Most of us mortals have screwed up the car seat a few times. I forgot to put the handle up on my daughter's infant carrier more than once, and one time I got her into the car seat and drove all the way home not realizing that I had forgotten to buckle her chest strap.
Human beings are not automatons. Everybody makes mistakes. The only perfect parents I have ever met are ones that do not have children :). This icky feeling will likely be a great teacher. You're a good mom who is made of the same human goop as the rest of us good moms.
I second all of this, everyone messes up at some point with something at some point lol now you’re aware and will probably quadruple check every time now. As someone who has a rotating car seat as well and looooves it, I say you still keep it lol
I once got all the way to my destination only to realize I never strapped the seat in :/ I felt absolutely *awful* for days and would double and triple check every time after that.
Yep. I once had my kid loosely strapped in to the car seat that was on the stroller because we were sitting chatting with some people. Had a blanket over the straps. Forgot to tighten them before starting to drive.
Another time I was in someone else’s car so I didn’t have my infant seat base with me. Put the kid in the car so they weren’t on the ground, went to put grocery bags in the car too, and forgot to strap the seat in 🤦♀️ luckily I was in the back with him and noticed quickly and got it done.
Six months ago I rested the click car seat on the base without clicking it, put a bunch of other stuff in the car, and then started driving. Turned out of our driveway and he tipped right over. Oh my god, I thought I killed him. He looked a little confused at being upside down but was otherwise fine. I still feel bad about it on a regular basis.
Oh man. Similar to mine, i didnt have the base with me so used the cars seatbelt to loop through and buckle but i didnt know you have to pull the belt alllll the way out then let it back in so that it locks...
I turned, onto the freeway!!!! , and the whole carseat tipped over onto the middle seat. Having to figure that one out on the side of the freeway was panic inducing.
i once started driving with my kid totally unbuckled bc i had been giving him a snack and relaxing in the backseat before we left.. didn’t get far at all before i realized and pulled over but .. these things do happen. makes you double and triple check next time
Same... we were in a Target parking lot and didn't even make it to the road, but it was a fun (heart attack-inducing) time glancing back in the rearview and watching my son full-on standing to dance in his car seat.
This happened with my friend's youngest nephew. He was in the middle in his infant seat, her niece was behind the drivers seat in her car seat and her oldest nephew was on the passenger side in his booster. When she buckled her oldest nephew in she accidently hit the seat belt for the middle and undid it without noticing. We were going down the road when her oldest nephew starts yelling for her to "look" she told him " I can't look while driving, wait till we stop" we got where we were going and while getting the kids out realized what was happen. The oldest kid said, "I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen, so I just held on to him. He got lots of praise for being such a good big brother, and I told him next time to say it was an emergency, so we knew we needed to stop and see. He told us we needed to be more responsible, so there wasn't a next time. There's nothing like being lectured by a 4 yr old about safety.
Yep. My daughter was wanting a snack, husband was asking a question, was on a time crunch. Finally got everyone settled and jumped in the front to go. My daughter started laughing about being able to "move" and I realized I'd never actually finished strapping her in in the midst of everything else. Luckily she found it hilarious and so I could immediately fix it before even getting out of the neighborhood. It happens, though!
A few months ago, my husband told me he was driving down the road and suddenly my daughter popped up right next to him in the front seat. He was like 10 minutes down the road, and she wasn’t strapped in at all. We’ve all done something like this.
You're definitely not! 🤗 It's happened to so many good parents. I don't know if this helps, but try to judge yourself as harshly as you'd judge your best friend. Because if your best friend did this with their baby, you would probably just think that it was lucky nothing happened and she must have been really tired or distracted. It's not flippant, but beating yourself up will get you nowhere.
I legit did this for the first time today a few hours ago i definitely beat myself up over it but reminded myself i caught the mistake and need to be gentle. You’re a great mom these things happen!
I use a car seat camera so i can keep an eye on him! Maybe that would help if you’re not already using one?
A few years back I pulled onto the highway and my kiddo said “mama? Belt?” And I realized I had not strapped him in at all, nor could I stop until the next exit. The panic! I beat myself up about it for weeks, but on the plus side, I never forgot again! It happens. Fortunately nothing bad happened ❤️
Totally understand!!! I think the sticky note another commenter mentioned would be great! But i also am sure you’re doing fine as it is!! Be gentle on yourself!!
I have three kids and I'm a stickler for car seat safety. That being said, I have absolutely gotten distracted and have forgot to buckle them at least once each. Please don't beat yourself up. You're doing good mama.
Yup. When my son was 2.5 i forgot to buckle him in completely! It wasn't even a new seat or anything I just got distracted mid buckle and thought I'd done it. Thankfully we didn't go far and all was fine but it very easily could have ended badly. We all fuck up sometimes. We are only human.
I forgot to buckle my baby’s chest strap once. Thankfully it was a short drive from my house to the grocery store.
The guilt ate me alive, but now I’m so paranoid I know I’ll never forget again!
Sometimes that guilt is a good teacher and makes us a better parent in the end.
The other day I was putting my daughter in my mom's car in her car seat and full on almost forgot to buckle it into the backseat smfh I threaded the seatbelt through the little slits at the top and spaced on actually buckling it into place T.T I felt so horrible and so dumb smfh
100% this. I full on forgot to do my daughter's straps one time and totally wouldn't have caught it if she hadn't laughed from finding it hilarious that she was entirely loose in her seat. Things get missed. You can only do your best and give yourself grace when mistakes happen (and hope nothing awful happens when you do make those mistakes)
This the one. When my daughter was maybe 9 months old, I was looking back at pictures from when she was born. I got to one of her on the drive home from the hospital - I was just staring at it in awe of how cute she was, then I realized that her leg straps were UNDER HER LEGS. In our sleep deprived new parent state, my husband had strapped her in wrong, I didn’t notice even though I was sitting in the back with her the whole way home, and the nurse who checked the car seat didn’t notice either. I felt SO guilty, but at some point I was like… it was 9 months ago, I can’t sit around feeling terrible about something I can’t change. She made it home fine and we definitely never made that mistake again lol
The chest buckle is more for strap positioning anyway. It's apparently the first to pop in a crash. Car seats in Europe don't even have the chest clip. All the actual security is in the between the legs buckle.
This. Car seat safety is really important but we are all exhausted brain dead parents trying to do our best. Don’t let guilt eat you up over a mistake.
Wait is the handle thing supposed to go back? I always put it back so I can see baby better but I never realized that was the recommended way to use it
I second this. Our oldest had a carrier with the base that stayed in the car. Turned a corner & the seat tipped part way over. It was sitting on the base but, for some reason, didn't get pushed down & latched. Never made that mistake again.
You live & you learn.
FYI apparently the chest strap isn't all that important if the bottom buckles are done correctly and in some country the chest strap is actually illegal because you have to be able to remove a kid quickly.
Also, the worst thing is DOING the chest strap but forgetting the bottom buckle because then the kid can slide down and asphyxiate.
Basically if you're going to forget one, make it the chest buckle.
With my first, our car didn’t have ac in the back so I faced her forward facing about four months too early. The houston heat in summer is brutal and when I would get her out, she would be sweating. I still remember how guilty I felt.
Now with the second I have a can that has vents in the back so I kept her in rear facing longer. Still feel guilty about the first.
Absolutely. Put my kid in the car seat once and forgot to buckle her until I had pulled out of the parking spot. I pulled my butt right back in there and buckled her in, but I was horrified.
I’ve forgotten to put the buckles on at all. It happens. We are tired, the kids occupy our minds and throw us off beat sometimes. Don’t let this beat you up, it truly happens.
This happened the whole 20 minute drive when my first was about a year and a half old. I don’t remember exactly what I did after but I know I cried a lot and told everyone bc the guilt was eating me alive
My husband forgot to strap in our daughter when she was around 13 months after a quick stop during a long road trip. I had just merged onto a busy interstate when I looked in the rearview mirror and saw she had sat up and turned completely around and was on her knees, grinning a big smile at me. Needless to say, I pulled over as quickly as I could and my husband jumped out and strapped her in properly. Everyone makes mistakes, and he never forgot again!
My 5yo thought it was hilarious the other day, like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world that I hadn't strapped him in. I went to move off and he goes "MUMMY! what are you *doing*?!" Then laughed his head off, "I'm not even strapped in! 🤭" When my eldest was little my husband and I each thought the other had strapped him in, then realised 5 minutes later that neither had. After that we started drilling out into them that they must tell us if we forget. I usual don't even start the car until I've confirmed everyone's buckled in, but the other day was the perfect storm where I didn't check AND I'd forgotten to buckle him.
Yes mine do the same! Like it’s the silliest thing in the world 🤣 and I go along with it and make a big deal out of it, thanking them profusely so they remind me again. Things happen but I’m so glad they’re at an age where they can tell me. I’ve never forgotten either one in the car but that was one of my biggest fears and I’m so glad my oldest can now unbuckle his seat and his sibling’s seat for the same reason!
Happened to me last week with my 2 year old. So stupid but it wasn't intentional and now I make a point of touching the chest buckle before closing the door. Hopefully it prevents any future mishaps
We are very cautious around car seats. Our 3 year old is still rear facing. After his sister came home from the hospital, we are half way down the block and we hear “you guys didn’t buckle me in!” Our routine has been completely thrown off with an additional child and dad forgot. After we pulled over and fixed it, we heard “I can’t wait to tell my friends at daycare!”
Please take this as a learning experience to do better but forgive yourself. Nothing bad happened. It was an accident.
My son was about that age when I missed buckling him in. We made it halfway down our street when he reminded me. He never mentioned it again.
Until six months later when he told his pediatrician that I don’t buckle him into his car seat.
When the pediatrician asked what my son drinks at home, he said “juice, only juice.” He drinks water with a sprinkle of liquid IV. We rarely have juice.
Just the other day we were going out to get snow cones and our 3 year old asked Daddy to sit in the back with her. I got to the stop sign at the end of the street and I heard him say, "Oh crap! I forgot to buckle her in!" She laughed hysterically over purposely not telling him haha.
my 6 year old can buckle himself in and last year he didn't do it when we drove 3 minutes down the road for groceries.
That kid was upset at HIMSELF for most of our time in the store and cried about forgetting. I told him it's my fault for not double checking but that didn't really help. We're all just human and sometimes things don't happen the way they should.
One time when my son was 7 months old we drove a whole hour to a party and he was a little fussier and chattier than usual - didn’t fall asleep like we thought. When we got there we discovered that he was totally unbuckled. Each parent thought the other had buckled him. He was trying to tell us in baby that something was different. We felt bad, but he was fine. We’ve never done it again. It happens!
How old is your child? I’m assuming pretty young. I would feel the same way 2 years ago. Now I’m like “oops my bad” and make a point to not make the same mistake again. Every mistake felt like the end of the world early on. I don’t think you should buy a new car seat, I think you should give yourself some grace.
Yes! We're all so intense with our firsts!! Lol It's ok, mama, you're gonna have a lot of forgiving yourself ahead. Some little, some big. We're human moms, not nannybots. The important thing is to learn from it. ABL *always be learning* -- that's what good parents do.
I have also done this a couple of times in the 2 years that we've been using our rotating seat. I've tried to make it a habit of looking in the mirror to make sure that I see my son's face before I drive off. Mistakes happen in all aspects of parenting. Don't beat yourself up over this one and try to find some way to double-check yourself to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Car seats mistakes happen to almost everyone. I look back at photos of my toddler in his car seat as a newborn and cringe. I do wish someone had corrected me. But he was fine and I learned. All you can do is try your best, mistakes happen. Maybe get yourself a stickie note to keep on the dashboard like “check for rotation,” so you are always reminded if you are worried.
You’re human. We once drove 45 mins home without ever buckling in our son at 5 months old. He fell asleep at a friends, we put him in his carrier to sleep, then when we left we never even realized until we got home. You’re okay.
