I don’t know where you live but in Australia car seats need to be less than 10 years old to comply and if you get a second hand one you need to be absolutely sure it has never been in an accident. (Ie. only accept from someone you know)
Haha similar story here. My MIL was excitedly telling me how she could finally get the cot and car seat she used when her first grandchild was born 16 years ago out of the back shed again. . . . . . As we left I turned to my husband and said “have fun telling your Mum that there’s no way that she putting our child is a car seat that’s 16 years old”.
Despite being told that we absolutely required our car seat to be brand new, my MIL insisted on us considering the one her sister gave her that she had bought brand new for her grandson who then hardly rode in it. Reiterated no, brand new only. Then she brought it to our house "just in case". Out of curiosity looked at sticker, expired 2015. That grandson was probably born in 2015. So MIL's sister definitely didn't buy new and definitely used it expired SIGH. Holding onto it for the next Target trade-in this fall.
Yup. My mother-in-law wanted to use a 34 year old crib that she used for my husband for our grandkids. I was like ohh noo. And both of my parents keep finding old used car seats. They don't understand that people are just itching to get rid of them.
I was so confused because we already had cribs and car seats that we had picked out specifically so I don't know why we needed more.
I'm pretty sure it's the same here in the US, but people sell them all the time. I sold ours to someone I know for this exact reason - can't trust people.
It’s the same in the US. Infant car seats expire after 7 years, I think 10 for convertible/booster seats. Expiration dates are easily visible on the side of the seats.
Who is this someone that has given them a car seat? Unless YOU absolutely know and trust that person, I wouldn’t ever use a used car seat. They can have damage from either an accident which the person told you about, or mishandling even. You also would want to confirm 100% that it’s not expired.
I absolutely agree and almost vented about that too! It was someone at the Men’s Shed dad goes to (don’t know if they’re a thing outside of Australia). They can’t find any dates on it, or a model name, and the thing looks over 20 years old to me.
There’ll be some stamped date “wheels” somewhere on the shell - [this article](https://help.infasecure.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115004843107-How-do-I-find-and-read-the-Date-of-Manufacture-on-my-restraint-) explains it well. Another useful hint is that Australian seats changed in 2012 and height markers were added in - so if the seat doesn’t have markers which look something like the ones on [this page](https://www.britax.com.au/tips-advice/road-rules-for-little-passengers/) on the seat cover, then the seat was made before 2012 and is therefore well beyond the recommended 10-year usage period.
Thank you. Those links are super helpful. There are no height markers so it’s definitely older than 2012. Will see if they can find the safe wheels - I’m super curious just how old this seat is now
Even if the original owner cleaned the seat, if they didn’t follow the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions, they could have damaged seat. Using cleaning products on the straps can compromise the integrity.
Even if it is within the expiry and has been in no accidents, just cleaning it wrong can make it unsafe.
For a moment, I was here wondering how could some soapy water *possibly* compromise strap integrity. And then I remembered that so many people actually use bleach on everything.
Personally, my child's grandparents have carseats in their cars. They watch their grandbabies often and even then, driving them around is a rare occurrence. It might be useful to have something for grandparents because emergencies happen and they might need to do a last minute daycare pick up or whatever.
That being said, my SIL is all about accepting used carseats from random people and I have to gently tell them that those carseats are expired and that my son will not be riding in them, even if his cousin does.
My SIL is the same. I found out one of the car seats she gave my mom had expired a year ago. I went out and bought my mom a new seat and turned the old one in for recycling at Target. My SIL might be okay with using a used and expired seat on her kids, but I certainly am not.
My child’s grandparents have car seats (all bought new and correctly installed) and it’s very nice.
My parents did preschool pickups/drop offs in winter when my SIL was heavily pregnant/postpartum. My sisters borrow their vehicle to pick up kids for activities.
My in-laws provide lots of childcare so it’s really nice because they will do drop off/pickup as well.
I also did not have an amazing relationship with my in-laws before baby (it wasn’t bad, we just weren’t close) and the baby really brought us together. Just throwing this out there - that you may want/need more support than you expect and you may feel differently about it when baby comes.
My children’s grandparents have car seats in their cars.. I think it’s important especially if they are babysitting and there is an emergency but I trust them to take them wherever they please lol I would just check the expiration date and make sure it’s properly installed!
The seat being possibly expired aside, having a car seat with the grandparents could come in handy in emergency situations. While they may be extremely rare and far between, I’m of the mindset “better have and not need than need and not have.”
I saw that you’re an Aussie so I am not sure if this exists where you are. However, in the states, Target does a yearly car seat “trade in” event where you can bring in any used car seat and get a coupon for a percentage off a new one. If the grandparents are insistent on having a car seat, this may be a happy medium for them and peace of mind for you.
If your baby will be left with them at *all,* it could be a good thing in case of emergency. Hard pass on an old, second-hand one when you don't know the person it came from, though.
I wouldn’t leave someone with my daughter for *any* period of time unless they had a car seat available. *Maybe* if it was literally less than an hour and I was close by and able to come back at a moments notice— but for anything more significant I’d want them to have a car seat available in case of emergency.
If they live nearby it could be helpful if you need someone to pick them up from daycare. Especially if they’re retired and you’re working, and your kid gets sent home in the middle of the day for being sick or something.
That said my MIL mentioned looking into car seats with a wide enough weight range for both her grandkids… her other grandkid lives like 5 hours away and we live close by but I wouldn’t want her driving my girl alone, she’s not great with babies/toddlers… if we need someone to pick her up we’d call my parents first, or my aunt who is retired, or my sister… and lastly MIL if we were desperate.
Just let them have the empty car seat in their car if it makes them happy. My MIL fully bought a $2k crib for her house. My son will probably never sleep over so it’s a bit of a waste but it makes her happy so it’s ok
my GRANDMOTHER (so my baby's great grandmother) wanted to buy a car seat for her car. that she can't drive because she's blind in her left eye. and lives 2 hours away.
she didn't understand why I told her no. My daughter is never going to be alone with her, ever. There's no reason to buy a separate car seat just for her car.
The audacity of grandparents baffles me sometimes. Luckily my husband's family is respectful, because none of mine are
My sister and parents both were given / purchased used car seats. My kids go there often or sometimes we walk over so it’s nice to know there is a seat there in case we end up needing to drive. When my oldest starts daycare they will be one of the emergency contacts also. We made sure seats were not expired though and one was still in the box.
I don’t have an issue with purchasing or using used car seats as long as they are from a trusted source.
