I had to run to BRU to get Table Toppers this weekend and had the girls with me. Kaylie asked to visit the car seats and play with the sit and stand, so being the nice mommy I am, I obliged .
We're in the car seat section and Kaylie wants to take a look at the AF Marathon since we just ordered the cover for Tea. Kaylie notices right away that the fabric near the harness adjuster is different and she's standing in the cart playing with it, all the while telling Teagan how it's different. Yes, she has a problem .
Anyway, there's this really nice couple in there with a 5 month old in a Graco Snugride. The mom looks like she's ready to cry. They're literally just standing there in the car seat section looking completely lost. The mom walks up to me and says she's so sorry to bother me, but did I happen to know anything about car seats? Well, hello my new friend! I told her yes, that I wasn't a tech, but that I was pretty informed. Kaylie rolls her eyes and says "my mom knows EVERYTHING about car seats. She's played with every one in the store. She makes us come here all the time". That's not exactly true. I rarely take the girls to BRU with me.
Anyway, they were looking for another car seat for dad's car. The baby was a good size for a 5 month old, but not huge and had plenty of room in the Snugride. The salesman told them that they needed to buy a new carseat TODAY because the baby had outgrown the seat she was in because her legs were too long. He actually told them that if someone rear ended them, the baby's legs would break. Scared that crap out of these poor people. This baby had a good 2" between the top of her head and the seat shell. I told her that wasn't true, etc., not to worry, that her daughter had NOT outgrown the seat. So then dad starts asking a million questions. Tells me money is no object, what do my girls ride in, etc. Mom says that money is sort of a concern and dad says "oh, you didn't blink an eye with the $1200 crib you had to have, but a $300 car seat to keep our daughter safe has a budget?" :thumbsup: dad!
So we started talking, dad actually goes to the customer service desk and gets a pen and a paper and starts writing things down. These people were seriously interested! They decided to go with a MA for the baby in mom's car once the baby is closer to outgrowing the Snugride and I told him to get a Scenera for his car since the baby's only in his car maybe once a month. I told them to buy the MA online and gave them a few web addresses (including this one in case he had more questions) - and he wrote them all down. He asked if she would be safer in a MA than the Scenera and I said that both seats are safe. He said "OK, because if the Scenera isn't as safe, I'll eat P&B sandwiches for a month and buy another MA". Aww, I was loving this dad!
Towards the end of the conversation, I mentioned that the baby needed to restrained properly. The chest clip was sitting directly above the buckle and the straps were so loose they were hanging around the baby's upper arms. She asked me to show her, so I fixed them and then both mom and dad practiced. This baby did make one peep the entire time. These people didn't know how to adjust the harness. I strongly suggested they read the manual .
So then he asked me what I meant when I said I wasn't a tech. They had no idea that there was such a thing as a CPST. They also had no idea that they could go somewhere to have their seat checked. Then the dad asks me where I can find someone to check the seat because theirs slides all over . I asked about their car, told them they needed a locking clip and how to use it.
It just amazes me that such nice people who obviously care about keeping their child safe were so completely clueless. I hope they listen, but I'm pretty confident they will. I mean, they thanked me a million times and the dad wrote down everything.
We're in the car seat section and Kaylie wants to take a look at the AF Marathon since we just ordered the cover for Tea. Kaylie notices right away that the fabric near the harness adjuster is different and she's standing in the cart playing with it, all the while telling Teagan how it's different. Yes, she has a problem .
Anyway, there's this really nice couple in there with a 5 month old in a Graco Snugride. The mom looks like she's ready to cry. They're literally just standing there in the car seat section looking completely lost. The mom walks up to me and says she's so sorry to bother me, but did I happen to know anything about car seats? Well, hello my new friend! I told her yes, that I wasn't a tech, but that I was pretty informed. Kaylie rolls her eyes and says "my mom knows EVERYTHING about car seats. She's played with every one in the store. She makes us come here all the time". That's not exactly true. I rarely take the girls to BRU with me.
Anyway, they were looking for another car seat for dad's car. The baby was a good size for a 5 month old, but not huge and had plenty of room in the Snugride. The salesman told them that they needed to buy a new carseat TODAY because the baby had outgrown the seat she was in because her legs were too long. He actually told them that if someone rear ended them, the baby's legs would break. Scared that crap out of these poor people. This baby had a good 2" between the top of her head and the seat shell. I told her that wasn't true, etc., not to worry, that her daughter had NOT outgrown the seat. So then dad starts asking a million questions. Tells me money is no object, what do my girls ride in, etc. Mom says that money is sort of a concern and dad says "oh, you didn't blink an eye with the $1200 crib you had to have, but a $300 car seat to keep our daughter safe has a budget?" :thumbsup: dad!
So we started talking, dad actually goes to the customer service desk and gets a pen and a paper and starts writing things down. These people were seriously interested! They decided to go with a MA for the baby in mom's car once the baby is closer to outgrowing the Snugride and I told him to get a Scenera for his car since the baby's only in his car maybe once a month. I told them to buy the MA online and gave them a few web addresses (including this one in case he had more questions) - and he wrote them all down. He asked if she would be safer in a MA than the Scenera and I said that both seats are safe. He said "OK, because if the Scenera isn't as safe, I'll eat P&B sandwiches for a month and buy another MA". Aww, I was loving this dad!
Towards the end of the conversation, I mentioned that the baby needed to restrained properly. The chest clip was sitting directly above the buckle and the straps were so loose they were hanging around the baby's upper arms. She asked me to show her, so I fixed them and then both mom and dad practiced. This baby did make one peep the entire time. These people didn't know how to adjust the harness. I strongly suggested they read the manual .
So then he asked me what I meant when I said I wasn't a tech. They had no idea that there was such a thing as a CPST. They also had no idea that they could go somewhere to have their seat checked. Then the dad asks me where I can find someone to check the seat because theirs slides all over . I asked about their car, told them they needed a locking clip and how to use it.
It just amazes me that such nice people who obviously care about keeping their child safe were so completely clueless. I hope they listen, but I'm pretty confident they will. I mean, they thanked me a million times and the dad wrote down everything.
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