Letter to Pediatrician

I took my daughter in for a 3 yr check up. Our pediatrician is ok when it comes to being up to date on things I think are important, but she's said things IRT carseats that Ive taken issue with. When my dd turned 1 and was 20lbs, she told me I could turn her front facing now. I responded that RF is safer, and my dd would be staying that way for a while. She replied that I was right, and it's great to keep them RF, but she just wanted to make sure I knew I could turn her when ever I wanted now. Gee, thanks. Good to know that parents who DONT know the safety of ERF would be given the advice to turn them, not the advice to leave them, ugh! Anyway, back to the 3 yr check up...
They gave us a sheet when we left w/ her ht & wt filled in, along w/ recommendations and safety tips printed on it. My jaw dropped when I read this:
Continue to use a carseat until your child is 40lbs, then switch to a booster seat


To a parent who who doesnt do their own research, and takes the pedi's words as law or best (which is lots of parents) that sounds like what you are supposed to do, right? It's not just a recommendation, it's worded as a command. "when they're 40lbs, switch to a booster" UGH! And they're giving this out at the 3 yr check up, w/ no mention of the 4yrs AND 40lbs thing. UGH!

So yeah, I'm writing them. Hopefully if I print it out to mail to the office AND e-mail it to our pedi directly, I will get some response, and be told they will update their misleading paper. *fingers crossed*

My guess is because there are still so many parents using car seats that only harness to 40lbs and/or are the combo seats so they want to make sure that the child is properly using a car seat-even if it is not what we like to see.

I also wonder how out-dated that material is, since there are many EH (extended harnessing) seats on the market.

I would still rather see more about ERF then EH out there though. :twocents:

It wasn't until very recently that any seat was available with a harness over 40 pounds, and only in the last few years that they were widely available at prices most people would consider reasonable.

It's not 'evil' advice. If you do have a combination seat that the harness ends at 40 pounds, you do need to switch it to booster mode.

There is nothing wrong with that, it is perfectly correct. The overwhelming majority of children are in seats that only harness to 40 pounds, and therefore they need to be moved to a booster at or before 40 pounds or to another harness.

Also, most 4 year olds fit well in most boosters on the market and can be taught to properly use them. A properly used booster for a 3.5+ 38+ pound child IS a safe choice. It might not be the safest (but again, it might, we don't know), but it's not in any way dangerous in most circumstances.

I agree that the information isn't necessarily wrong, but it would be nice if they offered more and better information.

If you'd like to write a letter, don't make it confrontational. Just remind them about the recommendations to RF as long as possible, and suggest that they update their handouts to include information on high-weight seats.

Splash, where do you meet 3.5 year olds who can be taught to sit still in a booster full-time? I've never met any around here.

You all dont think it's bad advice to tell parents of newly 3 yo's they should put them in boosters when they hit 40lbs, w/ no mention of also being 4yo? OBVIOUSLY I know the laws, and that many seats only harness to 40lbs. But wouldnt it be just as simple, and not pushing EH to say:
Children need to be harnessed until at least 4 yo & 40lbs. Then they can legally move to a booster.

LISmama810 said:

I agree that the information isn't necessarily wrong, but it would be nice if they offered more and better information.

If you'd like to write a letter, don't make it confrontational. Just remind them about the recommendations to RF as long as possible, and suggest that they update their handouts to include information on high-weight seats.

Click to expand...

That is my plan, no confrontation, they need to put the info across better, period.

mommaon112903 said:

I would still rather see more about ERF then EH out there though. :twocents:

Click to expand...

Me too, but like I said, I already had that convo w/ her

Is your pediatrician independent (i.e. has her own practice) or part of a bigger group? My ped is part of a large health system - she works at one of probably a dozen offices, and is one of several peds at just that office - and probably has nothing to do with selecting the handouts that are provided. (Incidentally, I picked up a car seat handout last time I was there, and it was copyright 2000. )

I think I'd rather see it the way it is than stating that the child must be 4 and 40. The problem with 4 and 40 will be the parents who leave a child in a seat to 50 pounds because the pedi said they must be 4 and they aren't aware of hwh seats or simply cannot afford one.

My pedi has never mentioned car seats at a check up. At Kaylan's 11 year check up in June, she was asking Kaylan a list of safety questions and asked if she always wears her seatbelt. I cut in that she is still in a highback booster. The pedi looked at my funny and asked if the belt guide was below her shoulder. I told her no, the Monterey will fit her to 5'2". She said that if the belt goes below her shoulder, it could be worse than not being in a booster. Since she doesn't normally talk car seats, I was impressed that she seemed concerned with spinal compression.

like others have said, the intentions of the ped office are good, it's just based on really older standards. the intention is not to take EH'd kids out of EH and into a booster, it's to prevent parents from taking kids out of a non-EH seat and plop them on the back seat. hopefully when you write your letter, the tone will reflect acknowledgment of their true intentions . the current tone is more one of disdain.

besides, how's the ped in terms of medical proficiency? (that's all i ever care about in a ped). if you like your doc, then maybe in the letter, you could include a word or two of appreciation for what you like about them. remember the old adage about flies, vinegar and honey.

oops

southpawboston said:

hopefully when you write your letter, the tone will reflect acknowledgment of their true intentions . the current tone is more one of disdain.

besides, how's the ped in terms of medical proficiency? (that's all i ever care about in a ped). if you like your doc, then maybe in the letter, you could include a word or two of appreciation for what you like about them. remember the old adage about flies, vinegar and honey.

Click to expand...

Sorry if my venting and irritation in the OP is how U thought Id write the letter. To clarify I will not be irritated when writing the letter, the tone will be nothing but informative and helpful, since that will be the point of the letter The point of my OP was like I said, venting