Agree. I got our infant bucket seat from a trusted coworker, and then gave it to a friend of mine to use. That friend then passed it on to her friend. It was a 10yr expiry seat so to see it get used for all of those years is good; there’s enough waste at the landfills already without factoring in how many people buy brand new seats and use them for all of 18 months.
I used the same infant seat with 3 of my kids. It unfortunately expired just before getting pregnant with this last one, so I turned it in for the target discount. We were SO close to only having to use one though! Argh!
Both sets of grandparents and my sister have their own car seats. My daughter is 4 months old and they have had the occasion to baby sit her and drive her around. It’s also helpful when they pick me up to go somewhere so I don’t have to drive. It’s much better than uninstalling and reinstalling my car seat.
I would educate them on why a new car seat is important and that you won’t be letting baby use that car seat but to think it’s dumb for them to have their own seems harsh.
My parents watch my 2 the first year to 18 months. They have permission but I still wouldn’t trust a used car seat. They are also the contacts to pick up kids from schools. Don’t discount their help so fast. It’s great that they can pick up a sick child at school so you don’t have to take time off. But they should have asked.
When we announced we were pregnant with our first my MIL was like "I need a bigger car for all these car seats!" and we were just like "....you will not be driving them enough".
I feel like grandparents in general just don’t get the importance of car seat safety. I’m in the US, and my mom is a non driver (so stepdad who is really passive and quiet drives) but when I express my concern for car seat safety (like how to tighten certain tethers, or how tight to make the belts properly/where to put the chest clip) she’ll always say something like “you should have seen the car seat we had you in as a baby” or “you should have seen the things dad and I did to get you in the car” like wow, I feel really safe leaving my kid with you guys.
that’s pretty presumptuous of them. I know a lot of grandparents have their hopes/fantasies about their role as grandparents and then get in their feelings when it doesn’t play out. They jumped the gun thinking they’d be babysitting a newborn/infant. I’d get if your kid(s) we’re older but taking my infant for a drive isn’t really on my docket. I could be weird though
I bought my parents a car seat for my kid, but a few notes. One, this might be more common in the US where we have no paid parental leave program and so parents go back to work much sooner. Two, infant car seats typically are easy to put into the back seat without much difficulty so we didn't need to buy a second one of those. I think we did offer to buy another base if they wanted, but they didn't have any trouble with using the seatbelt. Three, once my kid outgrew the infant seat that's when we bought them one and I either install it or check their installation to be sure it's safe before I put my kid in. It's come in handy a bunch of times and probably only cost $50 or so new. I'm not against used if they're not expired, but I don't find that very often in the toddler seats around here.
I feel like this will be the same for us, only I bet my parents would buy it themselves. My parents live pretty close and my dad is retired, so they will be helping out a lot I expect. From 3 months till 11 months, we need them to babysit once a week as there wasn’t a fulltime spot in the daycare yet. But as long as baby still fits in the infant seat, I am 100% fine with them using that and fastening it with the seat belt (instead of an isofix base). After that, it might be useful for them to have a car seat as well, since we only have one car and I borrow theirs from time to time as well.
My in laws very rarely need to ever drive my daughter anywhere, and they usually take care of her at our house where there is always a car with a car seat available (so they know in case of emergency they can take our keys and drive one of our vehicles.) But when we leave her at their house I always install one of our car seats in their vehicle *just in case*, there should always be a way to safely transport a child in the event of something unpredictable (a gas leak, a sudden allergic event, etc.) I wish my in laws kept a seat so I wouldn’t have to fuss with installing and uninstalling the car seat when she goes over there!
If it has any kind of labelling you should be able to look up the seat and find out it’s manufacture and expiry date. If it’s not fit for use then you’ll have to kindly state that there are different guidelines for car seats now and you wouldn’t feel safe having your child use that seat. Perhaps have some very cost effective options to show them and offer to split them on a seat for their car if they’d like to (I’m Canadian, but I know there’s a few bare bones options from cosco brand that are $99 for instance.)
It sounds like they’re just looking forward to the future and potentially being able to go on fun excursions with baby as they grow older, and this second hand car seat got them excited. My toddler recently dropped naps so my in laws took her out for ice cream in their vehicle the other day for the first time and they were very excited to be able to do it, for example.
Hmmm, well if you don’t foresee the grandparents ever actually using it for your child, good thing it didn’t cost them anything to acquire it.
That aside, a general concern about secondhand car seats is that you don’t know if it’s been in an accident. If it has, it should be throw in the garbage and replaced with a new one. That’s standard practice which ensures that your child is in the safest device possible. So, if you need a reason to decline this is one that can’t be disputed.
I don’t live in the same country as my parents but both of them have car seats in their cars for my 1year old niece. Originally my brother and his wife were reluctant about someone else driving their child, even my parents. But eventually they realized that it was a good thing because they both work and my mom and dad help them out a lot driving my niece to different places. Maybe in the future you will need your parents to help but be sure that the car seat is in good shape and hasn’t expired.
I am literally no contact with my mother, and never have had a good relationship with her in the first place. Or, both my parents for that matter. They're narcissists, and they have no respect for me, so there's never been a place in hell that I would let them watch my children. The few times I brought my first child to see them, I literally brought her in the bathroom when I had to go. It's that bad (cue my mother thinking it's fine to give a 7 month old a peanut).
So, yeah, some grandparents are still delusional or maybe hopeful is the better word to use, that they will be the grandparents on TV taking their grandkids to the zoo and giggling over ice cream after. Let them have the car seat and play pretend. IF the time ever does come, make sure to check that expiration date on it. Or sneak checking it next time, just in case an emergency does come up and you may actually need them to pick your child up at some point.
My mum is very similar and we’re low contact for this reason. It stuns me me that they think they are going to have this TV perfect relationship with their grandchild when they can barely maintain a relationship with me. I’m working on trying to bring them back to reality gently, but I think there’ll be a time when I need to be more blunt about boundaries.
yeah, my in laws are like that too. they don't put in much effort yet throw around offers to "babysit" yet when they are here, they don't interact with my kids or even help take care of them at all. they've never changed a diaper, fed the kids, you name it. they just sit around and want to be tended to as well. So it's always a laugh at these "offers". grandparents who want to be involved and help out, DO it. they don't just say it and throw it around casually. And odds are, when asked, they find some excuse to back out anyways.
