Vent So angry and fed up

I know that there are a hundred threads like this already, but I am just so upset and frustrated by the car seat use (or lack of) around here. All the time I see kids bouncing around in cars with no seats, and today we were at the playground, where there were about a hundred kids, at least 90% under age 8 and in the parking lot I passed by at least 50 cars and counted FOUR car seats! Two cosco HBB in the same vehicle, one infant bucket and I saw a Scenera in the back of a car that had two young girls in the front seat, together with a seatbelt over both of them. They were both smaller than my 5 year old
Our county is fairly dominated by lower income family's, but I wouldn't say my city is poverty stricken by any means, and it is mostly nice newer cars that I saw. I just wish there was something I could do. I am taking a tech class in April, but even as a tech, there is not much I can do, I can't stand in parking lots telling people to go buy car seats. My county does not have a safe kids coalition or any programs that give car seats or boosters, and I am sure that would help with some, but a lot just don't care! It stinks. I knew there was bad usage but a whole bunch of tiny toddlers and no car seats in sight I can not believe it.

I feel your frustration, I substitute in a school district near my, and I often have car duty. I see many preschoolers being put in just a low back booster, children a little older than preschool age just using a seatbelt. This also isn't a school district with many low-income families, the median income income in the city that serves the school district is about $85,000. So there is no reason why these parents can't buy proper car seats for their children.

BTW, I live in Texas, and children are required to be in a booster until 8 years old or until they are 4'9" tall. Also, I am a college student living mainly on federal student loans, I own a Britax Frontier 85, and a Diono RadianRXT.

When, I see friends that don't properly restrain their young children, I explain to them why their child needs to be in a proper car seat, but it's always the same old excuses, "It's just too expensive", or "we don't have any money to buy another car seat".

You could keep flyers in your car and stick them on their windshields.
It's tough. We have really terrible usage around here too. It's less common to see kids buckled than not. At least once a day, I say a baby in a lap in the front seat. If I see gross negligence, I'll call the police and report it. But there's really just too many. So I help who I can.

Yesterday at my son's OT appt, we saw a lady put her child into a very old Evenflo Discovery, no straps (they were pulled out the harness slots and tangling) but a seatbelt over it instead, and FF. their son was bigger than my 20 month old who is 22 lbs and 2' 10".

It's like that where I live too and my suburb is upper middle class. Doesn't seem to make a difference. My neighbor's daughter was in a HBB at 2 1/2! The majority of people I know don't use their seats properly or their kids are in seats that aren't appropriate to their age and/or size.

My neighbor has her 8 month old ff because the Ped told her she could. :thumbsdown: I did talk to her yesterday about it, so maybe she will do some research.

It is very sad. I see mostly kids in booster here, people are really good about using boosters, they just put them in at the minimum requirement so you see kids that really should not be in a booster in one because it meets the letter of the law. Once your kid hits 2 put them in a high back booster is the norm.

Judging from craigslist no one is aware car seats expire either. I contacted a lady selling a car seat that expired in 2009 who told me she bought it used last year from someone who told her it never expires (no expiration sticker on it, just DOM).