How did I do?

honeydew

Active member
Preface: I am a nanny to 16 month old Madeleine. She rides RFing in all vehicles - Symphonies in her parent's cars and a Triumph65 in mine.

Her mom and I were talking about carseats last week and the subject of RFing came up. She mentioned that Madi's legs are pretty scrunched in her car and that she might be uncomfortable. I told her that kids can bend much better than adults can and that honestly, she's RFing to protect her neck and spine, not her legs. She nodded in agreement and we are leaving her RFing.

I don't think she's done any research about RF, FF or any carseat safety, because she's always asking me about current recommendations, etc. I know this topic will come up again in a few months and I want to be prepared for the next time. I did tell her that while FF at this age is legal, it's not the safest way to transport a 16 month old.

Did I do ok?
 
ADS

Aurezalia

Well-known member
Coming from another nanny, I think you did fine! If she asks for the information, give it to her, but if that's sufficient don't flood her with information she's not asking for yet. The family I'm with now needed to see all the data before deciding to leave him RF'ing, but the family I was with before were satisfied with me simply telling them that it was safer. If/when she asks more about it, then you can show her all the data. :)
 

kidnurse

Active member
I would go a different way with that. I would give the family a little information, not so much as to overwhelm them, but enough so they are a bit educated ahead of time. So that when friends and family harp on them to turn baby FF they already know why it is a better/safer choice to keep her RF and in turn hopefully are less likely to just agree with the norm and turn her FF. :twocents:
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
You could also take pictures whenever you catch her sleeping in places other than the car seat with her legs curled up. It's hard to argue that a child is uncomfortable with their legs squished when you are have a bunch of adorable pictures of said child sleeping peacefully with her rear in the air and her knees up to her chin.
 

HayleyCPST

New member
Coming from another nanny, I think you did fine! If she asks for the information, give it to her, but if that's sufficient don't flood her with information she's not asking for yet. The family I'm with now needed to see all the data before deciding to leave him RF'ing, but the family I was with before were satisfied with me simply telling them that it was safer. If/when she asks more about it, then you can show her all the data. :)

This. One family I worked for chose to keep them (3 &1 at the time) FF after I gave them info including crash test vids and brochures and everything. That was rough.

Another family asks me questions all the time about car safety then I give them information. It seems to me that the less you give them initially, the more they will ask later. It gets their wheels churning so to speak.

Great job! It's nice to have that open communication so you can discuss it.
 

honeydew

Active member
Thanks, everyone.

Because the mom and I are very close friends, it's easy for us to talk about anything, but I have a hard time going against the grain in person, KWIM? I'm afraid if she keeps talking about FFing the baby, I'm just going to finally agree because it's easier than fighting for RF.

Hopefully she won't mention anything for a long while so I won't have to worry about it.
 

honeydew

Active member
You could also take pictures whenever you catch her sleeping in places other than the car seat with her legs curled up. It's hard to argue that a child is uncomfortable with their legs squished when you are have a bunch of adorable pictures of said child sleeping peacefully with her rear in the air and her knees up to her chin.

Everyone in the house knows this kid sleeps in all sorts of crazy positions. We have a video baby monitor and we always comment on her butt up in the air! Mom definitely understands that babies are little contortionists. Hopefully she'll remember that when she starts getting concerned about her legs again.
 

Baylor

New member
Just as a mom I think you did great! I would be so thrilled if someone cared about my child so much to make sure they were as safe as possible in the car.

Awesome!
 

flipper68

Senior Community Member
You did great because the DC is still Rfing.

I always tell parents "research found it to be 5x safer through age 2," and "rf ing better protects the head, neck and spinal cord."

If it were me, I'd have the crash test video bookmarked and I'd also tag the official "5x safer" material at CHOP or Safe Ride News so I can quickly share. . .
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
I think you did just right... you offered a light and easy reference without too much info all at once. I'm sure it will make her think and probably realize that babies LOVE to be all squished up and snuggly anyway...

if not, you can go from there.
 

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