What do you say to comments - vent

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CHaney72

New member
I was at lunch the other day with some friends. I told them about my newest carseat purchases for the kids. I did extensive research to decide on what to get. I ended up with 2 Safety first Signatures and a Britax Marathon. I still have to buy 2 more seats later, but for now that is what I could afford. I spent almost $400. They were all aghast. Said they would never spend that much money on car-seats. Mentioned yard sales :eek: . One lady said $50 is her max on seats. I had no idea what to say. I did what I felt is best for the safety of my kids. I feel no guilt whatsoever for spending that money on them. I want to get 2 Britax Regents once the baby outgrows the infant seat and moves into the MA and the FPSVD. SIGH!
 
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Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I usually make a back-handed comment about $400 for the safety & wellbeing of my CHILD is a lot cheaper than ER costs, let alone a funeral....
 

Momto2whosews

Senior Community Member
I would simply say "my kids lives are worth it and if they were ever injured or killed in a crash, I would never forgive myself knowing that I hadn't protected them as well as I possibly could."

Of course, if you say this, you're going to been seen as a snob by them. You can't change the way they feel - although you can educate them about yard sale/used seats. It's each parent's responsibility to to protect their children to the best of their ability.
 

natysr

New member
I usually say, "Yeah, his Boulevard was $300, but he will get 6 good years of use out of it. It seemed like alot a first, but when I really broke it down, it is costing me less than 14 cents per day over the life of the seat to keep him safe. He's worth that and more."
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Of course, if you say this, you're going to been seen as a snob by them. You can't change the way they feel - although you can educate them about yard sale/used seats.

True & maybe I should note that I was *not* thinking of when I'm doing seatchecks/workshops -- I would never talk that way to people I'm trying to educate!

The only people that bother to make comments about my carseat choices are family members who've already been educated & refuse to follow safest practice ... so, at this point there's nothing left for me to do but silence them with a bit of shock value :whistle:

When other families seem put off by the cost, I explain the Use Seat Checklist, the dummy ejected from an expired Britax crash test, etc. & help guide them through features on various carseats within their budget.
 

DueInFeb

New member
Great responses, you guys. I get a bit of the "oh you are such a snob" attitude when discussing car seats. But really, it is NOT that much more, all things considered, to get a GREAT car seat over a GOOD one.

(Horrible ones are another matter entirely, not to mention yard sales and secondhand shops ... omg I was in a secondhand mothers' clothing store getting some maternity shirts and there was like a whole flippin' SHELF of $15 and $20 car seats ... some three-point ... I could not believe my eyes; I think it should be illegal! I mean maybe I live in a bubble but how could a parent possibly not have heard by now that that is a no-no???)

At the end of the day I just wish the Britaxes of the world were cheaper so more could afford them. I mean, realistically, the fact that they are the safest is not going to be enough to convince some people. It's very sad. I had to do a pile of research to convince DH we were getting "this one" when, you know, it was the one at the far right end of the display, which is arranged more or less by price, at Babies R Us. One of those things I guess.

I was just thinking about this today; my mom calls my car seat "the cadillac" and roundly criticizes me for traveling WITH it when they (mom and dad) have a convertible I can use. IDK. It's tough, isn't it?
 

bethng

Active member
I would just say something like "I think my kids safety is worth the cost" or "when it comes to my kids lives I am willing to spend more for the best protection"
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
Honestly, the only time Cam ever asked me why we spent so much on car seats, I reminded him of his $300 RC car, and my $250 ice skates. Items that are really nothing more than very expensive toys. Then I asked him did he honestly believe that we should spend less on something that could save our child's life? He never again questioned me, although he dos grumble a bit from time to time. ;)
 

mollymoo

New member
I use the 14cents a day line. Remind them how much they spent on their other baby gear (swings, bouncy, exersaucer, crib, bedding) that cost almost as much as the car seat and they only use it for maybe 6 months, more for the crib and bedding. Isn't a comfy, easy to use seat worth something????
 

CHaney72

New member
I did mention that car-seats expire and they were all like "How can they expire" and "What is there to expire". I tried to start explaining it, but to be honest I wasn't very clear.
 

tarynsmum

Senior Community Member
I usually say something along the lines of "well, every family has different priorities, and one of ours is car safety". I use this with kids too (like when my niece asks why her little friend doesn't use a booster)
 

Erika Ruth

New member
Thankfully, I live in an affluent community, where I see people doing things such as LATCH and Seatbelt at the same time, because they want to have backup in case one fails... (Those are the type of errors I see more often in friends cars).

