Carseat stress...WWYD?

kater-tot82

New member
This might get kind of lengthy, but I am concerned. I am helping to raise my beautiful soon-to-be SD whom her dad and both have Evenflo Chase seats for...and hopefully will get Regents in the not-too-distant future!:D
Anyways, my concern is SD's bio mom(BM). She was in a car accident last fall when SD was 3.5. She had a combo harness/booster seat but chose not to be using the harness and had SD in it in booster mode. THANKFULLY all SD got was a contusion to her lower abdomen and no internal injuries, but I have been very concerned about her safety since then. We confiscated that seat (thank God! Her mother was going to continue to use it) and got a cheapo Cosco booster (We didn't have any extra $ and I didn't know about this board..) and told BM she HAD to use it in harness mode. I honestly don't know if her mom continues to use it in harness mode or not and it worries me b/c she doesn't even thread the seatbelt through the shoulder guide. I'm also worried about what will happen if SD gets too tall for harness mode. There is no way we can afford 3 Regents (2 for our cars, one for BMs). And I hate that Cosco in booster mode, it seems so cheap. Should we get a Parkway for BMs car? SD is nowhere near 40lbs. But at least she would have SIP, etc. Her mom is difficult to talk to and very laissez-faire about safety in general. I will also add, SD is only with her BM 4 days a month but often these are 1.5 hour car trips to her BMs house...
Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated, about what might be safest for my little girl...:(
 
ADS

amyg530

Active member
at least shes only with her mom 4 days/month. not saying that her safty is any less important then but if her mom isnt properly restraining her, at least its only a small amount of time. my nieces mom (my BILs ex wife) doesnt even buckle her in at all, shes 5/1/2 now but was in a backless booster a long time ago and it makes me sick. maybe since shes only 33# you can get a scenera for her moms car and start saving up for the regents. maybe look for a place that does layaway so that you can start paying for them now. or yeah the radian, i think the one that goes to 65 is $200 so lower weight limit than the regent but cheaper also. if she was 3 1/2 last fall then she should be 4 by now, right, shes probably old enought to understand why the 5 pt is safer so maybe sit down with her and explain to her that she "wants" to sit in the seat with the harness so that she doesnt get any booboos like she did before. then maybe she can tell her mom to buckle her up in the car. HTH
 

Suzibeck

Active member
I agree with Lisa, the Radian would be a good choice if it fits in BM's car.

But, for 4 days a month, I'd consider moving a seat too, if you are able to get good installs. We currently only have one seat for our youngest, a MA. It just moves back and forth between my van and dh's car, as needed. Usually 3-4 times a month. I've become a pro at uninstalling and reinstalling it, rock solid, very quickly. I wouldn't want to move it daily, but a few times a month is no problem. I would like to have a backup seat in case of emergency, but dh doesn't want a seat in his car. He says it gets in the way. :rolleyes:
 

kater-tot82

New member
Oooh, thanks for the suggestions...i hadnt thought about a Radian or swapping out a seat. I hate to share our nice stuff with BM though. Bio mom tells SD that 5-pt harnesses are for "babies" and that's "being buckled up like a baby"...that is all SD used to say until I kept saying, "they are to be safe!" and now she doesn't say it much. She saw a picture of a Madison Regent and said, "I want that big kid seat!" so hopefully when we have the extra $$ we can get one...I even hate to spend money on something for her BM's car (i feel it's BM's responsibility to keep her safe) but that only hurts SD, so...*sigh*
 

Gypsy

Senior Community Member
"This is a special seatbelt for kids your size, it has a very important job, it will HUG YOU and KEEP YOU SAFE if you are in a car that's in a crash"
 

jen_nah

CPST Instructor
I tell kids that have this issue "Do you like race car drivers?" If they respond with a yes. Then I say "Well did you know they sit in a car seat just like this in their race cars? They also make sure their harness straps are SUPER tight to keep them safe in those big crashes we see on tv. Don't you want to be safe like those race car drivers?" Most if not all of them say "Yes" are are so excited to be the race car driver for mommy/daddy's vehicle.
 

amyg530

Active member
ohhh i like that :)

I tell kids that have this issue "Do you like race car drivers?" If they respond with a yes. Then I say "Well did you know they sit in a car seat just like this in their race cars? They also make sure their harness straps are SUPER tight to keep them safe in those big crashes we see on tv. Don't you want to be safe like those race car drivers?" Most if not all of them say "Yes" are are so excited to be the race car driver for mommy/daddy's vehicle.
 

amyg530

Active member
hey what state are you in, have you looked at the laws to see if legaly shes still suposed to be in a 5pt? maybe if its the law you can point that out to her mom, then add in that you know someone who got a ticket for not following that law (i think sometimes some people need to be lied to)
 

solmama

Active member
The Radian does have some install problems...Does biomom's car have LATCH? The Radian is good with LATCH. If not, ask here about the installation, someone might know. Otherwise, consider the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe. It's made by Britax and is basically a Marathon and installs easily in almost any vehicle. It costs about $130 at albeebaby and babyuniverse
 

keri1292

Well-known member
If you're going to spring for the Regents, I'd install it in Bio Moms (almost abbrieviated that ~ BM ~ didn't seem quite right! :p ) car for her visitation. I'd have guilt issues if I put a tiny girl in a booster while I drove an empty Regent around, KWIM?
We have 3 children, DOB Oct 2000, July 2003 and July 2004. We have never had more than one seat per kid. ever! Sure it'd be a bit easier but, I stay home so we don't have drop off/pick up issues. If someone wants to go in Daddy's car it only takes 2 minutes to install, even the Regent. My install is about 45 sec but, dh is a little slower. :p
Your SD is a cutie by the way. I think she'll insist on sitting in the pretty Madison whether bio mom likes it or not!
 

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