Question What was the car seat world like for babies born from 1980-1984?

U

Unregistered

Guest
My in-laws are secondary caregivers for my baby. Some of the things they've said have indicated that their car seat knowledge is a bit misguided and it's hard for me to know what things they just don't know/understand and what things are changes to best-practices. I'd like to get an idea of where they're coming from so that when I talk to them about our car seat rules, I know what kind of "car seat world" they experienced when they were new parents. I don't want to be condescending, but I also want to correct any misinformation they might have.

There is a picture of my husband when he was a baby and he's sitting in a car seat that looks kind of like a plastic chair with a pad on it and metal bars at the bottom.

That's all I know. My in-laws' description of how the car seat worked (rear-facing or forward-facing? how long did you use it and did you replace it with a bigger carseat when it was outgrown?) is really spotty. They don't really remember. They said that the car seat "doubled as an infant chair" -- but it didn't have a carry handle, so it was definitely different from a bucket seat.

I have seen "timelines" of car seats that show various pictures of what they looked like and give an overview of what the usage rates or laws were like. But I'd like to know (perhaps from someone who had kids in the 1980s and does remember?) what the average, well-informed parent would have done at that time.

Were car seats rear-facing or forward-facing? How old did kids ride in car seats? What age did they start using boosters (if at all)? What was "typical" practice for a well-informed parent?
 
ADS

CMeMeC

New member
My mother in law had two kids at that time and has the "we all survived just fine" mentality. She was in a roll over accident with her daughter on her lap, both wearing the same seat belt, and since she's ok, everyone will be ok. My kids rarely ride with her because she just doesn't care what I say. Anyway, my mom used a little seat for us that had a steering wheel on the front, it otherwise sounds similar to what you described. It was more of a place to put us while driving rather than a safety device. I was born in 84 and never recall being in any type of seat. In fact, I remember sitting on my grandmother's lap and "driving" and once when we went on a trip, my parents removed the seats in the van so we could lay down and sleep on the way. Scary!
 

cowgirlsmommy

New member
I've seen old pictures of me in a seat. Metal bars on bottom and not much on top. My parents said they weren't enforced and as soon as I started crying they would take me out and my mom would hold me in the front seat instead. It was basically a convertible seat and I was in it for a short time before going straight to seat belt meaning I was just roaming free in the backseat.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
In 1977, my mom's pediatrician told her that my sister was better off in the stroller bassinet for the first few weeks on the floor of their car. She'd just roll in an accident. Then she went into a rearfacing convertible for a few months and was likely forward facing soon after.

In 1979, when I was born, I was in a rearfacing convertible from birth. Then a ffing seat before a year.

In 1983, my brother started in a rearfacing convertible as well and then into a ffing seat that reclined.

The seats they had were plastic with a big metal base. There were bars that came down but they also had 4 or 5 point harnesses.

When my sister and I grew out of the 5 point seats, we were put in backless turbo booster like seats with a harness that attached to the seatbelt and a tether anchor. All of our convertible seats also had tether anchors. We were in those boosters until 5 or 6 then sat in the lap belt positions without anything. Shield boosters were very popular back then as well.
 

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
My sister was born in '84 and had a carseat from birth. In those days, the health unit rented out RF only bucket-like seats. (No handles, no bases, but still used for carrying baby in and out of the car. They were the GM Infant Loveseats.) She eventually graduated to my old FF-only carseat and used that to maybe around 2yo? She would have been in the bucket less than a year; maybe 6mo? There were no boosters after that.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
Your seats had tether anchors in the 80s??????

The seats I had for my boys between 1995 and 1999 did not have tether anchors.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
Your seats had tether anchors in the 80s??????

The seats I had for my boys between 1995 and 1999 did not have tether anchors.

Yep- they even came with tether anchor hardware to install in the car. My parents had strolli seats.
 

tjham

New member
I have children born in 77, 79 and 84. In the 70's, I had one friend who used car seats and I copied her. Obviously, from the pictures, I didn't always do it right. :eek: No one else used them until some time in the 80's but it was still unusual. I was totally made fun of. :p

I had a RF bucket type for the first six months, but after that, the seats were FF. :eek: After maybe 3, they were just in lap belts.

When I started having grandkids in 2001, I joined this group and got educated really fast!
 

Attachments

  • image0-2.jpg
    image0-2.jpg
    172.7 KB · Views: 79
  • image0-11.jpg
    image0-11.jpg
    103.9 KB · Views: 76
  • image01.jpg
    image01.jpg
    73.2 KB · Views: 79
Last edited:

aept

New member
I love your photos tjham! Cute kiddos. Way to go against the grain.
My little sister (born in 81) had one of those brown ones just like your daughter is pictured in. I remember trying to get comfy sleeping (laying on the car seat, not sitting up) against the metal bars at the bottom. Um, not comfy, obviously. My kids have it made in their modern, comfortable seats ;)