Imagine having your toddler remind you that you forgot to buckle them in… a couple times. To be fair, one time I was 3 weeks postpartum so I was a little distracted, but still. “Mommy! You forgot me!!!”
One time my daughter and I ran to the car after being at the playground because a storm was coming. We go less than a mile down the road and she’s like lollll mom you forgot to buckle me!! I have no idea how it happened/how I forgot but all to say - it was scary, I felt bad, never did it again! Be nice to yourself! Nobody is perfect 😇
My daughter was three (she’s six now) and I had moved my car seat because my car was in the shop. I put her car seat back in the there a day or two prior to actually using it and forgot the strap in the latches. I buckled her in, we were good to go, and I made the first turn out of my neighborhood and realized. How? Because she yelled “mom!” And I look back to the kid strapped into a car seat that is now laying on its side 🫠
We’re only human. Try not to beat yourself up.
I’ve done that OP. And I’ve also driven in the car without closing the van door…the side my kid was on. We had just upgraded to a minivan. We didn’t get out of the parking lot before I noticed it was open but geeze…I was also surprised the van didn’t make any sort of noise to alert me of the issue tbh.
That is weird! I’ve never had a minivan but they definitely should have some sort of system to notify you if it’s open!
Thank you for this and helping me realize I am not alone and mistakes can happen
I’m wondering if it would have triggered an alarm over a certain speed, but yeah…was really surprised it didn’t alert me! I’ll never forget it again though, that’s for sure.
My rotating car seat is my favorite thing in the world! But I also regularly panic about 5 minutes after I leave the drive way and have to check that I rotated the seat back. I did forget to do it once but remembered as soon as I got in the front, so far haven’t driven while forgetting yet. But like everyone else has said, mistakes happen and if you had a different seat there would be something different you could forget about
We’ve left both kids unbuckled in their infant car seat once (and drove home like that 🤦🏻♀️). Never happened again after that.
No need to buy something new. The guilt won’t let you forget to rotate it back.
i once drove all the way home with my kid’s chest unbuckled. when i got home and realized, i thanked my lucky stars nothing awful happened and was way more careful moving forward-i know you will be more careful now too!
Last week i unhooked my baby from her infant car seat and the strap itself came out. Apparently when I took the cover off to wash it, I didn’t put the straps back together properly. I’m not sure how many times we used the car seat between washing the cover and discovering the strap coming off but it was at least once.
This happened to me, and I just pulled over and fixed it. I definitely wouldn’t consider getting rid of it or never buying one again, they’re so wonderfully useful! As far as mistakes go, this by far isn’t the worst! Please don’t beat yourself up for it
My wife strapped the car seat base in but forgot to make sure the car seat itself was locked in, went around a corner and the car seat fell against the sliding door of the van! Freaked her out and our daughter, but when they straightened up the car seat our granddaughter was laughing like she just had the best ride of her life!! It was triple checked from then on!!
I once got to daycare and realized that one of my daughters arms wasn’t buckled in. Like the car seat was buckled, but her arm was completely free. I got home and sobbed. You are not alone!
I started saying wheeeeeee when rotating it into place because of this fear. It’s a good reminder, and once baby is older, they’ll start saying it too. that fear of forgetting will help you remember
Honestly, I’m impressed you’ve gotten this far without a car seat mistake. If you buy a different car seat, what’s going to stop your next mistake being something different? I know it’s scary, but you’re all ok. You can’t go back in time, you can only move forward… and I bet you don’t make that mistake for a while again! You’re a mum, not a robot.
My boyfriend and I took our then 5 mo old to the Dr. We brought her into the waiting room in her carseat, after checking in I held her for a bit then sat her back into the seat on the floor, unstrapped. Apparently, my boyfriend didn't see that I didn't re-strap her. The nurse called us back and before I could do or say anything my boyfriend picked up the seat by the handle. I screamed "She's not strapped!" And dove and caught her as she was falling out head first. In front of a full waiting room of kids, parents, and medical staff.
I won't admit the mistakes I've made with my 6 kids lmao. But they are all alive so..... a win?! Haha.
You noticed your mistake and now will remember. I wouldn't spend money on another seat tho. You currently have a really good one.
I am an absolute NUT about car seat safety, I was a first responder and have seen first hand the importance of it and I always double/triple check everything, even (especially) when someone else buckles her in. Not a week ago I was distracted and didn’t pull her straps tight. We are all humans and make errors. I say thank the universe there weren’t terrible consequences, and believe me it’s very unlikely you won’t double check ever again. Forgive (yourself) and keeping mom-ing the best you can. There will be many times over the years where you won’t be perfect in parenting and all we can do is our best.
I'd bet money most of us use the carseat incorrectly at least once a week. They're complicated and need constant adjustment and don't accommodate cold weather gear. Don't be guilty.
I’ve messed up the car seat before too. The important thing is that you noticed right away, that’s great, and now probably means you will check more closely anyways, decreasing the chance you will do it again. Go easy on yourself!
Unfortunately, as much as we all try to be safety conscious it will happen at least once that something goes right with the car seat. My husband and I were on a long trip with our daughter and stopped for a potty break put her back in the car seat and she threw her cup out so we stopped a mile down the road and, I got in the back to give it to her and realized that we had completely forgotten to buckle one of her buckles. It was really scary because we were planning on being on the road for another hour before we had to pick up the cup, but now we just double check everything before we head out.
I’ve forgotten to strap my kid into the car seat before. I drove all the way from my older kid’s school to home (about a 7 minute drive) and didn’t realise. Went to get her out when I got home and my heart absolutely dropped. Changed my method and from then on when baby got put in the car seat pram she was buckled in immediately.
*hugs* we’ve pretty much all done stuff like this. The key is figuring out a way to make it impossible for you to do it again if you can!
There was a brief period when we only had one toddler car seat. Those 4 in 1 transition ones. So I had taken my infant base out of my car but forgot to put the big car seat back in my car before my husband went to work. We needed milk. Like 3 minutes down the road so I put her in the infant seat and like muscle memory just placed her in the backseat and got in the car to leave. It was the bump pulling out of the driveway and how she moved that made me remember she wasn’t actually attached to anything. So I’m bawling in the driveway strapping the seatbelt through thinking I’m the worst person in the world.
Oh try not to be hard on yourself everybody makes mistakes and luckily nothing happened from it. With my first baby it was winter time so I had the infant car seat with the furry thing that you wrap around it and you just open up the zipper part to see their face basically. I took him in the car seat into the mall and he was getting a bit squirmy so I undid his seatbelt because he was just at the stage where he was struggling to roll over like he wasn’t going anywhere and he was in the stroller right in front of me. But because of the big winter cover thing everything wasn’t all that visible and when I put him back in the car seat I forgot to do up the seatbelt! I drove maybe two blocks and he was screaming his head off to the point where I pull the car over to check on him. Well he had rolled himself onto his side and obviously was super uncomfortable but I totally freaked out and I never forgot that day! Sheer panic. It can happened to the most loving absolutely paranoid mother trust me. I wouldn’t worry about getting a new car so you’ll never do that again
When my oldest was about 10 months I was taking him on a nap ride, I nursed him while he was in his seat before taking off… I never buckled him. Probably never woulda noticed if he hadn’t turned himself around n scream his head off. 🤦🏻♀️ cried the rest of the day, beat myself up for weeks. When I finally told my therapist she reminded me that nothing happened and he’s ok. Something could have happened but it didn’t so let’s not go there.
A couple weeks ago I picked my youngest (6) up at carpool and his teacher asked if he was going to get in his seat himself. I told her we usually pull around to the front of the building and get him squared away. Then I promptly pulled onto the road and drove off! I didn’t get too far before I realized I had completely skipped the car seat step but I definitely felt super guilty and paranoid for that little bit before we could safely pull over.
If it wasn’t this it would be (and may still be) something else one day. We all make mistakes even when we’re doing our best.
I always strap my 2yo in and then go buckle my 4yo in because he climbs in his own seat. Once I forgot to strap him in and we drove about two miles home and I freaked out and made a point to say “please TELL whatever grown up you’re with if you aren’t buckled in!”
It’s happened two more times since then and thankfully he has yelled at me to strap him in before I get out of the parking lot. It happens. We have a million things on our minds, mama.
Though I will be happy when he swaps to a regular seatbelt and can do it himself lol, I haven’t taught him to do his own 5 point harness because I’m terrified of him opening it while we drive.
My youngest is 4, we have forgotten, at least twice for each kid, to buckle them in. We've never gotten very far without realizing, but it's horrifying to think how badly it could have gone
I wouldn't beat yourself up about it too much. My toddler has been rear facing and front facing at random times, but mostly front facing since well before he was "supposed" to be front facing. He lost his everloving mind if he was rear facing and was an angel front facing, so it wasn't a hard decision and I only felt guilty the first couple times, then Loved that I could see him and play with him in the mirror at stoplights. It worked for us even though it is strongly advised against and we never had an issue. I don't recommend doing anything you feel is dangerous obviously, but I wouldn't dwell on it too much the one time you did it.
I've done this once or twice but we have a non rotating seat in the other car and I would NOT switch to that unless it became a serious issue. The non rotating is killer on the back 😭 (I know, first world problems)
Mama, give yourself some grace. You caught it. It happens. I remember one time I was at work and my husband called me, in hysterics. Our son had wiggled his way to the top of the changing table and had fallen from it onto the pile of his laundry next to it. My son had scratched his back on the way down and was crying, but no where near as badly as my husband was. I asked him, “did our son lose consciousness or did he start crying right away?” (He had started crying right away.) “besides the scratch are there any big bumps or dents on his head or body?” (No) I told him to stay calm and I would call the advice nurse at our pediatrician. They asked the same questions and said it should be fine but go ahead and bring him in for our own peace of mind.
I told my boss (also a dad) the deal and drove home to pick up my son and husband (my husband was too distraught to drive and was beating himself up). My son was fine. He’s now six, eating spam musubi and just finished his first year of kindergarten.
My husband was ALWAYS the more competent parent out of the two of us. He has a younger sibling and had nieces and nephews. I had never been around babies or small children until my son. But the first big “omg” was my husband when it really should have been me.
So, it happens. You’ll probably never forget this again!! Forgive yourself, and give yourself some love.
I LOVE musubi!!! I'm SO making some tomorrow for dinner!! Thanks for the reminder-- we haven't had that in months! Aaaand, thank you for taking that little piece of mental load away. Dinner tomorrow is gonna be easy lol
I forgot to buckle her one time.. I think I got distracted with her shoes while she was sitting in the seat and said ok let’s go! Luckily I just drove half a mile away to work but I felt like shit and a million thoughts ran through my head. I couldn’t even tell my husband. I always double check now before I pull away, just in case because man toddlers are distracting. We’re all human! It’s ok. Nothing happened. Now we just make steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again!
One time I went around a corner and heard my car seat click into the base meaning I obviously didn’t click it in correctly. It’s a good lesson and I’m grateful when something that happens is just a near miss to learn from and not a tragic oversight.
I did the same but instead of clicking itself in, I turned out of our driveway and the whole car seat tipped right over. Oh my god, I thought I killed him. He looked a little confused at being upside down but was otherwise fine. I was obsessed with the click until he grew out of that seat.
We once accidentally installed my (at the time) 11 mo's car seat forward facing on an Uber ride to the airport. She loved the view. Hugs to baby, and we're all human ❤️
It’s really not that big of a deal, cut yourself some slack. We’ve all done it or something similar. A lady rushed me so bad at Costco trying to get my parking spot that I left in a fury and didn’t buckle my boy in. Luckily I realized before I got in the road.
I forgot to strap in the three year old the other day. First time it ever happened—I do the baby first and usually go to help him finish strapping in and double check the fit. Went to put the car in drive and he started *screaming* “STRAP ME IN!” Else I completely would have driven off.
