today i was just amazed at how thoughtless some parents can be..


at work we tend to get the brunt of pregnant service members...not such a big deal ya know. i also get to supervise a number of them. well we got this new one, at first i didnt think she was going to be like some of the other girls since it will be her second child.


but how wrong i was...


her little girls car seat was so sadly installed that had a crash happened she would likely have killed her baby.


i am not an expert in any means other than i have two in carseats. even i take the time to swing by the fire department to make sure my seats are proper....


dont people know about this? even alot of car dealerships will do this...daycare centers so many places not to take advantage of...


i offered to reinstall them for her until she could go to a firehouse...she didnt even realize what the LATCH system was nor the seatbelt safety feature specific for car seats...


i doubt she will take the time and effort to go, but i know her little girl is much safer now....


is it me that is anal about things like that?

 

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My wife took our car to one of the things they run here specifically to help people make sure the carseat is in properly. Convinced our friend to go too. She needed help because her husband had done it (wrong) in a hurry. =/

Ours just wasn't tight enough, but it was worth the half hour to be sure. (Go figure, my wife read the instructions carefully and put it in properly in the first place.)

 

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Hospitals, fire departments, police departments....any of them will help you install a car seat properly. Some hospitals will check them for you when you leave with the new baby.

And no, you are not being anal about something like this. I've heard so many stories from other EMTs.

 

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When we had my son the hospital wouldn't let us leave without him being in a carseat. (They didn't check the car, just that we had him strapped into the removable thing.)

They didn't have a good answer when I said we were just going to take the bus 15 blocks or so to get home. Apparently you have to have a carseat to be allowed to have a baby here. =/

(We actually used the car but that's not the point.)

 

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Same here, baby has to leave hospital in a carseat. Removable thingy, whatever.

I take out and put in our carseats multiple times every week and have it down to a science. They don't budge an inch when I'm done with them (both forward-facing) though missing one back anchor on the car for some reason. Someday I'll get around to installing that, though the kids will likely be out of the damn seats by the time I get around to it!

I think that the rules about having the seats are great, but at the same time... It's going to be hell for me to have no options for seating more than 4 in my car till the eldest is probably 7-8 years old. I have small kids, and it'll take forever for them to weigh enough to get out of the bloody things. Another long 4 years to go.

I wish I could afford the really skinny carseats. Or anything Euro, they tend to make things compact over there. Freaking north american carseats look like la-z-boys next to those.

 

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This is from one of our local hospitals.


Car Seat Safety

Rex Women's Center offers parents peace of mind in knowing their children are properly buckled up by hosting free child passenger safety classes. These classes are taught by a certified child passenger safety technician.

No appointment is necessary. You may call (919) 784-1802 to make sure the technician is on duty. Parents are encouraged to follow car seat directions and install prior to inspection. The technician will assist you in making any corrections.


http://www.rexhealth.com/Services_and_Wellness/Index_of_Services/Birth_Center/car_seat.asp

 

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I was surprised at how many people didn't know that the fire department will help you install it properly. I was telling my boss and other coworkers that I planed on doing that soon and they had not idea. I heard about that forever ago. Seems like it's on TV/news all the time.

I haven't had any experience yet with car seats but sometimes i can look into a car and just tell it's not right. That or small kids in no kind of seat at all!! Or more kids than seat belts. It does grind my gears.

 

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People just don't care, unfortunately If it takes effort, forget it.


I was watching Dr. Phil yesterday, and he was interviewing the woman who just had the litter of babies. Three of them are ready to come home, but the hospital won't release them to her. Why? She has done nothing to prepare for their homecoming. The house will not accommodate 14 kids. She doesn't have car seats for them, no cribs, no clothes, no diapers, nothing!!


And her attitude was "whatever" I just need to round up as many people as I can to raise these babies. I won't have the hospital nurses to help.


There's a good example of how people act.

 

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I don't even want to get started with her.

 

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No kidding