but I don't know what they were.

I was born in 1981 and my mother felt the old seats were unsafe for some reason (newer features on the market? I don't know, she never explained it) so I got all new seats. I also rode rear facing until I outgrew whatever was on the market at the time. Then some sort of harness for awhile followed by a booster of some sort that I also don't really remember clearly.

I know I was in some sort of carseat until I was about 6... at least through kindergarten. I think she let me out of the booster and into just a seatbelt the fall I went into first grade (I would have still been 6 at the time). I know I hadn't outgrown it yet, but she figured I was old enough I guess.

All our lives we were not allowed to be out of our seatbelts for any reason whatsoever. If we undid the belts, the vehicle was pulled to the side of the road until we buckled up. If we undid it again, the vehicle turned around and we went home. She was a stickler for seatbelts, even though all that was available at the time was lap belts. She did let us sit up front sometimes once we were big enough for the shoulder belt to not go across our faces, though they never fit properly (and still don't, I'm a short little thing).

She was as safety-minded as she could be back then, just as we are now. And just as now, people thought she was absolutely CRAZY for insisting we ride in seats and use our seatbelts. There were a number of times I remember missing out on visiting friends because my mother found out that not only would the parent not allow my carseat to be put in their car, but they would not insist I wear my belt at all. If my mother found that out, I was not allowed to ride in their car EVER. Yeah, she was crazy, but I thank her for it.

At least I come by it honestly, right? :D

[MissKatie]

I came up with a few more. My brother and I used to like to sit in the middle of the back seat with the lap belt on and both outboard belts buckled in an X over us... super safe, right? :rolleyes:

We also did the lying down across the back with the lap belt around us (or not) and sat with our legs under us. I remember as a preteen when my mom would play music I didn't like, I'd sit up on my feet and hang out the window so I couldn't hear it.

When I was probably 8 or 9 I remember riding in my brother's shield booster a couple times, both with and without shield. I liked to sit in it because it made me higher up. For some reason though we thought this had to be unsafe (after all, I was too big for a booster, right?) and I was rarely allowed to do it.

[Melizerd]

I don't remember ever having a carseat/booster. My mom says I did have one til about 4. I think we only had lap belts in all positions in the back seat.

We had an Eagle station wagon and our favorite thing to do was sit/lay in the back portion with our 150lbs Alaskan Malamute.

While intellectually I know this isn't safe, they were some of my favorite car trips and it's kind of a bummer that DS won't ever have those "silly" kind of things. I mean I KNOW it's not safe but just that nostalgia I guess. I do realize how lucky we were.

ETA: I was born in 82 my brother in 86

[emandbri]

I was born in 1974, my Sean in 1976, and Josh in 1980. Sean and I didn't have any car seat at all and Josh had one when he was a baby but didn't have it when we moved to Japan when he was 2. He was REALLY big, he would have been 20 lbs around 4 months. I don't know if he used the seat until then or if he used it longer. I don't remember a seat at all. I know whenever it was just my mom and the kids Sean and I took turns riding in the front seat.

I know for sure when we went on a road trip to visit the grandparents when I was around 6 or 7 we switched around where we would ride. One of us laying down in the seat, one in the floorboard, and one in the back window! :eek:

When I was in high school my parents had an 88 ford aerostar and it only had lap belts in the back but the other car had shoulder belts on the sides and lap belt in the middle. I remember thinking in high school that it was odd that seat belts were mantotory but the shoulder belt had to be safer and though it was odd that there wasn't one in the middle (I was ahead of my time! lol)

[joolsplus3]

Sorta looks like they are putting me in the back of the Station Wagon in a travel bassinet????

[LISmama810]

I was born in 1977 and rode in a 5-pt car seat until I was 4!

After that, I went straight to a seatbelt, including riding in the front seat with the shoulder portion behind my back :whistle:

My mom wised up pretty soon, though, and made me keep the shoulder belt in front of me, though I was still in the front seat.

[TechnoGranola]

I was born in 1977 and rode in a 5-pt car seat until I was 4!There were 5 point harnesses in the 70's? I had no idea!

[lilysmomma]

I'm not sure what I rode in as an infant. I know I had some kind of vinyl looking ff seat that I was in until I was 4ish. After that I was in just a seatbelt(normally a lap belt only) and I could ride in the front seat. I also remember cramming five people into a standard cab pickup, where I always sat on someones lap.