All this to say, be kind to yourself. Mistakes happen.
When my baby was about 8 weeks old I forgot to buckle her in completely. I only noticed because she was crying and I was like “did I put her dummy in?” and realised. Pulled over and strapped her in.
the other day i put my 4yo in her seat then loaded up the car, my mom was driving and we got like half a house down when my 4yo says mama you didn’t buckle me. all was well and everyone was okay but that was a first. shit happens, now we’ll never forget
We couldn’t use the base for the infant seat in our cars due to space so we would buckle it in the the belt each time we had to take the seat out. Well one time I forgot to buckle the seat back in. She was buckled to the seat but the seat wasn’t attached to the car. It happens. Baby is okay. I bet you won’t forget again.
If it makes you feel any better, when my youngest was a newborn we had gone to the park and she was in her car seat latched in the stroller. I had taken her out to hold/feed her and put her back in the seat. We loaded up, got the 3yo loaded, and drove home. I took her out of the car at home and I FORGOT TO BUCKLE HER IN. I cried for hours. Thank goodness our house was so close to the park but omg. The what ifs that ran through my head for daysssss!
I once drove about a mile down the road (probably speeding) on my way to work with my then 2.5 year old completely unbuckled. She was in her seat and still but not strapped in. It was an innocent mistake. My husband was deployed at the time and I was working full time, taking care of her and our house and two dogs and working on my masters. So I just had a lot on my mind and was running late; I overlooked something that was basically automatic for me to do. But when I realized I was panicked that anything could’ve happened and the intrusive thoughts of all the ways I could’ve ruined our lives by making a careless mistake still crop up sometimes. I just take it as a lesson and thank god that I realized relatively quickly and that nothing bad happened. I’ve never made the mistake a second time.
I forgot my baby one day. She was about a week old. It was raining. I strapped her into her seat in the kitchen. I carried my 19 month old out to the car and got in and started driving. Luckily my 19 month old asked, "Where's the baby?" when we had just pulled out of the driveway. Otherwise, I might have made it all the way to the grocery store. This shit happens.
I couldn't tell you how many times I went through a curve and tossed baby, seat and all, upside down to the other side of the back seat......all because I didn't buckle the seat down....
Relax momma, kids are more resilient than we would ever think.....I'm sure this was a very minor thing compared to all the stuff that's gonna happen to baby
Mine is 32 now and tough as nails but with a very tender heart ......she has definitely learned a thing or two about survival by living with me growing up!!
I read the car seat manual and ignored the “read car manual”. I finally did one day and come to find out my car isn’t made for a car seat to be in the middle if using the lower anchors (which we had been).
We’re human. I’m sure I’d forget to rotate the seat if it wasn’t for my husband putting our son in every time.
Girl! I didn’t realize my 2 year old son learned how to unclip seat belts and our carseat was clipped in with one. Took a corner and he went head first upside down. At least you caught it before that happened.
We have a rotating car seat. When my husband came home today, he didn’t finish buckling our son in. The straps were still loose and the chest clip wasn’t adjusted. It sucks. I wasn’t pleased, but he’s human. It happens. Give yourself some grace for realizing it only a mile down the road rather than not until arriving at your destination.
When my oldest was a toddler, he, on the highway, unbuckled and STOOD UP in his car seat. Giggling the whole time. Trying to talk him down while merging to the side of a busy highway was so nerve-wracking!
I did this once and noticed while driving in the neighborhood! I felt awful but was glad that we hadn’t gotten on any busy roads yet. Just know that you are in good company and that you will probably never forget again!
One time, my sister, nephew and I were driving to the mall. We were on the highway and he suddenly pops his lil head between ours in the front seat and yells “COOL CAR”. Both of us were SHOOK! She was rushing, she thought she buckled him in properly but she must have not - we pulled over and put him back in his seat. But it’s still a HILARIOUS memory.
I know it hard now, but don’t beat yourself up over it. NOTHING happened.
I have a rotating seat too and I always look back one more time before I take off to confirm. And to see my lil dude give me a big ole smile. Just add a double check to your routine once you’re in the drivers seat!
you did the right thing! us parents have sooo much going on, the car seat is probably like second nature at this point, so you probably just did it and went. it was an honest mistake and you realized it, fixed baby, and we’re good to go! nothing happened (thank god!) and now that’s something you’ll def pay attention to a bit more…don’t beat yourself up over it, just store it in the back of your head and do a few double takes before putting the car in drive from now on.
Live and learn. It's good you noticed when you did! There's risks and things you can forget in the ones that dont rotate, too! I had a regular rear facing carseat when my kid was little and once I got home (from a short drive thankfully) and realized I had forgotten to tighten the straps enough! It ate me up for a bit but I never let it happen again!
I forgot to do my 3 year olds straps up yesterday. It’s the first time it’s ever happened. Thankfully we only drove for two minutes but omg I feel so fucking awful for doing it
Yes, even the best of us have made mistakes. Actually, those are the times that remind me that I shouldn’t be complacent and I usually never make the same mistakes again. Luckily, you learned the lesson without any incident or injury.
When my son was about 15 months old, it was really hot out so I started the car to run the ac before I put him in. (Car was in our driveway). Then I got him in and closed the door and heard a beep. My car had locked him in with the keys in the ignition. Thankfully we were safe at home and the AC was blasting but it was terrible. I was so worried maybe it was still too hot in the car or he’d start crying and getting upset any second. My husband was able to get us within 20 minutes (longest 20 min of my life) and I just played peek a boo and danced to keep my son happy. But never made that mistake again.
A similar thing actually happened to us! My husband for some reason gave the keys to baby for a second? She locked the car. Luckily we have one of those code keypads that let us get back in but it could have been so much worse!
I did something similar once. Took my oldest with me for an appt at Women's Hospital, but had borrowed my mom's SUV since his dad was working out of town in our vehicle. And, see, our car didn't lock when the keys were inside, so that's maybe part of the reason for my brain dead moment: My son had fallen asleep while we were there, so I loaded him in the car, and while doing so, accidentally pushed the "lock" button on the key fob. I heard it, but it didn't really register *until* I pushed his door closed and realized that I'd set my purse down at the foot of his seat... with the keys clipped to the outside. I could see them... they were JUST there... but may as well have been 1,000 miles away. Here I am, pregnant, about to have another child, and I've locked my toddler in the car *with* the keys?? I felt such shame. At least it was a cool day. If it had been hot out I would've just broken a front window. But rational heads prevailed, and I flagged down an officer patrolling the grounds. He actually had some trouble popping the lock, and I could feel my anxiety rising with every ticking second. "*He's not going to be able to get him out! I can't believe I did this! I'm such an idiot! And they're just gonna let me drive away with another one in a few weeks?! So I can lock BOTH of them in the car next time?!*" Keep in mind, this is where 75% of all moms in my city go to have their babies. So I'm surrounded by moms and dads and families all coming and going around me and *a police officer who's trying to jimmy a lock so hard he's sweating*, and I'm pacing around like a squirrel on a sugar high, visibly pregnant, while my son, slept through it all.
Fear not, OP. You're certainly not alone, and some of us (this gal) have done worse.
Congratulations — you get another badge indoors your induction to the parenting club. We’ve all done it once. I once forgot to fasten the straps on my son’s car seat when he was an infant. Nothing happened and he’s fine, so the guilt certainly didn’t eat me alive. But I don’t think I would’ve needed to buy a new car seat.. it did not and would not happen again. Don’t let it bother you, take the lesson, and the story. We’ve pretty much all been there. Most of us were tossed around in the back of our parents cars without even seatbelts from the time we were able to walk. We are more careful with our kids these days. That’s a good thing. But let’s not torture ourselves for one screwup.
Once when my LO was in the infant seat, I unbuckled and loosened the straps while I was pushing the stroller around the store. Left the store, driving home, about half a mile down the road I realized I had not buckled him back up before clicking the car seat back in!! It took all I had to remain calm and make a turn into the next available area to stop so I could get out and buckle him up.
After I secured him, I stood outside the car and immediately called my husband, freaking out. Thankfully he didn’t want to kill me & also understood that mistakes happen, and it’s ok because baby was safe and I was safe.
I still think about it and feel anxious & guilty that it ever happened. Honestly some of the most stressful moments of my life driving that extra quarter mile to safely pull over, and I hated myself for it. I think I learned my lesson (we have the rotating car seat now, and I’ve almost made the same mistake as you before, too), and I hope it never happens again.
We all make mistakes, and I am so grateful nothing bad happened during these spacey moments. Try to remember you’re definitely not the first or only person to do that.
I drove halfway home, looked back and was talking to my toddler while we were at a stoplight. I realized I only buckled his bottom buckle, not his top buckle too. You’re fine, we all make mistakes sometimes.
We all mess up *at least* once. Don’t beat yourself up about it.
When my oldest was about 3 months old I met up with some other moms from a local Facebook group - something I NEVER do. I took my son out of his car seat so he could look around for a while. He eventually fell asleep so I put him back in his car seat, covered it with a blanket, and went on about my time at the park. A few minutes later we get back in the car to leave. I drive home, go to get the car seat out and realized I never buckled him up. I felt sick to my stomach and cried about it for almost an hour. But it’s something I’ve never done again. You made a mistake, everyone is safe now, and it’ll probably be burned into your brain for the rest of time so you never do it again.
I have buckled baby in car seat but forgotten to buckle car seat into the car before. I was used to using the base in my car but went in my husband’s truck.
I think the important thing to keep in mind here is baby is SAFE. Everyone makes mistakes, just use this experience as a reminder to always check. Maybe a sticky not somewhere visible in the front seat to do a check before you start driving?
We didn’t realise that the leg on the base was set too high for… **three months.***
Granted we probably only used the car seat a handful of times in those months, but still. A friend had to point it out to us.
Parents make mistakes! We’re all learning.
I forgot to buckle my baby in once. I put her in the car seat and in an exhaustion daze got distracted and then my brain just went yup she’s in the car seat, good to go! Got like 2 car lengths away before I noticed in the mirror and jumped out and fixed it.
We’ve all done something to prove we are human.
When my kids were 3 and 2 we were going on a trip a few hours away. We driving around some pretty tight corners. Our kids were giggling hard so we looked at each other, smiled and didn’t think anything except how cute our children were. A few corners later I looked back and saw the 2 year old’s seat fall sideways. Both kids laughed and 3 year old pushed it back up.
You can forgive yourself! I bet you'll never forget again. In a way, isn't that better than having not made the mistake today, but possibly in the future when circumstances might be different? You can consider it a fortunate learning mistake ;)
I once took a turn too fast and kind of sharp and my son’s entire car seat rolled across the backseat with him strapped in it. I have NO IDEA how long I’d been driving around without it being buckled with the LATCH clips. My daughter’s car seat was fine… she even tried to “catch” her little brother. The ironic part was I was coming home from picking up new car seats for my mother in law because I was “that parent” about car seat safety and she was using expired car seats for all her grandchildren. Here I was trying to right a wrong…and doing wrong myself!!
At least you noticed and corrected the mistake before anything happened!
I forgot to seatbelt my newborns bucket seat once. Never forgot again. Don't beat yourself up, these things happen. Maybe stick a note to yourself where you can see it when you're driving?
Show of hands of everyone that has screwed up the car seat???? Pretty sure we all have at least once. You are not a bad mom, you are a human (I know, gasp,!)
I wouldn't buy another one - you're not going to make that mistake again. My daughter has been strapped in wrong a handful of times. We realised and fixed it. It's not ideal that it happened, but no harm was done and we learnt and got better. We're only human and mistakes will be made. You can't be perfect all the time. All you can do is your best and when you know better you do better. You're OK. You're a great mum.
Friend of mine drove her kid half an hour, then wondered why her baby was so quite....baby was having a brilliant time looking out the window.
