# It can happen to anyone. Guilty mama moment yesterday



## StephandOwen (Jun 22, 2004)

First I want to say I am a car seat freak







DS is still harnessed at 5 1/2, and will remain so for years (he has a Marathon, Regent and Nautilus). I believe in the whole extended rearfacing, extended harnessing, etc. We are sticklers about car seats. As soon as the CPST classes come close enough I plan on taking them to become certified.

Yesterday I was running errands with ds. We ran into the grocery store and picked up some stuff. When we got to the car, the cart kept rolling down into traffic unless I kept one hand on it. So I opened the car door and told ds to jump into his seat (in the middle seat). I put the groceries into the car next to ds and then put the cart at the front of the car (where it would stay in place). Then I got into the car, buckled myself, and started backing out. DS, from the backseat, just says kinda quietly "I guess I don't have to buckle up today...".







: Fortunately I had only backed out of the parking spot when he had said that. I obviously stopped immediately and buckled him up (while shaking and thinking of the "what if's".









All it took was one step in my routine messed up (usually I would buckle ds in the carseat and THEN put the groceries in the car). Thankfully ds thought to say something (he loves his car seats and we've drilled in his head the importance of buckling up every. single. time).


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

Thanks for sharing -- I bet you were so scared!









The same thing happened to me once -- same type of situation, where my routine was switched up and I just forgot to go back and buckle him up. But in my case, we were driving at 65mph on the toll road when I heard DS's little voice say, "Mommy, I'm not buckled."







I was so scared -- luckily there was a safe spot to pull over, so I put my hazard lights on, pulled over, and got him buckled, but man, it was so scary! And something I would never think I would do. You're absolutely right that it can happen to anyone.

I'm glad our kiddos are safe.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

You're human.

At least DS *DID* speak up and you had a chance to buckle him.

Is he capable of buckling himself up? That would be a good routine to start- he buckles, you double-check it each time. Then, if something messes up the routine, it's likely that he's already buckled himself in properly.

I've gotten into the habit of asking "say yes if you're buckled" before backing out the car. Each child then responds "yes if you're buckled".









I've further refined the routine recently. With 3 kids calling out "yes if you're buckled", sometimes I'm not sure if I've heard 3 responses or 2. It's worse if I have guests in the car, so there are even more voices to confuse things. So then I ask "say no if you're not buckled" and I can hear if one child isn't ready yet. This child is usually DS, since he's in a booster seat, and it takes him longer to buckle since the booster gets in the way of easily reaching the buckle. He can still do it, but it takes him longer than it takes the girls (who are in the regular vehicle seats.) He's also more likely to fool around in the car when he's supposed to be buckling up.


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## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

I remember doing this once with DD1 when she was 2 or 3, we were almost to town before I noticed though. I think many moms have one of these moments.


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## butterfly_mommy (Oct 22, 2007)

That is scary. Here is another scary story (and funny after the fact) This happened about 12 years ago. A few weeks after my sister had her first baby she had gone out for lunch with her friend who had picked them up in her car. My niece was in a bucket seat, this was before they had bases and you would just put the seat belt over the seat after the baby was buckled in. Well I guess my sister was talking to her friend and was in that new mom, haven't slept, can't remember stuff state of mind when she had put my niece in the car. A few minutes into the ride my sister's friend takes a corner a little fast and my sister hears muffled baby cries from the back seat. She had forgot to put the seat belt over the car seat







and my niece who luckily was strapped into her bucket seat nice and tight was upside down in the foot well of the back seat. She was not hurt at all, and some BF helped her and my sister calm down. My sister felt horrible and was bawling over it for days, she felt like the worst mother ever. Yet after that her kids were always buckled in nice and snug and double checked.


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## Ceili (Nov 21, 2001)

Oh butterfly mommy, that's an awful story.







Poor baby and mama, I'm glad everyone was okay.

Ds always screams the moment the car goes into gear "I'm not buckled!" It happens more often when my dh is driving. Ds can buckle the top part buckle, but not the bottom and will get in and do that part and dh usually straps him the rest of the way after he gets in the driver's seat. So if we're together in the car he assumes that I've buckled him in all the way and forgets to check. We've never made it out of the driveway though.