[2mykids]

I was born in 81 and I remember seatbelts being mostly optional in my family. Every weekend we would ride 1.5 hours to our cabin in N.H. My sister and I would fight over who got to lie down on the floor, and who lied down on the shelf under the back window to nap.
I do know that my mother was pulled over while my sister and I were riding in the back of a station wagon with no seats (no ticket) We had to have been young because I don't remember it.

But I was in some kind of seat at some point. When my mother saw the car seats I have now she started complaining about how much she hated the car seat I was in as a baby.
I bet I wasn't in it very long since my sister was born 11 months after me and I can't imagine her with two car seats. I'll have to ask.

P.S. The ONLY time I can get my mother to wear a seatbelt now is in my car with the kids. I tell her that it is for her grandchildrens safety and I wont drive unless she has it on. She hates me! LOL!

[cdncasper]

I really don't remember what I used. I was born in 81 and I know I had an infant seat cause I saw a pic of me in it but there is a blanket under me so you can't see the seat much. I know when my brother was born in 88 he has a lovely vinyl and metal seat that was in my grandparents van.
My aunt always made us ride in the backseat if we were under 12 yrs old and I am almost positive we used our seatbelts but even than that was when I was 11 yrs old and my 3 cousins are 2 yrs and 4 yrs and 7 yrs younger than me. I don't remember a booster or carseat at all.

[aja]

we always had to be buckled. i remember riding in a booster seat to preschool (age 4). i've seen picks of us all asleep in our carseats (my parents had 3 across in an old ford wagon). my mom was never comfortable with a small baby riding in the back seat though and she still thinks it's better to have them in the front. she supports rear-facing up to a few months old but then the kid needs to be able to see. :rolleyes: my family had an infant seat that looked like a bucket that my dad had anchored to the frame in between the front seats on their big dodge van before the station wagon. they had 4 kids but only one bench seat.

i was born in 1980.

[LISmama810]

There were 5 point harnesses in the 70's? I had no idea!

Yup. I think classicseats has some in his gallery--including one that might have been the one I had.

Wait, now that I'm thinking about it, I was in the 5-pt harness at 4, but I hadn't been in it the whole time. (I was in an overhead-bar kind of thing.) So maybe around 1980. There might have been some in the '70s, though.

[bobandjess99]

i never rode in anything..that pretty much includes seat belts!!!
We had a station wagon as a kid, and would play in the back, crawling around, etc. As older kids we would just sit in the car, no seat belts. by the time i was old enough to drive, i started usign my seat belt, and then as an adult was mature and smart enough to realize using them was a GOOD thing, and have used them religiously for about a decade now.....

[Murphy's Law]

I was born in '77 and my mom reports that we had a car seat (forward facing from birth) until we could sit up well, then she strapped us into the lap-only belt right on the vehicle seat.

I frequently remember riding in my aunt's pick-up truck with 2 of us sharing one seat belt (lap only of course!) and as many as one adult and 3 or 4 kids in the cab. My friend's father often let us ride in the bed of his pick-up truck. We thought he was the coolest dad ever!

I also grew up riding on the gas tank of my dad's motorcycle (from about 3 years old). I distinctly remember sitting in front of him with his arms around me squeezing at the elbows while he kept his hands on the handle bars. Once I was a little older (5, I think?) I graduated to riding on the back of his bike. We did always wear helmets, but even so, I can't imagine letting my 3 y/o dd on her daddy's bike for many many years. My dad used to pick me up from summer camp every day on his bike. I was 6 at the time. It's scary to think of what could have happened in any one of those situations.

I'm so glad we know better now! My mom has grown to be excellent with my kids and their seats now and totally supports ERF, EH, etc. She works at a school and often sees parents bringing their babies inside in the carriers and she's been known to correct their car seat usage! :love: Go, Mom!

[fyrfightermomma]

My mom was very safety conscious. My sister was born in 75. She said no one had carseats but she didn't think that was safe so she rigged up one of those harnesses you put on a kid so they don't get lost in a crowd while they are walking around and fed the lap belt through the back of that.

My brother was born in 1980 and he had a carseat before anyone else they knew. Some 3 pt vinyl number that I saw a pic of and was outgrown by height around 15 months. It looked like a normal seat but it was so small it must have been an infant seat or something. He whole head was above the shell at 15-18 months.