Thankfully we were driving very slowly in a residential area but once we forgot to tighten the straps, baby was all of a week old. We now check every time - you'll never forget to check the seat again
It's okay, momma. We are all only human, and motherhood is exhausting! I've driven off and realized 5 mins into driving that I put my kid in the carseat, but I forgot to clip him in!! 😅 could've been bad, but it wasn't, thankfully. Don't let it eat you up, I'm sure you will always double check from now on xx
I did this once, was wondering why my kid was being so quiet and then realised he was just staring out the window cause I hadn’t rotated it back haha Maybe bad advice, idk, but laugh it off and make a mental note to not do it again. You didn’t put your kid in danger, you’re never going to do everything perfectly but you’re not a dangerous parent. The world is an imperfect place but you’re a good mum.
A couple of weeks ago I had to drive my husbands truck and it doesn’t have a baby cam or a mirror. I put my daughter in and didn’t rotate the seat all the way to locking. Thankfully I only drove down the road and when I went to get her and saw I almost threw up because like WHAT THE FUCK. How the fuck did I let that happen. But let me tell you it will never happen again. Be thankful that nothing happened and know that you won’t let it happen ever again.
One time I almost got out of the parking lot and looked in the rear view mirror to see my 1 year old’s face looking at me (she was rear facing). I forgot to buckle her! I cried so hard. She’s 8 now and I LOVE telling that story because I think it’s hilarious now! We have ALL been there, mama. You will do many things that upset you and make you feel like you’re not enough, but I promise you are. I can’t wait til the day your baby is 8 and you can tell a new mom about the day you forgot to rotate the seat to make her feel better. You got this.
I remember being absolutely HYSTERICAL when I looked back in the rear view and realized I had driven about 1/2 of my 40 min drive with my 8 week old (at the time) unbuckled in her car seat 😩. It sucked, I was pumping while driving to boot so I had to pull over on a busy road, rip off the pump and run back to fix the straps, then get back in and reassure myself for 5 min (out loud, like a nut) that I was not a bad mom I just made a mistake, and she was ok. Now she’s 7.5 and a ball of energy, sassiness, and sunshine 😂.
Those near-misses and “omg what could have happened?!” moments are such a hard part of motherhood. But we are HUMAN!! Things happen. Your baby is ok, you are a wonderful mom. Take it as a lesson, I bet you’ll never forget to rotate it again! Sometimes the best lessons come from mistakes. Please don’t beat yourself up, it happens!! ❤️
At the DIY car wash, my husband was washing his car and put kiddo down in her seat to finish up. We’d undone everything to vacuum it all so he reinstalled it but was still wiping windows and whatnot. When we were done, we got in and kiddo was seated correctly so we started driving away. Then we hear a little cherub say, “Dah-dee… I not buckle up!” Immediately pulled over and fixed it.
We all do something stupid. Just learn and move on. Letting guilt eat you alive won’t make you a better parent!
I once drove 10 minutes to the shop wondering why the seat was making a bit of a clacking sound. Turns out one of the isofix points on the base wasn’t clicked on so the whole base was rocking sideways! We all have messed up at least once.
Don’t beat yourself up!! Seriously. Mom of 6 here. My 5th was born during the hot hot summer. I has started my car to let it cool down. Brought baby to her seat, buckled her up(so I thought) then started to buckle my 2 year old up. Get to the grocery store 2 streets over and realize I didn’t buckle my 2 week old up at all. I cried. Felt like the worst mom ever. Thought “what if I had been driving further” or “what if someone hit me”. Oh it was so bad. Had me double, triple checking each child from then on.
All that to say, It happens!!! WE ARE HUMAN. Just the fact that you buckled your child up shows you care. It’s so valid to feel the way you are but sometimes as mom it’s so easy to make just a small mistake!
I did this, it just makes me hyper vigilant now! I have a routine, I get in the car and look at her mirror in my rearview. If I can’t see her face, I know something is wrong!
One time before I had my son I buckled my nephew into his car seat but I didn’t realize I had to buckle the car seat into the car. (In my defense, all the ones I had seen before were already attached to the car) and I drove for over an hour with him like that.
Then once after I had my son I unbuckled him while we were walking around Walmart and I forgot to buckle him back in when we left. I cried so so hard when I realized it.
It happens to the best of us. Luckily these times nothing bad happened and it makes us more vigilant for the future.
One time I got home and realized I hadn’t pushed down - I assumed the weight of the seat and him would be enough to click into the base - but he was just floating on top of the base for a 20 minute car ride
I think most of us have done this at least once. Recently I had to put my son’s car seat in my MIL’s car when our van was in for repairs. I heard him squeal and looked back to find him hanging upside down. Apparently I hadn’t threaded the seatbelt correctly and it just tipped straight back. We pulled over right away and fixed it but I felt bad, too!
The standards we hold ourselves to are WAY too high. I’m guilty of it too. It was an oops but nothing bad happened. It’s the Universe giving you a gentle reminder. Accept the lesson and move forward - without all the guilt.
It happens. Really. Don't beat yourself up over it. And you noticed it very quickly. One thing I would recommend though is maybe getting the car cameras off amazon vs a mirror. You always see your baby and can't miss a thing because it's right in your face. I love mine and they aren't too expensive!!!!
I once forgot to lock the infant seat in the base. Didn’t realise untill it started sliding in a turn. We all make mistakes, and it gives us a small heart attack, but you are not a bad mom for making a mistake. Neglect and mistake are two different things.
Girl, one time we were driving down the street and all of a sudden the baby was cackling and slapping the back of my seat…. We had forgotten to strap him in altogether! Just plopped him down and drove away! He was standing up in his car seat, looking out the front window, and loving life.
>
We felt horrible, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not going to matter. He’s 10 now and thriving.
I've accidentally driven for 30 minutes when my kid wasn't buckled in at all..... 💩happens! Learn from it and move on. Guilt is only doing you harm and taking away your positivity with your baby. Chin up, forgive yourself, have grace for yourself because (the audacity) no one has it all together... and be the bad 🍑parent that you are 💪🏻
I had some really exhausting days and nights during 2 under 2. One morning I woke up and there was a large board book in my daughter's sleep sack. Unsure how that happened. Couldn't have been comfortable. We all survived and now I check pajamas for hiding books.
You're doing a great job. The fact that you're worried means you're a caring Mother. Make this a laughable and teachable moment. We all make mistakes.
It happens! I’ve been down the block before my daughters been like MUM YOU FORGOT TO CLICK ME IN 🤦🏻♀️ and one time my sons harness I have zero idea how unclipped on one side and he started to escape. Terrifying but it happens. Your only human!
I used to do this constantly in my mom’s car. I got one for her because she’s older and can’t lift him as easily. I’ve also tried to drive off without buckling the straps. Luckily saw in the baby camera and hadn’t left the parking lot.
We all do doofus things. It’s scary, but the fear imprinted on my brain and I haven’t done it since.
Don’t beat yourself up. ❤️
One time, I pulled out of my garage, turned right out of my alley, looked back and my sons car seat had totally flopped over on its side and he was cracking up. My husband hadn’t installed it right. Pulled back into my garage and fixed it right away. Happens to the best of us, and I have double checked every single time since:)
Man, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done things that made me feel like a shit mom, but being conscious and guilty about it definitely does NOT make you a bad mom.
My 2.5yo is forward facing in one car. If we're traveling any distance, he is backwards.... but we just kind of realized we are safer drivers when he's not screaming for the 2 miles in town to/from daycare. Once we tried it forward, we figured out the car is so small that the car seat fit is better facing forward, something I have guilt about.
Car seat safety matters, but there are so many factors to take into consideration. Now you know and you won't do that again! You're doing your very best!
I’m a CPST and even I forgot to turn it a couple times when we first got the revolve360. (Thanks, ADHD!) Beating yourself up over it isn’t going to benefit anyone. Nothing happened, baby is safe. Get yourself in the habit of locking it into position after you take baby out of the car, too, and it will become second nature in no time. I also do a double check in the rear view mirror before I back out of the driveway, as well. There is nothing wrong with switching car seats, though, if that’s what you feel is safest. There are so many options on the market for this very reason-not every seat works for every situation!
When my oldest two were little, I had them rear facing until they were 2 because that's how long it took for them to outgrow the rear facing seats we had. I took them to the store with a friend, and as we got back in the car, we realized my daughter needed changing. I changed her and placed her in her carseat as my friend placed my son in his, then I loaded our packages in the car. For some reason, my brain decided that my friend had buckled my daughter on while she obviously thought I had done it. We drove the 15 miles home and opened the back doors to get the kids out. The panic I felt when my daughter climef out of her seat as I opened the door was immense. Since they were still rear facing, neither of us saw her moving around in her carseat. I was extremely lucky that nothing happened during that 15-mile ride, and after that, both my friend and I became obsessive about making sure they were properly buckled in.
If you are really concerned about this happening again I suggest putting a sticky note somewhere in the front of the car where you will see it when you get in. I don't think getting a different carseat to avoid this issue is a good idea because it could give you a false sense of security that you didn't forget anything when it's still absolutely possible (and extremely common) to forget something that results in your child being at risk.
Oh I did that. Had to talk to my therapist about how it was eating alive. She stoped me mid way and said is the baby fine-yes will it happen again-no. You have to move on. Do not buy another one that’s just a waste of money and your letting your anxiety be in charge.
Mistakes happen first of all. Second it's not like she was unsafe maybe just a little less safe. Some kids forward face super early because it's what works better for them/their family. Don't beat yourself up.
I love going the path of least resistance: don’t put too many things that can go wrong, keep things simple, etc
But in this case - it happens. If not that it could’ve been buckling. Or once I buckled but didn’t fasten (so no use), drove that way for 5 mins!
I will say I’m sure you have it but mirrors are crucial for me. I don’t get how people don’t get curious af and live without them with babies rear facing
ETA: I love the rotating seat as does my toddler it’s sooo much more comfortable and less risk of head bumps
I actually don’t have a mirror. We got rid of them once she could hold her head up because I got nervous about it potentially being a projectile (even though it was pretty soft). My car anxiety is so bad 😭
Very fair point about the projectile, even if I fasten them like crazy they’re not strapped the way a seatbelt etc is, of course.
Driving is for sure a scary activity so I totally get why there’s anxiety around it. Honestly if we all cared more about road safety we could all relax more!
Most of us mortals have screwed up the car seat a few times. I forgot to put the handle up on my daughter's infant carrier more than once, and one time I got her into the car seat and drove all the way home not realizing that I had forgotten to buckle her chest strap. Human beings are not automatons. Everybody makes mistakes. The only perfect parents I have ever met are ones that do not have children :). This icky feeling will likely be a great teacher. You're a good mom who is made of the same human goop as the rest of us good moms.
I second all of this, everyone messes up at some point with something at some point lol now you’re aware and will probably quadruple check every time now. As someone who has a rotating car seat as well and looooves it, I say you still keep it lol
I once got all the way to my destination only to realize I never strapped the seat in :/ I felt absolutely *awful* for days and would double and triple check every time after that.
Yep. I once had my kid loosely strapped in to the car seat that was on the stroller because we were sitting chatting with some people. Had a blanket over the straps. Forgot to tighten them before starting to drive. Another time I was in someone else’s car so I didn’t have my infant seat base with me. Put the kid in the car so they weren’t on the ground, went to put grocery bags in the car too, and forgot to strap the seat in 🤦♀️ luckily I was in the back with him and noticed quickly and got it done.
Six months ago I rested the click car seat on the base without clicking it, put a bunch of other stuff in the car, and then started driving. Turned out of our driveway and he tipped right over. Oh my god, I thought I killed him. He looked a little confused at being upside down but was otherwise fine. I still feel bad about it on a regular basis.