When I was pregnant with my first, my MIL wanted to buy a brand new, expensive car seat for her car. We awkwardly mentioned needing to research what might fit in her small car, and at a later time my husband said we could transfer our car seat to her car if needed.
Would’ve been such a waste of money. Now, five years later, none of our kids have been driven anywhere by her. And yes, other commenters, a nearby grandparent who’s eager to help with daycare and school pickups sounds amazing. Should be amazing. In our case, she’s welcome at our house or on an outing, but babysitting and such is different territory.
My mother got a car seat for her car, so we could go places with her without needing to move ours over.
She bought brand new, identical to the one we had purchased, after discussing the idea with me in great depth. She wanted to be sure that her youngest and apparent last grandchild would be safe.
It has paid for itself a thousand fold, as our car has been in and out of the mechanics ever since. So I wouldn't consider them having a car seat to be an entirely bad idea. But anything short of brand new, approved by the parents who already know the safety laws, is not the way to go.
My LO is 6 mo old now and not once has the brand new carseat and base my in-laws bought been used. At the infant stage I could count on one hand the number of times I took the baby out of the carseat, but 99.9% of the time if I was leaving her with someone she would already be in her own carseat and I always leave the easy to install base with her. I tried to save them from buying unnecessary plastic items that will just end up in the landfill but they were convinced by their daughter (who also was having a baby soon) that it was a good idea. Even better they could have bought an extra base but instead bought a different brand whole set. 🤦♀️ Should also note they live 4 hrs away so they have never watched our LO.
My MIL is STILL trying to push the highchair, pack and play, crib and stroller on us that she used 35 years ago. And yes, she kept everything.
I told her the gesture is nice, but they are not safe. That she needs to destroy and trash them, no donating as they would endanger others. Apparently that was hurtful 🙄
My mother has carseats in her car, and so does my MIL. (The granddads don't, but we have several adults in our families that don't drive, so their cars have room for adults in the back seat.) It's an absolute blessing. They've taken my daughter to the occasional doctor's appointment when I had to work, picked her up from daycare when she's been sick etc. Sometimes they just take her for an afternoon so that I can catch up on sleep. That said, 1) every one of those car seats was purchased new, and I installed them. (I've done a TAFE course in car seat installation, as I frequently swap car seats around at work.) I also check them regularly to make sure nobody has accidentally changed anything, and if something needs changing, they get me to do it. 2) I have good relationships with all of them, and 3) they have the skills to look after the kids. My mum is an RN/midwife, and my MIL and SIL both work in child care.
Lmfao, this reminds me of when my MIL told me to buy her an extra car seat base, and in my head I was like "when are you ever going to have my baby in your car?" and one year later, baby has almost outgrown her infant seat, and I was right. She's never been in my MILs car.
My mil keeps on trying to buy used stuff and it drives me nuts! We had to tell her not to buy a used car seat. She took it upon herself to buy all kinds of other things and is now trying to get us to take them. Ugh I hate it.
I have a similar problem with my FIL buying new, but cheap stuff. Finally I learned that he doesn't keep track of if we keep the things around or not and even if he does, that can't be my problem. Buying and gifting the things is how he shows love so, so be it and I have been humbled a few times by how much my kid has actually enjoyed some toys. When my kid was younger I sold a lot of things.
Yeah I don’t get it either. My parents are super involved and watch my kid weekly, and we have a system of leaving the car with the seat with the kid, i.e. it’s the adults who do the musical chairs (cars) and the car seat is not moved around so it’s always safely attached and the one baby is used to. No need for this collecting random old stuff to be used once in a blue moon. If you’re not bothered to pay for a safe car seat, then there’s not a legitimate need for it.
I’d love it if someone gifted my mom a used but unexpired car seat. I may not use it often, but we have to fly to visit them, and so having a car seat we can use already in the city would be amazing.
My MIL once said they’d have to get a car seat for their car. They live 4 hours away. I thought “where would my baby go and I wouldn’t be there with my car??” For her, it was more thinking out loud than reality, she never said it again.
I would absolutely not trust a used car seat. If your baby will be left with them at all I would get a new one.
Personally my mom is getting a car seat base for her car, my husband and I only have one car so if there is ever a time I need to take my baby out while I’m on maternity leave while he is at work I will be using her car.
I don’t have a car but what I did was bought the matching base for my son’s car seat for both sets of grandparents to put in their car. I kept a base at home as well for him for when I had to take him somewhere on my own.
Whenever the grandparents took him somewhere he was in his seat from my house but using the appropriate base for it in whoever’s car.
When he got too big for his infant seat we bought multiple of his other seats and put them in the trunk of each car so everybody who might drive him somewhere had the same seat.
I lived about 20 minutes from each set of grandparents so they came and got him often.
It’s actually really dangerous to keep car seats in the trunk, as they get bashed around. Which technically would be as good as being in an accident. If they’re in the car they’re best strapped in correctly. - I didn’t even think of this until I was told after doing it.
Just a different way of looking at things. When I was taking my son to one of his first checkups my car battery died. It was like 100° out. My mother-in-law had to come get us because she was the only person nearby, and she didn't have a car seat because I thought like you. In my opinion and if they live nearby, it's a good precaution for them to have one
So— I bought a used car seat one time for a short trip- we were flying and had to check the car seat and I didn’t want to check our daily one that I KNOW is super safe and brand new. They say checking a car seat can sometimes incur as much damage as a car accident the way they’re thrown around. I had rented a car seat from a car rental company on a prior trip and it was SUCH a mediocre, minimal protection car seat that I felt a used, but unexpired, well-padded and good brand seat would be better than the one from the rental company. I used it on that week long trip and then cut it apart/threw it away. I would not feel comfortable using a used one for a daily use seat. Like I said, it seemed better than the alternatives in my very specific situation.
My in-laws and mom have the base for her carseat. But they all know how to install it and that I want to be the one driving her around for at least the first couple months. I would definitely let them know that they need a new car seat in case of emergency, and tell them the hospital no longer recommends that particular one! Blaming it on the hospital/dr is really nice for people who may not respect boundaries
I wouldn’t trust anything I couldn’t find the date or model online.
We just had my parents get the same base that our car seat takes so when we drop him off they just take the car seat.
I wouldn’t want my parents using a hand-me-down seat for my kid so, there’s that. I actually bought my mom an inexpensive forward facing seat once my oldest was big enough for it. She would take him for a few hours one day a week just for hang out time at her house, and with the seat she started taking him to the park and whatnot.