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
I was born in 83. I rear-faced to the limits of the seat (22 lbs.- I was 6 or 8 months old) and it was crash tested (not all of them were back then...) Then I was in a FF harness until 40 lbs., then a shield booster until 60. Then the lap belt only (we didn't have shoulder belts in the back.) My mom was a nurse and was big on car seat safety.
 

sarahlove

New member
My older brother was born in '83 and had a carseat. My mom doesn't remember much about it only that she was one of the few moms to use a carseat then. She took him to Florida and her aunt told her she had to have a carseat because they just passed the carseat law and they were surprised she had a carseat for him from birth(before the law had passed.)
 

thekatie

New member
I was born in '84. I know that I was in a carseat until at least 3. I don't have any pictures of my first seat, but there is a picture of my mom carrying me to meet coworkers in what *looks* like a modern bucket with carrying handle - she said it wasn't a carseat at all though, and my newborn carseat stayed in the car, she would switch me to the carrier to go into stores and such. I was in a hideous brown vinyl carseat after that.

Mostly I would say after I graduated to "just" seatbelts I sat in the back seat until at least 14-15, but I do remember sitting in the front seat twice before age 6 (when we moved from country to city). I was never, ever allowed to not wear a seatbelt, not even on long car trips. I'm thankful for that. DH's family had a "we've left the city so unbuckle and lay down" policy on trips. We argue about this somewhat frequently.
 

heather13619

New member
I was born in 86, and I came home in an infant seat, was in a FFing seat before a year and boostered before 3. All of my mom's kids were born within 2 years of each other so I can guarantee before kindergarten I wasn't riding in anything as one seat just got passed to the next, lol!
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
Tether anchors have been mandatory in Canada since the early 80s. My brother & I, born in '79 & '81, each had our own Strollee convertible seat that rear-faced to 17lbs, forward-faced to 40lbs, with a top tether. It was up to a mechanic to drill a hole for the tether anchor. Then we went in regular seatbelts. I knew kids who had boosters, but my mom's station wagon only had lap belts so we couldn't use boosters. We sat in the back until around age 14.

As a side note, up until around 2000, car seats came with a tether anchor included in the box, and instructions for choosing an appropriate location to drill a hole in your car.

ETA: Here I am. Yeah, I know, the straps are in different slots, I have no idea why.

1174676_498254473595136_1398344907_n.jpg
 
Last edited:

classicseats

Active member
Go to my post here in car seat chat vintage car seat collection and click on the link. You will see lots of car seats from that era. Lots of metal bars and vinyl padding!
 

ahgirls

New member
I was born in 83. I rear-faced to the limits of the seat (22 lbs.- I was 6 or 8 months old) and it was crash tested (not all of them were back then...) Then I was in a FF harness until 40 lbs., then a shield booster until 60. Then the lap belt only (we didn't have shoulder belts in the back.) My mom was a nurse and was big on car seat safety.

Do we share the same mom? My younger sister was born in 83. I came home in 80 in a car seat after the discharge nurse gave my mom a hard time. "Your gone to put that tiny baby in a car seat?" My mom's response, "yes and if we crash on our way home that tiny baby won't be through the windshield."
 

alake

New member
I have children born in 77, 79 and 84. In the 70's, I had one friend who used car seats and I copied her. Obviously, from the pictures, I didn't always do it right. :eek: No one else used them until some time in the 80's but it was still unusual. I was totally made fun of. :p

I had a RF bucket type for the first six months, but after that, the seats were FF. :eek: After maybe 3, they were just in lap belts.

When I started having grandkids in 2001, I joined this group and got educated really fast!

I was in the same one that is in the second photo. I am pretty sure my auntie still has it in her basement for dollies. My girls didn't get to go into the toy room there this year.
 

nevaehsmommy

New member
http://www.car-seat.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=22757&stc=1&d=1378277941

This is either me in 1983 or my sister in 1986. I really can tell. ETA mom said the doctor ok'd her to turn the seats forward as soon as we had head control. I know I was in a harness for a bit. At least until my first sister was born in 86 cause I burned my legs on the plastic and I can remember being in my seat soon after she was born looking over and not seeing "the baby" We had left her at church by accident. Mom says she forgot she had had the baby and had laid her down in the church cry room and just forgot.
 

Attachments

  • car seat.jpg
    car seat.jpg
    61 KB · Views: 45

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Seats have been required to be dynamically crash tested since 1981 (didn't help the kids in handmedown seats, of course!), and top tethers were requirements on lots of seats in the 70's, but got to be abandoned as the FMVSS 213 requirement mandated that seats pass testing with only a lapbelt. So there's 'old school' top tethering and the newer variety (started in Canada in 89, and I think was always required in Australia, since the 70's at least).
I know the kids I babysat were in maybe an infant seat for 6 months, an overhead plastic shield seat till maybe 2, and the lucky kids had parents smart enough to put them in a shield booster till maybe 4, the rest were just done with seats when the convertible was outgrown at 2 or 3.

Edit...here's the link to Classicseats' excellent pictorial, I bet the OP's inlaws can find their seat in here... http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=254372
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,656
Messages
2,196,898
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top