I was born in 1984 and had a seat from birth. I think a strollee. It was a brown vinyl one (of course!) with the shield and the belt went across the shield and a big metal thing swung down and "locked" the seatbelt in. Not sure if the actual seat had a harness or not. I rode in that until age 4

I remember my last trip in it. I went to get into the seat and my mom informed me I was too big and took it out and threw it away. I went to a lap belt then until we got our 1992 Dodge Caravan that had shoulder belts and I remember thinking it felt SOOO wierd to wear them

My favorite thing to do in that van was "pretend" I was in a carseat. I would sit in the 3rd row alone. Buckle the lap belt around me and then take both outboard belts and criss cross them across me and buckle them so they made an "x". I wasn't going anywhere!

None of us ever had boosters of any type but my best friend did and I was jealous. Looking back I think it was one of those restaurant type deals. She just buckled the lap belt over it so she could see :)

[soygurl]

I was born in Nov. '85 and I know I had an infant seat (I think I remember seeing a pic of one with some red and white cover??:confused:), but it probably wasn't used consistently. I know my mom would take me out to nurse me in the car on a regular basis (hopefully not while she was driving? :rolleyes: ). After the infant seat I had a Fisher Price T-shield. I remember riding in that, and trying to buckle it myself but it was too hard at first. Then I was finally able to push the T down hard enough to buckle myself, but try as I might, I could never get out of it by myself! :p I also had a shield booster that I rode in whenever I went somewhere with my dad in his pickup truck. Front seat only of course.

My parents LOVED the FP T-shield cars seat and would RAVE about it to everyone they knew with kids, and I know they lent it out to at least 2 people for quite a while! :o

I apparently HATTED being in a car seat though, so I'm pretty sure I was out of it completely by the time I was 3 or 4.

After that I rode anywhere. I remember sitting 2 to a seat, sharing the LS belt in the front seat MANY times. I also remember putting she shoulder belt behind my back and under my arm, and my friends doing the same. I would often lay down in the back seat (sometimes I kept my seatbelt on :rolleyes:) and sleep. Once I sat on top of a bunch of huge boxes (mini-fridges for the motel my parents had just bought) that took up the whole back area (seats removed) of my parents Ford Aerostar and thought it was TONS of fun! I rode in the front seat of any vehicle whenever there wasn't another adult in the car (most of the time). The list just keeps going on and on... no seatbelts on long trips (or short trips) until I was in a roll over with my mom and cousin. I was the only one without a seatbelt because we were just leaving for a 4 hour trip and I wanted to "arrange all my stuff" before putting the belt on. That convinced me to wear my seat belt from then on, but as a teen I would allow others in my car to do whatever they wanted. :thumbsdown:

[vonfirmath]

My husband's grandmother tried to insist to his mom that the only way a baby should come home from the hospital is in the mom's arms. Mom, luckily, disagreed and so hubby came home in a car seat.

Grandma STILL thinks babies should ride in their mom's arms. But she's in Washington D.C. and in no shape to police anything. And, to some extent, has been "broken" by her daughter.

I am hopeful the in-laws will be understanding of our need for car seats because of this. I remember my own parents insisted we MUST have car seats on.

I know they are going to have problems with extended harnessing because my sister didn't do that and they don't see the need. But I think if I insist that is the only way my kids will travel with them, they will acquiesce. And maybe it will change their minds!

(I am just glad I dind't know at the time my sister turned all her children around FFing before a year old because it was so hot in the backseat in Texas! I'd have been absolutely shocked because a year is the LAW) Her youngest is now 4 and none of them are in seats :( We're moving down there in September and I'm hoping she'll reconsider, at least for him, after seeing what we do.

[jewlsvern]

I was born in '76. My mom told me I was in some kind of car seat. She did tell me that she set it in the back of the van and forgot to buckle it in and I went tumbling around while they drove.

We had a large van and I remember laying down on the floor (seats in the front and one bench seat in the back) and rolling around while my mom drove. Whenever she turned a corner we would roll a different way.

When I was 6 we had an Accord and all 4 of us would crowd into the back and rig the seat belts to fit us all. Then we bought a Caravan. I remember my dad not starting the car until we were all buckled. Sometime we would sit for 10+ minutes waiting for someone to stop complaining and buckle their seat belt.

We would always fight over the front seat. We each had our own day to sit in the front.

[Neatfreak]

I started out in a RFing infant seat in '76, and then sometime later (four months? six months?) I moved into a FFing 3-pt harnessed car seat. I don't know how long I used the car seat for, and I don't remember having a booster seat. I do have tons of memories of riding in the backseat, standing up behind the driver's seat, though!