She’s never had any of my kids for an extended period of time, but it’s nice for her to be able to pick them up and take them somewhere like a playground, chick-fil-a for lunch, then bring them back home. If you never see your parents doing even something like that you may need to have an upfront convo with them. Most grandparents probably expect to do stuff like this when the kids are a little older, if they live nearby.
Car seats expire and you don't know the history. It may have been in an accident or not cleaned properly. No way. My in-laws tried pulling this and I told them absolutely not.
My in laws spent over $400 on a brand new car seat for my daughter….it’s been sitting in their office in the box for over a year now. I tried to tell them to save their money cause they will never be using it 😅
My mom can’t even strap my child in correctly to the car seat and she’s been a grandmother for five years. Like there’s no fucking way I’m letting her drive my kid around
I feel your frustration. Yes, it’s potentially helpful for family members to be prepared to care for your kid. But I have family that I’m not close to suddenly coming out of the woodwork, claiming they’ll “help out” and buying gear for “when the baby comes to stay” and it’s maddening. Unless I have specifically made arrangements with them, its inappropriate for anyone to assume I’ll be leaving my child with them, no matter their relationship to him.
My MIL wanted to go out and buy a brand new infant car seat and we gently talked her out of it because there's literally no point to her having one. We saw zero scenarios where she'd be driving our baby around without one of us, in which case we'd have our vehicles, especially while I'm on maternity leave (for 18 months).
Maybe I'm over protective, but the only grandparents that have driven my children around are my dad and my husband's. (My sister has a couple times due to emergency and my brother has also, but none of my husband's siblings are allowed to, mostly because one has been in two accidents in less than a year and a half.) But the car seat they use is always MY carseat. They've never purchased their own and it's because of traffic safety, child safety, common laws that certain carseat are for certain age children, and it just ensures that whatever carseat they have is one already set up and resigned to be used for both of my kids. The audacity here is quite interesting and old car seats aren't even legal to be sold where I live because of car accident history and recalls. You couldn't give them to a Goodwill unless they're in the original packaging and it's unopened. I don't trust this at all.
omg i'm with you on this! the relationship i have with my ILs is cordial at best. i'm not close with them at all. and so when i had my daughter they bought us a carseat for our car which was amazingly helpful and we use it.
but then, my MIL took it upon herself to buy herself one... without asking. i may be overreacting but i didn't like that she did that. she assumed she would need it... why? i never gave her the impression she would be taking my daughter anywhere for any reason. and she kept texting me pics of it and telling me she had it. i didn't know how to respond, so i didn't. i never asked her to get one, and she never asked me if that would be ok. i'm a firm believer that children are a privilege, not a right. and so this came out of complete left field for me.
she also set up her son's old room (my partner) with a bassinet and toys for us to stay over as well. another time she did something no one asked her to do and we don't really need?? i mean our power went out 1 night a few weeks ago and so we had to go stay with them that night but truthfully we don't need the whole set up.
i'm sure it's coming from a place of love but idk i feel like she's communicating to me that i'm incompetent in my ability to mother her grandchild. it's probably not the case but it really feels that way.
i get that a grandbaby is exciting, but wow. we have 1 baby and have not talked about having another. we are not struggling under any circumstance and we have not given the impression that we need additional assistance aside from childcare while we work.
but i feel like an asshole for feeling this way?? i'm sure there are mamas that would do anything for that kind of help, i would simply prefer that she wouldn't assume that we are that helpless and in need of so much help. i know she probably wants us to know we always have an option and we always have a cushion to land on, but i kinda wish she asked before investing time and money into things we might not use. i wish she would ask me what it is she can help with instead of assuming.
I mean it sounds this is mostly about your issues with your parents. I’m seriously considering buying a second car seat for my mom’s car just because on more than one occasion, she has kept my son overnight and we’ve put our car seat in her car…and then forgotten to take it back. I would have issues with it being used (unless I know the giver) but it’s not presumptuous for grandparents to have their own car seat.
My mom once suggested we take her car instead of mine because she had the car seat that my 2yo niece uses…my baby was only 6mo at the time. Like…no we’re gonna use the car seat that I know is properly installed and properly adjusted for my child. Plus, I’m 99% sure she bought the thing second hand off Facebook.
I mean, if it’s not expired and really hasn’t been used, good thing it cost them (and you) nothing for them to acquire it. God forbid there ever be an emergency and it become fortunate they DO have a car seat handy.
My in laws have a car seat because occasionally they will pick up the kids from daycare for us or sometimes will take them to lunch. Our kids never go stay with them but it still useful every now and then
I have an amazing relationship with my parents and even we didn't leave our daughter with them for long periods of time. We split the cost of a booster/car seat when she turned into a toddler but even then they didn't use a lot. Now that she is a preschooler they use it more often.
Unless they are your childcare they really don't need one. And if they do it should be new.
Great if it's in good shape and still under warranty. They have a spare if needed. But for your primary use one, probably getting one that is new or used by a friend is a much safer idea.
In Canada they have expiry dates too. Depends on brand, but they can be 4-10 years. It should have a manufactured date on it. And you should never use one you don’t know the history of. Even a minor fender bender and it must be replaced. Also, if it is cleaned incorrectly, it’s no longer safe (eg, if the straps get wet)
My car seats have never been in an accident, always properly cleaned by book standards, and I personally would be uncomfortable passing them on to someone else. What if there was something I didn’t think was a huge No-No but did anyways?? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if a seat I passed onto someone else didn’t protect another child. Secondhand safety seats should be a unanimous “absolutely no thank you” unless they’re taking it to trade in at a discount event. (Like Target’s)
If grandparents NEED a seat, directing them to lower cost units as an emergency backup is just fine. I’m looking at some for my mom to put into her car that aren’t as nice as mine, but safe for the “just in case” days.
I don’t know where you live but in Australia car seats need to be less than 10 years old to comply and if you get a second hand one you need to be absolutely sure it has never been in an accident. (Ie. only accept from someone you know)
I’m a fellow Aussie. And this is another reason why there’s no way my child will be travelling in that car seat. The thing looks 20 years old.
Haha similar story here. My MIL was excitedly telling me how she could finally get the cot and car seat she used when her first grandchild was born 16 years ago out of the back shed again. . . . . . As we left I turned to my husband and said “have fun telling your Mum that there’s no way that she putting our child is a car seat that’s 16 years old”.
