How do I approach my babysitter about carseat safety?

Momto3Divaz

New member
:love: My youngest 2 daughters just started a new daycare which is actually ran by my former co-worker who decided she would rather stay home with her kids and babysit as a source of income. I adore my babysitter the girls are comfortable with her and thats the biggest plus. She has a Windstar and only needs to have the girls in the car for a 1/2 trip to pick up her kids 11 &8 from school. I went and bought a Costco Tourvia (i think thats the name) for my 4yr 33# DD to use as a backup until I have the funds to buy a different back up for her (I just purchase 4 Britaxs :eek:) and a Scenera for my 9mo old DD as a backup. My fiance's hours vary and last week he was the 1 to drop and pick them up. We still have the Scenera in the box becuase up until Friday DD3 was riding in her Snugride and we would just leave that for the babysitter. My fiance told the babysitter on Friday we would be bringing the carseats during the week, when she mentioned not to bring DD2 carseat becuase she could just use her youngest daughters old highback booster becuase they had just bought her a backless booster!!! Her daughter's b-day is 2 weeks before my DD but shes very petite!!! My DD2 is not a big girl herself shes pretty solid but next to our babysitters DD she looks much bigger! Now like I said I really adore her but knowing her this could really be a debate, I dont want to approach her as if she is wrong. My fiance did not leave the carseat for DD2 (he failed to mentioned this to me before). I told him I would pick them up today and I plan on leaving the carseats there sooo how should I bring it up?
 
ADS

TerisBoys

Well-known member
I'd just tell her that you prefer your children harnessed in the seats you will be providing for them.
 

BabyKaykes

New member
I'd tell her you've done a lot of research and would feel more 'at ease' if your children stayed harnessed and you installed the seats yourself. Don't leave it open for discussion.

Car seats were one of the MAIN reasons I pulled my son from his previous home daycare. She would NOT listen to me.
 

Momto3Divaz

New member
:eek: theres only 1 way Im going with my DD and thats having my DD2 harnessed and DD3 RF in the seats I provide... But I kinda wanted to also approach her about her DD shes really tiny and her being in a backless booster can be so dangerous....she does not have the internet so I cant direct her to this site.... The law here is to have kids atleast in boosters till 65pounds and a certain height (cant think of it) theres no info or billboards on harnessing.... If I were to guess her DD is about 28#
 

jessclear

New member
When you tell her that you are more comfortable with your DD in a harness rather than a booster, use that opening to tell her why. During the discussion, you would explain why your DD is safer in a harness for her size/maturity, and that the next step would be a HBB, and that she won't be ready for a LBB until at least age__? This would allow you to tell her all about car seat safety in a way that seems as though you are only talking about your DD, but she may be open enough to listen and apply the same rules to her own DD. I hope that made sense.

I know it's a tough situation to be in. Good luck.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
You can ask, "Oh, what booster did she get? I love carseats. Did you know they expire? Here, where is the booster, since yours is new there's no worry but that way you'll know the date. Oh look, this seat is rated from 40 pounds (some are 30 pounds). Your DD is 40 pounds? She doesn't look heavier than DD2!"

Wendy
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
I'll be the bad guy here and say that you should focus on what you want done with your kids and not mention her DD. Hopefully she will ask you about it or bring it up herself, when she realizes both of your kids are harnessed and you have DD's so close in age. But, I really would want to keep it simple and to the point, "I've brought the seats that the girls need to use on a daily basis."

Will she always have the seats installed? or do they need to be installed daily? If they need to be installed daily, I'd show up with the car seats and say "I've brought the seats that the girls need to use on a daily basis. I'll install them every morning for you so you can focus on the children."

If she asks why your kids need these seats, you can briefly explain the importance of keeping them harnessed (or if it's the law where you are, tell her the law). Is there a pamphlet you could print out to hand her if she asks why (since she doesn't have the internet)? If this conversation comes up, she surely should be able to infer that her DD should be harnessed. Or she may choose to do what you want for your kids, and do as she pleases with her kids. My SIL would shuffle her kids around to different seats in the van so I could put in my DD's booster in the seat it fit best and never complain about how long it took to get everything in correctly, and not argue when I said I wouldn't transport her kids in my vehicle unless they had boosters....but NEVER worried about her kids safety when they were in seat belts since they were 4 or 5. Her kids were the same age as my DD but lighter and 4" shorter too!
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
You can ask, "Oh, what booster did she get? I love carseats. Did you know they expire? Here, where is the booster, since yours is new there's no worry but that way you'll know the date. Oh look, this seat is rated from 40 pounds (some are 30 pounds). Your DD is 40 pounds? She doesn't look heavier than DD2!"

That sounds like a very nice way to lead in :thumbsup: I would probably use my rules for my own child's safety as an excuse to share printable info (links to such available within my website: link via my screen name here) :whistle:
 

Momto3Divaz

New member
Thank you for the ideas!! I didnt get to pick the kids up yesterday, even though I sat at my desk trying to come up with a perfect little speech.... Although I do have it down I am not going to mention her DD instead Im only going to speak about my DD and why she needs to be harnessed as you all suggested and hope that she asked me for more info.... Ive taken those steps before with a very good friend of mine AND my other co-worker I couldnt get across with them, I just pray everytime they get in the car they make it to their locations safely. I wish even more that these posterboards had more info to them and there were commercials out there stressing the fact of harness safety, right now everything seems word of mouth and thats sad. One Day :)
 

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