ConnorsMommy
New member
I think I've posted on here before about my frustration in regards to the car seat misuse at my son's school. I was able to have a tech come to the school and was able to help about 30 kids ride safer in the car. I know I can't change everyone, but there are 2 situations that are still really bothering me:
First, there is one girl in my son's class who gets picked up by her grandpa. Before, he'd come pick her up in his truck with a old Britax seat that was at least 10 years old (blue shell, red lock-offs, plaid cover). Now, he sometimes comes to pick her up in a small, old rusty car. It seems to me that they don't have much money, so I'm not criticizing his vehicle. My issue is that he puts his granddaughter, who is about 4 years old, in the back seat without any sort of car seat. He does buckle her in (I saw him today) but it is a lap belt only and the seats don't have any headrests. The backseats are really low, so her head is above the top of the seat. The combination of the fact that the car is old without modern safety features and that she isn't in a car seat really worries me. She'd have very little chance in an accident. I told the director at the school, but I am not sure if she has talked to him. What should I do? I don't know the grandpa so I have no idea how he'd react if I talked to him.
Second, when the car seat tech was at the school, there was one mom who parked next to the car the tech was working on. She was in a 2 door sports car with only 2 seat belts in back. I noticed that she had 2 kids in the back. One was about 2-3 years old and was not in any kind of car seat/booster. The baby, about 9 months old, was in an infant seat semi-installed FF! The tech talked to her about it, letting her know that it was very dangerous and illegal, even telling her that in our state, if she was pulled over and a cop saw that, she could be arrested for neglect. She shrugged him off and refused to let him show her how to properly use the seat. She went into the school and came out with another boy. She had 3 kids in 2 seat belts in the back seat, with the older 2 in no car seats. The day before spring break, I looked in her car and she still had the infant seat FF. I called the tech and he said he'd call the police and have them send her a letter. Should I just leave it at that?
Part of me is wondering if I should call the police and ask them to come to the school at pick up time and catch parents like that. Another part of me wonders if I should just keep my nose out of it. What would you do?
First, there is one girl in my son's class who gets picked up by her grandpa. Before, he'd come pick her up in his truck with a old Britax seat that was at least 10 years old (blue shell, red lock-offs, plaid cover). Now, he sometimes comes to pick her up in a small, old rusty car. It seems to me that they don't have much money, so I'm not criticizing his vehicle. My issue is that he puts his granddaughter, who is about 4 years old, in the back seat without any sort of car seat. He does buckle her in (I saw him today) but it is a lap belt only and the seats don't have any headrests. The backseats are really low, so her head is above the top of the seat. The combination of the fact that the car is old without modern safety features and that she isn't in a car seat really worries me. She'd have very little chance in an accident. I told the director at the school, but I am not sure if she has talked to him. What should I do? I don't know the grandpa so I have no idea how he'd react if I talked to him.
Second, when the car seat tech was at the school, there was one mom who parked next to the car the tech was working on. She was in a 2 door sports car with only 2 seat belts in back. I noticed that she had 2 kids in the back. One was about 2-3 years old and was not in any kind of car seat/booster. The baby, about 9 months old, was in an infant seat semi-installed FF! The tech talked to her about it, letting her know that it was very dangerous and illegal, even telling her that in our state, if she was pulled over and a cop saw that, she could be arrested for neglect. She shrugged him off and refused to let him show her how to properly use the seat. She went into the school and came out with another boy. She had 3 kids in 2 seat belts in the back seat, with the older 2 in no car seats. The day before spring break, I looked in her car and she still had the infant seat FF. I called the tech and he said he'd call the police and have them send her a letter. Should I just leave it at that?
Part of me is wondering if I should call the police and ask them to come to the school at pick up time and catch parents like that. Another part of me wonders if I should just keep my nose out of it. What would you do?