Question Using expired car seats- how to tell my boyfriends mom to get a new seat?

#1babysitter · Sep 15, 2011

My boyfriend's mom babysits a 2.5 year old and 9 month old. She picks them up and brings them back to her house to watch them and takes them on outings during the day. The other day when I was over there and she had just gotten home with the kids I saw the car seat that the 2.5 year old rides in and my jaw dropped. The mom of the kids provides her with an infant car seat for the 9 month old which is good but she has her own car seat for the 2.5 year old and it is soooooooooooooooooooo old and expired!! I used to ride in this type of car seat when I was a kid and I'm almost 20! It's the kind that has the shield that goes over the kids head then buckles. It doesn't even have a chest clip. I don't feel comfortable at all trying to convince her to buy a new seat because I know for a fact she won't and RF is completely out of the question. My boyfriend knows how important car seat safety is to me and that I RF to at least 3 years old so should I maybe try to get him to talk to her about it? I had someone I babysit for offer me one of their extra car seats a couple weeks ago because their son outgrew it. I know it has never been in an accident so should I see if they still have it and offer it to my boyfriend's mom?

I've attached a picture of what it kind of looks like. The one attached is more what the seat I rode in when I was a kid looked like. The one she uses looks even older and it's really thin plastic in some places and like I said before has no chest clip.

eddis · Sep 15, 2011

I'm sure there are more detailed links, but here's one that talks about why seats with shields are not advisable:

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/fivepointshield.aspx

"Because of concerns that the harnesses may not keep the baby's upper body properly positioned and that the baby's head or face may contact the shield in a crash, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend child safety seats with tray shields for small children.

Child Passenger Safety experts agree that the Five-Point Harness is the safest, because it provides the snuggest fit and is suitable for the widest range of children."

ETA: Re-read your post and I see that you said she won't consider a replacement. Maybe then the offer of the newer seat, and/or offering the seat to the parent directly, might work?

Good luck, I hope you find a way to convince her to replace the seat(s)!

Kaitsmom · Sep 15, 2011

Truely, the best way to bring it up is to be super nice, say something like "im sure you had no idea that these seats are no longer recommended, but..." Or if you can get the model number go online and see if there was a recall or something similar you could print out to give her. I would take the seat your friend has over as well, that way you are offering her a free altrnative and not putting her in any kind of "i cant afford a new one" situation. I would also offer to take the old seat, and smash the hell out of it.

#1babysitter · Sep 16, 2011

Kaitsmom said:
Truely, the best way to bring it up is to be super nice, say something like "im sure you had no idea that these seats are no longer recommended, but..." Or if you can get the model number go online and see if there was a recall or something similar you could print out to give her. I would take the seat your friend has over as well, that way you are offering her a free altrnative and not putting her in any kind of "i cant afford a new one" situation. I would also offer to take the old seat, and smash the hell out of it.

Yeah that's why I am going to get the seat from one of my family's since it'd be free and that's why she won't replace the seat she has now, she doesn't want to spend the money on it. I'm just worried that she will keep the old one and use it AND the new one I give her when she has more kids than just the 2.5 year old. So that's a good idea for me to offer to take the old seat. Thanks!

Kaitsmom · Sep 16, 2011

I would offer to install the new sest for her, and just take and destroy the old one, cut the straps as soon as you get the new one to her house.

Brigala · Sep 16, 2011

Take the "new" seat over, explain your concern, and offer to trade her. Especially if the "new" seat is in better condition and maybe even easier to use, she will probably jump at it. Then destroy or recycle the nasty old seat yourself.

henrietta · Sep 16, 2011

The most important piece of info you gave is that the seat is EXPIRED. If that is the case, I would gently explain that carseats have an expiration date, and once past that date cannot be counted on to be safe. We don't know if the plastic will fail tomorrow, next week, or next month....but it is degrading every day. At some point, it will fail in a crash. The harness could rip through the seat and the child could be ejected. The plastic could rip apart on that shield and cut the child's face or upper body (or even his legs, as they are tossed up in a crash). The seat could come apart where it is attached to the car and the whole thing could go flying and hit someone, w/the child still in it (or not). In a car going 30 mph...with a 30 lbs child in a seat that weighs 20 lbs, that's 1500 lbs hitting you in the back of the head while you are driving OR that's 1500 lbs hitting that child's head into something (frame of the car, windshield, concrete). I would offer the good seat, saying something like, "I know you wouldn't want to take the chance w/little Johnny's life. Plus, I know someone that could use a seat to use for demonstrations, teaching other parents how to properly install a seat".

In addition, depending on how old the seat is, it may not have a top tether. Although it isn't required in the US to use one, unless the seat's instructions require it, it's definitely recommended for forward facing, b/c it reduces how far his head will fly forward in a crash (which greatly reduces the potential head/neck injuries). The newer seat will have a top tether, which hopefully her current vehicle also has.

If all that fails, you can explain she would likely be liable for that child's injuries in a crash even if he's "in a carseat", b/c many states have "proper use" clauses. Children must be properly restrained, meaning that the seat must be installed properly, child must be buckled up properly, and the instructions of the seat must be followed properly (bet she doesn't even have the instructions AND the side of the seat possibly has a "do not use after" date on it, depending on how old it is). Depending on your state, she may even be issued an expensive citation. If it comes to it, this piece of info may be most convincing to her.

In Tennessee, where I live, officers CAN pull you over just because they suspect your seat isn't used properly and they can issue a ticket.

But I'm sure she cares about her little charges, since she bothers to use a seat. She just doesn't know or understand the important details.

hths

henrietta

#1babysitter · Sep 17, 2011

henrietta said:
The most important piece of info you gave is that the seat is EXPIRED. If that is the case, I would gently explain that carseats have an expiration date, and once past that date cannot be counted on to be safe. We don't know if the plastic will fail tomorrow, next week, or next month....but it is degrading every day. At some point, it will fail in a crash. The harness could rip through the seat and the child could be ejected. The plastic could rip apart on that shield and cut the child's face or upper body (or even his legs, as they are tossed up in a crash). The seat could come apart where it is attached to the car and the whole thing could go flying and hit someone, w/the child still in it (or not). In a car going 30 mph...with a 30 lbs child in a seat that weighs 20 lbs, that's 1500 lbs hitting you in the back of the head while you are driving OR that's 1500 lbs hitting that child's head into something (frame of the car, windshield, concrete). I would offer the good seat, saying something like, "I know you wouldn't want to take the chance w/little Johnny's life. Plus, I know someone that could use a seat to use for demonstrations, teaching other parents how to properly install a seat".

In addition, depending on how old the seat is, it may not have a top tether. Although it isn't required in the US to use one, unless the seat's instructions require it, it's definitely recommended for forward facing, b/c it reduces how far his head will fly forward in a crash (which greatly reduces the potential head/neck injuries). The newer seat will have a top tether, which hopefully her current vehicle also has.

If all that fails, you can explain she would likely be liable for that child's injuries in a crash even if he's "in a carseat", b/c many states have "proper use" clauses. Children must be properly restrained, meaning that the seat must be installed properly, child must be buckled up properly, and the instructions of the seat must be followed properly (bet she doesn't even have the instructions AND the side of the seat possibly has a "do not use after" date on it, depending on how old it is). Depending on your state, she may even be issued an expensive citation. If it comes to it, this piece of info may be most convincing to her. In Tennessee, where I live, officers CAN pull you over just because they suspect your seat isn't used properly and they can issue a ticket.

But I'm sure she cares about her little charges, since she bothers to use a seat. She just doesn't know or understand the important details.

hths

henrietta

Thanks so much for this! I will try to explain this to her. She loves these kids like their her own so I'm hoping she will take the "new" seat without any problems. I'm pretty sure it's the same car seat she used for my boyfriend when he was a kid and he's 18! It definitely doesn't have a top tether and I'm not sure if her van does it's one of those really big and old ones but I'll look into it. I'm just hoping the car seat I get for her from the family I babysit for has higher top slots so she can get some good use out of it because I know she'd keep using it if he outgrew the highest slots.

Question Using expired car seats- how to tell my boyfriends mom to get a new seat?

#1babysitter

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eddis

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Kaitsmom

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#1babysitter

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Kaitsmom

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Brigala

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