Forward Facing Infant Seats

kidzndogz

New member
I want to tear my hair out!! In the last 3 days, I've seen 4 (4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) infant seats strapped in FACING FORWARD! How does one end up doing this? There's pictures, there's warnings...isn't it obvious it's supposed to go backwards? 3 of them I couldn't say anything because we were driving on the freeway, but I saw one in the Fry's parking lot. When the family came out, I said something along the lines of "I noticed you have a car seat in your car for your baby! That's wonderful because a lot of people dont' use them. I know sometimes they are tricky to use, so I just thought I'd let you know that it should be facing the back of the car. I can help you if you want, I have to put in car seats all the time for the kids I babysit for." They just stared at me, told me they don't speak English (which I heard them speaking as they were walking up...), and got in their car without even putting the baby in it.

Whatever, manuals are in Spanish too. Although it's probably a hand-me-down seat without a manual.

*sigh* I hate the feeling of seeing a baby in the backseat in complete danger but not being able to do anything about it.
 
ADS

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I've seen it too and I too always wonder HOW people can miss all the pictures, instructions, ARROWS, etc.

I have also said something to several parents and have gotten a respose similar to what you experienced.

One time, however, I did have a mother say, "Oh, really? How do I do it?" I was afraid of liability, so I just showed her the way MY infant seat was installed, told her to read the manual, and gave her the information needed to find a CPST. I was afraid to touch her seat. :)
 

kidzndogz

New member
I've seen it too and I too always wonder HOW people can miss all the pictures, instructions, ARROWS, etc.

I have also said something to several parents and have gotten a respose similar to what you experienced.

One time, however, I did have a mother say, "Oh, really? How do I do it?" I was afraid of liability, so I just showed her the way MY infant seat was installed, told her to read the manual, and gave her the information needed to find a CPST. I was afraid to touch her seat. :)

Yeah I guess I should have thought of that. I kind of did, but then I figured they had no idea who I was, and I'd feel icky if I didn't help them if they asked. I'd probably have talked her through it if they had been receptive. Oh well.
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
When I was 16 (I'm 27 now), my 17 yr old friend had a baby and we used to do that with her seat after she turned 6 mos or so. It was one of those old hospital freebie seats with no base and no handle and we would just turn it around and put the seat belt through the belt guides just like we did when it was RF. We didn't know anything about locking the seat belts and I'm sure the straps weren't tight enough either, but we didn't know any better. We looked at her in that seat, FF at 6 mos old and thought she looked fine! It was only a couple years after that that I really started to get into car seat safety and realized how wrong we had been! :eek:
BTW, the seat was a Graco-Century #530 or 560 at the top of page 6 of the pictorial:
http://www.carseat.org/Pictorial/1-RF-Infant-np.pdf
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
Honestly, I'd be less annoyed at a FF infant seat that was at least SOMEHOW strapped into the fricken car than all of the seats just SITTING inthe vehicle!!! Ooohhh...look, a flying baby in a bucket!!!! :(
 

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