help! huge no-use by not so close friend!

minismom · Apr 16, 2008

i'm trying to be friends w this girl who's close friends w other friends of mine. they're from finland and going back and forth here and there. she came for a playdate today. the husband left. then later her bil comes to get her w his 5yo. the 5yo is in front seat w shoulder belt behind her back. my friend then puts her 2 and a half yo in the back seat w just a belt, also shoulder belt behind belt. wtf??? I don't know what they have in their main car. I'm havimg dinner w them now and don't know if I should say something. help!

mommy2env · Apr 16, 2008

First of all, where have you been? Long time no chat.

I have no idea how you should approach her. How about...

"Did you know I am a tech? I really need practice, would you mind if I install your seat?"

Then, you can ask what kind she has, and take it from there. That would be a great time to give her all the info you have.

I know, my idea is lame. Thats all I could come up with, everything else would sound mean.

kirsty · Apr 17, 2008

my friend does the same with her kids, she puts her 4 1/2 year old in a backless booster in the front with the belt under his arm(hes short and not tall anoth for it). she then puts her very small 3 year old in high back booster in the back and quiet often she dosnt have that seat so she just in the seat belt. this really anoys me as she has 4 car seats. i have told her so many times she just thinks i worry too much, she thinks im stupid to put a 7 year old in a high back booster seat.

aisraeltax · Apr 17, 2008

most of these examples are illegal though, right?

i think there needs to be some standard spill for how unsafe it is, etc. etc. etc. I know I need to work on that but the fact that what these parents are doing is illegal should be compelling reason enough NOT to do it their way. I mean, for some "your kid isnt safe" is just not enough...they need "you could get a ticket for that".....

TerisBoys · Apr 17, 2008

Phil at Toy House wrote an amazing column about booster use/non-use in light of the new MI law going into effect soon. It's located here:

http://www.toyhouseonline.com/forum.html

It talks about booster use, what happens in a crash, and discusses the 5-step test as well.

LCMOM · Apr 17, 2008

Depends on your goal: is it more critical to not offend them, knowing they will likely blow you off anyway (grrrr), or is it more important for you to advocate for the kids' safety? IS this genuine ignorance or is this a real choice for them? I would (and have) approach with something like "I know this is your business as a parent, so tell me if I'm being too nosy; I am a CPS tech and I am really concerned that all parents have the correct info about car seat safety"; if they don't shut you right down then, you may actually be able to get them to at least comply with the laws. Good luck!!!! This is SUCH a frustrating thing to deal with, I know.

minismom · Apr 17, 2008

Yes, it's definitely illegal!! I was totally hoping they'd get pulled over. I mean, the 5 yo in the front seat, c'mon. Any idiot knows it's illegal! And the worst part is that when they got here my friend's BIL mentioned that the 5yo was in a bad mood cause he had a sudden stop and she hit her head. Yeah duh!

I think she knows I'm a tech. When we first met the friend we have in common mentioned it, cause they're from Finland and my friend knows I'm obsessed with scandinavian seats. I even asked if she had "the cool seats that RF to 25kgs" and she didn't seem to know much about RF and shrug it off with something like "I dont think much about this stuff, I just put them there". I didn't realize it was THAT bad though. At the end of dinner last night I wanted to see what they had for her in their car but we were parked in opposite directions so I didnt' get a chance. I ended up not saying anything, they're going back to Finland next week so I figured they wouldn't do anything about it anyway. But man was it hard...

help! huge no-use by not so close friend!

minismom

Well-known member

mommy2env

Active member

kirsty

Member

aisraeltax

New member

TerisBoys

Well-known member

LCMOM

Senior Community Member

minismom

Well-known member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics