Question Car Seat intruction manuals too hard to read??

Pingbns

New member
I read a couple months ago on a article that car seat intruction manulas are on a a 10th grade reading level because of lawyers helping to write it with the correct jargon they use and how they have to state things. The average Reading level is put between 6th and 8th grade. The article stated that since the manuals is above the national reading level some may be are confused by this and then this would lead to improrper use.

This study on readability I found mentions car seat manuals but not the one I read a few months ago.
http://www.nald.ca/library/research/readab/readab.pdf


What are your thoughts? I know most of college books are on a 10th grade reading level too.
 
ADS

Brianna

New member
That's interesting, but there are also pictures. They're not the best pictures, but it's not like it's strictly reading.

I think most people think manuals are unnecessary for everything, not just car seats. They think they can look at it and figure it out and it's good enough.
 

mominabigtruck

New member
Personally I have more of a problem with the fact that the average parent's reading skills are at a 6th grade level but I'm not going to go there cause I know it will get me into trouble.
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Dorothy

New member
briheartzu said:
That's interesting, but there are also pictures. They're not the best pictures, but it's not like it's strictly reading.

I think most people think manuals are unnecessary for everything, not just car seats. They think they can look at it and figure it out and it's good enough.

This. Some people are just generally resistant to reading instructions - manuals, signage, etc. - for some reason. I love reading instructions, but DH would rather eat lint. One of my good girlfriends has never willingly read an instruction manual, either.

Sent from my Eris using Car-Seat.Org. Ignore the Autocorrect...
 

Stelvis

New member
I have neighbors who are well educated and certainly read above a 10th grade level (attorneys, doctors, PA's, teachers, etc.). They still don't read their manuals and follow the instructions properly on their car seats).

I'm not saying literacy doesnt play a part, I'm sure it does, but there's also just the fact that people think they don't need to read manuals.
 

murphydog77

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
I've read most carseat manuals to summarize them (have you bought your copy of the instruction DVD yet? invaluable!) and there are definitely some that are worse than others. I figure if *I* can't makes heads or tails of the instructions, normal parents certainly can't. Some of it has to do with the font used, the layout of the sections, added pictures, etc. It's more than just misunderstanding what's actually written. If it's not appealing to look at in the first page or two, I don't want to open it! (And really, who wants all the deadly warnings in your face for the first 2-5 pages of a manual? Yeah, that's confidence-building right there.)
 

bnsnyde

New member
Back in the day, my husband always used to install our seats. He has a PhD but NEVER read the manuals. So, I guess my issue is that parents do not read them. They are too long. The important things are often buried.

Now, I love to read carseat manuals!

Very well-placed stickers do a LOT of good, in my opinion. They sort of jump out at you and yell.
(And I think the deadly warnings turn parents away. They just assume it's a bunch of legal stuff and warnings.)

My humidifier does a good job. It comes with the whole scary manual thing, but there is a ONE PAGE QUICK START sheet that summarized everything. That's the one I read, and I didn't miss a thing.
 

monica-m

CPST Instructor
Some car seat manuals are confusing. They are poorly worded and sometimes contradict themselves. That being said, so few parents actually read the manuals that the problem is not in how the manuals are written, the problem lies with parents that don't even bother to open them up in the first place. The same thing can be said about vehicle manuals.
 

gagenivy

New member
Yes, way confusing! I thought I was well versed, I read the entire thing and I missed a lot of valuable info.
 

Stelvis

New member
And, to be fair, some manuals for small appliances, etc. do border on the ridiculous, which makes people think all manuals are stupid.

For example, the instructions for my yogurt maker say:

WARNING: NEVER OPERATE THIS EQUIPMENT WHILE BAREFOOT.
 

Ladyl

New member
And, to be fair, some manuals for small appliances, etc. do border on the ridiculous, which makes people think all manuals are stupid.

For example, the instructions for my yogurt maker say:

WARNING: NEVER OPERATE THIS EQUIPMENT WHILE BAREFOOT.

You have a yogurt maker ?!?! Where does one buy such a wondrous device? I've been too chicken to try making it with just thermometer and pot.

So, as to not completely derail this thread, i really think it is a matter of people not reading the manuals.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Guess I shouldn't buy a yogurt-maker, then. I'm nearly always barefoot in the house.

I will agree that some manuals are better than others (in terms of verbiage, layout, etc.). So far the Aton manual might be my favorite. VERY clear, attractive, and approachable.

I also agree that most people don't bother opening them.
 

jeminijad

New member
I think the % of people who try and read the manual, but can't understand it because they are at a 6th grade reading level is probably pretty low.

