15 December 2010
I want to thank you for all of your very respectful and informative comments and e-mails regarding Oliver's car seat safety in my post yesterday. I appreciate having friends who can share what they know and share their concern without being condescending or judgmental. Every one of you was respectful and recognized me as Oliver's parent and for that I thank you.
The truth is, I noticed it too! After I shot the video I watched the playback and noticed that he had slipped his arm out of his shoulder belt. (It's hard to keep kids wearing the shoulder strap when you're not looking, isn't it!?) I told Ryan before I published the video that I anticipated at least a few concerned comments about it and y'all did not disappoint! :)
I know that a shoulder strap is not legally required in the backseat where he was positioned and that his car seat is the right size and type for his size and type. But I have to say, I hadn't heard about the puffy coat/jacket suggestion. This was new and good to know! (For those of you who didn't read in the comments, you may want to - there's a lot of good-to-know information in there!) It turns out that a puffy jacket or vest could cause the seatbelt to rest too loosely on your child and prevent it from restraining them properly.
Also, I have definitely considered switching Oliver back to a five-point harness system. It does seem safer, especially since we have him in the center seat in the back.
Anyway, just wanted to say thank you for your concerns and also thank you for being so sweetly respectful in recognizing me as Oliver's Mama. This has all been good information for Ryan and I to read and consider together.
Who knew a little "Go Tell It on the Mountain" would turn into this! :)
Have a lovely Wednesday! Oliver's at school this morning, so I'm off to work on some of his Christmas presents!
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13 comments:
I went back and read the comments on the previous post... they truly were respectful. I'm so glad to know that mamas can come together and share knowledge without being overtly critical. Other mamas will probably benefit from the information in those comments as well.
That said, if you do choose to return to a 5 point harness, the Graco Nautilus is a great seat that will harness many kids until even until the ages of 7-8 should you so choose. Our 5.5 year old really likes hers. She is certainly not the only kid in her kindergarten class still using a 5 point harness. She can buckle herself in properly and I don't have to worry about her squirming in a way that will reposition a seat belt in an unsafe way.
If you do decide to switch back to a 5pt. which we did after learning about all the safety info out there including the coats(you aren't alone!) I highly reccomend the Britax FRONTIER 85 we have had it for a few years now and LOVE it, our son is now 6 1/2 he thinks he's cool because that's the kind of seat belt race car drivers wear so the switch wasn't a big deal or loss of freedom. Also if you didn't already know this which i didn't till I had my 2nd Keep Hazel rear facing as long as her car seat allows usuall up to 35/440 lbs and same in inches SO much safer. I Love you blog and think you are a fab mom who offers so many other moms great tips all the time I love that you are gracious in taking tips from other mama's it's so much easier when we bind together and learn from each other than to pick each other apart!
I just read the comments and your response, and I have to say that it truly warms my heart to see mothers having respectful, courteous, informational dialouge. I have an almost 8 month old, and some of the forums/Facebook pages/message boards I read can get quite ugly. It is honestly upsetting...we are all mothers who love and want the best for our children. Why the need for such negativity and sometimes downright cruelty? Most of the time it distracts from the message one is trying to get across. Anyways, I digress...cheers to the thoughtful commenters and to you Raechel for being so gracious in accepting their concerns!! :)
I'm glad people told you nicely. :)
The thing about the coats is a hassle, isn't it? we almost never wear coats because of it. get in the car, take off the coat, get buckled. Get unbuckled, get coat on, get out of the car. Repeat.
Both of our big kids are still in 5pt harnesses since neither weigh 40lbs. We bought O a Britax Frontier. We really like it. It should grow with her until she's 100 lbs! (which, she may be 15 by then...)
I'm so glad people were respectful instead of being all snarky to you!
Our son is not too much younger than Oliver and we just got him a Graco Nautilus Elit 3-in-1. We like it b/c it's a 5point harness and can convert to a high-back booster when he's older and then just even a true booster when he's older still. Good luck in whatever you decide. :)
Hmmm....I watched the video and was too busy watching Oliver and Hazel reaching out her little hand to him to even notice anything about the carseats!
Yea. Who knew a simple video with your child singing would turn into this! ;) But, just ask Mckmama. She certainly knows ALL about feedback from an innocent post. Except, her comments are very often rude.
I just left the anonymous comment above.
Just to clarify, I didn't mean MCKMAMA left rude comments, but that her readers often do.
Anonymous:
Nobody was rude, and people were genuinely concerned, and very respectful of Raechel. I don't see the point of your comment. It actually comes off as rude. This isn't about MckMama. You say "...it would turn into all this".
She had a few very respectful comments from concerned readers. I hardly think it's a big deal.
I'm so glad others left credible and educational posts in regard to the carseat. I too saw the issue and refrained from posting about it. My son is 5 and I still have him in a Graco 5-point harness. It's a great seat for up to 60lbs and at a great price too. I decided to leave him in this seat because he is skinny and I have a friend who is a CarSeat Tech and she is super about educating us all about safety. Love how everyone was so respectful and sincere!! Merry Christmas!
Here is another comment for you.(sigh) We had a car that didn't have shoulder belts in the back seat(older mini van. I had a terrible time finding a booster seat that could be used. The booster seats that can be used with a seat belt over the child all specified that they could not be used with a lap belt only. We ended up having to purchase a 5 point harness seat that held a larger child. Thought you might want to know about that.
To Jen Smith,
I certainly didn't mean to imply that anyone at all was disrespectful to Raechel. They weren't. You missed my point entirely.
And I certainly didn't mean to appear to be rude. And as far as "...it would turn into all this" goes, I was actually referring to what Rachel said in her next to last sentence of this post:
And I quote "Who knew a little "Go Tell It on the Mountain" would turn into this! :)"
To Raechel,
Sorry I commented, Raechel. I Didn't mean to bring you grief. Didn't mean to bring drama. I'm truly sorry. I love your blog and your pictures and your beautiful kids and your crafts. Please do forgive me. I will try to be more careful in the future.
Anonymous:
No worries! I knew exactly what you meant - I think it must have just been a misunderstanding on Jen's part. I knew you were just quoting me. It's all good.
No need at all to apologize for your comment!
Best,
Raechel
I didn't read all the comments on the original post, so this may have been mentioned already. The Sunshine Kids brand car seat line offers a 5 point harness car seat for children up to 80 pounds. Obviously each parent needs to make the choice they feel is best for their child, but if you are considering putting Oliver back in a 5 point harness, this one would be sure to last a long time. :)
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