For Anyone with Kids - Please Watch

[4theloveofdisney]

A friend sent this to me yesterday and I have been so touched that I wanted to share this with anyone who will listen. I don't know if this has been posted here before but it's the saddest thing; it's also one of the most important messages anyone with small kids can watch. Please share this video, heed the message and pass it on...it could save a life!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

 

[Banshee]

 

[jodifla]

A friend sent this to me yesterday and I have been so touched that I wanted to share this with anyone who will listen. I don't know if this has been posted here before but it's the saddest thing; it's also one of the most important messages anyone with small kids can watch. Please share this video, heed the message and pass it on...it could save a life!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

This was posted a couple of weeks ago.

It's sad, but they draw a wrong conclusion. There was nothing wrong with the car seat, it's the seat belt that failed.

 

[mom2boys77]

Thank you so so much for that! My ds is 4.5 and just today wanted to go out with my dad. I still have him in a carseat but have a booster seat because we thought he was "supposed" to be in one because he is 41lbs, at the last minute I made my dad take my car so Christian could be in his seat. I will definitely email that video to my parents who think I should let him be in the booster. Thank you so much! Barbara

 

[mom2boys77]

This was posted a couple of weeks ago.

It's sad, but they draw a wrong conclusion. There was nothing wrong with the car seat, it's the seat belt that failed.

yes but if he was in a carseat that was using the latch system that comes in newer cars, he would've been restrained

 

[NAB]

That was so sad but very true. Thanks for sharing that information with us. Funny part is I thought oh the child must have been under 40 and in a booster. Until that came up in the video too. That was an eye opener that's for sure.



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[CEDmom]

It is very sad and my heart goes out to that family but I wish parents good luck in trying to keep their school age child in a 5 pt harness. I know peer pressure shouldn't influence a parent's decision but try explaining that to a 7 yo.

I also wonder what would have happened to an 85 lb child using that seatbelt. Likely he/she wouldn't have survived either. It's a terrible tragedy but sadly these things happen no matter how many precautions you take.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

It is very sad and my heart goes out to that family but I wish parents good luck in trying to keep their school age child in a 5 pt harness. I know peer pressure shouldn't influence a parent's decision but try explaining that to a 7 yo.

I also wonder what would have happened to an 85 lb child using that seatbelt. Likely he/she wouldn't have survived either. It's a terrible tragedy but sadly these things happen no matter how many precautions you take.

It is a sad situation but in my eyes, if it can be prevented, then we have to try. I'll let you know about the peer pressure thing as I'm buying two new car seats - one for 4 year old and one for my 7 year old. (They both just had birthdays.)

Just want to mention that I went out and looked at our seatbelts. We have a 2005 Honda Odyssey - bought because we thought it was the safest. I have to say that it really doesn't take much to pop the seat belt latch. I banged it with a book. It really makes me wonder why it's so easy to do so.

I also read where a certain seatbelt - the Gen3 - is in tons of cars. I don't know if that is the type of belt I have (doubt it as I think it's in Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep vehicles) but still, why is it so easy to pop the belt latch?

 

[4theloveofdisney]

That was so sad but very true. Thanks for sharing that information with us. Funny part is I thought oh the child must have been under 40 and in a booster. Until that came up in the video too. That was an eye opener that's for sure.



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I know - I just switched my 6 and 4 year old to boosters. I am going to switch them back now.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

This was posted a couple of weeks ago.

It's sad, but they draw a wrong conclusion. There was nothing wrong with the car seat, it's the seat belt that failed.

No, they do not say that the carseat failed. It's the seatbelt that failed - that's the whole point of the video.

 

[rparmfamily]

The seatbelt failed but if the little boy was in a carseat that was latched down (and teethered) with a 5 pt harness, he would have lived. Very sad. Such a beautiful little boy.

My 4 yr old is in a 5 pt, I went and bought one that accomodates his height and weight. My 6 yr old is in a booster...one carseat at a time I guess.

 

[imsayin]

I know peer pressure shouldn't influence a parent's decision but try explaining that to a 7 yo

I kept DD in a booster until she was 9. Most of her friends were not in a booster at age 5. We would get comments from her friends all the time like "why is she in a carseat"? They were ignored. She still fits in the category of needing a booster (only 70 lbs), but at age 13, I can't see that working.

 

[maddiel]

If seat belts are that much more untrustworthy than latch/tethers, then shouldn't improving the safety of seatbelts be the message?

