What made you a car safety freak?

tchrgrrl

New member
Have you always been super safety aware? Were you in an accident with or before kids and vowed to make everyone as safe as possible? Did you hear about higher expectations for car safety and begin to do your own research? Are you just a fierce Momma (or daddy) bear who researches and considers many aspects of parenting before making a choice?
 
ADS

Shaunam

New member
Well, I tend to thoroughly research every parenting decision, big or small, to the point that people think I'm a nut, but car seat safety is one that, even doing everything "right", I still managed to make mistakes. Like, I read the manual to my car seats over and over and over and STILL managed to make some pretty bad mistakes. So I decided I needed to look into it further. I got on the internet and researched, researched, researched. And then I realized just how complicated it can all be. And now car seats fascinate me. And I hope to be a cpst one day.

I've been a stickler for seat belts ever since we were in a wreck when I was 10. I got pretty beat up (knocked out, broken nose, bruised up, neck and back problems which never resolved), but they said I would have been in much worse shape, maybe even dead, if I hadn't been buckled in. I never argued with my mom about putting on my seatbelt after that.
 

SPJ&E

New member
I was already big on carseat use when my son was born. I knew how to install the seat and buckle him in it correctly...I knew the general rules and that infant seats couldn't be forward-facing (my aunt did this with her granddaughter and I told her that wasn't safe and gave her the convertible seat, Touriva, I had at the time for kids I babysat) and that the baby had to be rear-facing to 1 year and 20 lbs. (and I absolutely would have followed that)

I think I really became a "carseat nut" when I got pregnant with Joshua though. I started looking into fitting 2 carseats in the back of my car and found this board to ask for advice, where I was told about extended rear-facing and given some great tips and advice for installing my seats. Maybe that's why I'm so attached to this board, lol. I, like the previous poster, read the manuals thoroughly over and over and still managed to make a mistake (locking clip on lap belt...bad)...that's the only one I can remember, but still a big one! Once I was given the links to the information, I read everything I could and gained as much knowledge on the subject possible. I am so thankful that I did because now I feel very confident installing my sons' seats and buckling them in correctly. I know what is safest for them and I am doing just that...all because of the people here!

So, needless to say, Pacey, who would have been turned around at 1 year old (he was 22 lbs.), is 2 years old, about 27 lbs., and still rear-facing and will be until he's 33 lbs. and so will his brother. I will always be grateful to those who helped me and gave me the information to keep my babies rear-facing!
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
I grew up with parents who were pretty fanatical about seatbelt usage (with a few gaffes all the same, see the other thread about childhood car safety faux pas). A couple of extended family members did not survive crashes and may still be with us had they buckled up, including an adult cousin earlier this year who was killed when he skidded on icy rural roads in his pickup and crashed into several trees. I keep thinking if only my cousin had gotten the word as a child (he grew up on a farm and could drive tractors, combines, and farm vehicles way before he could legally get his license), or had I been more convincing during seatbelt discussions with him as adults, he would still be alive. :( His passing led me to finally delurk and become a more active participant on message boards such as this one, to learn more myself, and to help spread the word about child passenger safety and general car safety for all.

DH and I were both involved in separate accidents a year or two before starting our family, so we were extra concerned about car safety for our kids. Two more crashes with our oldest DD in the car, and another crash where DH was alone in his car, have only reinforced my car safety obsession.
 

super_grape

Active member
It's my grandmas fault:) , she always insisted that we buckle up and would grill me regularly to make sure that I was belted in in my Mom's car and other cars that I rode in. She actually saved me from injury or worse when I was 2.
She and I were in the car going down the freeway in Houston and got clipped
then spun around thru the traffic until we hit the guard rail. She had me belted in thru the back of my harness (it zipped up the back) so I pretty much stayed put. I remember sitting in the car afterward while she talked with the police. My poor Mom was coming home from work and came right up on us...scared her to death!

I always tried to make sure any little ones I babysat were in a car seat but I
quite often did things REALLY wrong like FF an infant seat because it was the only seat I could find for an 18 month old or putting a kid in a super old car seat, kids sharing belts, etc.