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## amma_mama (May 20, 2008)

Yeah, it has happened to us a couple of times...Once when DD was an infant, we left the ped's office (of all places). It had been a difficult visit - much crying from shots and I guess I was frazzled. I did not realize until we got home.









The most recent episode was just last week. We were driving home and, when we arrived, DD (now 4.5 yo) proudly announced that she did not have her seat buckled







...it happens to most of us at some point, no matter how vigilant we are...


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## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

I definetly did the same thing the other day after leaving ACE hardware - DS got in his seat, we got all the stuff arranged around him (cause' my trunk was full thanks to a new sandbox







, and then I got in and drove off... glanced in my rear view mirror and was like OH CRAP!! pulled into the gas station, got gas and, most importantly, DS BUCKLED!!


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## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

I've done that a couple times, usually at Costco for some reason. I always remember to buckle in the 2 year old because I have to carry him in to the car, but my 4 year old climbs in on her own and I've a couple times forgotten all about it, start driving and then I hear from the back that she's not buckled. Whoops!


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## Pirate Nicole (Oct 20, 2008)

ha ha,I always put the kids in the car first, then put the groceries in back, then put the cart away... Thankfully, my oldest dd is able to properlly buckle herself in and help out her little brother when she's in the mood. lol. I know there was one time when I only had her that I forgot to buckle her up while she was still in the bucket. Thank goodness I noticed before we actually got in the car to drive away.


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## MaryJaneLouise (Jul 26, 2005)

how stressful.

The couple of times I've forgotten / done it incorrectly my boys freak. No small voice here! MAMA MAMA I'M UNDONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!


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## Marsupialmom (Sep 28, 2003)

Imagine the heart attack when you realize your 2 year old undid her seat to get to her crying baby sister.

((hugs))) It could happen to anyone.


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## dachshundqueen (Dec 17, 2004)

I always buckle the kids, then kiss them. That way I know everyone is in. They complain if I buckle without kissing.........







:

Liz


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## linguistmama (Sep 25, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MaryJaneLouise* 







how stressful.

The couple of times I've forgotten / done it incorrectly my boys freak. No small voice here! MAMA MAMA I'M UNDONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!

My 4yo will SCREAM like this too. It freaked me out, but I would rather have her yell than say nothing.







At least she's been well trained about the carseat. She didn't even want to go downtown on the train at first since she couldn't take her carseat


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## mbhf (Jan 8, 2005)

I have done that a couple of times. Luckily I have always noticed before driving away.

I hope I misread and you didn't just leave your cart in the middle of the parking lot. That's my big pet peeve.


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## Pumpkin_Pie (Oct 10, 2006)

I have done it twice so far with DS, and completely freaked out both times that I realized it. Now DS will climb out immediately if he is not buckled in, so not much chance of me forgetting, thankfully. We all make mistakes, no harm done, lesson learned.


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## kcstar (Mar 20, 2009)

Since this is a Safety forum, could I suggest that the child stay in/with the cart until the groceries are unloaded? From what I understand about carjackings, loading groceries is a not-uncommon time for a carjacking to occur (assuming they occur in the first place)... and you don't want a stranger to steal both your car AND your DC.


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## StephandOwen (Jun 22, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mbhf* 
I hope I misread and you didn't just leave your cart in the middle of the parking lot. That's my big pet peeve.









Yes, yes I did







It used to be one of my biggest pet peeves too.... until I had a child with autism who run/darts. It's safer for me to leave a cart in the parking lot (if the cart corral isn't close) than it is to bring it back to the car corral with ds. I usually try to park by the car corral, but it's not always possible.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kcstar* 
Since this is a Safety forum, could I suggest that the child stay in/with the cart until the groceries are unloaded? From what I understand about carjackings, loading groceries is a not-uncommon time for a carjacking to occur (assuming they occur in the first place)... and you don't want a stranger to steal both your car AND your DC.