Eventually my province put in a seatbelt law, ending my days of riding on the wild side ...

[Murphy's Law]

We would always fight over the front seat. We each had our own day to sit in the front.

Oh my gosh, I almost forgot about the fights for the front seat! That's how I learned how to drive a stick shift with my dad when I was 7. He'd push the clutch in and I'd do the shifting from the passenger's side - all the way to horseback riding lessons and then home again.

My dad also had an old VW rabbit and it only had 2 seatbelts in the rear. Well, we were 3 kids, so naturally he had a DIY project and added a 3'rd seatbelt in the center all on his own! Kind of reminds me of the DIY latch guy I read about on this site. :rolleyes:

[Nisha]

I was born in '82 and I know I had some kind of an infant seat, but I don't know what beyond that.

Us kids were pretty good about using seat belts, although we usually shared 2-3 people per belt!
I remember one trip we made from NE to AZ in a chevy astro van, (8 passenger) with 7 children and 3 adults (mom, dad and great grandma). My littlest brother at the time sat in his car seat between the driver and passenger seats (he was rf of course ;) ) and the rest of us doubld buckled and sat on pillows I'm sure.

For a year or so, when one of our vans broke down (couldn't afford to fix it), we only had a ford ranger pickup with a topper. Dad put a hide-a-bed matteress in the back of it and all of us kids except youngest bro (still in his metal and vynil car seat) piled in the back. We had the most fun back there... you can sleep pretty good traveling that way! We had one trip from Las Vegas (lived there for 18 mos) to Phoenix that we traveled that way, and a drunk driver ran a red light and broadsided us. Amazing we all survived with not as much as a bump!
We also rode in the back of the pickup when we moved back to NE from NV. That was a long trip!

It's a wonder we all survived huh?!

[azgirl71]

I was born in 1971. I rode in a plastic seat with a plastic strap and a wire ajustor on the back IF I rode in anything. Most the time my mom laid me on the seat next to her or someone held me she said.

I started wearing a seatbelt aound 16 constantly. Before that I only wore it if we went on the interstate. I was one of those people who say...."If we get in a crash I will be trapped"

[leighi123]

In a wicker basket, strapped in with 2 seatbelts until I was around 6months old and sitting up on my own.
I was born in Hong Kong, in 1986, and it was near impossible to find a seat then.

Then in a rearfacing 3pt seat until I was about 15months old.

Then in a 3pt FF only seat until I was 3-4.

Then in a 4pt harness that was retrofitted into our car, until I was 6-7ish

Then in an adult belt.

I wasnt allowed to ride in the front seat until I turned 12.

My sister was in pretty much the same - but she actully had an infant seat from birth. (I have pics, but not on the computer!)

My mom said at least on of my of my sisters carseats was a Britax, made in England (Hong Kong was British back then) and, at the time the company pronounced it Bri-tax with a short 'i', not how they pronounce it now. (maybe thats why I always mix it up?)

My mom was doing the best she could with what was availible, and got the seats installed at AAA each time. Most people in Hong Kong dont use/have seatbelts in cars, so we did good!

[northernmommy]

I'm not sure of the seat I rode in, but my mom loves to tell the story of how she once got out of a speeding ticket because the officer was so impressed that she had all three of us younger kids in car seats. I do remember being about 6-7 and getting a new booster, one of those ones with the hard shield in front. This was a good 25 years ago, so I guess my mom did pretty well in the car seat dept. Then again, I remember my dad once hitting a bump so hard in out Land Cruiser that my little brother flew up and cracked his head open on the ceiling...I'm guessing he wasn't restrained at all!

I do have to wonder what our grandchildren will ride in...will they be telling stories one day about their crazy mother who kept them harnessed until they were 10? Or explaining to their friends that they rode RF at age 4, like my DD does?

Hmm...I wonder what carseats will look like in 20 years?

[Holly]

I was born in 1983 and I have no idea what they did with me when I was a baby! I remember sitting in a lapbelt only or the front seat when I was 3 or 4!

[Michi]

Well, apparently when I was a baby, my mom set my 'infant seat' (NOT a car seat) on the floor in the back!

Later, my favorite place to ride was in the 'cargo area' of our station wagon, because I could lay down/spread out with my coloring books and toys.

When I was 8 I was riding in the front seat, unrestrained, and we were in an accident. I hit the windshield with my face.