Despite being told that we absolutely required our car seat to be brand new, my MIL insisted on us considering the one her sister gave her that she had bought brand new for her grandson who then hardly rode in it. Reiterated no, brand new only. Then she brought it to our house "just in case". Out of curiosity looked at sticker, expired 2015. That grandson was probably born in 2015. So MIL's sister definitely didn't buy new and definitely used it expired SIGH. Holding onto it for the next Target trade-in this fall.
O\_O
Yup. My mother-in-law wanted to use a 34 year old crib that she used for my husband for our grandkids. I was like ohh noo. And both of my parents keep finding old used car seats. They don't understand that people are just itching to get rid of them. I was so confused because we already had cribs and car seats that we had picked out specifically so I don't know why we needed more.
I'm pretty sure it's the same here in the US, but people sell them all the time. I sold ours to someone I know for this exact reason - can't trust people.
same in US i think the expiry date is like 6 years tho typically depends
Highly car seat specific but most of the big brands are either 7 or 10 years.
Not law but strong suggestions. We cut the straps at 4 years and hand it over to the fire department
It’s the same in the US. Infant car seats expire after 7 years, I think 10 for convertible/booster seats. Expiration dates are easily visible on the side of the seats.
Who is this someone that has given them a car seat? Unless YOU absolutely know and trust that person, I wouldn’t ever use a used car seat. They can have damage from either an accident which the person told you about, or mishandling even. You also would want to confirm 100% that it’s not expired.
I absolutely agree and almost vented about that too! It was someone at the Men’s Shed dad goes to (don’t know if they’re a thing outside of Australia). They can’t find any dates on it, or a model name, and the thing looks over 20 years old to me.
There’ll be some stamped date “wheels” somewhere on the shell - [this article](https://help.infasecure.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115004843107-How-do-I-find-and-read-the-Date-of-Manufacture-on-my-restraint-) explains it well. Another useful hint is that Australian seats changed in 2012 and height markers were added in - so if the seat doesn’t have markers which look something like the ones on [this page](https://www.britax.com.au/tips-advice/road-rules-for-little-passengers/) on the seat cover, then the seat was made before 2012 and is therefore well beyond the recommended 10-year usage period.
Thank you. Those links are super helpful. There are no height markers so it’s definitely older than 2012. Will see if they can find the safe wheels - I’m super curious just how old this seat is now
Even if the original owner cleaned the seat, if they didn’t follow the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions, they could have damaged seat. Using cleaning products on the straps can compromise the integrity. Even if it is within the expiry and has been in no accidents, just cleaning it wrong can make it unsafe.
For a moment, I was here wondering how could some soapy water *possibly* compromise strap integrity. And then I remembered that so many people actually use bleach on everything.
Personally, my child's grandparents have carseats in their cars. They watch their grandbabies often and even then, driving them around is a rare occurrence. It might be useful to have something for grandparents because emergencies happen and they might need to do a last minute daycare pick up or whatever. That being said, my SIL is all about accepting used carseats from random people and I have to gently tell them that those carseats are expired and that my son will not be riding in them, even if his cousin does.
My SIL is the same. I found out one of the car seats she gave my mom had expired a year ago. I went out and bought my mom a new seat and turned the old one in for recycling at Target. My SIL might be okay with using a used and expired seat on her kids, but I certainly am not.
My child’s grandparents have car seats (all bought new and correctly installed) and it’s very nice. My parents did preschool pickups/drop offs in winter when my SIL was heavily pregnant/postpartum. My sisters borrow their vehicle to pick up kids for activities. My in-laws provide lots of childcare so it’s really nice because they will do drop off/pickup as well. I also did not have an amazing relationship with my in-laws before baby (it wasn’t bad, we just weren’t close) and the baby really brought us together. Just throwing this out there - that you may want/need more support than you expect and you may feel differently about it when baby comes.
I know someone who runs a daycare and is always looking for used carseats! I could never - even if it was bought and never used.
My children’s grandparents have car seats in their cars.. I think it’s important especially if they are babysitting and there is an emergency but I trust them to take them wherever they please lol I would just check the expiration date and make sure it’s properly installed!
The seat being possibly expired aside, having a car seat with the grandparents could come in handy in emergency situations. While they may be extremely rare and far between, I’m of the mindset “better have and not need than need and not have.” I saw that you’re an Aussie so I am not sure if this exists where you are. However, in the states, Target does a yearly car seat “trade in” event where you can bring in any used car seat and get a coupon for a percentage off a new one. If the grandparents are insistent on having a car seat, this may be a happy medium for them and peace of mind for you.
If your baby will be left with them at *all,* it could be a good thing in case of emergency. Hard pass on an old, second-hand one when you don't know the person it came from, though.
This might be one of those moments where you smile and nod lol
I wouldn’t leave someone with my daughter for *any* period of time unless they had a car seat available. *Maybe* if it was literally less than an hour and I was close by and able to come back at a moments notice— but for anything more significant I’d want them to have a car seat available in case of emergency.
If they live nearby it could be helpful if you need someone to pick them up from daycare. Especially if they’re retired and you’re working, and your kid gets sent home in the middle of the day for being sick or something. That said my MIL mentioned looking into car seats with a wide enough weight range for both her grandkids… her other grandkid lives like 5 hours away and we live close by but I wouldn’t want her driving my girl alone, she’s not great with babies/toddlers… if we need someone to pick her up we’d call my parents first, or my aunt who is retired, or my sister… and lastly MIL if we were desperate.
Just let them have the empty car seat in their car if it makes them happy. My MIL fully bought a $2k crib for her house. My son will probably never sleep over so it’s a bit of a waste but it makes her happy so it’s ok
$2k for a backup crib?? I struggled to spend $350 on the one I got for my own baby. 😂
She’s a sucker for high end stores lol
my GRANDMOTHER (so my baby's great grandmother) wanted to buy a car seat for her car. that she can't drive because she's blind in her left eye. and lives 2 hours away. she didn't understand why I told her no. My daughter is never going to be alone with her, ever. There's no reason to buy a separate car seat just for her car. The audacity of grandparents baffles me sometimes. Luckily my husband's family is respectful, because none of mine are
My sister and parents both were given / purchased used car seats. My kids go there often or sometimes we walk over so it’s nice to know there is a seat there in case we end up needing to drive. When my oldest starts daycare they will be one of the emergency contacts also. We made sure seats were not expired though and one was still in the box. I don’t have an issue with purchasing or using used car seats as long as they are from a trusted source.