Well, yes- of course you can suggest it. But it doesn't make it feasible. I don't see the risk of a carjacking, however. My keys were still with me. I was NEVER out of reach of the car. I loaded groceries into the backseat of the car through the same door my ds went in through. I put the cart right by the front of my car (so my hand was within reach of my drivers car door). I'm not saying nothing bad can happen in that situation, but it's highly unlikely. I think the chance of my ds yanking out of my reach and running into oncoming traffic is greater.


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## StephandOwen (Jun 22, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ruthla* 
Is he capable of buckling himself up?

If I taught him how to, I'm sure he could. He does the top buckle himself sometimes. But I'm terrified of him learning how to UNbuckle himself so I have just taught him that "only mama/Jason/adults can touch the buckle". Like I said- he has autism so it's a whole different game with him. If I taught him to buckle himself up it could go one of two ways- it could be extremely helpful and he could do great, or he could use that to start touching the buckle when we're driving and unbuckle himself.


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## ChickyMama (Dec 15, 2005)

Yes it can happen to anyone. I too have made this same mistake and it is not surprising to be frazzled or have thoughts jumbled when you are finished grocery shopping with kids!! As much as moments like that make me feel so guilty I am so grateful for them because I am reminded of what could have happened and they have made me to be extra cautious. I have lost sight of my child at the park and had my heart drop to the ground and though they were just behind a slide or something this has made me extra, extra careful about watching them, something I was already extremely careful about.

It is obvious you are very cautious and extra careful/educated about making safe choices for your children. Safety was also drilled into your child's head by you and that is why he told you.

Leaving the cart in the parking lot also used to be one of my pet peeves and kids changed that for me too along with so many other things!

I put the kids in the car first, lock the doors and hold on to the keys. I think it is even safer than having your child buckled into the cart in the parking lot.

~Diana


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## amma_mama (May 20, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *StephandOwen* 
If I taught him how to, I'm sure he could. He does the top buckle himself sometimes. But I'm terrified of him learning how to UNbuckle himself so I have just taught him that "only mama/Jason/adults can touch the buckle". Like I said- he has autism so it's a whole different game with him. If I taught him to buckle himself up it could go one of two ways- it could be extremely helpful and he could do great, or he could use that to start touching the buckle when we're driving and unbuckle himself.

I also have not taught our DD how to buckle herself, out of the same fear, as she is a crafty...with or without autism, I agree it is a potential double-edged sword!

As for the hijacking risk, I usually do put DD in first, open the trunk to load the stuff, then lock all the doors until I finish loading and get to the driver's side. I have gotten a bit more lax about it lately as we live overseas where carjackings are unheard of, but I will need to be more vigilant when I get back to you the US later this year.


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## claddaghmom (May 30, 2008)

i have a rfing scenera for my little sister in my car. she can buckle herself but not unbuckle.

i get used to her doing it...but for example yesterday she was reading a book while sitting in her seat and forgot to buckle. fortunately when i drove off she alerted me and buckled.

i'm sure the more spirited children would use this to their advantage.


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

I have done this more times than I can count with both kids. Usually dd will let me know right away though.

I did teach ds how to do his seat belt because while he can buckle it he isnt strong enough to undo it. He will be 5 in oct.


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## ALittleBitCrunchy (Jan 8, 2005)

When my son was a few months old, we drove my MIL to see a SIL. We stopped for a restroom break. DS was asleep so we carried the bucket seat into the restaurant and MIL sat with him while I was in the bathroom. We left and he was still snoozing in the seat. I had tossed a blankie around him as it was raining and it was all nicely tucked in, courtesty of MIL so I carried him back out, snapped the seat in and hit the road. Two hours later, after spending that time on dark, slick roads in the rain, we get to the hotel. I carry DS in, running with the seat through the downpour, and sit the seat down. I pull off the blanket and there he is...unbuckled. I freak. MIL says, "Oh, when we were at the restaurant, I undid that so he would be more comfortable." I managed to ask, "Did you forget that he was unbuckled in the car?" Nope. She knew. But he was 'in his seat' so he was safe, right. Last time MIL ever sat next to him in a car and last time I ever put a blanket over the latch on the straps.

