I now understand what misuse is and how it happens to smart people

apsupermom

New member
I sold a Como on CL today and the mom who bought it was a rehabilitation nurse so an educated person who sees injury...

She was shocked that they weren't in correctly because her husband did it. He had clearly not read the manual since it was still in the plastic in the seat. They were so loose I could pick up the child seat off the car seat with it buckled. The FF seat wasn't tethered and she didn't even know what that was. She drove a 2005 Odyssey and I made her get the manual out and find the tether point so I could install her older son's seat (a really cool Recaro Young Sport, I had never seen one before). I LATCH installed it and got a really solid install, talked to her about how loose the straps were for a 25 lbs 2 year old :( There was no way the straps fit her son that loose.

Then I tackled the infant base...unlocked seat belt install, I showed her how I could push the base all the way off the seat...she was totally freaked out and told me before the baby was born she took it to a tech who installed it all "crazy unsafe" with a pool noodle. So I talked to her about 45 degree angle and newborns and how that was a safe install, blocked airway, how the noodle is okay for RF angle making, etc...I locked the belt and got it solid as well.

I told her to go to tech after she installed the Como and double check her install...I hope she does! It really was a wake up call that people just don't understand how important a good install is and how risky it is to not have a child properly restrained!
 
ADS

LovingMomma

New member
I'm not sure how much I would have known if I hadn't stumbled on this site. I feel so bad for the well meaning parents who don't know better. I don't feel so bad about those that don't even read the manual though - just their kids.
 

JerseyGirl'sMama

New member
Yes, I wish carseats were a little more user friendly. Misuse is huge, and it doesn't just affect the uneducated.

I think its great that you took the time to help this stranger out, but am just a bit concerned. There is some liability in installing carseats, so it usually best to walk them through the install while they do it.

Do you know how much the child weighed with the carseat you installed by LATCH? Just want to make sure the child didn't weight more than the max. allowed with it, since you said it was the oldest childs restraint.

Kudos for wanting to help out, but just be careful. I think its great that you recommended she have her seats checked with a tech. :thumbsup:
 

ntrenary

Active member
I used to work in a daycare where a Highway State Patrol man brought his infant DD in all the time with her straps as loose as they would go. We talked to him all the time about it and he never fixed it, so one day I tightened them up after he left and they were always tight from then on.
I was shocked because he was a HW state patrol, so I thought he would know better.
 

rodentranger

New member
I think some seats are easier to misuse than others too.
I bought a FN because my MAs are so easy to use, but the stupid foot on the bottom of the FN likes to get me. I had it installed for two weeks with the foot in booster mode while using it harnessed.:eek:
DH tethered my CA rf because we've only had tethered seats rf before I bought the CA.
 

ntrenary

Active member
Yep. and before I joined here I thought I knew everything there was to know about carseats. I always read the manuel and installed them as tight as possible. But, I didn't know about bracing, and had them tethered RFing in the wrong spot. And a few other things I can't think of right now, but I learn something new here everyday.
I love this site!
 

apsupermom

New member
Yes, I wish carseats were a little more user friendly. Misuse is huge, and it doesn't just affect the uneducated.

I think its great that you took the time to help this stranger out, but am just a bit concerned. There is some liability in installing carseats, so it usually best to walk them through the install while they do it.

Do you know how much the child weighed with the carseat you installed by LATCH? Just want to make sure the child didn't weight more than the max. allowed with it, since you said it was the oldest childs restraint.

Kudos for wanting to help out, but just be careful. I think its great that you recommended she have her seats checked with a tech. :thumbsup:

He was a 25 lb 2 year old and had been in the youth sport since the day he turned one :eek:

I didn't even think about liability...thanks for bringing that to my attention...very, very good point!
 

mamahen

Member
I'm not sure how much I would have known if I hadn't stumbled on this site. .

Ditto that! I am a well educated person and would definitely have read the manual a few times before installing any seat but there are so many other things to consider that I just didn't know I didn't know. I tried an XTSL in my vehicle and would have felt good about it until I posted pictures on here and figured out I couldn't make that seat work in my car. A lady next to me at BRU mentioned how it was cool that they let you try them in your car and I said "well, not every seat fits in every car" and she said "really?".
I think educating the public about carseats is basically the same as anything else- those who want to learn will and those who need to learn dont feel like they need to and nothing we do as educators will change their minds. :(
 

purplemama

New member
I used to work in a daycare where a Highway State Patrol man brought his infant DD in all the time with her straps as loose as they would go. We talked to him all the time about it and he never fixed it, so one day I tightened them up after he left and they were always tight from then on.
I was shocked because he was a HW state patrol, so I thought he would know better.

My DS went to a daycare where the owner's DH was a state cop. They were the worst about car seats. Four kids and everytime I saw them on the road, all the kids were literally hanging out the windows. The youngest was REALLY tiny and one day she told me she couldn't wait till his 4th b-day so she could take him out of his car seat. And she hoped they never made boosters the law because with four kids it was too much hassle. You would think that a policeman (state trooper, no less) would have cleaned up enough accidents with kids to know that car seats, um, SAVE LIVES!!!!!
 

cookie123

New member
I just realized today that yesterday I install the Avenue with the ff foot up with it rear facing. I had decided to reinstall because it was pretty upright even with the noodle pyramid. Duh! I also realized I have lost the latch strap. I thought I might reinstall with latch. Oh, well. I'll have to look around for it. It's not anywhere that I keep my other car seat stuff.

See, these things happen even when you supposedly know what you're doing.
 

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