msg221
Well-known member
My friend came over to pick up a birthday cake I made for her nephew a couple of hours ago. She had her just turned 2 year-old twins in the car as well as her 5 year-old nephew. I was shocked to see the twins forward facing. She knows all about ERF because I have supplied her with all of the info, she saw the Joel's Journey video (in fact, she told me it scared her enough to agree with me about keeping them rear facing), etc. but now she has them forward facing anyway. This really concerns me especially for her daughter, who is only about 22-24 lbs. and about 32 inches tall. She said their neighbor had borrowed one of her seats and then ended up turning both seats for her when he went to re-install the borrowed seat. I don't know if my face ended up showing what I was thinking (I have a tendency to do that!), but I was very disappointed.
And if that wasn't enough, her nephew was sitting in his car seat with the chest clip over his abdomen and the harness straps looked too loose! He is here with his mother, visiting from Egypt. The car seat was borrowed from the same neighbor. I know it is a Cosco seat but I couldn't tell what kind, but it appears to be a combination seat because I could see the belt guides on the outside part of the seat. They still have him harnessed, which I recommended because I am pretty sure that in Egypt, car seats are not the norm and I didn't think a booster would be appropriate for him since he has likely never been in a car seat at all. The only thing is I don't know how much he weighs and if that seat only has a 50 lb. limit for harnessing, then he needs to be changed to booster mode. He is very tall and skinny, all legs, so he may not be at the weight limit, but I don't know for sure. He just turned 5 today.
I don't think I will be able to convince her to turn them back but I e-mailed her and did offer to check their seats (Boulevards) and make sure that they are at least tethered. I also offered her one of my TFP's for her nephew because I think he would be more comfortable in it then he looked in that Cosco seat. Plus it can be used to 65 lbs. (assuming he isn't too tall for it). I have an extra seat, the My Ride I got for $81.54 on Wal-Mart.com so I won't be short a seat if I do let her borrow the TFP for her nephew, who will be here until August.
Anyway, I am just sick about this and just wanted to vent.
And if that wasn't enough, her nephew was sitting in his car seat with the chest clip over his abdomen and the harness straps looked too loose! He is here with his mother, visiting from Egypt. The car seat was borrowed from the same neighbor. I know it is a Cosco seat but I couldn't tell what kind, but it appears to be a combination seat because I could see the belt guides on the outside part of the seat. They still have him harnessed, which I recommended because I am pretty sure that in Egypt, car seats are not the norm and I didn't think a booster would be appropriate for him since he has likely never been in a car seat at all. The only thing is I don't know how much he weighs and if that seat only has a 50 lb. limit for harnessing, then he needs to be changed to booster mode. He is very tall and skinny, all legs, so he may not be at the weight limit, but I don't know for sure. He just turned 5 today.
I don't think I will be able to convince her to turn them back but I e-mailed her and did offer to check their seats (Boulevards) and make sure that they are at least tethered. I also offered her one of my TFP's for her nephew because I think he would be more comfortable in it then he looked in that Cosco seat. Plus it can be used to 65 lbs. (assuming he isn't too tall for it). I have an extra seat, the My Ride I got for $81.54 on Wal-Mart.com so I won't be short a seat if I do let her borrow the TFP for her nephew, who will be here until August.
Anyway, I am just sick about this and just wanted to vent.