After that, I started wearing my seatbelt, (although I still always rode in the front seat, because it was just my mom and I.)

[christineka]

I have no idea how I rode as a baby. Mom reports that my older brother figured out how to unbuckle himself from the car seat as a little guy, so I likely had an infant seat. As a toddler we had booster seats for a little while. Mostly I remember having to take turns with my younger brother sitting in the middle "hump" seat and the side of our station wagon. We wore lap-belts. When I rode in dad's Sprint I sat in front and put the shoulder belt behind my back. I had to do something to keep the sensor off. It automatically decided if you were too small to sit in that position. I put the shoulder belt behind my back through my teenage years. I am still too short for the shoulder belt, but wear it anyway. I'm short torsoed, but have decently long legs.

Oh, I remember sitting in a lapbelt in the middle, front seat of our station wagon when I was really tiny. (Age 1-2)

[kater-tot82]

I was born in 1982. I don't know what I rode in as an infant, but as a toddler (my mom has a photo of me around age 2) in a FF seat made of brown leather. All you can see are shoulder straps coming over my shoulders, so I don't know much else about the seat. I remember being around 4 and riding in a shield booster (I guess this was before it was known how dangerous they are?). I'm pretty sure I was in a seatbelt by 6ish.

[parkersmom120106]

I don't know a whole lot about how I rode, but I do know that my parents never had a car seat for me. I am 29 years old, born in 1979. My Mom said that I rode home from the hospital in her lap. I was told that on road trips my Dad would set up a playpen in the back of the cargo van and let me ride in there with my toys. I also heard a story about when I was 2 and crammed into the back seat of the car with 4 of my siblings (2 older sisters 14 and 13 at the time, 2 older brothers who were 7 or 8 at the time) and I was singing "I love rock and roll" over and over again. It got annoying so my Dad pulled over and had my 14 year old sister take me into the camper trailer that he was pulling and we rode back there. I remember on road trips my Dad would put a mattress on the floor in the back of his van (my Dad deals in used furniture and antiques, so he always has a cargo van with no seats but the front ones) and we rode back there the whole way. Ironically this man didn't bat an eye when I told him that my 18 month old is still riding rear-facing because it's safer. He just said "oh yea, everyone is safer rear-facing. When I was in the navy everyone on the place rear-faced except for the pilot". Luckily he adores my son now and will use the car seat without a peep to make sure that he is safe.

[jdubsm]

I was born in '64 and we roamed the car freely. We had a station wagon and I was number five of seven kids. My parents were up front with my youngest sister and my three older brothers got the back seat. The rest of us sat in the cargo area in the back. :eek:

I remember driving my nephew around when he was little in a yellow plastic bouncy type of seat. :eek: I'd put him on the floor in front of the passenger seat so I could keep an eye on him. My sister did not have a carseat for him. When his brother was born 3 yrs later though it was required to leave the hospital so he was in a seat for his first year. I always complained about her not having a seat for her kids. She thinks I'm a fanatic for having my six year olds still harnessed.

[Melanie]

I was born in 1973. My mom says there were no car seats available then. From these posts there were, but she must not have known.

I rode in a moses basket with the seatbelt wrapped around it as an infant.

When I was 6 months, we took a two week off road trip in an old Scout (SUV). I rode on Mom's lap, my older cousin rode in the back on top of all the camping gear.

We almost never wore seat belts until I was about 6th grade. We got a Jeep and when the doors were off you had to wear it so you didn't fall out when driving around corners.

I rode in the back area of a Corvette frequently. We'd also put 2 kids in the in the passenger seat with the seatbelt over us.

Mom and I sat in the same seat in the sandrail. The 5-point harness would go over both of us.

I always freely roamed around in the motorhome. There weren't even seatbelts in the back. I'd sit on a rolled up sleeping bag in between the front seats or ride in the "sky bed" up above the driving area.

We used to ride in the boat when it was being towed.

Layed down in the car. I remember sleeping in the front seat of my Grandpa's Lincoln with my head on his lap.

By the time I was a teen my parents insisted on seatbelts all the time. I still snuck & didn't wear them in my own car until my senior year when a friend died in a car accident. His mom came to the school and said that had he been in a seatbelt he would have been fine. Before that, I thought nothing of packing a bunch of people in the car. We rode in the back of trucks.

DD1 is the first great-grandchild. My grandmother didn't even know there were infant seats. She thought you held the baby until they were old enough to sit up.

