Any dads/husbands on here actively involved with car seat stuff?

PatrickGSR94 · Jan 3, 2011

Seems like I'm in a very small minority here

I guess it comes from the fact that I'm probably the most technical-minded and detail-oriented person in my entire extended and in-law family. Plus the fact that internet forums are pretty much my life when it comes to getting knowledgeable about something (cars, stereos, home theaters, iPods and iPhones, other electronics of any kinds, home DIY and repair, etc).

I personally perform any and all work on both my and my wife's cars. Anything from engine work, stereo work, cleaning, etc. etc. I'm a HUGE DIY'er on the cars, house, etc. I'm also extremely detail oriented and usually read instruction manuals cover-to-cover.

As such, I always take on the tasks of installing car seats, adjusting them, and making sure my wife knows how everything works, adjusts, etc. She pretty much leaves it to me to figure it all out, get it tested, get it working, etc.

Just wondering if there are any other dads/husbands on here who are like me? Does any of this sound weird to y'all?

carseatcoach · Jan 3, 2011

There are a few men on this forum. The owner is male.

My own husband is better than average at carseats (which isn't saying much considering the 80%+ misuse rate), but is generally content to leave it to me.

ctbcleveland · Jan 3, 2011

Welcome Patrick!

No - I am the mom - but my husband is a huge helper with installs. I was about to renew my vows when he told me he read the Radian manual on his lunch break at work

Dads do frequently post quick questions, but rarely stay around long enough for us to get to know them. There are a few that do! In fact, the person who founded this board, CPSDarren, is a dad too.

Hopefully you enjoy our company enough to join the ranks of the longer-lasting dads on this site.

Jeanum · Jan 3, 2011

There are several dads/DHs active here, this site's founder and owner, CPSDarren, for one, but they're in the minority. I'm the major car geek in my family, while DH views cars mainly as appliances to get from point A to point B and can't find the oil dipstick or tire pressure gauge, etc. without guidance from me.

I pretty much taught him how to drive, too.

PatrickGSR94 · Jan 3, 2011

We'll see... some forums I only visit seldom due to everything else happening in life. I'm a moderator on the Honda-Tech.com forums (member since 2002) and is where I spend most of my "forum time".

I'm pretty familiar so far with the 2 convertible seats and 1 infant carrier we've personally owned so far, but still a huge n00b to all other seat, car seat tech, the lingo, abbreviations, etc.

DS is our first child, born 28 December 2009, and at this point we don't really have plans for any more.

PatrickGSR94 · Jan 3, 2011

Jeanum said:
There are several dads/DHs active here, this site's founder and owner, CPSDarren, for one, but they're in the minority. I'm the major car geek in my family, while DH views cars mainly as appliances to get from point A to point B and can't find the oil dipstick or tire pressure gauge, etc. without guidance from me. I pretty much taught him how to drive, too.

lol I'm about to be 31 and have been driving stick since 15, and hopefully will be until the day I die, or until manual transmission just disappears completely. My DW is about like your DH, and also cannot drive stick. Hope to get an Acura TSX or TL 6-speed one day, then maybe I'll teach her to drive stick heh.

safeinthecar · Jan 3, 2011

I'm a mom, but my husband is a big fan of RTFM in general. He knows I'm the expert and listens to what I say about seats, but I always find out later that he researched what I told him. More than once I've been sick and he has helped me out by answering car-seat questions while checking my email for me.

He's also perfectly capable car repairs, in fact, he taught ME how to change the oil when we were in high school, but for the most part he leaves all that to me.

The guys on here are CPSDarren, Codex, Beeman, Winaux, Adventuredad, Judi's DH, and a couple more I can't think of right now.

carseatcoach · Jan 3, 2011

I'm 41 and have never owned anything but stick-shift cars. They're getting harder to find! (I'm not really a car person, but I like to stick with what I'm used to.)

Jeanum · Jan 3, 2011

PatrickGSR94 said:
lol I'm about to be 31 and have been driving stick since 15, and hopefully will be until the day I die, or until manual transmission just disappears completely. My DW is about like your DH, and also cannot drive stick. Hope to get an Acura TSX or TL 6-speed one day, then maybe I'll teach her to drive stick heh.

I don't drive a stick either, lol. Or parallel park unless I absolutely have to.

PatrickGSR94 · Jan 3, 2011

lol I'm the parallel parking MASTAH!

Some of that comes from the odd parking lot where I parked during my freshman year of college. Some of the spaces were parallel spaces around a CURVE. I figured if I could master those I can park anywhere heh.

karlatta · Jan 3, 2011

My DH is car seat savvy (he can totally install on his own, and does a great job), but it's just not his "thing" if that makes any sense. He makes sure our children are safe and in appropriate seats, but beyond that, he's not interested in learning about car seats or hanging out on a car seat message board.

Fair enough, though. I don't care to learn more than necessary about our video game system.

BananaBoat · Jan 3, 2011

:happy-wavehello:
Welcome to C-S.Org!

