[AmandaEliz]

So, my DH just doesn't get the whole carseat thing. He never installs them properly. You'd think being a cop he'd be better at it, but then you'd be wrong. He always uses LATCH & the seat belt & he NEVER uses the top tether. He tells me that I belt Ethan in too tightly. He told me I'm being over the top by wanting to keep Avery RF until she's 2. So I shoved the AAP & NHTSA reports in his face. He just rolled his eyes & dropped it.

Then, I tell him that I want to get the Britax Frontier 85 for Ethan because he's getting to be such a big kid & I want to put Avery in his Evenflow (RF 40lbs, FF 60lbs). I wanted this one to be the last seat we will ever have to buy for Ethan because it can also be a booster when he's big enough. Well, apparently I didn't have direct eye contact because he went out & bought Avery a Graco ComfortSport (RF 30lbs FF 40lbs) at Target. I told him, no, it needed to be returned. This was 2 weeks ago & its still sitting in my garage in the box.

We have 2 cars & the kids are in them both equally, so I wanted to do some carseat shuffling this weekend & then go to BRU & get the Britex. I re-installed the Evenflow in the Escape yesterday & it is in there perfectly... no wiggle room at all. However, the Escape only has 1 seat in it because Avery is just too big for her infant seat. So I ask him to make sure he takes the Escape & not the Highlander, or at least pull a seat out for me & leave it in the garage. Well, he takes off this morning. I look outside & he has taken the Highlander & not left me a carseat. Now I'm stuck here at home. I can't go to the grocery store. I can't go to BRU. All I have to do is think about how annoyed I am with him.

oh no! Im sorry, but I can sort of relate. With dh being a FF you would think he would be anal about it but he's not. He's all about safety because he see's horrible accidents all the time but he doesnt get the whole pinch test, no coat, rf until 2 or more. I think he knows all of it now because I've told him, which he is ok with all of it, but I just have to explain it to get him to understand WHY I do certain things. Also a lot of people seem to think FF and police are trained and can do seat checks and thats not true at all, in fact their isnt 1 police or FF station with in 50 miles that does seat checks. Only the AAA places do.

Back on track, I can see why your frustrated though and Im sorry. What about making sure you have two seats in your vehicle at all times, and not take his anywhere until you get the other seat?

[MelKD]

Brian is the same way. He wanted to turn Josh FF as soon as he turned 1, and I wouldn't allow it. We kept him RF til 18 months. Brian also never installs them correctly, and leaves so much slack in the seatbelt it makes me sick to know he has driven them around like that. I no longer allow him to install the carseats when we have to shuffle them around.

Weird that you posted this, we talked to a professional yesterday at the hospital for Josh's special carseat (I will make a post about this shortly, we've had quite a weekend). I was soooooo glad that she reinforced to Brian the importance of ERF, and she explained why. He wasn't about to argue the point with her like he does with me, so instead of shutting down after a minute of hearing about it from me, he actually heard everything she had to say. She also showed us the correct way to install the carseats, and was impressed with how much I actually did right (like putting my weight into the seat when tightening the belt, she said it's surprising how many people don't do that). And she showed us how to properly use the latch system, because I've never even read about that, I've always just used the seatbelts, and now I'm wondering why I haven't used the latch system the whole time, it's so much simpler!! One thing that surprised me was she said that there are over 900 different ways to install carseats, with all the different types of seatbelt systems and latch systems in the different makes and models of cars today. WOW, no wonder so many people do it incorrectly!!

[Wren]

Wait, what is the pinch test?

Originally Posted by Wren

Wait, what is the pinch test?

If you can pinch the shoulder straps they are too lose.

[Daffodil]

Wow!! For once I'm glad to have such an anal-compulsive hubby...he would keep her rear facing until she is 18 if he could...and he's extremely careful to make sure she is snug as a bug in there.

He is obsessed with her safety, we actually bought our car specifically for its safety profile.

[dinamommy]

My hubby doesn't "get" it either really. I know he thinks I'm kind of a loon about things concerning the kids anyways (sometimes). He just came from a VERY different family than I did. I stand there and watch him while he installs the car seats to make sure he does it right and force him to read the instructions. Oh well. I'm sorry you're left without a car seat though. I know I'd be ticked too!

[sweetliberty]

I'm sorry your husband isn't listening; I've very fortunate that my husband is completely on board with ERF and following manufacturer's rules. Hopefully he'll return the Comfortsport soon (I've never heard a good review of it actually) and get something bigger for Ethan. Good luck!