This just made me feel so ill. Logan and I were leaving tumbling class tonight and as I was strapping Bella in I happened to look over at the car next to us. Inside was an infant carseat (rear facing only) facing forward! (I don't even know if it was strapped in or not) The family had a 9ish yr old girl, a 2-3yr old boy and maybe a 15mo old girl with them. They put the 15mo old in the carseat and the straps were SOOO freakin' loose! I could have pulled her out without a problem. I couldn't let them go without saying something and if you know me, you know it's not easy for me to talk to strangers but I will if I feel strongly enough about something.
So I said- Excuse me, did you know that's a RF only seat?
"mom"(don't know if she's mom or not): yes I know
Me: (dumbfounded) Those straps are also way too loose. In an accident, she'll fly right out of the seat.
"dad"(looks really old): I'll hold her in.
Ummmkay. You're going to hold her in...right. As he's closing the door on me (bc he obviously doesn't want to listen to me) I told them they could get a Scenera at Walmart for about $40. I went back around to Logan's side so I could buckle him in his carseat and I just want to cry for those kids. There was NO carseat for the 2yr old.
I just can not for the life of me understand how you can pay to be on an All Star Cheer squad (over $1900/yr not including travel expenses and yes, I know she's on a team) plus $40/mo for tumbling classes and NOT BUY A CARSEAT FOR YOUR KIDS. These people did not look like had much money and I'm betting they work the fundraisers to pay for the squad but I don't think there's any excuse for the lack of safety for your kids in the car.
We don't have tumbling class for 2 weeks but I know I'm going to see these people again. Why are people so dumb, ignorant, clueless, (insert word here)? Ugh.
On a good note- there have been no tears the past few practices and Logan's having a lot of fun. We don't go back for 2 weeks since the gym is closed but we'll be back the rest of August and at least part of September. We'll re-evaluate then!
3 years ago
5 comments:
That is just SO wrong on so many levels. Did the baby look like it was even under the weight limit for the RF carseat? If they couldn't afford another carseat, they should have just kept him RF. And NOTHING for the toddler? That's not just unsafe but completely illegal. You should print out the law and give it to them the next time you run into them.
Wow, that is SOOOO sad. You have to wonder about people's priorities.
Yeah for Logan!
Chad and I feel the same way Karlise!! It burns me up inside when I see idiots not have their small children in a car seat. I think they need to sit in front of another parent who did the same thing thinking they are just going down the road it wont matter and have a head on collision in which their child died!!!!!(sorry for all the run on sentences,lol)Im glad you told those people what you did. I guess we know where their prorities lie. ~Alison~
I hate these stories...my afternoon coffee I'm sippin' on has suddenly made me feel sick. I've encountered a few experiences like this myself. I just think people don't understand a carseats importance or how important it is to USE them PROPERLY! It's hard for me to speak up like you did so I totally know what you were feeling. Good for you for saying something. Hopefully they left the parking lot thinking about what you said.
Oh now that is sad. Poor kids. I don't have a lot of money at all, but always have proper carseats (maybe not the best ones, but new and safe)
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