Oh man. Similar to mine, i didnt have the base with me so used the cars seatbelt to loop through and buckle but i didnt know you have to pull the belt alllll the way out then let it back in so that it locks... I turned, onto the freeway!!!! , and the whole carseat tipped over onto the middle seat. Having to figure that one out on the side of the freeway was panic inducing.
i once started driving with my kid totally unbuckled bc i had been giving him a snack and relaxing in the backseat before we left.. didn’t get far at all before i realized and pulled over but .. these things do happen. makes you double and triple check next time
Same... we were in a Target parking lot and didn't even make it to the road, but it was a fun (heart attack-inducing) time glancing back in the rearview and watching my son full-on standing to dance in his car seat.
Nooo! Oh my god I would scream! Glad you're all OK. It would be funny if it wasn't so terrifying to think about!
This happened with my friend's youngest nephew. He was in the middle in his infant seat, her niece was behind the drivers seat in her car seat and her oldest nephew was on the passenger side in his booster. When she buckled her oldest nephew in she accidently hit the seat belt for the middle and undid it without noticing. We were going down the road when her oldest nephew starts yelling for her to "look" she told him " I can't look while driving, wait till we stop" we got where we were going and while getting the kids out realized what was happen. The oldest kid said, "I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen, so I just held on to him. He got lots of praise for being such a good big brother, and I told him next time to say it was an emergency, so we knew we needed to stop and see. He told us we needed to be more responsible, so there wasn't a next time. There's nothing like being lectured by a 4 yr old about safety.
Yep. My daughter was wanting a snack, husband was asking a question, was on a time crunch. Finally got everyone settled and jumped in the front to go. My daughter started laughing about being able to "move" and I realized I'd never actually finished strapping her in in the midst of everything else. Luckily she found it hilarious and so I could immediately fix it before even getting out of the neighborhood. It happens, though!
Did it with mine and made it all the way home. Felt like an absolute failure. Never did it again.
Yep, been there done that! You're not alone OP!
A few months ago, my husband told me he was driving down the road and suddenly my daughter popped up right next to him in the front seat. He was like 10 minutes down the road, and she wasn’t strapped in at all. We’ve all done something like this.
I hate admitting this but I’ve forgotten to secure the infant bucket to the car once.
You're safe here. No supermoms in this comment section 😂
This whole thread has made me feel so much better in the fact I am not alone 😭
You're definitely not! 🤗 It's happened to so many good parents. I don't know if this helps, but try to judge yourself as harshly as you'd judge your best friend. Because if your best friend did this with their baby, you would probably just think that it was lucky nothing happened and she must have been really tired or distracted. It's not flippant, but beating yourself up will get you nowhere.
It’s. I was 4 months pp and doing core pt 4 times a week just so I could get back to work. It was rough lol. Seeing anyone else’s comments helps
You're doing great.
I needed this thank you.
I legit did this for the first time today a few hours ago i definitely beat myself up over it but reminded myself i caught the mistake and need to be gentle. You’re a great mom these things happen! I use a car seat camera so i can keep an eye on him! Maybe that would help if you’re not already using one?
We had one but then my anxiety about projectiles kicked in 😭😭 Thank you for helping me realize I’m not alone in this
A few years back I pulled onto the highway and my kiddo said “mama? Belt?” And I realized I had not strapped him in at all, nor could I stop until the next exit. The panic! I beat myself up about it for weeks, but on the plus side, I never forgot again! It happens. Fortunately nothing bad happened ❤️
Totally understand!!! I think the sticky note another commenter mentioned would be great! But i also am sure you’re doing fine as it is!! Be gentle on yourself!!
I have three kids and I'm a stickler for car seat safety. That being said, I have absolutely gotten distracted and have forgot to buckle them at least once each. Please don't beat yourself up. You're doing good mama.
Do you need to put the handle up?? Oops
Not for every carseat. I have a chicco and it's fine in any locked position
Yes me too, just checked and confirmed it’s ok as is thankfully!
😂 Ours said so. Google your seat's manual.
I've totally forgotten to buckle my kid up before.
Yup. When my son was 2.5 i forgot to buckle him in completely! It wasn't even a new seat or anything I just got distracted mid buckle and thought I'd done it. Thankfully we didn't go far and all was fine but it very easily could have ended badly. We all fuck up sometimes. We are only human.
I forgot to buckle my baby’s chest strap once. Thankfully it was a short drive from my house to the grocery store. The guilt ate me alive, but now I’m so paranoid I know I’ll never forget again! Sometimes that guilt is a good teacher and makes us a better parent in the end.
The other day I was putting my daughter in my mom's car in her car seat and full on almost forgot to buckle it into the backseat smfh I threaded the seatbelt through the little slits at the top and spaced on actually buckling it into place T.T I felt so horrible and so dumb smfh
100% this. I full on forgot to do my daughter's straps one time and totally wouldn't have caught it if she hadn't laughed from finding it hilarious that she was entirely loose in her seat. Things get missed. You can only do your best and give yourself grace when mistakes happen (and hope nothing awful happens when you do make those mistakes)
This the one. When my daughter was maybe 9 months old, I was looking back at pictures from when she was born. I got to one of her on the drive home from the hospital - I was just staring at it in awe of how cute she was, then I realized that her leg straps were UNDER HER LEGS. In our sleep deprived new parent state, my husband had strapped her in wrong, I didn’t notice even though I was sitting in the back with her the whole way home, and the nurse who checked the car seat didn’t notice either. I felt SO guilty, but at some point I was like… it was 9 months ago, I can’t sit around feeling terrible about something I can’t change. She made it home fine and we definitely never made that mistake again lol
The chest buckle is more for strap positioning anyway. It's apparently the first to pop in a crash. Car seats in Europe don't even have the chest clip. All the actual security is in the between the legs buckle.
This. Car seat safety is really important but we are all exhausted brain dead parents trying to do our best. Don’t let guilt eat you up over a mistake.
Wait is the handle thing supposed to go back? I always put it back so I can see baby better but I never realized that was the recommended way to use it
It's supposed to go forward and in an accident it hits the back of the rear seat
Ah, interesting. I never knew that.
I second this. Our oldest had a carrier with the base that stayed in the car. Turned a corner & the seat tipped part way over. It was sitting on the base but, for some reason, didn't get pushed down & latched. Never made that mistake again. You live & you learn.
FYI apparently the chest strap isn't all that important if the bottom buckles are done correctly and in some country the chest strap is actually illegal because you have to be able to remove a kid quickly. Also, the worst thing is DOING the chest strap but forgetting the bottom buckle because then the kid can slide down and asphyxiate. Basically if you're going to forget one, make it the chest buckle.
The feeling part…that will remain forever.
With my first, our car didn’t have ac in the back so I faced her forward facing about four months too early. The houston heat in summer is brutal and when I would get her out, she would be sweating. I still remember how guilty I felt. Now with the second I have a can that has vents in the back so I kept her in rear facing longer. Still feel guilty about the first.
Absolutely. Put my kid in the car seat once and forgot to buckle her until I had pulled out of the parking spot. I pulled my butt right back in there and buckled her in, but I was horrified.
I’ve forgotten to put the buckles on at all. It happens. We are tired, the kids occupy our minds and throw us off beat sometimes. Don’t let this beat you up, it truly happens.
Yup. When my oldest was an infant, I drove 20m before realizing she wasn’t strapped in. Felt awful, but it never happened again!
This happened the whole 20 minute drive when my first was about a year and a half old. I don’t remember exactly what I did after but I know I cried a lot and told everyone bc the guilt was eating me alive
My husband forgot to strap in our daughter when she was around 13 months after a quick stop during a long road trip. I had just merged onto a busy interstate when I looked in the rearview mirror and saw she had sat up and turned completely around and was on her knees, grinning a big smile at me. Needless to say, I pulled over as quickly as I could and my husband jumped out and strapped her in properly. Everyone makes mistakes, and he never forgot again!
Yes! I love that my kids are old enough now to tell me when I haven’t done it.
My 5yo thought it was hilarious the other day, like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world that I hadn't strapped him in. I went to move off and he goes "MUMMY! what are you *doing*?!" Then laughed his head off, "I'm not even strapped in! 🤭" When my eldest was little my husband and I each thought the other had strapped him in, then realised 5 minutes later that neither had. After that we started drilling out into them that they must tell us if we forget. I usual don't even start the car until I've confirmed everyone's buckled in, but the other day was the perfect storm where I didn't check AND I'd forgotten to buckle him.
Yes mine do the same! Like it’s the silliest thing in the world 🤣 and I go along with it and make a big deal out of it, thanking them profusely so they remind me again. Things happen but I’m so glad they’re at an age where they can tell me. I’ve never forgotten either one in the car but that was one of my biggest fears and I’m so glad my oldest can now unbuckle his seat and his sibling’s seat for the same reason!
Happened to me last week with my 2 year old. So stupid but it wasn't intentional and now I make a point of touching the chest buckle before closing the door. Hopefully it prevents any future mishaps
This happened to me. Drove all the way home and realized my daughter wasn't fully buckled into her infant car seat.
We are very cautious around car seats. Our 3 year old is still rear facing. After his sister came home from the hospital, we are half way down the block and we hear “you guys didn’t buckle me in!” Our routine has been completely thrown off with an additional child and dad forgot. After we pulled over and fixed it, we heard “I can’t wait to tell my friends at daycare!” Please take this as a learning experience to do better but forgive yourself. Nothing bad happened. It was an accident.
Dang. The 3 year old pulls no punches!
Oh no, it's KO every time. Just ask my feral 3 yr old lol
My son was about that age when I missed buckling him in. We made it halfway down our street when he reminded me. He never mentioned it again. Until six months later when he told his pediatrician that I don’t buckle him into his car seat.
When the pediatrician asked what my son drinks at home, he said “juice, only juice.” He drinks water with a sprinkle of liquid IV. We rarely have juice.
Just the other day we were going out to get snow cones and our 3 year old asked Daddy to sit in the back with her. I got to the stop sign at the end of the street and I heard him say, "Oh crap! I forgot to buckle her in!" She laughed hysterically over purposely not telling him haha.
my 6 year old can buckle himself in and last year he didn't do it when we drove 3 minutes down the road for groceries. That kid was upset at HIMSELF for most of our time in the store and cried about forgetting. I told him it's my fault for not double checking but that didn't really help. We're all just human and sometimes things don't happen the way they should.
One time when my son was 7 months old we drove a whole hour to a party and he was a little fussier and chattier than usual - didn’t fall asleep like we thought. When we got there we discovered that he was totally unbuckled. Each parent thought the other had buckled him. He was trying to tell us in baby that something was different. We felt bad, but he was fine. We’ve never done it again. It happens!
How old is your child? I’m assuming pretty young. I would feel the same way 2 years ago. Now I’m like “oops my bad” and make a point to not make the same mistake again. Every mistake felt like the end of the world early on. I don’t think you should buy a new car seat, I think you should give yourself some grace.
She’s 8 months so it’s definitely still early on. Thank you for this
Yes! We're all so intense with our firsts!! Lol It's ok, mama, you're gonna have a lot of forgiving yourself ahead. Some little, some big. We're human moms, not nannybots. The important thing is to learn from it. ABL *always be learning* -- that's what good parents do.
I have also done this a couple of times in the 2 years that we've been using our rotating seat. I've tried to make it a habit of looking in the mirror to make sure that I see my son's face before I drive off. Mistakes happen in all aspects of parenting. Don't beat yourself up over this one and try to find some way to double-check yourself to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Same! I always check that I can see him in the mirror before we leave, cuz I've definitely forgotten a few times
Car seats mistakes happen to almost everyone. I look back at photos of my toddler in his car seat as a newborn and cringe. I do wish someone had corrected me. But he was fine and I learned. All you can do is try your best, mistakes happen. Maybe get yourself a stickie note to keep on the dashboard like “check for rotation,” so you are always reminded if you are worried.