I didn't start educating myself until I started Nannying and needed to transport the kids in my own car. I was terrified of having someone elses
kids in my car on a regular basis and I was new to Ottawa so I didn't feel completely comfortable driving all over and wanted to make sure they were as safe as they could be.
I researched online, found the ivillage board and the rest is history.....
 

Alicia-N-2SafeBugs

Senior Community Member
I'm not sure exactly....I think it may have been the fact that I made some HUGE mistakes with my first and when I learned how devastating the results could have been had we been in a crash, I kind of delved into it and vowed to do everything in my power to keep my kids safe.

I was one of those parents who you guys would have started a long post about and said "what an IDIOT!" Do you really want to know what I did? I'm not telling! I'm too embarrassed.
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
I was also a carseat nut intuitively. My mom was very conscious of car safety issues when we were little (and then there was my dad, who didn't even make us wear seatbelts). My mom always had my little bros in carseats, according to whatever the recommendations were at the time. And my older bro & I were also in carseats, when they were brand new (I'm 27, he's 29). I owned a Touriva before I had kids of my own because I did alot of babysitting. I remember reading the manual and reading about car seat safety in parenting magazines, and I taught myself how to install it and use it properly, and it really bothered me that the own child's parents didn't make her ride in a car seat or even a seat belt! When my oldest DS was born 5 yrs ago, I made sure he had the best infant seat I could find (a 5 pt Snugride with up front harness adjuster - the 5 pts were rare then, the nurses at the hospital were VERY impressed!) When he outgrew it, I gave it away, and then bought almost the identical seat again for DD to use when she was born 1 1/2 yrs later. When DD was a baby (so 3 yrs ago), my cousin's 4 yr old son was killed in a car accident. He was wearing a regular seatbelt, no booster seat. It was a horrible tragedy for our family. I talk to my kids about Austin all the time, to keep the memories of him alive, and that has made them very aware of what can happen if they don't buckle up properly. It has also fueled my car seat 'nutiness' and prompted me to purchase a BLVD for my oldest DS, who is 5 (did I already say that?). I keep my kids rear facing for as long as possible and will keep my kids harnessed for as long as possible, because of what happened to Austin. I know that these tragedies DO happen in real life, and I will do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't happen to my family. And that is my story!
 

Starlight

Senior Community Member
A friend of mine lost her daughter and 3 other little girls (age 6-8) in a car accident. The car (a volvo station wagon) flipped upside down, and the 4 little girls were ejected from their seatbelts and suffered major head injuries, which ultimately lead to their deaths. The news article commented that if the girls had been in boosters (which the law didn't require) they probably wouldn't have been ejected.

It so happened that my eldest was approaching his 2nd birthday and weighed 36 lbs... so I spent some time on the ivillage board...

Later that year, I heard the full details of my BIL's death... he was older, but if he had his seatbelt on, he would not have been ejected from the car and run over in his accident.

by that point, i was hooked. i still mostly lurk though.
 

CarSeatPoncho

New member
I have always been a risk-averse, what-if-the-worst-happens type of person, even from when I was a child. I remember there used to be some commercials that showed crash-test video when I was a child, and those really had an impact. They were so upsetting.
 

Lilsid

New member
When I was having DD my girlfriend gave me all her maternity clothing, car seat w/ Stroller system, bouncers, jumpers, boppy, bedding, bassinet, and the list goes on. You know all the stuff. Her son was 3 at the time and so I gladly took it all since I did not have to get much then. I took apart the car seat and washed it and tried to put it back together again I hope it was ok. I had no idea what I was doing. She said it was the best infant seat it was an Eddie Bower(SP?) so in her opinion it was the best. It was the one with the round handle that had a bar in the middle of a circle on top for easier carrying. All I know was it was heavy, and clean.

I never installed the seat in the car not even once I figured it was a no brainier. So the night I went in to labor my DH threw it and the base in the back of the car some place along with my bag the baby’s bag, every pillow I owned and we headed off to the Birthing Center.

