Anyone with small children knows just how maddening installing a carseat can be!
Sure, you’d think it would be a simple enough process, right?
- Remove from box.
- Read instructions.
- Install accordingly.
Well, many things that sound simple in theory often end up highly complicated in practice.
If only it were so simple. Here is a more realistic depiction of what the process actually entails.
STEP 1 – Extract from Box
Attempt to open box. Experience difficulty removing tape. What do they think this stuff is going to be used for…sending the next shuttle into space? Crikey! It’s just a carseat in a box! It’s not like it’s going to try and escape…
Finally, after fingernails, house key, and butter knife fail to break the seal, you bring out the big guns – the butcher knife. Your child looks at you worriedly as you savagely open the box.
After pulling the darn thing out of the box, you plop down exhausted on the floor and wonder why there are multiple pieces instead of a fully-assembled carseat.
STEP 2 – Read Instructions
NOTE: If you are a member of the male species, step 2 is saved for last…
If you are female, proceed reading the instruction manual. After pilfering through four different languages, you finally find instructions in your native tongue.
You feel a bit dismayed to read that “some assembly is required.” Through much grunting, a bent butter knife, and several broken fingernails later, you finally have the carseat together.
Step 3 – Install in Car
Depending on the type of carseat you have will determine the pleasure (or pain) you will experience in this final step.
If you have a rear-facing carseat designed for a smaller baby or toddler, hang on!
Read through instruction manual at least 10 times in attempts to decipher how the heck you are supposed to thread the seatbelt through a maze of plastic and holes.
Roll up your sleeves and take a deep breath and give it a go. The first 100 attempts the seatbelt retracts too far and you don’t have enough to buckle it in it’s latch. After each shortcoming, you must unweave the seatbelt from the maze the instructions insist should work and give it yet another attempt.
Finally on the 101st try, you make it through all the loops and after putting all your weight on the carseat you manage to get it to fasten! Hallelujah!!!
Step 4 – Take it To a Certified Expert to Double Check Your Handiwork
You do a little homework and you find out that your local firestation, hospital, or Babies “R” Us does free carseat checks. You decide to take it in, just to be sure your little person will be safely strapped in as you cruise through town.
Upon initial inspection, the certified carseat installer-person notifies you that the in spite of your best efforts, the carseat is not properly installed.
They look through the instruction manual and quickly get it all ship-shape. Voila! After all the blood, sweat, and tears, your child’s carseat is now safely installed.
Moral of the Story
Carseats can be highly aggravating and put your patience to the test.
Carseats are vital for the safety of your children. Ensuring the carseat properly installed is VITAL! Please make sure your carseat meets all safety requirements and ask for help if you need it.
Here is a great resource to help answer your carseat questions http://www.car-safety.org/. Happy driving!