M.

 

[kejoda]

Could someone explain the 5 pt harness? I tried looking it up but all I got was carseats that still use the seat belt.

 

[summerrluvv]

The seatbelt failed but if the little boy was in a carseat that was latched down (and teethered) with a 5 pt harness, he would have lived. Very sad. Such a beautiful little boy.

My 4 yr old is in a 5 pt, I went and bought one that accomodates his height and weight. My 6 yr old is in a booster...one carseat at a time I guess.

Not necessarily. The seatbelt that would have been holding in the five point restraint car seat would have came undone (like it did with the booster) and that carseat would have went flying out of the vehicle.

 

[kaysmommie]

Not necessarily. The seatbelt that would have been holding in the five point restraint car seat would have came undone (like it did with the booster) and that carseat would have went flying out of the vehicle.

Not if it is tethered to a hook in the car. Mine are anchored in. My DD6 is only 40lbs. so this story is a bit scary to me. We took the 5 pt. harness out of her booster and she uses the seatbelt now. Anyway that video was very sad. Losing one of my children would kill me .

 

[4theloveofdisney]

If seat belts are that much more untrustworthy than latch/tethers, then shouldn't improving the safety of seatbelts be the message?

M.

Yes! Yes! Yes! But until something is done, keeping little ones as safe as possible is the message.

I've been trying to research this issue all day. It seems certain manufacturers just don't care and contined to put known problematic seat belts in their cars and minivans.

http://www.wtvt.com/investreptr/unsafe-seatbelts.html

I don't know if this practice continues today but if anyone has these vehicles needs to get them checked, changed or something. I'm not done researching this but just wanted to share this article.

 

[Aidensmom]

That video is so incredibly sad.

My 37 lb 5 year old is still in a 5 point harness carseat that also has the padded bar that comes down in front of him. Yes, he finds it embarrassing, you would not believe how fast he can get out of that thing when I get him to school in the morning. He is just very small and I don't want to move him to a booster yet. I am thankful for this thread in finding out there are boosters that utilize the 5-point harness, that is what I want when I do move him to one.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

Not necessarily. The seatbelt that would have been holding in the five point restraint car seat would have came undone (like it did with the booster) and that carseat would have went flying out of the vehicle.

If a seat belt was used to secure the car seat, you would be correct. However there are new ways of anchoring a car seat in. Newer model car seats have the tether strap and Latch anchors in which the car seat is actually fastened into special latches in the seat of the car/van and a tether strap is run behind the seat and attached to another special latch.


"LATCH Child Restraint Systems

Securing a child safety seat should be a lot easier with the LATCH system, required in U.S. passenger vehicles and most child safety seats manufactured after September 1, 2002. LATCH (which stands for the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children system) is a specialized way for your child's safety seat to attach in your vehicle without using the car's seatbelt system. The LATCH system is designed to simplify child seat installation and consequently reduce the number of child injuries and deaths that occur from improperly secured child safety seats.

Vehicle manufacturers are required to install top tether anchors behind the backseat of all models (except convertibles). These anchors must be in three seating positions. (Some convertibles also have tether anchors as a safety feature.) Manufacturers also must install lower vehicle anchor points near where the vehicle's backseat cushion and seat back meet. These lower anchor points must be in at least two seating positions."

Unfortunately, the NHTSA doesn't yet recognize that seat belt failure could is a problem. People are given the choice and if they knew that seat belts are a potential problem issue, they would choose Latch over seat belt. Don't you think? I wouldn't have known the difference but did buy a car seat with Latch for my last child. Had I been more aware of the problem I would have done it with my middle DD as well.

For the poster who wanted pics:
Here's another article about the Latch System. I can't get the pics to come up at the moment. I don't know if it's my computer or not but here you go:

http://trucks.about.com/od/carsafety/qt/latch_system.htm

 

[jodifla]

Many of us still have older cars. I don't have fancy tethers on my cars. The car seat would be attached with the seatbelt, which wouldn't help any.

Again, it's the seatbelt that failed. The little girl, in the same booster seat, was fine.

I marvel at parents who see one video, then run out and change everything.

I can see checking the seatbelts, most of which are warrantied for the life of the car, but not putting a child back into five point harnesses. At some point, you have to put them in a seatbelt, which goes back to my original poitn: Make sure the seatbelt is safe!