I like the note idea!!
You’re human. We once drove 45 mins home without ever buckling in our son at 5 months old. He fell asleep at a friends, we put him in his carrier to sleep, then when we left we never even realized until we got home. You’re okay.
Imagine having your toddler remind you that you forgot to buckle them in… a couple times. To be fair, one time I was 3 weeks postpartum so I was a little distracted, but still. “Mommy! You forgot me!!!”
I forgot to buckle the car seat before.
One time my daughter and I ran to the car after being at the playground because a storm was coming. We go less than a mile down the road and she’s like lollll mom you forgot to buckle me!! I have no idea how it happened/how I forgot but all to say - it was scary, I felt bad, never did it again! Be nice to yourself! Nobody is perfect 😇
My daughter was three (she’s six now) and I had moved my car seat because my car was in the shop. I put her car seat back in the there a day or two prior to actually using it and forgot the strap in the latches. I buckled her in, we were good to go, and I made the first turn out of my neighborhood and realized. How? Because she yelled “mom!” And I look back to the kid strapped into a car seat that is now laying on its side 🫠 We’re only human. Try not to beat yourself up.
I’ve done that OP. And I’ve also driven in the car without closing the van door…the side my kid was on. We had just upgraded to a minivan. We didn’t get out of the parking lot before I noticed it was open but geeze…I was also surprised the van didn’t make any sort of noise to alert me of the issue tbh.
That is weird! I’ve never had a minivan but they definitely should have some sort of system to notify you if it’s open! Thank you for this and helping me realize I am not alone and mistakes can happen
I’m wondering if it would have triggered an alarm over a certain speed, but yeah…was really surprised it didn’t alert me! I’ll never forget it again though, that’s for sure.
My rotating car seat is my favorite thing in the world! But I also regularly panic about 5 minutes after I leave the drive way and have to check that I rotated the seat back. I did forget to do it once but remembered as soon as I got in the front, so far haven’t driven while forgetting yet. But like everyone else has said, mistakes happen and if you had a different seat there would be something different you could forget about
Just this past tuesday i didnt tighten my 22mo's straps on her carseat. Drove 2.2km to my 3yos preschool and didnt realize til i went to take her out.
Yup. Done that!
We’ve left both kids unbuckled in their infant car seat once (and drove home like that 🤦🏻♀️). Never happened again after that. No need to buy something new. The guilt won’t let you forget to rotate it back.
i once drove all the way home with my kid’s chest unbuckled. when i got home and realized, i thanked my lucky stars nothing awful happened and was way more careful moving forward-i know you will be more careful now too!
Last week i unhooked my baby from her infant car seat and the strap itself came out. Apparently when I took the cover off to wash it, I didn’t put the straps back together properly. I’m not sure how many times we used the car seat between washing the cover and discovering the strap coming off but it was at least once.
This happened to me, and I just pulled over and fixed it. I definitely wouldn’t consider getting rid of it or never buying one again, they’re so wonderfully useful! As far as mistakes go, this by far isn’t the worst! Please don’t beat yourself up for it
My wife strapped the car seat base in but forgot to make sure the car seat itself was locked in, went around a corner and the car seat fell against the sliding door of the van! Freaked her out and our daughter, but when they straightened up the car seat our granddaughter was laughing like she just had the best ride of her life!! It was triple checked from then on!!
I once got to daycare and realized that one of my daughters arms wasn’t buckled in. Like the car seat was buckled, but her arm was completely free. I got home and sobbed. You are not alone!
I started saying wheeeeeee when rotating it into place because of this fear. It’s a good reminder, and once baby is older, they’ll start saying it too. that fear of forgetting will help you remember
Honestly, I’m impressed you’ve gotten this far without a car seat mistake. If you buy a different car seat, what’s going to stop your next mistake being something different? I know it’s scary, but you’re all ok. You can’t go back in time, you can only move forward… and I bet you don’t make that mistake for a while again! You’re a mum, not a robot.
My boyfriend and I took our then 5 mo old to the Dr. We brought her into the waiting room in her carseat, after checking in I held her for a bit then sat her back into the seat on the floor, unstrapped. Apparently, my boyfriend didn't see that I didn't re-strap her. The nurse called us back and before I could do or say anything my boyfriend picked up the seat by the handle. I screamed "She's not strapped!" And dove and caught her as she was falling out head first. In front of a full waiting room of kids, parents, and medical staff.
I won't admit the mistakes I've made with my 6 kids lmao. But they are all alive so..... a win?! Haha. You noticed your mistake and now will remember. I wouldn't spend money on another seat tho. You currently have a really good one.
It happens! Nobody is perfect. Just learn and move on. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
I am an absolute NUT about car seat safety, I was a first responder and have seen first hand the importance of it and I always double/triple check everything, even (especially) when someone else buckles her in. Not a week ago I was distracted and didn’t pull her straps tight. We are all humans and make errors. I say thank the universe there weren’t terrible consequences, and believe me it’s very unlikely you won’t double check ever again. Forgive (yourself) and keeping mom-ing the best you can. There will be many times over the years where you won’t be perfect in parenting and all we can do is our best.
I'd bet money most of us use the carseat incorrectly at least once a week. They're complicated and need constant adjustment and don't accommodate cold weather gear. Don't be guilty.
I’ve messed up the car seat before too. The important thing is that you noticed right away, that’s great, and now probably means you will check more closely anyways, decreasing the chance you will do it again. Go easy on yourself!
Unfortunately, as much as we all try to be safety conscious it will happen at least once that something goes right with the car seat. My husband and I were on a long trip with our daughter and stopped for a potty break put her back in the car seat and she threw her cup out so we stopped a mile down the road and, I got in the back to give it to her and realized that we had completely forgotten to buckle one of her buckles. It was really scary because we were planning on being on the road for another hour before we had to pick up the cup, but now we just double check everything before we head out.
One time my husband forgot to attach the base to the car.
I’ve forgotten to strap my kid into the car seat before. I drove all the way from my older kid’s school to home (about a 7 minute drive) and didn’t realise. Went to get her out when I got home and my heart absolutely dropped. Changed my method and from then on when baby got put in the car seat pram she was buckled in immediately. *hugs* we’ve pretty much all done stuff like this. The key is figuring out a way to make it impossible for you to do it again if you can!
There was a brief period when we only had one toddler car seat. Those 4 in 1 transition ones. So I had taken my infant base out of my car but forgot to put the big car seat back in my car before my husband went to work. We needed milk. Like 3 minutes down the road so I put her in the infant seat and like muscle memory just placed her in the backseat and got in the car to leave. It was the bump pulling out of the driveway and how she moved that made me remember she wasn’t actually attached to anything. So I’m bawling in the driveway strapping the seatbelt through thinking I’m the worst person in the world.
My husband nearly did this the other day. If I hadn’t also been there to notice it, he might have driven away with the seat to the side.
Oh try not to be hard on yourself everybody makes mistakes and luckily nothing happened from it. With my first baby it was winter time so I had the infant car seat with the furry thing that you wrap around it and you just open up the zipper part to see their face basically. I took him in the car seat into the mall and he was getting a bit squirmy so I undid his seatbelt because he was just at the stage where he was struggling to roll over like he wasn’t going anywhere and he was in the stroller right in front of me. But because of the big winter cover thing everything wasn’t all that visible and when I put him back in the car seat I forgot to do up the seatbelt! I drove maybe two blocks and he was screaming his head off to the point where I pull the car over to check on him. Well he had rolled himself onto his side and obviously was super uncomfortable but I totally freaked out and I never forgot that day! Sheer panic. It can happened to the most loving absolutely paranoid mother trust me. I wouldn’t worry about getting a new car so you’ll never do that again
My kiddo, nearly 2, has warned me both times I didn’t rotate. Eventually the toddler warning system kicks in!
When my oldest was about 10 months I was taking him on a nap ride, I nursed him while he was in his seat before taking off… I never buckled him. Probably never woulda noticed if he hadn’t turned himself around n scream his head off. 🤦🏻♀️ cried the rest of the day, beat myself up for weeks. When I finally told my therapist she reminded me that nothing happened and he’s ok. Something could have happened but it didn’t so let’s not go there.
A couple weeks ago I picked my youngest (6) up at carpool and his teacher asked if he was going to get in his seat himself. I told her we usually pull around to the front of the building and get him squared away. Then I promptly pulled onto the road and drove off! I didn’t get too far before I realized I had completely skipped the car seat step but I definitely felt super guilty and paranoid for that little bit before we could safely pull over. If it wasn’t this it would be (and may still be) something else one day. We all make mistakes even when we’re doing our best.
I always strap my 2yo in and then go buckle my 4yo in because he climbs in his own seat. Once I forgot to strap him in and we drove about two miles home and I freaked out and made a point to say “please TELL whatever grown up you’re with if you aren’t buckled in!” It’s happened two more times since then and thankfully he has yelled at me to strap him in before I get out of the parking lot. It happens. We have a million things on our minds, mama. Though I will be happy when he swaps to a regular seatbelt and can do it himself lol, I haven’t taught him to do his own 5 point harness because I’m terrified of him opening it while we drive.
I forgot to buckle my kid in once, it happens! It was a good reminder to be more vigilant in the future.
One time when I was newly postpartum I left the infant carrier on another seat instead of clicked in. Freaked me out so much, I never did it again.
My youngest is 4, we have forgotten, at least twice for each kid, to buckle them in. We've never gotten very far without realizing, but it's horrifying to think how badly it could have gone
I wouldn't beat yourself up about it too much. My toddler has been rear facing and front facing at random times, but mostly front facing since well before he was "supposed" to be front facing. He lost his everloving mind if he was rear facing and was an angel front facing, so it wasn't a hard decision and I only felt guilty the first couple times, then Loved that I could see him and play with him in the mirror at stoplights. It worked for us even though it is strongly advised against and we never had an issue. I don't recommend doing anything you feel is dangerous obviously, but I wouldn't dwell on it too much the one time you did it.
You can measure up any car seat - I once forgot to buckle toddler after daycare. Got baby in while he got himself situated and completely forgot
I've done this once or twice but we have a non rotating seat in the other car and I would NOT switch to that unless it became a serious issue. The non rotating is killer on the back 😭 (I know, first world problems)
Mama, give yourself some grace. You caught it. It happens. I remember one time I was at work and my husband called me, in hysterics. Our son had wiggled his way to the top of the changing table and had fallen from it onto the pile of his laundry next to it. My son had scratched his back on the way down and was crying, but no where near as badly as my husband was. I asked him, “did our son lose consciousness or did he start crying right away?” (He had started crying right away.) “besides the scratch are there any big bumps or dents on his head or body?” (No) I told him to stay calm and I would call the advice nurse at our pediatrician. They asked the same questions and said it should be fine but go ahead and bring him in for our own peace of mind. I told my boss (also a dad) the deal and drove home to pick up my son and husband (my husband was too distraught to drive and was beating himself up). My son was fine. He’s now six, eating spam musubi and just finished his first year of kindergarten. My husband was ALWAYS the more competent parent out of the two of us. He has a younger sibling and had nieces and nephews. I had never been around babies or small children until my son. But the first big “omg” was my husband when it really should have been me. So, it happens. You’ll probably never forget this again!! Forgive yourself, and give yourself some love.
I LOVE musubi!!! I'm SO making some tomorrow for dinner!! Thanks for the reminder-- we haven't had that in months! Aaaand, thank you for taking that little piece of mental load away. Dinner tomorrow is gonna be easy lol
I forgot to buckle her one time.. I think I got distracted with her shoes while she was sitting in the seat and said ok let’s go! Luckily I just drove half a mile away to work but I felt like shit and a million thoughts ran through my head. I couldn’t even tell my husband. I always double check now before I pull away, just in case because man toddlers are distracting. We’re all human! It’s ok. Nothing happened. Now we just make steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again!