You'll fit right in...some of the guys around here like being surrounded by chicks

Actually, it sounds like you might be helpful in the Car Safety sub-forum. Have any input on my vehicle search thread? http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=149725

Baylor · Jan 3, 2011

My dad made us all learn on sticks... He used to park us on a hill and make us start it and go with out any drifting back.. At 16 it scared me to death! We have a manual Explorer.
but I really love driving my dad's 2009 Mustang GT.. That is what sticks are made for!!

Welcome. I think it is really cool to see guys into this as much as the gals. My dh cares but mainly relies on me to gather and then let him know what I decided and why..

amyd · Jan 3, 2011

My hubby's a tech

He's not as carseat obsessed as I am but he knows a lot about them and is great at installs.

ETA- DH and I both drive sticks too

turtlemama · Jan 3, 2011

My husband is not interested at all in car seat safety. He thinks you can just pop the seat in, make sure it's tight, and put whatever child in that seems to fit.
I wish he would listen to me more. However, that said, I was surprised to see him reading one of the handouts I ordered a week or so ago. I didn't say anything though.

PatrickGSR94 · Jan 3, 2011

SuzaBanana said:
:happy-wavehello:
Welcome to C-S.Org!

You'll fit right in...some of the guys around here like being surrounded by chicks

Actually, it sounds like you might be helpful in the Car Safety sub-forum. Have any input on my vehicle search thread? http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=149725

Sorry, neither my wife nor I are much fans of SUV's, or minivans for that matter. We may end up with a *small* SUV one day in the future, but no plans for that now.

My wife has had the Corolla for many years, and I've had my Integra since 2001, and had a 4-door 1989 Camry before that from 1996. So those are really all I know.

murphydog77 · Jan 3, 2011

PatrickGSR94 said:
lol I'm about to be 31 and have been driving stick since 15, and hopefully will be until the day I die, or until manual transmission just disappears completely. My DW is about like your DH, and also cannot drive stick. Hope to get an Acura TSX or TL 6-speed one day, then maybe I'll teach her to drive stick heh.

Everyone should learn how to drive on a stick! It should be mandatory! I drove a manual tranny vehicle of one type or another for over 14 years until we got lazy and started buying automatics

. I still to this day reach for the clutch and gear shift sometimes (my Sienna has the gear shift in a spot that's close enough to remind me to reach), lol.

Welcome!

Lenae · Jan 3, 2011

My DH, while currently pushing for turning DS FF, is otherwise very supportive. He understands the concept of extended RF, knows the reasons for keeping kids harnessed until they fit/sit correctly before moving to a booster, and is as appalled as I am about my family's total lack of carseat use. And he knows how to install all our current seats. That's where his involvement ends. He leaves the research to me, the buying to me, and the decision making about carseat usage to me. He thinks I'm nuts for belonging to this forum, and is confused about what I could possibly have to say or ask now, since our seats have all been bought, lol.

Jennifer mom to my 7 · Jan 4, 2011

murphydog77 said:
Everyone should learn how to drive on a stick! It should be mandatory! I drove a manual tranny vehicle of one type or another for over 14 years until we got lazy and started buying automatics . I still to this day reach for the clutch and gear shift sometimes (my Sienna has the gear shift in a spot that's close enough to remind me to reach), lol.

Welcome!

It was knowing how to drive a manual that got us to the service station in Brooklyn after our battery started to die while in traffic. Apparently it had just enough charge to start, but started going out on us as we were waiting to get on the Goethals. It was running fine for a while on the highway, though. I still can't believe we made it another 40 minutes to get into Brooklyn and through the lights.... It died completely just as we got there.

Lenae said:
My DH, while currently pushing for turning DS FF, is otherwise very supportive. He understands the concept of extended RF, knows the reasons for keeping kids harnessed until they fit/sit correctly before moving to a booster, and is as appalled as I am about my family's total lack of carseat use. And he knows how to install all our current seats. That's where his involvement ends. He leaves the research to me, the buying to me, and the decision making about carseat usage to me. He thinks I'm nuts for belonging to this forum, and is confused about what I could possibly have to say or ask now, since our seats have all been bought, lol.

Sounds like my dh, but he doesn't do installs. At all. Truthfully, as smart and capable as he is, he really isn't that mechanically inclined

I can't even believe he used to do most of his own work on his cars, either.

wendytthomas · Jan 4, 2011

I love driving a stick shift. It's a huge deal breaker if a car doesn't come in a true manual transmission. And I live in Seattle, where the hills rival San Fran. I've gotten really good at playing my clutch (and I've only made it smoke once).

I drive an SUV now (an Xterra with five on the floor), but I'm going to a Mazda5 with a six speed manual tranny in April or May. The Prius Alpha intrigues me, and I'll go and drive it, but it's a CVT with no option for even a fake manual. But if I adore it that much, and the mileage is good, I might. We'll see.

My husband is good with carseats, but he knows I'll point out every little thing wrong, so he leaves it to me to install seats. But he knows how tight the kids need to be, and he probably knows more than he lets on.

Definitely stick around, Patrick! We need more guys' views. Though as it was said, the founder of the board falls under the husband/dad label.

Wendy

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