After Sidney was born and we had been there 4 hours it was time to go home so I sent DH out to install the base and bring in the seat. She fit horribly in the seat it swallowed her up and the midwife was no help. We got home and used the seat a few times but I hated it. I knew there had to be a better seat some place. That’s when I turned into a car seat freak. I learned that the EB seat was recalled, I got the Snugride and learned about Britax. My life has never been the same. I try to learn something new every day to keep my family safe. Thanks to you all who believe in safety.
 

mominabigtruck

New member
I've always been big on carseat use because I was the oldest of 5 and lots of foster kids so I always saw them used and knew how to use them. When my oldest was 3 months old I was run off the road by a county dump truck and hit a telephone pole doing about 60mph. I had just switched him to an evenflo titan rfing and there wasn't a scratch on him. That's really what got me interested, but now seeing everything I do on the road everyday it just makes me mad that people have so little value for their kids life. A couple months ago I saw where a 5yo was run over by a semi when he was ejected from the van he was riding in on the freeway when his mom tried to merge. I was about half a mile back but a friend of mine was behind the truck the ran over him and he got on the radio and told everyone that happened and it was horrible. To me the worst part of it is the trucker will probably get blamed for something that was the mother's fault.
 

Simplysomething

New member
No catostrophic accidents in my past. My grandmother was in a really bad one, but that was before I was born (my mother was all of 4). She went through the windshield. I doubt she was wearing a seatbelt, or if the car actually had one. She, of course, survived.

I've always been aware of car safety. Even when I was a kid and doing things I knew were unsafe, I was aware.

The thing about carseats is that it is a factor that I can control. Now, I can't predict when someone is going to t-bone me at an intersection or when someone is going to be distracted and drift into my lane, or when a drunk is travelling the wrong way on the interstate in my path--but I can do everything I know to make sure we are in the greatest position to survive.

I don't know that I can protect my kids from certain health issues, but I can in the car.

Bah. I make no sense.

K.
 

hsjwmom

New member
You make perfect sense. I feel the same way. There is so much that I can't control. This is one thing where I can keep my kids as safe as possible.
 

LuvBug

New member
Have you always been super safety aware? yup, pretty much
Were you in an accident with or before kids and vowed to make everyone as safe as possible? before the kid, and sorta, but I was big on safety before that as well.
Are you just a fierce Momma (or daddy) bear who researches and considers many aspects of parenting before making a choice? YES! I research everything out the wazoo! Im extremely over protective and want what is the best(safest) for him at any cost(not just financially).

My mom was pretty good with carseats and although we may not have been secured with the most appropriate technology, it was always used correctly for what it was(shield booster, lap belt, ect). I always wore my seatbelt and when I got my own car I demanded everyone to wear their seatbelt or they couldnt ride. period. I had to stop the car a few times and wait for the person to realize I was serious.
My cousin lost both her parents in car accidents, about 7 years apart. Her mother was driving early in the morning on little to no sleep because they were moving. She was a smoker so no matter what her car windows were always down. She flipped her car in a ditch and was partly thrown and killed. If she had been wearing her seatbelt she would not have died like that and most likely only had a broken arm. Year later my uncle was hit head on by a truck on the interstate and killed immediately. He wasnt wearing his belt, but even if he was I doubt it would have made a difference, it was a bad crash. Shockingly my cousin who was orphaned by this is not big on car safety. She wears her seatbelt, but drives like a maniac and relies on me to let her know when her DD needs something in the car, she doesnt follow my direction though.
I have been in 2 accidents, I was the driver. They were both before I got pregnant with DS, so that only confirmed my freakness of car safety. I went to the techs while I was still pregnant and talked with them, then a few weeks before he was due went back and had his snugride(20/26) installed. When he outgrew his snugride he went into a designer 22 and was in it until he no longer had 1" above his head. I did make a few mistakes(aftermarket headrest, plush outfits), but overall he was in a proper seat. When he started to get close on the 1" rule is when I found this site and started researching the best seat for us. Then I got hooked, and well you all know what happens when you get hooked :cool:
 

flipper68

Senior Community Member
I followed a path similar to SuperGrape's path to "freakishness."

