Who installs your seat?

rlsadc · Feb 18, 2007

I swear I have shown my DH how to install DD carseat thousands! of times...but he just never gets it to where I like it. He thinks that if he can't move it...its safe...

And now that I can get it nice and tight all by myself (thanks to the hints i picked up here

) I do it myself.

Dillipop · Feb 18, 2007

I prefer to do it myself. I am a bit more obsessed with it than DH is. He tightens the straps enough, well within the limits, just not as tight as I do! lol! I like the car to shake! He has installed our husky once when I wasn't able to and when I got home, he made me check it. It was good, but I did tighten it a bit more....If the situation came up where he had to install our seats, I have full confidence he could do it, I just like to have the control.

Victorious4 · Feb 18, 2007

Technically, I make him help me -- he seems to like learning, though

skaterbabs · Feb 18, 2007

I install Joyjoy's seat, but Cameron *can* do it. The LATCH bars on the MA and the under/over thing has confused him at times though. He did a pretty good job with the futura, but forgot to tighten them belt. Although, I'm fairly certain he knew I'd check it just to make sure and do a final tightening so he may have just not bothered.

SPJ&E · Feb 18, 2007

I am the only one that installs carseats for my boys.

rlsadc · Feb 18, 2007

well its good to know im not overly obsessive (atleast not by anyone on this board standards, ask the DH and that might change) lol.

ktmo · Feb 18, 2007

I always install our seats. I used to have DH try to get them tighter, but he always would say that he couldn't get it any tighter, that I had it as tight as possible, so now I just do it.

Katie

Morganthe · Feb 18, 2007

ME! Me! ME!

DH WANTS to get car seats in correctly. He has read manuals. He has watched me. He has listened to me guide him through. All very patiently, which for him is short of miraculous. But he cannot do it no matter what. I have never seen such creativity out of him except in this issue. Each time he's installed a carseat, it looks and feels nothing like it's supposed to. It's absolutely amazing ---- and very scary.

He's not the average guy either. This is a smart, craft-obsessed guy who has assembled technical munitions and missiles for over 16 years in the military. But when it comes to directions and car seats, all his education, life experience, common sense, and ability to follow detailed direction go flying out the window when he's faced with a car seat manual. I just cannot trust him

I won't even start describing the various ways I've seen him install a seat and consider it safe for our dd. It's too humiliating for us both.

In an emergency, he can manage the idiot-proof Maxi-Cosi, but he doesn't get the car's seatbelt really snug enough before the lever tamps down the slack. At least he knows better now than to ever attempt to install a car seat unless I'm completely disabled or dead.

It's just too much for him.

Ahhhh, as a consolation, the guy is an AWESOME cook who feeds us daily, so I'll still keep him around forever

thepeach80 · Feb 18, 2007

I do in the van, DH is in charge of his truck. I'll have to check when we put the Apex in since it's a new one.

mamato2 · Feb 18, 2007

I do. In 7 yrs of car seat use he's done it only a handful of times and that was a long time ago. Makes me think I should make sure he DOES know how in case he ever HAD to. Years ago he stepped back and said, 'It's your deal'. Part of it is me insisting it is done right (by MY standards) and the other is his interest/patience level and size (6.2) which makes it hard for him to get in and maneuver around the way he needs to. I know there are guys and gals bigger who install seats but this guy doesn't have his heart in it!!! (And I'm right there happy to do it.)
C.

mominabigtruck · Feb 18, 2007

I install all of my seats whether they're in my vehicle or not. Dh has no interest in installing the seats and the one time my brother did ds1's eddie bauer touriva ff in my mom's van the whole seat shook when you touched it. I know if I do it myself then it will always be correct.

southpawboston · Feb 18, 2007

i voted "my DH, he gets it nice and tight", even though I AM THE HUSBAND.

i'm surprised more of your DH's aren't more obsessed with doing it themselves. when it comes to anything that touches my car, i like to be the one to make sure it gets done right. i'm also the guy who usually knows what's wrong with my car before it ever goes to the mechanic. maybe i'm just car-obsessed the way most of you are carseat-obsessed, lol.