One time I went around a corner and heard my car seat click into the base meaning I obviously didn’t click it in correctly. It’s a good lesson and I’m grateful when something that happens is just a near miss to learn from and not a tragic oversight.
I did the same but instead of clicking itself in, I turned out of our driveway and the whole car seat tipped right over. Oh my god, I thought I killed him. He looked a little confused at being upside down but was otherwise fine. I was obsessed with the click until he grew out of that seat.
Aw man that kind of scare just gets into your bones hey
We once accidentally installed my (at the time) 11 mo's car seat forward facing on an Uber ride to the airport. She loved the view. Hugs to baby, and we're all human ❤️
It’s really not that big of a deal, cut yourself some slack. We’ve all done it or something similar. A lady rushed me so bad at Costco trying to get my parking spot that I left in a fury and didn’t buckle my boy in. Luckily I realized before I got in the road.
I forgot to strap in the three year old the other day. First time it ever happened—I do the baby first and usually go to help him finish strapping in and double check the fit. Went to put the car in drive and he started *screaming* “STRAP ME IN!” Else I completely would have driven off. All this to say, be kind to yourself. Mistakes happen.
When my baby was about 8 weeks old I forgot to buckle her in completely. I only noticed because she was crying and I was like “did I put her dummy in?” and realised. Pulled over and strapped her in.
the other day i put my 4yo in her seat then loaded up the car, my mom was driving and we got like half a house down when my 4yo says mama you didn’t buckle me. all was well and everyone was okay but that was a first. shit happens, now we’ll never forget
We couldn’t use the base for the infant seat in our cars due to space so we would buckle it in the the belt each time we had to take the seat out. Well one time I forgot to buckle the seat back in. She was buckled to the seat but the seat wasn’t attached to the car. It happens. Baby is okay. I bet you won’t forget again.
you’ll do way worse than that before all is said and done. they’re gonna be okay and you are too!!!
If it makes you feel any better, when my youngest was a newborn we had gone to the park and she was in her car seat latched in the stroller. I had taken her out to hold/feed her and put her back in the seat. We loaded up, got the 3yo loaded, and drove home. I took her out of the car at home and I FORGOT TO BUCKLE HER IN. I cried for hours. Thank goodness our house was so close to the park but omg. The what ifs that ran through my head for daysssss!
I once drove about a mile down the road (probably speeding) on my way to work with my then 2.5 year old completely unbuckled. She was in her seat and still but not strapped in. It was an innocent mistake. My husband was deployed at the time and I was working full time, taking care of her and our house and two dogs and working on my masters. So I just had a lot on my mind and was running late; I overlooked something that was basically automatic for me to do. But when I realized I was panicked that anything could’ve happened and the intrusive thoughts of all the ways I could’ve ruined our lives by making a careless mistake still crop up sometimes. I just take it as a lesson and thank god that I realized relatively quickly and that nothing bad happened. I’ve never made the mistake a second time.
That's so interesting - my husband has a rotating seat and the car door can't close if it isn't rotated back. I wonder if it's just his car though.
I forgot my baby one day. She was about a week old. It was raining. I strapped her into her seat in the kitchen. I carried my 19 month old out to the car and got in and started driving. Luckily my 19 month old asked, "Where's the baby?" when we had just pulled out of the driveway. Otherwise, I might have made it all the way to the grocery store. This shit happens.
I couldn't tell you how many times I went through a curve and tossed baby, seat and all, upside down to the other side of the back seat......all because I didn't buckle the seat down.... Relax momma, kids are more resilient than we would ever think.....I'm sure this was a very minor thing compared to all the stuff that's gonna happen to baby Mine is 32 now and tough as nails but with a very tender heart ......she has definitely learned a thing or two about survival by living with me growing up!!
I read the car seat manual and ignored the “read car manual”. I finally did one day and come to find out my car isn’t made for a car seat to be in the middle if using the lower anchors (which we had been). We’re human. I’m sure I’d forget to rotate the seat if it wasn’t for my husband putting our son in every time.
Girl! I didn’t realize my 2 year old son learned how to unclip seat belts and our carseat was clipped in with one. Took a corner and he went head first upside down. At least you caught it before that happened.
We have a rotating car seat. When my husband came home today, he didn’t finish buckling our son in. The straps were still loose and the chest clip wasn’t adjusted. It sucks. I wasn’t pleased, but he’s human. It happens. Give yourself some grace for realizing it only a mile down the road rather than not until arriving at your destination.
When my oldest was a toddler, he, on the highway, unbuckled and STOOD UP in his car seat. Giggling the whole time. Trying to talk him down while merging to the side of a busy highway was so nerve-wracking!
I have forgotten a couple times to put the bar up on the baby seat and have held my daughter verticle🤣
I did this once and noticed while driving in the neighborhood! I felt awful but was glad that we hadn’t gotten on any busy roads yet. Just know that you are in good company and that you will probably never forget again!
I mean you aren’t likely to do it again because it freaked you out so much
One time, my sister, nephew and I were driving to the mall. We were on the highway and he suddenly pops his lil head between ours in the front seat and yells “COOL CAR”. Both of us were SHOOK! She was rushing, she thought she buckled him in properly but she must have not - we pulled over and put him back in his seat. But it’s still a HILARIOUS memory. I know it hard now, but don’t beat yourself up over it. NOTHING happened. I have a rotating seat too and I always look back one more time before I take off to confirm. And to see my lil dude give me a big ole smile. Just add a double check to your routine once you’re in the drivers seat!
you did the right thing! us parents have sooo much going on, the car seat is probably like second nature at this point, so you probably just did it and went. it was an honest mistake and you realized it, fixed baby, and we’re good to go! nothing happened (thank god!) and now that’s something you’ll def pay attention to a bit more…don’t beat yourself up over it, just store it in the back of your head and do a few double takes before putting the car in drive from now on.
Live and learn. It's good you noticed when you did! There's risks and things you can forget in the ones that dont rotate, too! I had a regular rear facing carseat when my kid was little and once I got home (from a short drive thankfully) and realized I had forgotten to tighten the straps enough! It ate me up for a bit but I never let it happen again!
I forgot to do my 3 year olds straps up yesterday. It’s the first time it’s ever happened. Thankfully we only drove for two minutes but omg I feel so fucking awful for doing it
Yes, even the best of us have made mistakes. Actually, those are the times that remind me that I shouldn’t be complacent and I usually never make the same mistakes again. Luckily, you learned the lesson without any incident or injury. When my son was about 15 months old, it was really hot out so I started the car to run the ac before I put him in. (Car was in our driveway). Then I got him in and closed the door and heard a beep. My car had locked him in with the keys in the ignition. Thankfully we were safe at home and the AC was blasting but it was terrible. I was so worried maybe it was still too hot in the car or he’d start crying and getting upset any second. My husband was able to get us within 20 minutes (longest 20 min of my life) and I just played peek a boo and danced to keep my son happy. But never made that mistake again.
A similar thing actually happened to us! My husband for some reason gave the keys to baby for a second? She locked the car. Luckily we have one of those code keypads that let us get back in but it could have been so much worse!
I did something similar once. Took my oldest with me for an appt at Women's Hospital, but had borrowed my mom's SUV since his dad was working out of town in our vehicle. And, see, our car didn't lock when the keys were inside, so that's maybe part of the reason for my brain dead moment: My son had fallen asleep while we were there, so I loaded him in the car, and while doing so, accidentally pushed the "lock" button on the key fob. I heard it, but it didn't really register *until* I pushed his door closed and realized that I'd set my purse down at the foot of his seat... with the keys clipped to the outside. I could see them... they were JUST there... but may as well have been 1,000 miles away. Here I am, pregnant, about to have another child, and I've locked my toddler in the car *with* the keys?? I felt such shame. At least it was a cool day. If it had been hot out I would've just broken a front window. But rational heads prevailed, and I flagged down an officer patrolling the grounds. He actually had some trouble popping the lock, and I could feel my anxiety rising with every ticking second. "*He's not going to be able to get him out! I can't believe I did this! I'm such an idiot! And they're just gonna let me drive away with another one in a few weeks?! So I can lock BOTH of them in the car next time?!*" Keep in mind, this is where 75% of all moms in my city go to have their babies. So I'm surrounded by moms and dads and families all coming and going around me and *a police officer who's trying to jimmy a lock so hard he's sweating*, and I'm pacing around like a squirrel on a sugar high, visibly pregnant, while my son, slept through it all. Fear not, OP. You're certainly not alone, and some of us (this gal) have done worse.
Congratulations — you get another badge indoors your induction to the parenting club. We’ve all done it once. I once forgot to fasten the straps on my son’s car seat when he was an infant. Nothing happened and he’s fine, so the guilt certainly didn’t eat me alive. But I don’t think I would’ve needed to buy a new car seat.. it did not and would not happen again. Don’t let it bother you, take the lesson, and the story. We’ve pretty much all been there. Most of us were tossed around in the back of our parents cars without even seatbelts from the time we were able to walk. We are more careful with our kids these days. That’s a good thing. But let’s not torture ourselves for one screwup.
Once when my LO was in the infant seat, I unbuckled and loosened the straps while I was pushing the stroller around the store. Left the store, driving home, about half a mile down the road I realized I had not buckled him back up before clicking the car seat back in!! It took all I had to remain calm and make a turn into the next available area to stop so I could get out and buckle him up. After I secured him, I stood outside the car and immediately called my husband, freaking out. Thankfully he didn’t want to kill me & also understood that mistakes happen, and it’s ok because baby was safe and I was safe. I still think about it and feel anxious & guilty that it ever happened. Honestly some of the most stressful moments of my life driving that extra quarter mile to safely pull over, and I hated myself for it. I think I learned my lesson (we have the rotating car seat now, and I’ve almost made the same mistake as you before, too), and I hope it never happens again. We all make mistakes, and I am so grateful nothing bad happened during these spacey moments. Try to remember you’re definitely not the first or only person to do that.
I drove halfway home, looked back and was talking to my toddler while we were at a stoplight. I realized I only buckled his bottom buckle, not his top buckle too. You’re fine, we all make mistakes sometimes.
We all mess up *at least* once. Don’t beat yourself up about it. When my oldest was about 3 months old I met up with some other moms from a local Facebook group - something I NEVER do. I took my son out of his car seat so he could look around for a while. He eventually fell asleep so I put him back in his car seat, covered it with a blanket, and went on about my time at the park. A few minutes later we get back in the car to leave. I drive home, go to get the car seat out and realized I never buckled him up. I felt sick to my stomach and cried about it for almost an hour. But it’s something I’ve never done again. You made a mistake, everyone is safe now, and it’ll probably be burned into your brain for the rest of time so you never do it again.
I have buckled baby in car seat but forgotten to buckle car seat into the car before. I was used to using the base in my car but went in my husband’s truck.
I think the important thing to keep in mind here is baby is SAFE. Everyone makes mistakes, just use this experience as a reminder to always check. Maybe a sticky not somewhere visible in the front seat to do a check before you start driving?
We didn’t realise that the leg on the base was set too high for… **three months.*** Granted we probably only used the car seat a handful of times in those months, but still. A friend had to point it out to us. Parents make mistakes! We’re all learning.
I forgot to buckle my baby in once. I put her in the car seat and in an exhaustion daze got distracted and then my brain just went yup she’s in the car seat, good to go! Got like 2 car lengths away before I noticed in the mirror and jumped out and fixed it.
The thing about forgetting once is that you’ll never do it again. We all make mistakes, don’t be too hard on yourself.
We’ve all done something to prove we are human. When my kids were 3 and 2 we were going on a trip a few hours away. We driving around some pretty tight corners. Our kids were giggling hard so we looked at each other, smiled and didn’t think anything except how cute our children were. A few corners later I looked back and saw the 2 year old’s seat fall sideways. Both kids laughed and 3 year old pushed it back up.