Then, when my son was 3, he figured out how to reach the buckle on DD's seatbelt and he loved pushing the button apparently. I went around a corner and her seat tilted so I pullled over and fixed it. Later, it came undone again. I was not thrilled because installing a car seat on the side of the highway is a pain, especially when you are moving it to a new seat because you are convinced the buckle is broke and when you have a 3 year old chattering away and a 1 year old crying...and then you realize that the 3 year old is sitting there, playing with the buckle. Ended up buying car seat buckle alarms.


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## azmomtoone (Aug 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ALittleBitCrunchy* 
MIL says, "Oh, when we were at the restaurant, I undid that so he would be more comfortable." I managed to ask, "Did you forget that he was unbuckled in the car?" Nope. She knew. But he was 'in his seat' so he was safe, right. Last time MIL ever sat next to him in a car and last time I ever put a blanket over the latch on the straps.

Don't be too hard on her; remember it's quite a bit different now....listening to my own mother & MIL talk about car rides w/ us I'm always amazed. DH & I never even had car seats..... and the ones our little brothers rode in didn't have straps in them, you just strapped the seat into the car w/ the seatbelt. No harness for the kid. So if that's what your MIL used, she may have thought it's perfectly safe to have them unbuckled now....

I've done this once too, let DS climb into his seat while I ran back into the house to grab something I'd forgotten (diaper bag, I think?).... I shut the back door before I went back in the house so he wouldn't run out into the street.....grabbed the bag and came back to the car, got in, DS was already in his seat - he's RF so I can't see the harness, no mirror back there either - so I started backing out of the driveway. As soon as we started rolling, DS started yelling "Buck, Buck" He had to say it a few times before I understood he was trying to say "buckle"....oops. But I got it before we got to the road, and fixed it, and then about had a heart attack thinking about "what if".


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## THBVsMommy (Mar 13, 2007)

I've done this a few times, unfortunately. Luckily DS was very good about yelling at me from the back those few times. The first two we were just pulling out of our driveway, thankfully... but one time was just a few weeks ago. I was leaving my prenatal appointment and was on the phone with DH to tell him some good news. I completely forgot to buckle DS in. My hospital is in the city, about 20 miles from my house, and we were already on the freeway when DS starts screaming at me. I looked back and saw that he wasn't buckled in. I freaked out, and found the nearest exit. I was shaking when we stopped and I was able to buckle him in. All these scary what-ifs were going through my mind. We were going atleast 60 mph and he was unrestrained in his seat








I said a few prayers of thanks that nothing happened.


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## marisa724 (Oct 31, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ALittleBitCrunchy* 
Then, when my son was 3, he figured out how to reach the buckle on DD's seatbelt and he loved pushing the button apparently. I went around a corner and her seat tilted so I pullled over and fixed it. Later, it came undone again. I was not thrilled because installing a car seat on the side of the highway is a pain, especially when you are moving it to a new seat because you are convinced the buckle is broke and when you have a 3 year old chattering away and a 1 year old crying...and then you realize that the 3 year old is sitting there, playing with the buckle. Ended up buying car seat buckle alarms.


OT, but I didn't know they had alarms for this! My DS1 is 5 and I think he's figured out how to undo the car's buckles. DS2's carseat started sliding around on a turn the other day, and when I went to tighten it I found that the buckle was open. Later I removed the seat so I could reinstall tightly, and I looked over at DS1's seat -- his buckle was also undone. I guess that because he's FFing his seat was more stable and not sliding around even though it wasn't secured. If it were just one buckle I'd think that the buckle had failed, but since it's two.... I think we have a buckle gremlin.









Joey's learned how to do the top buckle on his harness in the past year. He won't do the bottom one, he can but it's harder for him... But at least I know that we won't leave anywhere without him at least partially buckled in. And because he's aware of it he's vocal about letting me know he's not totally buckled in.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ruthla* 
I've gotten into the habit of asking "say yes if you're buckled" before backing out the car. Each child then responds "yes if you're buckled".









