And you think I'M bad??

I generally do say something when I see someone misusing their carseat. It happens a lot. Conservative estimates are that 80% of carseats are misused, and that figure seems low to me. Everyone wants to keep their kids safe, but most aren't. Hell, most of them THINK they're keeping their kids safe, although I wonder how anyone could look at twisted straps, hanging loose, and a chest clip at belly button level, or a completely ill-fitting seat, and think that's safe. One way or another, 80% of the population doesn't know how to do it, which is where the enlightened 20% comes in. Knowledge is power, you know. (Although, I only comment about things I have actually seen, never assumptions.)

The thing is, though, this carseat knowledge thing is a double-edged sword. People who are good at carseats are so used to everyone else sucking at them, that many automatically assume everyone else is an idiot when it comes to this stuff, even if they're not. I had a lady message me today to let me know that the two boosters we liked for Erin don't rear-face, and tell me that kids should rear-face as long as possible. No joke. I wrote her back, as nicely as I possibly could, and said that I know that they don't rear-face because they're boosters, which is a totally appropriate type of seat for my 46 pound, 4' tall, first grader, who definitely would exceed the rear-facing limits of any seat on the US market (because I tried her in our Radian a few months ago, while parked, just for kicks. Yeah, that was entertaining for all involved.) I told her that my toddler is still rear-facing, and will be for a long time to come, but that his big sister is definitely fine in a booster.

I swear, it's gotten crazy when you can't even ask questions about the specs of something on a manufacturer's discussion board, without being bombarded by people who assume you're doing it wrong. I thought I mentioned her age and size in the post, but I guess I must not have. I guess I know for next time I need to ask questions about the design specs of something. I'll preface my post with, "MY KID IS 7 YEARS OLD AND FINE IN A BOOSTER!!!" OK, maybe not, but it's tempting.

I think it's important to comment on blatant misuse, like if you physically see it, or if someone you know puts a picture on Flickr of their kid in a horribly outgrown seat or something, or if someone mentions to you that they're booster shopping for their 2-year-old. It's taking things a step too far to automatically assume that everyone but you must be doing it wrong. I find that this is the most common when you're booster shopping. Not as many people assume you're going to use a convertible seat wrong (although most of the misuse does involve convertible seats), but everyone assumes that if you're looking for a booster, it's got to be for a kid who's way too young for it and should still be rear-facing. It couldn't possibly be for a kid who's school-age, and the perfect age and size to use it. No way. All people are idiots, especially those who ask tough questions of the engineers on a manufacturer's inquiry board.

The irony? I saw a picture of this lady's kid in the carseat. The chest clip was at throat level. Too high is just as bad as too low. I didn't say anything.