My friend tried to convince me to get the Marathon back when I had one kid that was outgrowing the snug ride.

I chose the Triumph (back when I trusted Consumer Reports), as it was $100 cheaper, and had the same "safety rating"

I HATED that seat. We used it faithfully, and I just hated the harness adjust on that seat. I turned her back to RF (at 22 months) earlier in the morning, the same day that I totaled that car. (Long, but interesting story for the chat room not here).

So, I replaced it with a Marathon. I realized that I was paying for EASE of use, Quick install, and un-install, easy harness adjust, taller seat back... It was worth the money to me at that point. I thought that Marathon users were snobs before I got one. Now, I just tell people that it is the EASIEST seat to get a good and quick install in my car with, so I am very happy with it. I also tell people that I have been in some serious car accidents, one that I caused, so for me, and my kids, car safety is a necessity, not an afterthought... (they seem to get that, and not question it). So, basically, the family joke is, I am a bad driver, so, I NEED the best seats to protect my kids, and need to keep them RF and harnessed as long as possible.
 

niccig

New member
Honestly, the only time Cam ever asked me why we spent so much on car seats, I reminded him of his $300 RC car, and my $250 ice skates. Items that are really nothing more than very expensive toys. Then I asked him did he honestly believe that we should spend less on something that could save our child's life? He never again questioned me, although he dos grumble a bit from time to time. ;)

I agree with this. It's all about priorities. So, you'll pay $600 for a phone without complaint, but not for a car seat for you kid's safety. I just don't get it.
 

Erika Ruth

New member
I agree with this. It's all about priorities. So, you'll pay $600 for a phone without complaint, but not for a car seat for you kid's safety. I just don't get it.

LOL! I HAVE THE FREE Phone... It SUCKS, but it places calls, and has speaker phone.

It is all about priorities.
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
Exactly.

I wanted to replace my cell phone this summer. It's old, and starting to not work properly. It's also my contact number for anyone needing a seat check, so we're not exactly talking about a luxury.

Instead, we bought Joy's Regent. It wasn't absolutely essential to do so RIGHT NOW, but we needed to do it before our spare seat expired at the end of the year, and we weren't sure we'd have time if we waited.
 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member
I had a girl at playgroup say how she couldn't imagine spending $200+ on a carseat (but this was the same person who has a 2006 Hummer in the parking lot :confused:). I told her that it's about the same as an average car payment and I don't put a value on my child's safety and well-being. And we budgeted and saved for DD1's $260 Radian, and now we're doing the same for DD2's Recaro.
 

lynsgirl

New member
LOL! I HAVE THE FREE Phone... It SUCKS, but it places calls, and has speaker phone.

It is all about priorities.

:ROTFLMAO:

I have the "free" phone, too and what's really hilarious (at least to me - sort of - and NOT to dh hehehehehe) is that at the same time I got the free phone, he was getting an Audiovox 6700 Pocket PC. It's quite the gadget. It's a cell phone, it has full-access wireless (and Sprint dial-up) internet, a pull-out full keyboard, TV if we want it, a fairly decent camera and a bunch of other things I don't remember. He HATES it! He'll have had it for 2 years in October and he's going to ditch it for one of the "free" offerings for re-signing :ROTFLMAO:. The battery doesn't hold a charge, he turned off all of the other options a long time ago, since he didn't use them and his purpose was business-related (but we ended up with a laptop, so it wasn't necessary) and his earpiece finally died (Blue Tooth). So now he has this $800 phone that he's not buying a new earpiece for, he has to talk with it plugged in most of the time and in order not to muck up the screen (which is the size of the whole phone), he holds it not really by his whole face AND he gets only so-so reception. The battery isn't available from Sprint to replace, either since they quit carrying Audiovox (so they say). So anyhoo, all that to say that my little cheap, PINK flip phone with no front display gets great reception and is chugging along :love:.
 

JoMama

New member
So, I replaced it with a Marathon. I realized that I was paying for EASE of use, Quick install, and un-install, easy harness adjust, taller seat back... It was worth the money to me at that point. I thought that Marathon users were snobs before I got one.
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Yeah, the integrated seat belt locks are worth $300 dollars by themselves, let alone all the other conveniences. It really is a shame that you have to pay so much for the ease of use, which equates to greater safety, since it's more easily used correctly. Unfortunately, top of the line carseats are just not in the budget for a lot of families. :(
 
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