I've further refined the routine recently. With 3 kids calling out "yes if you're buckled", sometimes I'm not sure if I've heard 3 responses or 2. It's worse if I have guests in the car, so there are even more voices to confuse things. So then I ask "say no if you're not buckled" and I can hear if one child isn't ready yet.

My mom would call by name.


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## thismama (Mar 3, 2004)

I've done that a bunch of times. Once I drove all around town with the baby buckled in the bucket seat, and the bucket seat not strapped in.







: Ahhh good job, mama.


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## justKate (Jun 10, 2008)

Yep, I've done it too. I cried when I went to unbuckle her and found DD, 4 months at the time, had not been buckled.


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## 2hip2bsquare (Jul 22, 2009)

Hugs, mama. I've done it too. DD was just over a year and we were taking her to spend the night at Grandma's house for the first time. We put her in her Marathon, got everything in the car for her to stay overnight, and drove 20 miles away, part of that was at 65mph on the interstate. We pull up at Grandma's house and find DD sitting in her carseat completely unbuckled. In front of my ILs (who btw, don't like me at all). I was mortified and cried for like a week. The 'what ifs' could have killed me. I've never done it since. Talk about a huge eye opener! It happens to the best of us... you can't beat yourself up over it.


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## Evan&Anna's_Mom (Jun 12, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kcstar* 
Since this is a Safety forum, could I suggest that the child stay in/with the cart until the groceries are unloaded? From what I understand about carjackings, loading groceries is a not-uncommon time for a carjacking to occur (assuming they occur in the first place)... and you don't want a stranger to steal both your car AND your DC.

This is going to depend a lot on the rest of the situation. In a busy grocery store parking lot in the middle of the daytime, I would expect the risk of someone else backing out of a spot directly into your cart is higher than a carjacking. I know that I have had my car hit four times in parking lots by careless "backer-uppers" and I've never even seen a carjacking nor heard of one in my area. I've also had people hit the cart as I have been unloading as two cars try to squeeze by going opposite directions in parking lots that are too #$*#(* small. If the cart and kid had been in that spot, child could have been severely injured.

Of course, lonely parking lot after dark would have a lower risk of another car hitting the cart and might have a higher risk of carjacking.

Carjackers are NOT interested in stealing a child (thats a whole different crime that needs an entirely different plan to make it "worth the risk") and will generally avoid taking car if they know it contains a child. (I work with ex-offenders and have had this conversation).

I know that my personal experiences aren't statistical data and I'd love to see some sort of actual data on relative risks.


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## Norasmomma (Feb 26, 2008)

I have a couple of times buckled DD in but then forgot to tighten the belt. The other day it was because she had buckled herself in, I saw she was buckled and then we just drove off. For me it's the grocery store thing that is the worst for this, I _always_ am frazzled when I get out of the store on our weekly errand trip. DD is cranky and tired because it's nap time, I'm flustered because she gets crazy in the store.


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## baby duck (Jun 15, 2007)

We've done this here, too. SOP is to go out with the 3 year old and the 1 year old together. We open the door for the 3 year old, and she climbs in by herself and starts putting her arms in the straps (and does the clip) while we put the 1 year old in the car. Recently, DH took them out and I followed after with bags. He was still buckling in the 1 year old, and the door for the 3 year old was closed (because she had closed it herself). DH and I both thought the other had buckled her in because the door was closed. She started screaming as soon as DH put the car in reverse because she wasn't buckled in yet. Luckily, we weren't even out of the driveway.


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## hottmama (Dec 27, 2004)

I've done it a bunch of times with my 3.5 yr. old when I am distracted. Thankfully he always yells. Eek!


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## *Karen* (Jul 28, 2006)

Hey Steph!

I've done the same thing, except wayyyyy worse. We were leaving on a 9 hour trip and we got his DVD player all set up and everything in the car and my mom put him in. We leave and I look back at him no kidding, 20 minutes later and he is not buckled in. AH! It was crazy scary.

And you should totally get certified. I did a few months ago!


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## Cekimon (Feb 3, 2008)

i've done this a few times actually and ds will say "i'm not buckled!!!" He's 3 !!! Kids are so smart!