[kirsty]

i used to ride in a lap belt with my sister. my mum and dad had four kids and couldnt aford a people carier. i was only in a infant seat and that was only when my dad wasnt in the car else there wouldnt be anoth room. i remember me and my sister putting the seat belt behind our backs and i used to sit on my knees so i could see out the window.

[kate4478]

i was born in 78 and i vagely remember riding in a big blue vinyl and metal seat, and then a brown vinyl booter seat until @ age 10!!:love: i can still remmeber my neighbor asking me why i still sat in a baby seat his 2 younger sister didn't even sit in one. i remember my mom chiming in saying she gets car sick and can see out the window. go mom! after the booster i sat in the middle on the hump with lap belt only(as someone else mentioned it as the hump ;) )

[BudgieStew]

Nothing...until I was older.

A plastic booster seat meant really just to lift me up so I could see out the window. It of course was used only with the lap belts in the back since cars did not come with l\s belts at the time.

I really hated it as it was hard as a rock and I thought babyish. Picture a child booster seat for the table.

My Mother still has it:rolleyes: I should take a picture next time I am visiting.It does not have any name left on it. I think it was on a sticker that peeled off in the last 25 years.

[emars002]

I rode in the back area of a Corvette frequently. We'd also put 2 kids in the in the passenger seat with the seatbelt over us

Oh - i forgot about this - we used to do the exact same thing in my dad's corvette - I used to think it was so fun crawling back there behind his seat and i would stick my head out and the top was always down! And I am only 27

[ctbcleveland]

So...I can't find a picture of the "Love Seat" but did find this write-up from a technical paper written on the seat.

"This paper details the design and development of a new child restraint system recommended for children from 20-40 lb and under 40 in. The child is restrained in a seat by a five-belt harness system that utilizes a single quick-release buckle. The seat is restrained by the vehicle lap belts and a top anchor strap. It satisfactorily meets the standards of FMVSS 213 in static testing, and it reduces excursion of the child in front and side impact testing. The seat has padded forward-projecting walls at the side of the head. The seat retained its integrity during impact testing. " 1973

I have no recollection of a top anchor strap and I can guarantee we used it well before 20 lbs. Oh well....at leat they tried.

[classicseats]

So...I can't find a picture of the "Love Seat" but did find this write-up from a technical paper written on the seat.

"This paper details the design and development of a new child restraint system recommended for children from 20-40 lb and under 40 in. The child is restrained in a seat by a five-belt harness system that utilizes a single quick-release buckle. The seat is restrained by the vehicle lap belts and a top anchor strap. It satisfactorily meets the standards of FMVSS 213 in static testing, and it reduces excursion of the child in front and side impact testing. The seat has padded forward-projecting walls at the side of the head. The seat retained its integrity during impact testing. " 1973

I have no recollection of a top anchor strap and I can guarantee we used it well before 20 lbs. Oh well....at leat they tried.

Here is one... It's from my collection.

[Judi]

Wow, reminds me of the egg chair.

[SingleMomTo2Girls]

I was born in August 1984.

I was in a car seat that looked like an old Boulevard actually. It had wings but not as much padding, etc. (Kinda similar to ClassicSeats avatar.)

I was rear facing until I was 18 months old :eek:

I know, I couldn't believe it either! I thought the picture was labeled wrong but I didn't have hair until over a year and I had hair...so it had to be right. Amazing.

I don't remember anything else, including how my 17 year old brother rode. I haven't seen pictures either.

[Adventuredad]

I was born in 1966 and rode rear facing in a car seat as a baby/toddler. The seat was called "Klippan" ("The Rock") and was one of the first car seats available. The seat looks a lot like todays seat except not much padding and obviously less comfortable. (See attached pdf)

Think it's really cool that my parents were thinking about car seat safety for me and my sister back then. It was after all over 40 years ago.

[drlynne]

I was born in 64 in England and my mom said I rode in the back seat in a basket. My brother who was born in 66 in the US rode in the front seat middle with a car seat hung over the seat.
My first DD was born in 86 and this is what we brought her home in.
http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/images/1/5129bb828ffbe7fc027851c19a8b6177.jpg (http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/images/1/5129bb828ffbe7fc027851c19a8b6177.jpg)
We also used one of those white infant carriers FF in the front seat with the seatbelt around her!!

