What would you do in this situation? - car seat etiquette

amynicole21 wrote: There is a little boy in Sophia's daycare who was born 1 minute before her. All of the DCP, the boy's Mommy and I have always joked that they are boyfriend/girlfriend because they are always with eachother and playing together. I am pretty chatty with his Mom, but I wouldn't call her a friend - I barely know her. I saw her drive up with him this morning, and his carseat was facing forward. He is only 9mo, and I don't think he's even 20lbs yet. Would you say something to her if you were me? I am so non-confrontational usually, but I love this little kid and I don't want anything to happen to him.

jdkjd replied: You could just say that you thought you read that all infants under a year were supposed to be rear-facing. She might not know.

booey2 replied: You could casually bring up the topic by saying how much your dd enjoys riding in the car and you can't wait til you can turn her around so you can see her pretty face as she enjoys the drive. Then get on to the topic of size and weight requirements for turning her around.

MommyToAshley replied: That's tough... I would probabley say something myself. And, I am so non-confrotatoinal too, believe me! Maybe pose it as a question so not to insult her. Or, if you have some literature, maybe give it to her and tell her you found this information useful and thought you would share it with her???

Julie (jem0622) replied: If you are not a person who wants confrontation, then hand her a pamphlet from a local fire station or safety seat check and tell her that you plan to go to ensure that your seats are properly installed and invite her to come along. You are placing no blame and you are allowing someone else to educate her. A toughy. I would be seething, but mother's can be defensive.

Julie

Kaitlin'smom replied: A tough one. I would probably aproach it like this with kinda suprise that he gets to face foward already, and you cant waite until your daughter is the right height and weight to face her foward so you can see her smiling face and see what she says if she does not get it then as his stats and then if they are under the guide lines express your concerns. Let u sknow what you did and how it went!

Lots of luck!

jdkjd replied:
I think that's perfect. Because then, you can pretend that you don't know how she has her carseat and it cannot be seen as judgmental.

Mommieto2Girls replied: Well they all gave you good advice, I espically like the idea about the invite to go have the carseats checked out by a local fire station. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I'm going through a simmilar situation! My sister's friend had a baby a month after I did! Her baby weighs about 18lbs but is very long! They asked there doctor if they could put her in a regular carseat and the doctor said yes! I just feel so awful! They also have her on 2% milk and eating all kinds of things that my first 2 didn't get until they were about 2 years old! Why are people is such a rush to make these babies grow up?

Sorry I kinda rambled there! I don't know what I would do in that situation! I know in my case they won't listen, they'll just get all PISSED OFF !

Sorry!

supermom replied: Yes, that is a tough one - but I do like the approach Booey2 used - non-judgemental and also informative. It's hard not to get upset, I don't know if I would be MAD, but certainly concerned that this parent maybe doesn't know not to turn their little one around yet!

MommyToAshley replied:
I think that is a great idea.

mckayleesmom replied: Isn't it illegal to face them forward in some states??,,,If it is in your state,,just lie and tell her that you heard it on the news that they were really going to start cracking down on child seats being faced the wrong way and you just wanted to give her the heads up so she doesn't get a ticket.

victoire2002 replied: Yeah, the suprised reaction of "Wow, can we start facing them forward now? I thought they were supposed to be one year old!" might inform your acquaintance that what she is doing is potentially harmful. That's the most diplomatic approach. You'd be surprised that some folks are just not as informed as you are out there. I have encountered the same with several of my friends who are very well educated-- Phd's even!!

HTH,

Vicki

Hillbilly Housewife replied: THE GUIDELINES HERE SAY:

DO NOT FACE YOUR CHILD FORWARD UNTIL EITHER A: THE CHILD IS SIX MONTHS OLD, OR B: THE CHILD WEIGHS 20 POUNDS.

Sorry for the caps!!!

Zach is 9 months old, and he's been front facing for about 2 1/2 months now. It also depends on the car seat. Zach hasn't been able to FIT in his infant carrier since about 7 weeks old, and the new seat we'd bought him was from infant to 40 pounds. It was rear facing, but it's ok now to face it frontwards.

Check with the laws, and definitely check with the seat company. Bring it up very VERY casually....because if she's anything like me, I flip out on my mom when she tells me I'm doing something wrong.