Mom to a few
New member
I was going to just ditto Defrost, but this thread got me thinking...trying to figure out where my obsession started. I think now I know.
When I was a kid (maybe 7 or 8 yrs), a girl that I knew at our church was killed in a car accident. We weren't "best friends" or anything, but I'd always looked up to her for whatever reason. She was riding to school with her older brother who was driving (she was sitting in the front passenger seat). He had a couple of scrapes, and she was dead. I remember being so incredibly devastated at the time. I made my mom take me to the funeral (which she REALLY didn't want to attend), and I just kept crying and praying asking God why she was dead. How could something like that happen to such an innocent kid?? I guess that early experience really got my attention as far as understanding that cars can be deadly--even for children. I think before that, I kind of felt like kids were invincible. After her death, I was more aware of the potential dangers to myself and other kids. My younger sister even remembers me tightening her harness straps when she was a toddler, and tightening her lapbelt when she was out of a harnessed seat.
I was always concerned about carseat issues when I had my first child, trying so hard to make sure I was doing everything right, BUT I WAS MAKING MISTAKES!! I actually found this site several years ago because I was researching one of my favorite "safety" devices on epinions.com--The dreaded Mighty Tite. I thought I had been making my child (and others I'd recommended it to
) safer...that I was doing it so much safer than everyone else. And when LATCH came along, I thought that using LATCH and seatbelt must be safer than one alone, etc. Anyway, on one of the reviews for the MT, someone who claimed to be a cpst gave all sorts of reasons why it wasn't safe after all. I was SHOCKED!! She gave a link to this site, and I was hooked!! I lurked for a few years before I ever joined.
People had been asking my advice, and getting me to help them install their seats for years, so I decided to become a tech, and finally got the opportunity to take the course years later. Most people are using their seats incorrectly, but often its because they really don't know or understand the reasons. And most people really do love their children, and want them to be safe...its just a matter of getting the information out in a way that they can receive it. Finding this website was absolutely amazing. It definitely fueled the insanity for me. I just want to help save other families from the pain and trauma of a dead or severely injured child if at all possible. Working as a CPST was a way that I felt that I could make a real difference in people's lives, so that's why I'm obsessed...or um...passionate
So make sure you keep posting on epinions, yahoo answers, ovusoft, and other parenting sites--You never know who'll be touched by your message!
When I was a kid (maybe 7 or 8 yrs), a girl that I knew at our church was killed in a car accident. We weren't "best friends" or anything, but I'd always looked up to her for whatever reason. She was riding to school with her older brother who was driving (she was sitting in the front passenger seat). He had a couple of scrapes, and she was dead. I remember being so incredibly devastated at the time. I made my mom take me to the funeral (which she REALLY didn't want to attend), and I just kept crying and praying asking God why she was dead. How could something like that happen to such an innocent kid?? I guess that early experience really got my attention as far as understanding that cars can be deadly--even for children. I think before that, I kind of felt like kids were invincible. After her death, I was more aware of the potential dangers to myself and other kids. My younger sister even remembers me tightening her harness straps when she was a toddler, and tightening her lapbelt when she was out of a harnessed seat.
I was always concerned about carseat issues when I had my first child, trying so hard to make sure I was doing everything right, BUT I WAS MAKING MISTAKES!! I actually found this site several years ago because I was researching one of my favorite "safety" devices on epinions.com--The dreaded Mighty Tite. I thought I had been making my child (and others I'd recommended it to
) safer...that I was doing it so much safer than everyone else. And when LATCH came along, I thought that using LATCH and seatbelt must be safer than one alone, etc. Anyway, on one of the reviews for the MT, someone who claimed to be a cpst gave all sorts of reasons why it wasn't safe after all. I was SHOCKED!! She gave a link to this site, and I was hooked!! I lurked for a few years before I ever joined.People had been asking my advice, and getting me to help them install their seats for years, so I decided to become a tech, and finally got the opportunity to take the course years later. Most people are using their seats incorrectly, but often its because they really don't know or understand the reasons. And most people really do love their children, and want them to be safe...its just a matter of getting the information out in a way that they can receive it. Finding this website was absolutely amazing. It definitely fueled the insanity for me
. I just want to help save other families from the pain and trauma of a dead or severely injured child if at all possible. Working as a CPST was a way that I felt that I could make a real difference in people's lives, so that's why I'm obsessed...or um...passionate So make sure you keep posting on epinions, yahoo answers, ovusoft, and other parenting sites--You never know who'll be touched by your message!
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