OMG...WWYD if you saw this carseat pic posted on FB?

[MamieCole]

~Nevermind~

I truly do not know what to do when I see pics like this. I wish I hadn't seen it. This particular picture was posted today by my cousin. Her baby is only 10 1/2 months old. What do I do? Do I say something? What do I say? Do I send links? Do I do nothing? 

Edited by MamieCole - 3/6/11 at 10:08am

[elisheva]

I guess you can hope that he wiggled out while they were waiting somewhere and she fixed it before they got going....

I *would* post a "why you should keep your baby rear-facing" link to my profile and see if she notices - maybe it would raise her awareness.

I'm not sure what I would do. Prob send a message along the lines of "Dear Cousin, I saw your super-cute pic of Kid on FB today. He sure is getting big!! Carseat safety is one of my big areas of interest - please tell me you guys were just having fun before driving off and he wasn't really riding like this? Also, have you seen that the APA <or whatever org/assoc is giving the mainstream guidelines> now recommends you rearface your baby as long as the seat will allow? Here's some more info in case you're interested."

Might make her mad but, like you said, if something happened and you hadn't said anything you'd feel more horrible about that than her being ticked at you...

Just my $0.02

[MusicianDad]

Not to take away from the topic, but might I suggest removing the picture from your post and just describing it instead. I know we all tend to trust people on MDC instinctively, but it doesn't change the fact that you have no clue who it is that is viewing that picture now that it's up.

ETA: This is assuming, of course, that the child in the picture is your cousins and not yours.

[HeatherB]

I would also suggest a friendly, upbeat private message....

"Hey, cousin! I saw your adorable pic of Baby! He is so cute! I noticed he's having some problems with the straps on his seat, though. I remember how challenging that stuff was with my first, and I wanted to share this link with you, as I found it really helpful:
http://www.drmomma.org/2010/02/common-car-seat-errors.html

I hope that helps! He is so adorable and I want him as safe as possible so I can meet him soon! "

Okay, so it's hard to know what to say... But frame it as positively as you can, share something simple and nonthreatening, and you've done all you can.

I'd also suggest removing the picture.

[DahliaRW]

I agree with the upbeat PM.  Though at this point I wouldn't bring up ERF.  That may be going too far and turn the mom off.  It's imperative the straps be moved above his shoulders and be on him properly as well as the infant insert be removed since it's only for rfing, and I would focus on that.  If she emails back a huge thank you or something, then mention ERF as an option.

[MamieCole]

Thanks for the advice. I removed the post.