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## *Erin* (Mar 18, 2002)

im ashamed to admit that's happened to me a FEW times, but thankfully, dd will holler out "YOU FORGOT TO HUCKLE ME UP!!" without fail...


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## EviesMom (Nov 30, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ALittleBitCrunchy* 
When my son was a few months old, we drove my MIL to see a SIL. We stopped for a restroom break. DS was asleep so we carried the bucket seat into the restaurant and MIL sat with him while I was in the bathroom. We left and he was still snoozing in the seat. I had tossed a blankie around him as it was raining and it was all nicely tucked in, courtesty of MIL so I carried him back out, snapped the seat in and hit the road. Two hours later, after spending that time on dark, slick roads in the rain, we get to the hotel. I carry DS in, running with the seat through the downpour, and sit the seat down. I pull off the blanket and there he is...unbuckled. I freak. MIL says, "Oh, when we were at the restaurant, I undid that so he would be more comfortable." I managed to ask, "Did you forget that he was unbuckled in the car?" Nope. She knew. But he was 'in his seat' so he was safe, right. Last time MIL ever sat next to him in a car and last time I ever put a blanket over the latch on the straps.

Oh, I can top that... the nurse at the hospital when we went to take DD home did the SAME thing. She unstrapped DD and swaddled her so she couldn't be strapped in! Then she told me that it didn't really matter about the straps, "because you'll drive safe," but certainly didn't want the baby to get COLD!









We put DD in the seat at about age 3 once and didn't realize we hadn't strapped her in until she CLIMBED over the seat and into my lap! Argh! Seriously, it's pretty common, OP, just take it as a reminder to check and double check.


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## medicmama (May 5, 2006)

It happens to the best of us,don't be hard on yourself.

When ds1 was a few mos old I had taken him out of the car seat whine at the mall he had puked. got him cleaned up and must have plopped him back in. well he screamed all the way almost home a 45 min ride. I thought he might have puked again,so dh pulls over. well I go into the back seat he had flipped himself almost onto his belly in the bucket no straps on!!!!! I was shakeing!


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## StephandOwen (Jun 22, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by **Karen** 
Hey Steph!

I've done the same thing, except wayyyyy worse. We were leaving on a 9 hour trip and we got his DVD player all set up and everything in the car and my mom put him in. We leave and I look back at him no kidding, 20 minutes later and he is not buckled in. AH! It was crazy scary.

And you should totally get certified. I did a few months ago!

Hey! Where you at the fair today? I thought I saw you but we were on our way out and ds was not interested in backtracking (he had to pee... lol).

Where did you go to get certified, if you don't mind me asking?

As a funny update to this story... a couple days after it happened, dp picked ds up from daycare (where I work). DP texted me a couple minutes later saying that as they pulled out of the daycare ds told him "Thank you for remembering to buckle me up". LOL! Thanks for rubbing it in, kiddo


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## *Karen* (Jul 28, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *StephandOwen* 
Hey! Where you at the fair today? I thought I saw you but we were on our way out and ds was not interested in backtracking (he had to pee... lol).

Where did you go to get certified, if you don't mind me asking?

As a funny update to this story... a couple days after it happened, dp picked ds up from daycare (where I work). DP texted me a couple minutes later saying that as they pulled out of the daycare ds told him "Thank you for remembering to buckle me up". LOL! Thanks for rubbing it in, kiddo









Yep, we were at the fair. Dylan had a BLAST. He rode every single ride he was big enough to ride. We didn't leave until almost midnight.








Go to the SafeKids website, then you look for a local class. They are Monday - Friday all day. There was one in Georgetown a few weeks ago, and mine was downtown a few months ago. They are pretty random.


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## ILoveMyBabyBird (Sep 2, 2006)

i forgot to buckle ds once before too, luckily we only when across the street to another strip mall and not really far.


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## SaraMum (May 17, 2009)

I have also forgotten o do up the harness in the infant sea. We're all human


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## Belia (Dec 22, 2007)

I call these my "Mother of the Year" moments. I'll call my husband at work and say, "Hey! Guess what the Mother of the Year did today?" And then I'll fill him in on our driving-around-unbuckled, rolling-off-the-bed, eating-mysterious-substances-off-the-ground, sitting-in-poopy-diapers adventures.







