My Child Car Seat Rant

Technological advancements in this day and age amaze me on a regular basis. My phone knows to go silent when I’m in a scheduled meeting, I can turn on my home alarm system from another country, I can start my van with a push of a button while sitting in my living room… so why haven’t kid’s car seats evolved in the past 25 years?  Other than to get more expensive...

I distinctly remember the process of buying a car seat for our first born…because it was anything but simple.  It’s not just a seat…it’s a “travel system”.   Is the seat also to substitute as baby carrier? Does the seat/carrier need to be compatible with the stroller? Can a base be bought separately to go into a 2^nd vehicle? What is the weight limit…in other words how long will the seat be usable? Once the seat is too small does that also render the $600 stroller useless? And on it goes…  So while all these choices must be made and they all come with a sizeable price tag, one would think the experience is all good going forward?  Well, from my experience no…so yes this is a bit of rant…

In Canada we are legally required to have car seats, the hospital where my son was born would not release our baby until a nurse verified we had an adequate car seat installed in our vehicle.  I don’t really have a problem with that,  I want my kids to be as safe as possible while in the car.  But why are these seats such a pain in the a$$ to install and use? 

I consider myself somewhat mechanically inclined. I have built decks, installed sinks and taps in my house, installed car stereos, snow tires, changed oil, head lights , spark plugs etc. My van has “Stow n’ Go’ seats, a prime example of engineering at its’ best.  Follow 4 clearly labelled steps and voila, a seat is usable or folded into the floor.  But in comparison, installing car seats is frustrating and primitive.  Initially I thought this was perhaps an anomaly to the one brand we chose, and my ineptness. But after purchasing 2 more seats of various brands, and reading on-line statistics suggesting up to 2/3’s of car seats are incorrectly installed, this is clearly a common problem. If so many users are struggling…it’s bad design.

The installation instructions are about as useful as those from my last IKEA purchase.  Why is the strap used to attach to the seat anchors only adjustable on one side? I’m not a small guy but apparently I have to climb on top of the seat, perform some physical contortions, than pull with all my might with the hope of actually getting this thing tight. No wonder there are car seat clinics and professionals charging to install these seats. I’ve spoken to Police officers who have said they come across many improperly installed kid’s seats. Is it really the best our engineers can do…to suggest I use a rolled up towel or swim noodle to place under the seat to try to compensate for seat angle? Is that what they do with the space shuttle launch to get the projection just right? Just roll up a towel and stick it under one leg? Sigh…

Now that the seat is installed could we perhaps work on a harness that can be buckled twice in a row without the straps magically twisting?  And just maybe have a buckle that doesn’t require herculean strength to release? I understand it needs to be kid proof but could we perhaps find a happy medium?

And while we are on the topic of the harness, how about inventing one that will work with a snow suit? In my part of the world -20 is not uncommon, but now I’m supposed take the kids snow suit off before putting them into the car, while not wasting energy by letting the vehicle idle to warm up.  Seriously?  We can do better….

Perhaps your kids are incredibly coordinated or you don’t let them eat or drink in the car, but in our case the car seats get dirty from spills and accidents.  When I looked at the skin or cover I saw wonderful elastic straps holding it in place on the plastic frame. Silly me thinking this meant I could remove the seat cover and simply throw it in the washing machine. But after removing the seat from the car to achieve said cleaning, I discovered the seat cover could almost be removed…but not quite. Yep that’s right. Not only could I NOT remove the cloth cover for cleaning….I now had to reinstall the seat!

Now I understand the importance of expiry dates on cheese and bread. But having one on my car seat seems to cross the line on the nanny state front.  I get that newer is often better, but you can’t legislate common sense.  Yes if the seat is damaged or worn it should be discarded. But the law lacks logic and is a little baffling. I can put the kid’s seat into a 20 year old rust bucket of a car, as long as the seat has not passed an arbitrary date stamped onto the plastic? 

Okay, so perhaps I have embellished my anguish and yes these are clearly first world problems. For the record, I continue to religiously use the seats for my daughter. Thankfully my son is now at the booster seat phase. But here's a shout out to engineers… who’s up to the challenge to make these things a little more user friendly? Beuler? Bueler? 

Happy Birthday Bella!

It’s our dog’s 10^th birthday this month…there will be no cake or parties. Instead she gets her own blog post.   Bella was our first born, our “fur baby” as my wife likes to say.  Was she good preparation for the 2 legged munchkins we now have roaming around the house? Probably, and it’s been an interesting and rewarding 10 years.  If you have seen the movie “Marlie and Me” you may understand our experience. While Bella was never as crazy as Marlie, she has had her moments, and our bond to her is also memorable.

Bella came to us as a 3 month old pup, as the result of a 'friend of friend' looking for a good home. I received a few photos by email of a cute pup asking if we were interested. 

I forwarded the photos to my wife, knowing it was probably a done deal. Her response… “Are Labrador’s affectionate?” We went and picked her up that night and never looked back.

There have been some interesting “highlights” along the way.  Labrador’s are indeed affectionate, and as puppies they also have an affection for chewing things.  As proof of her pedigree she shredded her dog bed, a favourite pair of my wife’s sandals, my leather gloves, and the whicker seat of one of our kitchen chairs…and countless tennis balls. 

A close encounter with a Chevy meant we thought we were going to lose her. It resulted in a bloody & speedy trip to the animal hospital and a hefty vet bill, but she bounced back stronger than ever.

As good dog parents, she went everywhere with us, vacations, trips to the family cottage, etc. We have walked hundreds of miles together and thrown more tennis balls with the 'chuck it' than I care to remember.  We knew we wanted to add kids to our family and we felt we had a dog with the right temperament…but would she be jealous? How would she react to an inevitable demotion? When my son arrived 6 and half years ago; Bella immediately realized her job description had changed, she now had another human to watch over and she took that job to heart. 

She was the first to hear a cry from the nursery, and insisted on being in the nursery to watch during diaper changes etc.  And she has been watching out for him ever since.

Now it may seem like sunshine and lollipops, but if you are considering a dog AND kids, there are things to consider.

It’s easier to take kids too many places than a dog… not everyone is a fan of our 4 legged friends. Dog sitters don’t come cheap, and there is guilt to be paid for leaving Fido behind with strangers. 

If you like to do road trips, open your wallet for a bigger vehicle. Kids will utilize the back seats, the dog needs more room…Our dog has luggage too! If you want to stop along your road trip for lunch…the dog may have issues being locked in a car in the heat of July.

When you are exhausted because the kid(s) have been up half the night, for the 3^rd day running, the dog still needs to be walked and loved. If the dog chewed your shoes before you had the kids…he will afterward, including the babies shoes.

The dog will need protection from the kids and vice versa. Toddlers don’t understand that Fido doesn’t appreciate fingers in the eyes, ear pulls and tail bites. And Fido doesn’t understand that the 18 month old can’t play shake a paw, and a wagging tail is a weapon right at face level.

There is a reason why the Labrador Retriever is the most popular dog in North America.  In our case Bella proved to be a great dog, we have yet to find a mean streak and now she not only loves her 6.5 year old boy but a 13 month old girl. She got a mini van so she can ride to the cottage in comfort. She no longer chews my gloves, but makes up for it with constant shedding of that shiny black pelt EVERYWHERE. But yes dear, Labrador's ARE affectionate…to the extreme. So at the start of year 11, I think she’s a keeper!