I've always loved and been interested in babies and toddlers (I distinctly remember sitting in a grocery cart and checking out all the people littler than me. There were also two neighbor moms who so WEREN'T safety freaks that they let me "play mommy" with their REAL LIVE babies when I was 4-6. Sadly one of those "little boys" died of cancer recently and left a young son behind :( ).

I knew some carseat basics, but really got hooked when I worked for a birth to 3 program. My "students" rode a van to my classroom [11 kids, coming 2-3 days a week for 4 hours - all with significant delays/medical needs]. Someone from the transportation company came out to check the seats one day and it was a HUGE eye opener. NONE of the seats were even close to being installed correctly. The driver and aide were both senior citizens and the seats had to come off the van when the kids arrived and reinstalled to go home (lots of opportunity for misuse). I got in the habit of checking and tightening the seats each day. From there I started doing more reading of the manuals in the store and some research. . .and trying to help parents make better choices for their little people with unusual circumstances (not sitting independently, really poor head control, low weight, etc.).

When I moved from MA to NE, my SIL told me about the TECH class that was being held locally. I talked to my principal and he paid for the registration and 2 days of subs (the other 2 days were "personal days" for me). SIL also told me about the special needs tech class and my principal did the same arrangement for it.

The rest is history. . .teching at monthly check up events. Scouting out the car seat aisles, observing the seats in parked and moving vehicles. . .hanging out here. . .
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I grew up in my parents' P&O patient care facility ~ my first & closest friends were kids who suffered permanent disabling injuries (to the body + the brain) from vehicle crashes.... This was why my parents actually did use carseats & boosters before there was a law for them, but we still weren't aware of the intricacies of CPSafety ~ we did what the Pediatricians suggested (unfortunately the Peds are too often uneducated even on their own AAP policy statements!) :(

When I started learning more here, my father was extremely supportive & became inspired to research more about it from a prosthetics & orthotics perspective ~ we've both been depressingly, frustratingly shocked at how little concern the rest of our family has for CPSafety in light of all this :eek: But, Grandpa is cool: he leaves my card on every windshield with a carseat :D
 

Michi

Member
Well.....two traumatic experiences.....

1. When I was 8 yrs old I was in an accident....
I was in the front seat - no seatbelt- and my mom hit a parked car.
We were only going less than 15 mph, but it was enough to send me flying into the windshield and knock me unconscious.
I ended up biting completely through my lower lip, but other than that - I was okay.

2. I fell out of a moving vehicle when I was a kid and lived to tell about it!:eek:
I think I was only about 6 and my grandma was driving. In her car you had to push down on the door handles to open the door. I was leaning on the door (and the handle) and the next thing I knew I was skidding on gravel next to the car!!!

Also, The hospital where I had my first child had a 3 hour class on car seat safety. I was hooked after that!
 

adamsmommy

New member
Actually, this website! Coming and researching seats. If Adam wasn't so big already, I would have put him back rf. Next child will be rf much longer thanks to all you ladies!!:)
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
(((((glad you're still with us!)))))

I think our hospital just started a CPSafety class for pregnant parents, too ~ the newspaper article was vague, but I know they supply the WHALE: We Have A Little Emergency.... Have been meaning to look into it more, but it's amongst various other things that have been pushed back till 2007 :eek:
 

Michi

Member
(((((glad you're still with us!)))))

I think our hospital just started a CPSafety class for pregnant parents, too ~ the newspaper article was vague, but I know they supply the WHALE: We Have A Little Emergency.... Have been meaning to look into it more, but it's amongst various other things that have been pushed back till 2007 :eek:

Thanks!
It's funny because my class was back in 1997 and I thought my little DD was SO safe in her 3 pt harness! :rolleyes:
But...I did learn to always put the handle down, position the chest clip correctly, make the harness nice and snug, and and never buy a OHS !
 

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