Parenting is never boring!


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## StephandOwen (Jun 22, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by **Karen** 
Yep, we were at the fair. Dylan had a BLAST. He rode every single ride he was big enough to ride. We didn't leave until almost midnight.








Go to the SafeKids website, then you look for a local class. They are Monday - Friday all day. There was one in Georgetown a few weeks ago, and *mine was downtown a few months ago*. They are pretty random.

Dang! I can't believe I missed that. I have that site bookmarked and check it randomly but I've not seen one close (Louisville area has them frequently though). Then again, I haven't checked it lately either. Oh well. I'll probably have to wait until next summer and hope for a close one. Owen starts school (kindergarten







) in a couple weeks. The week after that I start at BCTC. So I'll be working Mon/Wed/Fri mornings (8-2) and Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri afternoons (3-6). Classes will be Tues/Thurs mornings (8-2) and Mon/Wed nights (6:30-7:45). Busy busy


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## NatureMommy (May 3, 2002)

I did that when my kids were 3 years and 3 months old. After a hectic shopping trip, I had my 3 year old climb into his seat and handed him his treat while I got the baby strapped into his seat. Being tired, frazzled and just plain thankful no one was screaming (including mommy), I climbed in and started the car. As I was backing out of the parking space, my preschooler screamed, "Mommy are you trying to kill me?" and burst into tears. I had forgotten to buckle him in. It was easily remedied by pulling forward into the parking space and buckling him in. To make sure it would not happen again, he proceeded to demand to be buckled in for the next 1.5 years, until he figured out how to do it himself.

We also experienced the unsecured carseat scenario. When ds#1 was two years old, we had two cars and one car seat. It had to be switched back and forth as needed. One day while getting on the freeway, I heard great peals of laughter. I glanced in the baby mirror and to my horror saw ds's carseat on its side with ds laughing and clapping. Luckily the onramp was also the offramp and I was off the freeway and in a parking lot in less then a minute. He thought it was great fun, but that night we appealed to the Bank of Grandma, and had a new carseat for the second car the next day.


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## smallmama (Dec 6, 2006)

I did the same thing for the first time last week!! On one hand, I guess I'm lucky I made it to age 3 without doing it, but on the other hand, it still gives me shivers thinking about it. We were at Costco, just about 5 miles away, and while he was climbing onto his carseat, I knocked my soda cup over on the seat next to him and got distracted cleaning it up. I also really had to pee and that had my focus. LOL. He didn't say anything, and I didn't notice until I went to get him out. I'm going to start asking him. Thanks for that idea.


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## Love_My_Bubba (Jul 4, 2006)

I had a really scary moment recently. We were travelling to NJ on the 4th with our neighbors in 2 separate cars. Their DD was with us in her booster







. We stopped at a rest stop and she needed a potty so they got her out and took her to the bathroom.

We traveled for almost another hour down the NJ turnpike in 4th of July traffic and were almost sideswiped by someone trying to pass on the right. When we got to NJ I pulled the seatbelt aside to get into the back seat of my van and DS's carseat came right along with it. When they got their DD out the had unbuckled the seatbet securing my DS's Regent and I had almost been in an accident with his car seat secured only by the top tether.

My knees went weak when I realized what could have happened.


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## *Karen* (Jul 28, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *StephandOwen* 
Dang! I can't believe I missed that. I have that site bookmarked and check it randomly but I've not seen one close (Louisville area has them frequently though). Then again, I haven't checked it lately either. Oh well. I'll probably have to wait until next summer and hope for a close one. Owen starts school (kindergarten







) in a couple weeks. The week after that I start at BCTC. So I'll be working Mon/Wed/Fri mornings (8-2) and Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri afternoons (3-6). Classes will be Tues/Thurs mornings (8-2) and Mon/Wed nights (6:30-7:45). Busy busy









Whew, you are busy. Yeah, I totally lucked into mine. I looked at it started in less than two weeks so I signed up. If I ever hear of one coming, I'll let you know!


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