Priorities and common sense

[Reyneth]

OP and others who might ever be in a similar position - if you have definitely established that there is a young child involved and there exists no car seat, please call the police or the local Child Protective Services. Those "parents" are guilty of criminal child endangerment. If nobody can make it before they leave your work (or wherever you may be that you see this), see if you can get info on license plate and the direction they are headed. You may very well be saving that child's life. There is no excuse in this day and age for parents to not be using car seats and they *need* to be held accountable.
Seeing these situations, and hearing about ones where the baby was seriously hurt/incapacitated for the rest of his/her life or killed makes me so mad because it should not have happened in the first place.

[blas]

Oh, they had one when his daughter was an infant.....but when I was seeing him, she was 2 (still little enough to need a carseat). I'm pretty sure you can even get a used toddler carseat somewhere for really cheap...how many people have children and save their old carseats for friends and relatives, ya know?

BTW...it wasn't pride. They were just that stupid and horrible of people.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

"am I the only one thinking and hoping they aren't going to have the baby in the car as they're blasting their newly installed speakers?"

No, I was thinking the exact same thing.

[Banrion]

For the short people out there. http://www.dynamic-living.com/seat-b...p-adjuster.htm

[simplyanother]

Really though, used car-seats aren't that great. You have no way of knowing (usually) if the car-seat has been in an accident, if the straps have been washed, if the seat has been manhandled--etc.

Aside from the various programs that get people free convertible seats, there are inexpensive seats on the market. A 40 dollar seat from Walmart--rear-faces to 35 lbs, foward faces to 40 lbs. Decent seat, is usually on "rollback" for 39, but occasionally goes back up to 48-ish. Still, that's peanuts. Especially compared to what a stereo system/speakers cost.

Or, you know, when you compare the cost of a funeral for a child to the cost of even the cheapest car-seat on the market.

Of course you don't need a car-seat unless you are in an accident, but since we don't know when that will happen, we always use them. If I had the ability to predict when crashes would happen, perhaps I'd provide that service.

Also, it's easy to see when a baby or toddler or young preschooler should be in a seat. Many people don't realize that older children still need seats, so you see a lot of 4, 5 and 6 (7-12) year olds riding improperly in an adult seat belt. Lots of people see belt positioning boosters as a hassel, instead of a safety device.

Bugs the snot out of me. Way more than any jerky customers, kwim?

[Kilamon]

My ex bf claimed he and his ex never had a carseat for their daughter because they "couldn't afford it". Hmmm.....maybe should have thought of that before you went without a condom, hmmm?

I present to you the following: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nfxfh0Kihg

I wonder how many more SCs are around because their parents didn't use protection?

[Barefootgirl]

I wonder how many more SCs are around because their parents didn't use protection?

Many, but lets not fall into the trap of assuming that the children of SCs are inevitably themselves SCs. We don't do hating on kids on this site.

[blas]

None of us had a say in who we were born to.....

It's just sad how parental priorities are........like my ex, he and his trailer trash gf, oh they had all those good speakers and nice vehicles......but no carseat for their child.

You're all right, it's despicable.

[AFpheonix]

I agree, I always wear a seatbelt.... However as someone who's only 5'3" is do understand the uncomfortabel aspect of it. The shoulder strap cuts into my throat

I'm 5'2", but most newer cars do have an adjustment on the upper attachment of the seatbelt, so you can change the angle of where it comes across your shoulder. Anymore, the only problem I have is in the passenger side of the old pickup. For some reason, the driver's side doesn't bother me.

They're wanting to enact a law in this state to restrict kids under the age of 13-ish (don't remember exactly, and too lazy to look it up) from being in the front seat so their heads don't get taken off by the front airbags. I think that's starting to get a little draconian, simply because a lot of kids that age are as tall if not taller than me at this point.
Ah well.

[blas]

I know how you feel, Phoenix.....I'm 5'3 and there are tweens out there taller than me. Hell, there are 10 year old boys taller than me.

Think of it this way, though.....maybe they can invent an adult carseat. Hahahaha. I'd so hop on that one. I'd be better than sitting on a stack of books or pulling the seat so far forward that your breasts nearly honk the horn the entire time you go down the road.

[Sacknahalf05]

I know that at least in this state, you are required to keep your child in a booster seat til the age of 8, or at least a certain height/weight requirement, 80 lbs I think. Also, children under the age of 12 are not permitted to ride in the front seat.

A question I have, perhaps someone can help me with this. What are the general laws concerning children riding in pickup trucks? My ex has a regular cab pickup, and I'd like to know whether he's required to have a booster seat for our 5-year old. I would think he is, but I don't remember seeing one in his truck. And wouldn't that negate the whole "children must ride in backseat" rule?

[Cia]

IIRC the law here in SoDakland is that children 5 and under must be in safety seats and up to a certian height they must be in a booster seat. We also have a seatbelt law.

[simplyanother]

What are the general laws concerning children riding in pickup trucks? My ex has a regular cab pickup, and I'd like to know whether he's required to have a booster seat for our 5-year old. I would think he is, but I don't remember seeing one in his truck. And wouldn't that negate the whole "children must ride in backseat" rule?

The law varies depending on your location. I don't know if you're in the US--but if you are, it depends on which state you are in. Google the name of your state and child passenger safety regulations. Or your state and carseat law.

Chances are, if your state has a law that requires a child to be in a seat until 8 years and 80 lbs, then your five year old is required to be in a booster. But regardless of the law, the child should, at the very least, be in a booster, because he is VERY unsafe without one.

Now, the front seat thing--if there is no back seat, then there is no back seat.

I have a bunch of links to websites concerning proper car-seat usage--if you'd like them, let me know (I don't know if it's okay to post them to the board or not).

[Primer]

I agree, I always wear a seatbelt.... However as someone who's only 5'3" is do understand the uncomfortabel aspect of it. The shoulder strap cuts into my throat

I've not finished reading the thread, so perhaps somebody else has already mentioned this, but you can get a belt clip at wally world for just a few bucks that will allow you to slightly reposition where the shoulder belt meets the lap belt. We got a pair for our "new" truck so that I don't get choked, and I love them.


Edit:
OK, now that I've finished reading...Banrion beat me to it, but I believe wally world was cheaper.

[XCashier]

Hehe I hear ya on that one! My parents always had kiddie seats for us.

Yeah, I had one, too. It had black vinyl seat pads and a bare metal bar. Which was quite unpleasant in the summertime. In PHOENIX!

Fortunately, my son had a much nicer (and cooler!) cloth and plastic seat. And it wasn't that expensive. What the couple in the OP spent on their sound system could've gotten them a good, basic infant seat. Nice to know where their priorities are. I think a call to the police would've been a good idea.