It started with a yard sale site. A person was giving away a car seat, but the seat had to have been 10 to 15 years old. Someone quickly commented that they wanted it and thankfully, another mom stepped up and told her that the seat was expired and shouldn't be used.
On came the slew of people who had no idea that car seats expired.
This really shouldn't be shocking, especially not to people in my generation who have only really started having kids in the last 10 years or so. Unfortunately, it appears that expiration dates aren't the only thing confusing some parents these days. Many, like my sister-in-law, don't know or don't care which seat to use for which stage of development. So, I thought I'd post a helpful carseat guide in case there's any grandparents or young parents out there reading this:
Obviously there's some overlap in this image and it's really super general in regards to ages and completely ignores height and weight. When moving your child to the next type of carseat, you should make sure they are of the proper height AND weight to make sure they're safe.
So what does any of this have to do with my nephews? Well, despite numerous attempts at educating her, helpful hints and pleas to family members that she speaks to, she still uses the wrong car seats out of convenience. Yes, putting a 5-point harness on all of your kids can be annoying, but it's necessary to keep them safe.
She moved each of her 3 children out of the rear facing baby bucket seat into a forward-facing car seat before the 1 year mark, sometimes well in advance by 3 or 4 months. Between 2 and 3, she switches them over to a belt-positioning high back booster seat. By 4, or whenever a younger sibling "needs" the high-back booster, they are in a backless booster.
Right about now, at least 1 person is probably saying that boys are bigger, blah blah blah. Her youngest failed to thrive and is extremely small. Her middle child also failed to thrive and is small for his age. Only her oldest did well and even he is about average for a boy. So no, I don't think that her children being male is justification for using the wrong seat.
The reason, or so I understand, is because 1.) It's easier to just connect/unconnect 1 buckle and 2.) Booster seats are narrower and fit better in the car.
Now, you may think that I'm holding her to some type of unsustainable standards or something, but I'm really not. I know, because I'm in the same boat. I have a baby under 1 who is still in an infant seat. I have a 3 year old that is in a forward-facing 5-point seat and I have a 5 year old who is also in a forward-facing 5-point seat. Would my life be easier if the 5 year old were in a belt-positioning booster? You bet. She wouldn't be safer though, so she stays where she is.
So back to my original point, all I can do is hope they're all safe today. The way the laws are written in her state, as long as she uses a carseat, she's fine, but that doesn't make it better.
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