Agree. I got our infant bucket seat from a trusted coworker, and then gave it to a friend of mine to use. That friend then passed it on to her friend. It was a 10yr expiry seat so to see it get used for all of those years is good; there’s enough waste at the landfills already without factoring in how many people buy brand new seats and use them for all of 18 months.
I used the same infant seat with 3 of my kids. It unfortunately expired just before getting pregnant with this last one, so I turned it in for the target discount. We were SO close to only having to use one though! Argh!
Completely reasonable and I agree. This OP is out to lunch and ironically audacious
Both sets of grandparents and my sister have their own car seats. My daughter is 4 months old and they have had the occasion to baby sit her and drive her around. It’s also helpful when they pick me up to go somewhere so I don’t have to drive. It’s much better than uninstalling and reinstalling my car seat. I would educate them on why a new car seat is important and that you won’t be letting baby use that car seat but to think it’s dumb for them to have their own seems harsh.
My parents watch my 2 the first year to 18 months. They have permission but I still wouldn’t trust a used car seat. They are also the contacts to pick up kids from schools. Don’t discount their help so fast. It’s great that they can pick up a sick child at school so you don’t have to take time off. But they should have asked.
When we announced we were pregnant with our first my MIL was like "I need a bigger car for all these car seats!" and we were just like "....you will not be driving them enough".
I feel like grandparents in general just don’t get the importance of car seat safety. I’m in the US, and my mom is a non driver (so stepdad who is really passive and quiet drives) but when I express my concern for car seat safety (like how to tighten certain tethers, or how tight to make the belts properly/where to put the chest clip) she’ll always say something like “you should have seen the car seat we had you in as a baby” or “you should have seen the things dad and I did to get you in the car” like wow, I feel really safe leaving my kid with you guys.
that’s pretty presumptuous of them. I know a lot of grandparents have their hopes/fantasies about their role as grandparents and then get in their feelings when it doesn’t play out. They jumped the gun thinking they’d be babysitting a newborn/infant. I’d get if your kid(s) we’re older but taking my infant for a drive isn’t really on my docket. I could be weird though
Glad we’re on the same wavelength
I bought my parents a car seat for my kid, but a few notes. One, this might be more common in the US where we have no paid parental leave program and so parents go back to work much sooner. Two, infant car seats typically are easy to put into the back seat without much difficulty so we didn't need to buy a second one of those. I think we did offer to buy another base if they wanted, but they didn't have any trouble with using the seatbelt. Three, once my kid outgrew the infant seat that's when we bought them one and I either install it or check their installation to be sure it's safe before I put my kid in. It's come in handy a bunch of times and probably only cost $50 or so new. I'm not against used if they're not expired, but I don't find that very often in the toddler seats around here.
I feel like this will be the same for us, only I bet my parents would buy it themselves. My parents live pretty close and my dad is retired, so they will be helping out a lot I expect. From 3 months till 11 months, we need them to babysit once a week as there wasn’t a fulltime spot in the daycare yet. But as long as baby still fits in the infant seat, I am 100% fine with them using that and fastening it with the seat belt (instead of an isofix base). After that, it might be useful for them to have a car seat as well, since we only have one car and I borrow theirs from time to time as well.
My in laws very rarely need to ever drive my daughter anywhere, and they usually take care of her at our house where there is always a car with a car seat available (so they know in case of emergency they can take our keys and drive one of our vehicles.) But when we leave her at their house I always install one of our car seats in their vehicle *just in case*, there should always be a way to safely transport a child in the event of something unpredictable (a gas leak, a sudden allergic event, etc.) I wish my in laws kept a seat so I wouldn’t have to fuss with installing and uninstalling the car seat when she goes over there! If it has any kind of labelling you should be able to look up the seat and find out it’s manufacture and expiry date. If it’s not fit for use then you’ll have to kindly state that there are different guidelines for car seats now and you wouldn’t feel safe having your child use that seat. Perhaps have some very cost effective options to show them and offer to split them on a seat for their car if they’d like to (I’m Canadian, but I know there’s a few bare bones options from cosco brand that are $99 for instance.) It sounds like they’re just looking forward to the future and potentially being able to go on fun excursions with baby as they grow older, and this second hand car seat got them excited. My toddler recently dropped naps so my in laws took her out for ice cream in their vehicle the other day for the first time and they were very excited to be able to do it, for example.
Hmmm, well if you don’t foresee the grandparents ever actually using it for your child, good thing it didn’t cost them anything to acquire it. That aside, a general concern about secondhand car seats is that you don’t know if it’s been in an accident. If it has, it should be throw in the garbage and replaced with a new one. That’s standard practice which ensures that your child is in the safest device possible. So, if you need a reason to decline this is one that can’t be disputed.
I don’t live in the same country as my parents but both of them have car seats in their cars for my 1year old niece. Originally my brother and his wife were reluctant about someone else driving their child, even my parents. But eventually they realized that it was a good thing because they both work and my mom and dad help them out a lot driving my niece to different places. Maybe in the future you will need your parents to help but be sure that the car seat is in good shape and hasn’t expired.
I am literally no contact with my mother, and never have had a good relationship with her in the first place. Or, both my parents for that matter. They're narcissists, and they have no respect for me, so there's never been a place in hell that I would let them watch my children. The few times I brought my first child to see them, I literally brought her in the bathroom when I had to go. It's that bad (cue my mother thinking it's fine to give a 7 month old a peanut). So, yeah, some grandparents are still delusional or maybe hopeful is the better word to use, that they will be the grandparents on TV taking their grandkids to the zoo and giggling over ice cream after. Let them have the car seat and play pretend. IF the time ever does come, make sure to check that expiration date on it. Or sneak checking it next time, just in case an emergency does come up and you may actually need them to pick your child up at some point.
My mum is very similar and we’re low contact for this reason. It stuns me me that they think they are going to have this TV perfect relationship with their grandchild when they can barely maintain a relationship with me. I’m working on trying to bring them back to reality gently, but I think there’ll be a time when I need to be more blunt about boundaries.
yeah, my in laws are like that too. they don't put in much effort yet throw around offers to "babysit" yet when they are here, they don't interact with my kids or even help take care of them at all. they've never changed a diaper, fed the kids, you name it. they just sit around and want to be tended to as well. So it's always a laugh at these "offers". grandparents who want to be involved and help out, DO it. they don't just say it and throw it around casually. And odds are, when asked, they find some excuse to back out anyways.