Dawn · Feb 18, 2007

Dillipop said:
I prefer to do it myself. I am a bit more obsessed with it than DH is. He tightens the straps enough, well within the limits, just not as tight as I do! lol! I like the car to shake! He has installed our husky once when I wasn't able to and when I got home, he made me check it. It was good, but I did tighten it a bit more....If the situation came up where he had to install our seats, I have full confidence he could do it, I just like to have the control.

This would be me as well,lol. In 12 years of carseats I have carseat control issues,lol.

scatterbunny · Feb 18, 2007

Dillipop said:
I prefer to do it myself. I am a bit more obsessed with it than DH is. He tightens the straps enough, well within the limits, just not as tight as I do! lol! I like the car to shake! He has installed our husky once when I wasn't able to and when I got home, he made me check it. It was good, but I did tighten it a bit more....If the situation came up where he had to install our seats, I have full confidence he could do it, I just like to have the control.

Ditto, every word of it, right down to having him install the Husky once, and me wanting to do it for the control.

canadianmom2three · Feb 18, 2007

I do - DH could do it, but it would be just ok, not great. Actually I take that back the seat install would be ok, but who knows about the kid install

- there was one time where he put in DS, then got in the driver seat and assumed I would buckle DS, but I had gotten in the opposite side, and assumed since it was pitch black out and raining that he would have not just plunked in DS, but also buckled him. It wasn't till we started to drive, and DS hollered out (trust him to protest in the interest of safety!), so now I just do it myself...

JaRylan · Feb 18, 2007

I install the car seat myself, noone else here to do it.

Rylan's dad has issues with letting me install or even check his install. I have told him that is too bad he feels that way and that I am sorry but I will be checking his car seat install. He replied that he will be checking my installs...to which I gladly thanked him and said I looked forward to it, one can never be too careful or confident. The hardest part is that he is 4 hours away so I haven't been able to check how he has the car seat installed since he got his own (his parents picked him up this weekend and I installed my seat for them). Last time he had my Radian installed and when I checked it I said it was too loose and then when I grabbed the shoulder belt it wasn't locked. He said they only lock in an emergency, so I reached for a locking clip and then I thought to double-check the shoulder belt and whadda ya know...they lock. Grrrr. I try to be diplomatic and non-judgemental, but holy cow read the manual.

Victorious4 · Feb 18, 2007

canadianmom2three said:
DS hollered out (trust him to protest in the interest of safety!)

This is so Leila -- last summer I was loading the car & thought my SO was buckling Leila as he'd opened the door for her to get in

but when I got in & he started drive she SCREAMED.... She had been calming down a bit on her "are you buckled" routine till that happened: after which the routine came back in full force, asking each personal individually + repetitively

oxeye · Feb 18, 2007

I do it myself - though I'm going to enlist the help of my heavier DH tomorrow to see if I can get one of them installed with the seatbelt instead of latch.

It's always just been my thing, I guess. DH has never put one in though I'm sure he could figure it out if he needed to. He had the car one day and needed to take out a seat to haul something big. He called me and had me walk him through just removing one of the seats because he didn't want to mess anything up.

Ali · Feb 18, 2007

DH did the Snugride base when I was too pregnant to do it. After I got it checked by a tech and was told it was no where near tight enough, I do it!

DH can, I have shown him many times, but we both prefer that I do it until I am satisfied.

He is learning though! When he saw a picture of his cousin who is 1 month older than our DD (twisty straps, winter coat, etc) - DH said I'd kill him if he did that!

And he noticed the other night when a friend's DD was not tight enough in her Snugride!

remken · Feb 18, 2007

I do it myself. H has no deisire to even learn how to install a car seat.

Who installs your seat?

Who installs your seat?

I do it myself, that's the only way I can be sure it is just right.

My DH, he gets it nice and tight.

Neither.

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