Of course my little ones now ride in Britax seats.
http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/images/1/54f8a2043aa41cd3d1d3db394bb6eb49.jpg (http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/images/1/54f8a2043aa41cd3d1d3db394bb6eb49.jpg)

[a_js]

I'm 31. I don't remember ever having a car seat and I think around 5 I got to ride in the front seat (with the belt under my arm, natch). But my mom was very good about making sure we were belted in anyways.

[mytwobugs]

I don't know if my parents had infant seats for us, but I know they had GM toddler love seats for my brother and I (born '72 and '74). I don't actually remember riding in them, but I remember them sitting around in the garage for years when I was older. It was funny last year when I talked to my mom about seeing about getting tether anchors added for their car before we came out to visit. I was explaining about the tethers and she said "I know about tethers- we used them on your and your brother's GM car seats 35 years ago- my jaw dropped." I was amazed I rode in a seat with tethers and that they had a car with tethers. My parents were always insistent that our belts be buckled if available.
That was the good because I also remember riding in a tiny Datsun pickup we had for awhile with my dad driving, my mom in the passenger seat, one of us in the middle straddling the gear shift and the other one on my mom's lap.
Later the main car we rode in had lap belts in all positions and my brother and I got to take turns riding in the front and even when we got a car with shoulder belts in the front we rode with the shoulder part behind us.
In fact the car with only lap belts was the car a drove to high-school but my parents had shoulder belts retrofitted in the front before they let me drive it full time.

[mommyto2angelgirls]

when my brother was little i remember a plastic fisher price booster seat he had. it was a backless and was actually tan plastic with arm rests. now i think about it and its ridiculous. i have an old box from an infant carrier/car seat in my attic i'll have to take a picture of it when i can get upthere this week.

[Milkie&Cookie]

I was born in 1972. My mom said I had a carseat, but that it was more of a convience for parents who had to drive and couldn't hold the baby. There was no safety involved. :rolleyes: She was only 19 when I was born. She told me a story of the first time she took me out. She was all concerned that people not see her not a stupid young mother. She planned it all out that she was going to take me to Saks because she knew they had strollers and then she wouldn't have to deal with figuring out how to get a stroller in and out of the car (before the days of collapsable strollers). So I was all swaddled and bundled in my car bed (it was winter in Michigan) and when she she got there she picked me up making sure I was all wrapped in blankets so that no one would say she was letting the baby get cold. I screamed the whole way in and my mom was so worried that everyone was looking at her. When she got in the store and she pulled off the blankets, she was looking at my feet!!!!!! :eek: Snork. She was carrying me upside down!!!!!!!!! no wonder I was screaming. LOL

I distictly remember my dad driving me home and me sitting on the arm rest holding his beer for him. :thumbsdown:

My mom had a VW rabbit and I always sat in the front and got to shift for her. LOL But, she always made me wear my seatbelt.

[AmRo]

i grew up without seat BELTS, much less an actual car SEAT. i was "free to roam about the cabin" as they say in the airline biz.

Ditto. My siblings and I are very lucky we were never involved in an accident growing up!

[Carefulove]

i grew up without seat BELTS, much less an actual car SEAT...

:yeahthat:

They still don't use seatbelts in my country, let alone children's carseats.

When traveling across country, my parents would put boxes on the floor in front of the back seat and make a bed for us to sleep in the car!:eek:

[cowgirlsmommy]

I was born in '84. I rode FF from the start. I have no idea what the name of the car seat was that I rode in but I know my parents have a picture of it somewhere. Even though I had one, my mom would take me out of it whenever I started to cry or if she just wanted to hold me. I'm not sure how long I was in it but I know we got out of car seats pretty quickly. I remember riding in the car without a seatbelt on and in the front seat. I also remember when we got a van with shoulder belts, the shoulder portion hit my neck so I would always tuck it behind me or not wear it at all.

[brightredmtn]

I came home from the hospital in a laundry basket. My mom wanted to get a car seat but my father didn't think we needed one. When I was two weeks old she talked him into it, or she just got one on her own. It was brown and Classicseats has it or something similar.

My sister who is seven years younger than me used a hand me down overhead shield and then a booster where the belt went across the front of the booster. She was rear facing for a few months in the OHS.

We were both out of seats entirely by the time we were four AND 40lbs.