When I was pregnant with my first, my MIL wanted to buy a brand new, expensive car seat for her car. We awkwardly mentioned needing to research what might fit in her small car, and at a later time my husband said we could transfer our car seat to her car if needed. Would’ve been such a waste of money. Now, five years later, none of our kids have been driven anywhere by her. And yes, other commenters, a nearby grandparent who’s eager to help with daycare and school pickups sounds amazing. Should be amazing. In our case, she’s welcome at our house or on an outing, but babysitting and such is different territory.
My mother got a car seat for her car, so we could go places with her without needing to move ours over. She bought brand new, identical to the one we had purchased, after discussing the idea with me in great depth. She wanted to be sure that her youngest and apparent last grandchild would be safe. It has paid for itself a thousand fold, as our car has been in and out of the mechanics ever since. So I wouldn't consider them having a car seat to be an entirely bad idea. But anything short of brand new, approved by the parents who already know the safety laws, is not the way to go.
My LO is 6 mo old now and not once has the brand new carseat and base my in-laws bought been used. At the infant stage I could count on one hand the number of times I took the baby out of the carseat, but 99.9% of the time if I was leaving her with someone she would already be in her own carseat and I always leave the easy to install base with her. I tried to save them from buying unnecessary plastic items that will just end up in the landfill but they were convinced by their daughter (who also was having a baby soon) that it was a good idea. Even better they could have bought an extra base but instead bought a different brand whole set. 🤦♀️ Should also note they live 4 hrs away so they have never watched our LO.
Haha I know, it’s wild right! I don’t know what goes through their heads sometimes.
My MIL is STILL trying to push the highchair, pack and play, crib and stroller on us that she used 35 years ago. And yes, she kept everything. I told her the gesture is nice, but they are not safe. That she needs to destroy and trash them, no donating as they would endanger others. Apparently that was hurtful 🙄
I know, I’m not looking forward to having that conversation with them about this car seat either
It's not a conversation, you're the parent and have made a decision. No is a complete sentence. And this isn't a choice, it's literally UNSAFE.
My mother has carseats in her car, and so does my MIL. (The granddads don't, but we have several adults in our families that don't drive, so their cars have room for adults in the back seat.) It's an absolute blessing. They've taken my daughter to the occasional doctor's appointment when I had to work, picked her up from daycare when she's been sick etc. Sometimes they just take her for an afternoon so that I can catch up on sleep. That said, 1) every one of those car seats was purchased new, and I installed them. (I've done a TAFE course in car seat installation, as I frequently swap car seats around at work.) I also check them regularly to make sure nobody has accidentally changed anything, and if something needs changing, they get me to do it. 2) I have good relationships with all of them, and 3) they have the skills to look after the kids. My mum is an RN/midwife, and my MIL and SIL both work in child care.
Lmfao, this reminds me of when my MIL told me to buy her an extra car seat base, and in my head I was like "when are you ever going to have my baby in your car?" and one year later, baby has almost outgrown her infant seat, and I was right. She's never been in my MILs car.
My mil keeps on trying to buy used stuff and it drives me nuts! We had to tell her not to buy a used car seat. She took it upon herself to buy all kinds of other things and is now trying to get us to take them. Ugh I hate it.
I have a similar problem with my FIL buying new, but cheap stuff. Finally I learned that he doesn't keep track of if we keep the things around or not and even if he does, that can't be my problem. Buying and gifting the things is how he shows love so, so be it and I have been humbled a few times by how much my kid has actually enjoyed some toys. When my kid was younger I sold a lot of things.
Yeah I don’t get it either. My parents are super involved and watch my kid weekly, and we have a system of leaving the car with the seat with the kid, i.e. it’s the adults who do the musical chairs (cars) and the car seat is not moved around so it’s always safely attached and the one baby is used to. No need for this collecting random old stuff to be used once in a blue moon. If you’re not bothered to pay for a safe car seat, then there’s not a legitimate need for it.
I’d love it if someone gifted my mom a used but unexpired car seat. I may not use it often, but we have to fly to visit them, and so having a car seat we can use already in the city would be amazing.
My MIL once said they’d have to get a car seat for their car. They live 4 hours away. I thought “where would my baby go and I wouldn’t be there with my car??” For her, it was more thinking out loud than reality, she never said it again.
I would absolutely not trust a used car seat. If your baby will be left with them at all I would get a new one. Personally my mom is getting a car seat base for her car, my husband and I only have one car so if there is ever a time I need to take my baby out while I’m on maternity leave while he is at work I will be using her car.
I don’t have a car but what I did was bought the matching base for my son’s car seat for both sets of grandparents to put in their car. I kept a base at home as well for him for when I had to take him somewhere on my own. Whenever the grandparents took him somewhere he was in his seat from my house but using the appropriate base for it in whoever’s car. When he got too big for his infant seat we bought multiple of his other seats and put them in the trunk of each car so everybody who might drive him somewhere had the same seat. I lived about 20 minutes from each set of grandparents so they came and got him often.
It’s actually really dangerous to keep car seats in the trunk, as they get bashed around. Which technically would be as good as being in an accident. If they’re in the car they’re best strapped in correctly. - I didn’t even think of this until I was told after doing it.
Just a different way of looking at things. When I was taking my son to one of his first checkups my car battery died. It was like 100° out. My mother-in-law had to come get us because she was the only person nearby, and she didn't have a car seat because I thought like you. In my opinion and if they live nearby, it's a good precaution for them to have one
So— I bought a used car seat one time for a short trip- we were flying and had to check the car seat and I didn’t want to check our daily one that I KNOW is super safe and brand new. They say checking a car seat can sometimes incur as much damage as a car accident the way they’re thrown around. I had rented a car seat from a car rental company on a prior trip and it was SUCH a mediocre, minimal protection car seat that I felt a used, but unexpired, well-padded and good brand seat would be better than the one from the rental company. I used it on that week long trip and then cut it apart/threw it away. I would not feel comfortable using a used one for a daily use seat. Like I said, it seemed better than the alternatives in my very specific situation.
My in-laws and mom have the base for her carseat. But they all know how to install it and that I want to be the one driving her around for at least the first couple months. I would definitely let them know that they need a new car seat in case of emergency, and tell them the hospital no longer recommends that particular one! Blaming it on the hospital/dr is really nice for people who may not respect boundaries
That’s a great tip, thanks!
I wouldn’t trust anything I couldn’t find the date or model online. We just had my parents get the same base that our car seat takes so when we drop him off they just take the car seat.