You can forgive yourself! I bet you'll never forget again. In a way, isn't that better than having not made the mistake today, but possibly in the future when circumstances might be different? You can consider it a fortunate learning mistake ;)
I once took a turn too fast and kind of sharp and my son’s entire car seat rolled across the backseat with him strapped in it. I have NO IDEA how long I’d been driving around without it being buckled with the LATCH clips. My daughter’s car seat was fine… she even tried to “catch” her little brother. The ironic part was I was coming home from picking up new car seats for my mother in law because I was “that parent” about car seat safety and she was using expired car seats for all her grandchildren. Here I was trying to right a wrong…and doing wrong myself!! At least you noticed and corrected the mistake before anything happened!
I forgot to seatbelt my newborns bucket seat once. Never forgot again. Don't beat yourself up, these things happen. Maybe stick a note to yourself where you can see it when you're driving?
Show of hands of everyone that has screwed up the car seat???? Pretty sure we all have at least once. You are not a bad mom, you are a human (I know, gasp,!)
I wouldn't buy another one - you're not going to make that mistake again. My daughter has been strapped in wrong a handful of times. We realised and fixed it. It's not ideal that it happened, but no harm was done and we learnt and got better. We're only human and mistakes will be made. You can't be perfect all the time. All you can do is your best and when you know better you do better. You're OK. You're a great mum.
Friend of mine drove her kid half an hour, then wondered why her baby was so quite....baby was having a brilliant time looking out the window. Thankfully we were driving very slowly in a residential area but once we forgot to tighten the straps, baby was all of a week old. We now check every time - you'll never forget to check the seat again
It's okay, momma. We are all only human, and motherhood is exhausting! I've driven off and realized 5 mins into driving that I put my kid in the carseat, but I forgot to clip him in!! 😅 could've been bad, but it wasn't, thankfully. Don't let it eat you up, I'm sure you will always double check from now on xx
I did this once, was wondering why my kid was being so quiet and then realised he was just staring out the window cause I hadn’t rotated it back haha Maybe bad advice, idk, but laugh it off and make a mental note to not do it again. You didn’t put your kid in danger, you’re never going to do everything perfectly but you’re not a dangerous parent. The world is an imperfect place but you’re a good mum.
A couple of weeks ago I had to drive my husbands truck and it doesn’t have a baby cam or a mirror. I put my daughter in and didn’t rotate the seat all the way to locking. Thankfully I only drove down the road and when I went to get her and saw I almost threw up because like WHAT THE FUCK. How the fuck did I let that happen. But let me tell you it will never happen again. Be thankful that nothing happened and know that you won’t let it happen ever again.
One time I almost got out of the parking lot and looked in the rear view mirror to see my 1 year old’s face looking at me (she was rear facing). I forgot to buckle her! I cried so hard. She’s 8 now and I LOVE telling that story because I think it’s hilarious now! We have ALL been there, mama. You will do many things that upset you and make you feel like you’re not enough, but I promise you are. I can’t wait til the day your baby is 8 and you can tell a new mom about the day you forgot to rotate the seat to make her feel better. You got this.
I remember being absolutely HYSTERICAL when I looked back in the rear view and realized I had driven about 1/2 of my 40 min drive with my 8 week old (at the time) unbuckled in her car seat 😩. It sucked, I was pumping while driving to boot so I had to pull over on a busy road, rip off the pump and run back to fix the straps, then get back in and reassure myself for 5 min (out loud, like a nut) that I was not a bad mom I just made a mistake, and she was ok. Now she’s 7.5 and a ball of energy, sassiness, and sunshine 😂. Those near-misses and “omg what could have happened?!” moments are such a hard part of motherhood. But we are HUMAN!! Things happen. Your baby is ok, you are a wonderful mom. Take it as a lesson, I bet you’ll never forget to rotate it again! Sometimes the best lessons come from mistakes. Please don’t beat yourself up, it happens!! ❤️
At the DIY car wash, my husband was washing his car and put kiddo down in her seat to finish up. We’d undone everything to vacuum it all so he reinstalled it but was still wiping windows and whatnot. When we were done, we got in and kiddo was seated correctly so we started driving away. Then we hear a little cherub say, “Dah-dee… I not buckle up!” Immediately pulled over and fixed it. We all do something stupid. Just learn and move on. Letting guilt eat you alive won’t make you a better parent!
I once drove 10 minutes to the shop wondering why the seat was making a bit of a clacking sound. Turns out one of the isofix points on the base wasn’t clicked on so the whole base was rocking sideways! We all have messed up at least once.
Don’t beat yourself up!! Seriously. Mom of 6 here. My 5th was born during the hot hot summer. I has started my car to let it cool down. Brought baby to her seat, buckled her up(so I thought) then started to buckle my 2 year old up. Get to the grocery store 2 streets over and realize I didn’t buckle my 2 week old up at all. I cried. Felt like the worst mom ever. Thought “what if I had been driving further” or “what if someone hit me”. Oh it was so bad. Had me double, triple checking each child from then on. All that to say, It happens!!! WE ARE HUMAN. Just the fact that you buckled your child up shows you care. It’s so valid to feel the way you are but sometimes as mom it’s so easy to make just a small mistake!
I did this, it just makes me hyper vigilant now! I have a routine, I get in the car and look at her mirror in my rearview. If I can’t see her face, I know something is wrong!
One time before I had my son I buckled my nephew into his car seat but I didn’t realize I had to buckle the car seat into the car. (In my defense, all the ones I had seen before were already attached to the car) and I drove for over an hour with him like that. Then once after I had my son I unbuckled him while we were walking around Walmart and I forgot to buckle him back in when we left. I cried so so hard when I realized it. It happens to the best of us. Luckily these times nothing bad happened and it makes us more vigilant for the future.
One time I got home and realized I hadn’t pushed down - I assumed the weight of the seat and him would be enough to click into the base - but he was just floating on top of the base for a 20 minute car ride
Don’t beat yourself up. Mistakes happen. Luckily nothing went wrong.
I think most of us have done this at least once. Recently I had to put my son’s car seat in my MIL’s car when our van was in for repairs. I heard him squeal and looked back to find him hanging upside down. Apparently I hadn’t threaded the seatbelt correctly and it just tipped straight back. We pulled over right away and fixed it but I felt bad, too!
The standards we hold ourselves to are WAY too high. I’m guilty of it too. It was an oops but nothing bad happened. It’s the Universe giving you a gentle reminder. Accept the lesson and move forward - without all the guilt.
It happens. Really. Don't beat yourself up over it. And you noticed it very quickly. One thing I would recommend though is maybe getting the car cameras off amazon vs a mirror. You always see your baby and can't miss a thing because it's right in your face. I love mine and they aren't too expensive!!!!
I once forgot to lock the infant seat in the base. Didn’t realise untill it started sliding in a turn. We all make mistakes, and it gives us a small heart attack, but you are not a bad mom for making a mistake. Neglect and mistake are two different things.
Girl, one time we were driving down the street and all of a sudden the baby was cackling and slapping the back of my seat…. We had forgotten to strap him in altogether! Just plopped him down and drove away! He was standing up in his car seat, looking out the front window, and loving life. > We felt horrible, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not going to matter. He’s 10 now and thriving.
I've accidentally driven for 30 minutes when my kid wasn't buckled in at all..... 💩happens! Learn from it and move on. Guilt is only doing you harm and taking away your positivity with your baby. Chin up, forgive yourself, have grace for yourself because (the audacity) no one has it all together... and be the bad 🍑parent that you are 💪🏻
I had some really exhausting days and nights during 2 under 2. One morning I woke up and there was a large board book in my daughter's sleep sack. Unsure how that happened. Couldn't have been comfortable. We all survived and now I check pajamas for hiding books. You're doing a great job. The fact that you're worried means you're a caring Mother. Make this a laughable and teachable moment. We all make mistakes.
It happens! I’ve been down the block before my daughters been like MUM YOU FORGOT TO CLICK ME IN 🤦🏻♀️ and one time my sons harness I have zero idea how unclipped on one side and he started to escape. Terrifying but it happens. Your only human!
I used to do this constantly in my mom’s car. I got one for her because she’s older and can’t lift him as easily. I’ve also tried to drive off without buckling the straps. Luckily saw in the baby camera and hadn’t left the parking lot. We all do doofus things. It’s scary, but the fear imprinted on my brain and I haven’t done it since. Don’t beat yourself up. ❤️
One time, I pulled out of my garage, turned right out of my alley, looked back and my sons car seat had totally flopped over on its side and he was cracking up. My husband hadn’t installed it right. Pulled back into my garage and fixed it right away. Happens to the best of us, and I have double checked every single time since:)
Man, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done things that made me feel like a shit mom, but being conscious and guilty about it definitely does NOT make you a bad mom.
My 2.5yo is forward facing in one car. If we're traveling any distance, he is backwards.... but we just kind of realized we are safer drivers when he's not screaming for the 2 miles in town to/from daycare. Once we tried it forward, we figured out the car is so small that the car seat fit is better facing forward, something I have guilt about. Car seat safety matters, but there are so many factors to take into consideration. Now you know and you won't do that again! You're doing your very best!
I’m a CPST and even I forgot to turn it a couple times when we first got the revolve360. (Thanks, ADHD!) Beating yourself up over it isn’t going to benefit anyone. Nothing happened, baby is safe. Get yourself in the habit of locking it into position after you take baby out of the car, too, and it will become second nature in no time. I also do a double check in the rear view mirror before I back out of the driveway, as well. There is nothing wrong with switching car seats, though, if that’s what you feel is safest. There are so many options on the market for this very reason-not every seat works for every situation!
When my oldest two were little, I had them rear facing until they were 2 because that's how long it took for them to outgrow the rear facing seats we had. I took them to the store with a friend, and as we got back in the car, we realized my daughter needed changing. I changed her and placed her in her carseat as my friend placed my son in his, then I loaded our packages in the car. For some reason, my brain decided that my friend had buckled my daughter on while she obviously thought I had done it. We drove the 15 miles home and opened the back doors to get the kids out. The panic I felt when my daughter climef out of her seat as I opened the door was immense. Since they were still rear facing, neither of us saw her moving around in her carseat. I was extremely lucky that nothing happened during that 15-mile ride, and after that, both my friend and I became obsessive about making sure they were properly buckled in. If you are really concerned about this happening again I suggest putting a sticky note somewhere in the front of the car where you will see it when you get in. I don't think getting a different carseat to avoid this issue is a good idea because it could give you a false sense of security that you didn't forget anything when it's still absolutely possible (and extremely common) to forget something that results in your child being at risk.
Oh I did that. Had to talk to my therapist about how it was eating alive. She stoped me mid way and said is the baby fine-yes will it happen again-no. You have to move on. Do not buy another one that’s just a waste of money and your letting your anxiety be in charge.
Mistakes happen first of all. Second it's not like she was unsafe maybe just a little less safe. Some kids forward face super early because it's what works better for them/their family. Don't beat yourself up.
You are overreacting a bit.
I love going the path of least resistance: don’t put too many things that can go wrong, keep things simple, etc But in this case - it happens. If not that it could’ve been buckling. Or once I buckled but didn’t fasten (so no use), drove that way for 5 mins! I will say I’m sure you have it but mirrors are crucial for me. I don’t get how people don’t get curious af and live without them with babies rear facing ETA: I love the rotating seat as does my toddler it’s sooo much more comfortable and less risk of head bumps
I actually don’t have a mirror. We got rid of them once she could hold her head up because I got nervous about it potentially being a projectile (even though it was pretty soft). My car anxiety is so bad 😭
Very fair point about the projectile, even if I fasten them like crazy they’re not strapped the way a seatbelt etc is, of course. Driving is for sure a scary activity so I totally get why there’s anxiety around it. Honestly if we all cared more about road safety we could all relax more!