[purplemama]

I was born in 75 and my brother in 73 and we never had car seats. My parents had an old pickup and we sat on the floor or my mom held us. We even rode all the way to florida from michigan in the back of that pickup (with one of those caps on it) on beds made of blankets. I remember wearing seatbelts when we got a caravan, which was when they first came out, not sure what year. My mom is horrified by that now that she knows better and I've educated her but back then it's just the way it was. Some guy at my DH work said car seats are a conspiracy to get people to spend money and no child should use one because they're dangerous. He never rode in one and his kids never did and they're fine.:rolleyes: I really want to go have a serious chat with him but he could make trouble for my DH so I'll fume in private. I think that's why it's so hard to change peoples perceptions of what's safe because of "how it used to be".

[theshapeshifter]

I was born in 1970 and I have no recollection of ever riding in a carseat, nor do I remember my younger sisters (born in 73 and 75) having them, although my mum did mention something offhand about me being a baby and sitting in something in the backseat... I'll have to ask. If my parents had any kind of seats for us, they were probably only used for convenience when we were very young - as a pp said, just for when there's no one in the car who can hold the baby!

My memories of riding in the car include a LOT of times riding in the 'way back' of the station wagon, sometimes riding in the open back of a pickup, and at least once (aged about 3) sitting on my dad's lap in the driver's seat and 'helping him drive'.

Once I started school I got more conscious about seatbelts (I guess they must've had a safety day at school?) and would pester my parents if they didn't wear theirs; they almost never did back then... and I would wear mine if I had one, but I don't remember ever worrying about being unsafe in the way-back with no belts.

Oh, and I rode in the front any time the front was available, from at least preschool age onwards.



ETA: And when I was pregnant and shopping for an infant seat, my mum's reaction was: "Oh, but you don't need that right away, do you?" Seriously.

[Melanie]

Some guy at my DH work said car seats are a conspiracy to get people to spend money and no child should use one because they're dangerous. He never rode in one and his kids never did and they're fine.:rolleyes: I really want to go have a serious chat with him but he could make trouble for my DH so I'll fume in private. I think that's why it's so hard to change peoples perceptions of what's safe because of "how it used to be".

When people tell me that I say they probably wouldn't be here if they'd been in a serious crash. So they were LUCKY.

[winterlights08]

I was born in '77 and I don't think I had an infant seat and I have no memories of riding in a car seat, even though I know my parents had one because they used the same seat for my sister who was born in 1987 :eek:. My best guess is that it was a Strollee OHS, and was a plastic and metal contraption. The cover was made of a carpet-like burnt orange material and there was no padding.

I've heard this story so many times: my parents were driving down the highway and my mom was nursing me :eek: (this was when I was under 2 months old, because that's when she stopped nursing) and there was a truck driving along side of them and the driver kept looking down into their car to watch :rolleyes:. I remember riding down in the front seat floor-well of our VW bug convertible because it was warm, as a three year old. And when I was 5 or so I liked to sit on a pillow while wearing an ALR lapbelt in our Renault Fuego. Can you say jack knife LOL. I think I also used to ride in the trunk hatch area sometimes.

My little sister had a flimy little plastic Kolcraft infant seat that she rode RF in for a few months, and then went FF in the above mentioned orange Strollee. After she outgrew that, around 3 y/o, she went in a seatbelt with the shoulder belt behind her.

[barnmama25]

I remember riding in those horrible vinyl covered seats, they sucked!! Here is a collage I made some time ago of the two infant seats my mother had in the late 70's and early 80's and one of my bro in his crib with the vinyl bumper pad oh and one of me in a convertible of some type.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k42/abluhm/ScannedImage1-1-1.jpg

[mom2juliarose]

I had a seat. It was FF-only. White hard shell with some sort of vinyl/foam lining. And then when I was about 3 we got shield boosters. I have pictures somewhere...

[Mama!]

As a toddler, Standing in the front seat with my arm wrapped around my dad's neck. :eek:

As a kid, anywhere.

[Mommy2Marcus]

I am 23 & was born in 85! I know that I rode in some sort of seat untill I was around 3-4 from talking to my mom. I also know I came home from the hospital in a RF OHS seat! She said she knows now from watching me install Marcus' seats that they were not installed properly & that I was not in them long enough either. She said I only RF'd for a very short while before I was turned FF.

However I can remember as a child of around 5-6 sitting in the back seat in a lap belt only. I can also remember riding in the front seat at that age! So while I rode in some sort of seat, it was not properly installed or used properly!

[bigjenni]

My dad has been scanning in all of our old slides and he found this photo of me in my carseat.... should be about 1972.