ffpmcps
New member
I had a daughter of a co-worker stop in today with her sister to ask me a seatbelt question. It turned into (thank goodness) a car seat check.
So some background. Co-workers youngest DD (16) who I know pretty well, she is a cadet at our FD, stopped in and said her sister who was outside with the kids and had a question. Now I don't really know the older sister (21ish) very well, only met her a couple of times. I know she has had a troubled past, moved out with an Aunt, and is somewhat straightened up now. She is a young mother, not sure is she is married to or just living with her baby's father, and they are basically broke and have nothing. Pretty much everything she has is hand-me-downs from her dad or aunts.
So I walk out to the car and see little girl, maybe 3, sitting in a LBB with the seatbelt practically up around her neck. This is the seatbelt question they had, how to keep it on her right and off of her neck :doh: Get her out of the LBB! I wanted to scream. On the other side is her DS who looks to be less than a year, and I have never met, but know was a preemie. He is FF in a Graco CS. So I ask her the kids ages and weight. DD just turned 3, 32#, DS 10 mo, 23#. She says they just got the DD the LBB. I ask her what seat she had before, hoping I could just figure out how to get the girl properly in that. From her description it was an old OHS that "didn't seem to work right". :thumbsdown: So much for that plan! She says "But this seat (the LBB) says it is good from 30# on it so I thought it would be OK. UGH!! Why do car seat manufactures do that to us. I explain all the problems to her, fit of the seat, maturity, etc. She says OK and understands, but doesn't have another seat or any $$. We don't have any extra seats at the FD, so I tell her I have one she can use until she can save some $$ for a new one. It is a Cargo with 2 yrs left on it. She thanks me profusly, and I call DH to see if he can bring it to me at work.
So in the meantime I explain to her that her DS really needs to be RF. She says, oh my Ped said at his appt 2 wks ago that it was OK since he is 23# AHHHHHHH!!!! Why, why, why do they do that So I explain to her the legal bare minimum. Then the advantages of RF, etc. She says no problem, so ahead and turn him around So I take the seat out and the latch plate on the seat belt is all goofy with a piece of plastic sticking out of it. I work and work and finally get it untwisted and realize that the light weight locking latch plate is broken. She had a 98(or 99) Dodge Neon. So the latch plate is now functioning as a sliding plate. So I give her the plastic pieces and tell her that she needs to try and get to a dealer and see about getting it fixed ASAP. In the meantime I redo the harness straps lower on the CS, untangle them from the latch strap underneath. She says great, I wondered why I couldn't tighten the harness. Get it all situated and install it using a locking clip. I couldn't install it in the center BTW because the latch plate was missing to the lap belt During all of this I am explain why RF, since ped said it was fine, she was very receptive and said she would leave RF until the limit of the seat. I didn't really believe her, but at least she nows how to install it and he is RF for now :thumbsup:
So then I go over installing the Cargo, get it all set for DD and explain to her limits of that seat. She agreed to some back in if she had any problems or when she thought they needed to be switched. Then again thanked me for the seat and said she would get to the dealer about getting the latch plate fixed.
So thank goodness they stopped in for a "Quick question"!!
Thanks for listening to my story
Andrea
So some background. Co-workers youngest DD (16) who I know pretty well, she is a cadet at our FD, stopped in and said her sister who was outside with the kids and had a question. Now I don't really know the older sister (21ish) very well, only met her a couple of times. I know she has had a troubled past, moved out with an Aunt, and is somewhat straightened up now. She is a young mother, not sure is she is married to or just living with her baby's father, and they are basically broke and have nothing. Pretty much everything she has is hand-me-downs from her dad or aunts.
So I walk out to the car and see little girl, maybe 3, sitting in a LBB with the seatbelt practically up around her neck. This is the seatbelt question they had, how to keep it on her right and off of her neck :doh: Get her out of the LBB! I wanted to scream. On the other side is her DS who looks to be less than a year, and I have never met, but know was a preemie. He is FF in a Graco CS. So I ask her the kids ages and weight. DD just turned 3, 32#, DS 10 mo, 23#. She says they just got the DD the LBB. I ask her what seat she had before, hoping I could just figure out how to get the girl properly in that. From her description it was an old OHS that "didn't seem to work right". :thumbsdown: So much for that plan! She says "But this seat (the LBB) says it is good from 30# on it so I thought it would be OK. UGH!! Why do car seat manufactures do that to us. I explain all the problems to her, fit of the seat, maturity, etc. She says OK and understands, but doesn't have another seat or any $$. We don't have any extra seats at the FD, so I tell her I have one she can use until she can save some $$ for a new one. It is a Cargo with 2 yrs left on it. She thanks me profusly, and I call DH to see if he can bring it to me at work.
So in the meantime I explain to her that her DS really needs to be RF. She says, oh my Ped said at his appt 2 wks ago that it was OK since he is 23# AHHHHHHH!!!! Why, why, why do they do that So I explain to her the legal bare minimum. Then the advantages of RF, etc. She says no problem, so ahead and turn him around So I take the seat out and the latch plate on the seat belt is all goofy with a piece of plastic sticking out of it. I work and work and finally get it untwisted and realize that the light weight locking latch plate is broken. She had a 98(or 99) Dodge Neon. So the latch plate is now functioning as a sliding plate. So I give her the plastic pieces and tell her that she needs to try and get to a dealer and see about getting it fixed ASAP. In the meantime I redo the harness straps lower on the CS, untangle them from the latch strap underneath. She says great, I wondered why I couldn't tighten the harness. Get it all situated and install it using a locking clip. I couldn't install it in the center BTW because the latch plate was missing to the lap belt During all of this I am explain why RF, since ped said it was fine, she was very receptive and said she would leave RF until the limit of the seat. I didn't really believe her, but at least she nows how to install it and he is RF for now :thumbsup:
So then I go over installing the Cargo, get it all set for DD and explain to her limits of that seat. She agreed to some back in if she had any problems or when she thought they needed to be switched. Then again thanked me for the seat and said she would get to the dealer about getting the latch plate fixed.
So thank goodness they stopped in for a "Quick question"!!
Thanks for listening to my story
Andrea