Like everyone else, I think the issue is that people don't read them, period. I know I don't read many manuals cover to cover- and I only read car seat manuals because of this board.

Also, the devices themselves ought to be designed to be idiot proof. If hardware designers can create a scanner/printer/external hard drive that needs nothing more than a single page Quick Start (with mostly pictures) for 90% of the general public to succeed with, so can freakin Dorel.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
jeminijad said:
Also, the devices themselves ought to be designed to be idiot proof. If hardware designers can create a scanner/printer/external hard drive that needs nothing more than a single page Quick Start (with mostly pictures) for 90% of the general public to succeed with, so can freakin Dorel.

Well, I've never been able to get a printer to work using just the quick-start guide.

The other problem is that if you can't get your printer or air conditioner to work using the quick-start guide, then you don't have a working printer or air conditioner. If you can't get the car seat or child secured properly, you have a potentially dead child.

I'd love to have a fool-proof car seat, but there are way too many variables to cover in one page.
 

jeminijad

New member
I'd love to have a fool-proof car seat, but there are way too many variables to cover in one page.

That is my point. The seats themselves create additional variables that don't need to exist.

What about creating a base with 8 different angles/clicks/positions, so that over/underrecline becomes almost completely avoidable?

Going back to my computers example... USB. You can now purchase essentially every computer accessory, from all different manufacturers, and they'll just plug in. That wasn't always so, but the need was there and a universal port was developed.

We are talking about seatbelts and plastic shells here. It could be better than it is.
 

Stelvis

New member
Ladyl said:
You have a yogurt maker ?!?! Where does one buy such a wondrous device? I've been too chicken to try making it with just thermometer and pot.

So, as to not completely derail this thread, i really think it is a matter of people not reading the manuals.

Not to totally derail the thread either, but should you decide to take your life in your hands and buy a yogurt maker, Amazon has a really nice selection. Some have single serving cups and others make a whole quart at a time. I think I paid $40 for mine.

I suppose the risk is that you could drop the warm glass on the floor and cut your foot? I'm not sure, they don't really explain why.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
jeminijad said:
That is my point. The seats themselves create additional variables that don't need to exist.

No, there are variables that need to exist. There's rear-facing installation and forward-facing installation. (If we're talking convertible.) There's LATCH vs, seatbelt. There's lap-shoulder belt with locking retractor vs locking latchplate vs locking clip vs lap-only belt. There's straps above the shoulder or below the shoulder, and the accompanying process for adjusting them.

That's not to say that it wouldn't be nice if seats were less complicated, but it's not very realistic.

I still think a choose-your-own-adventure-style manual would be nice, so you could easily skip over the parts that don't pertain to you.
 

SeattleRain

New member
This may sound ridiculous, but I actually think it has to do with the small size of the manual. I know they're made to be tucked into the seat, but their so easily just passed over and thrown away like a registration form or some other unnecessary stuff that comes with the seat. Another downside to the small size is that it gives the impression that the manual is much longer than it really is because there's so little on each page. Also, no one likes to read a tiny booklet. I wonder if they included one small manual to keep with the seat, and one larger manual to read instructions from if more people would read them.

I just got a very expensive, Blendtec blender. In the blender came a shiny, laminated cover instruction booklet. It begged to be read. The wording was so confusing and the directions so inadequate that it was actually laughable, but it caught my attention and I never read the manual for kitchen appliances. In a perfect world I think car seat manuals should look like that. Bright laminated cover on the outside with pictures and/or photos and clear type in a normal booklet size. I think more people would actually read it. Besides, what's the point of making the manual small so it can be tucked in the seat, if no one is actually going to look at it long enough to know it should be kept in the seat?
 

Notaclue

New member
I think part of the issue is that people just think they already know what they are doing when it comes to car seats. I think it's more like "How hard can it be" so they just wing it, and install it however they can get it in there. Parents just assume they know how to do it, and don't bother to check the manual to see if it's actually right.
 

mominabigtruck

New member
I think the seat stickers need to be more user friendly. I don't know how many people I've heard say that a seat only goes to 22lbs rfing because instead of the stickers saying 5-35lbs rfing it says up to 22lbs and you only know the actual limits if you read the manual.

And while I'm on this subject that really irritates me too. If it's safer to rf to at least wo and the limits of the seat then why even make a seat that can be used ffing from 20lbs??? People look at that and they think that if the manufacturer says I can use it from 1yo and 20lbs so it must be safe and these crazy people online don't kmow what they're talking about.
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