Teaching others proper carseat stuff?

jenand22

New member
I have a friend who just had her first baby. She doesn't drive so I went to pick her up to take her somewhere and I noticed a few things about the carseat. How do you politely tell someone they are doing lots of stuff wrong???

The carseat is an infant carrier - evenflo brand. Obviously there is no base, but I don't think she locked the seatbelt when she installed the seat. She just buckled it in. I'm not sure about her particular seat, but she also said that the passenger seat in front needed to be up against the infant seat. I know some brands allow that but is it something that is supposed to be done for a correct install? Also she had her sweet little girl in a cute jean jacket, but that meant the chest clip was way too low and really couldn't be raised up properly.

I want to help her, but I don't know her super well. She is a single mom who is in a tough situation so I don't want to make her feel bad. Any thoughts?
 
ADS

Baylor

New member
I think you just tell her.
I usually start like this,

" I love your baby so much. I just want her to be as safe as possible. This is what I learned..,"

Is it a new seat? You could suggest getting the manual out. If she does not have it, get the DOM and download the manual from evenflo site.

Show her how to put baby in and zip jacket after the child is already in the harness correctly.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
For the record, Evenflo not only requires the handle down behind the seat (except their newest model the Embrace 35 which also allows forward) but requires 1.5” clearance between the infant seat and the seat in front. I'd try to get this mom to a tech so correction doesn't have to come from you.
 

jenand22

New member
Her evenflo seat is not the newer one so thanks for the information! I feel bad "correcting" her but I'm not comfortable driving her baby around when there are so many problems with her seat install and harness!
 
V

VanIsleMommy

Guest
as a "baby gift", arrange a tech to do a car seat check for her and offer to hold baby while she learns. there is a difference between "oh your chest clip needs to be at armpits like this" and lots of major misuse.
 

D&L's-mommy

New member
I had this same situation happen to me, my friend had her daughter's infant seat installed with LATCH and a seat belt, she had the vehicle's back rest reclined to allow more leg room, and her daughter had outgrown the car seat.
I said to her " you're an awesome mom, but I've noticed some issues with your daughter's car seat. These things are complicated, and it took me some time to learn these "tricks" to get the seat as safe as possible. I love your daughter and I want her to be safe, so I'm gonna share my concerns with you".
It was kind of intimidating, I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but on the other hand, I would have felt much worse if her daughter had been injured and i didn't say anything.
Her response? "why didn't you tell me earlier??!!"
They say it takes a village to raise a child, so don't be afraid to speak up.
I also like the idea of bringing in a tech, and approaching it as a gift, the gift of education, if she's taught how to properly use a car seat, she'll always carry that information with her
 

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