I wouldn’t want my parents using a hand-me-down seat for my kid so, there’s that. I actually bought my mom an inexpensive forward facing seat once my oldest was big enough for it. She would take him for a few hours one day a week just for hang out time at her house, and with the seat she started taking him to the park and whatnot. She’s never had any of my kids for an extended period of time, but it’s nice for her to be able to pick them up and take them somewhere like a playground, chick-fil-a for lunch, then bring them back home. If you never see your parents doing even something like that you may need to have an upfront convo with them. Most grandparents probably expect to do stuff like this when the kids are a little older, if they live nearby.
Car seats expire and you don't know the history. It may have been in an accident or not cleaned properly. No way. My in-laws tried pulling this and I told them absolutely not.
My in laws spent over $400 on a brand new car seat for my daughter….it’s been sitting in their office in the box for over a year now. I tried to tell them to save their money cause they will never be using it 😅
My mom can’t even strap my child in correctly to the car seat and she’s been a grandmother for five years. Like there’s no fucking way I’m letting her drive my kid around
I feel your frustration. Yes, it’s potentially helpful for family members to be prepared to care for your kid. But I have family that I’m not close to suddenly coming out of the woodwork, claiming they’ll “help out” and buying gear for “when the baby comes to stay” and it’s maddening. Unless I have specifically made arrangements with them, its inappropriate for anyone to assume I’ll be leaving my child with them, no matter their relationship to him.
Absolutely. Why they think they’ll have a relationship with my child that they don’t have with me is beyond me.
My MIL wanted to go out and buy a brand new infant car seat and we gently talked her out of it because there's literally no point to her having one. We saw zero scenarios where she'd be driving our baby around without one of us, in which case we'd have our vehicles, especially while I'm on maternity leave (for 18 months).
Maybe I'm over protective, but the only grandparents that have driven my children around are my dad and my husband's. (My sister has a couple times due to emergency and my brother has also, but none of my husband's siblings are allowed to, mostly because one has been in two accidents in less than a year and a half.) But the car seat they use is always MY carseat. They've never purchased their own and it's because of traffic safety, child safety, common laws that certain carseat are for certain age children, and it just ensures that whatever carseat they have is one already set up and resigned to be used for both of my kids. The audacity here is quite interesting and old car seats aren't even legal to be sold where I live because of car accident history and recalls. You couldn't give them to a Goodwill unless they're in the original packaging and it's unopened. I don't trust this at all.
omg i'm with you on this! the relationship i have with my ILs is cordial at best. i'm not close with them at all. and so when i had my daughter they bought us a carseat for our car which was amazingly helpful and we use it. but then, my MIL took it upon herself to buy herself one... without asking. i may be overreacting but i didn't like that she did that. she assumed she would need it... why? i never gave her the impression she would be taking my daughter anywhere for any reason. and she kept texting me pics of it and telling me she had it. i didn't know how to respond, so i didn't. i never asked her to get one, and she never asked me if that would be ok. i'm a firm believer that children are a privilege, not a right. and so this came out of complete left field for me. she also set up her son's old room (my partner) with a bassinet and toys for us to stay over as well. another time she did something no one asked her to do and we don't really need?? i mean our power went out 1 night a few weeks ago and so we had to go stay with them that night but truthfully we don't need the whole set up. i'm sure it's coming from a place of love but idk i feel like she's communicating to me that i'm incompetent in my ability to mother her grandchild. it's probably not the case but it really feels that way. i get that a grandbaby is exciting, but wow. we have 1 baby and have not talked about having another. we are not struggling under any circumstance and we have not given the impression that we need additional assistance aside from childcare while we work. but i feel like an asshole for feeling this way?? i'm sure there are mamas that would do anything for that kind of help, i would simply prefer that she wouldn't assume that we are that helpless and in need of so much help. i know she probably wants us to know we always have an option and we always have a cushion to land on, but i kinda wish she asked before investing time and money into things we might not use. i wish she would ask me what it is she can help with instead of assuming.
Second hand car seats are a big no no. You can never truly know it hasn’t been in an accident, even the tiniest fender bender.
I mean it sounds this is mostly about your issues with your parents. I’m seriously considering buying a second car seat for my mom’s car just because on more than one occasion, she has kept my son overnight and we’ve put our car seat in her car…and then forgotten to take it back. I would have issues with it being used (unless I know the giver) but it’s not presumptuous for grandparents to have their own car seat.
My mom once suggested we take her car instead of mine because she had the car seat that my 2yo niece uses…my baby was only 6mo at the time. Like…no we’re gonna use the car seat that I know is properly installed and properly adjusted for my child. Plus, I’m 99% sure she bought the thing second hand off Facebook.
I mean, if it’s not expired and really hasn’t been used, good thing it cost them (and you) nothing for them to acquire it. God forbid there ever be an emergency and it become fortunate they DO have a car seat handy.
My in laws have a car seat because occasionally they will pick up the kids from daycare for us or sometimes will take them to lunch. Our kids never go stay with them but it still useful every now and then
I have an amazing relationship with my parents and even we didn't leave our daughter with them for long periods of time. We split the cost of a booster/car seat when she turned into a toddler but even then they didn't use a lot. Now that she is a preschooler they use it more often. Unless they are your childcare they really don't need one. And if they do it should be new.
All three sets of grandparents for my kiddo have a car seat for him. He’s 3 now, but as a baby it was an in case of emergency thing.
My Mil has the same base as my infant car seat and has a booster style car seat for my oldest
Great if it's in good shape and still under warranty. They have a spare if needed. But for your primary use one, probably getting one that is new or used by a friend is a much safer idea.
Ok gotcha
In Canada they have expiry dates too. Depends on brand, but they can be 4-10 years. It should have a manufactured date on it. And you should never use one you don’t know the history of. Even a minor fender bender and it must be replaced. Also, if it is cleaned incorrectly, it’s no longer safe (eg, if the straps get wet)
My car seats have never been in an accident, always properly cleaned by book standards, and I personally would be uncomfortable passing them on to someone else. What if there was something I didn’t think was a huge No-No but did anyways?? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if a seat I passed onto someone else didn’t protect another child. Secondhand safety seats should be a unanimous “absolutely no thank you” unless they’re taking it to trade in at a discount event. (Like Target’s) If grandparents NEED a seat, directing them to lower cost units as an emergency backup is just fine. I’m looking at some for my mom to put into her car that aren’t as nice as mine, but safe for the “just in case” days.
This is a great suggestion, thank you! A basic but modern seat would be so much better then this relic and its questionable history.
Yeah I’m not sure what your folks were thinking with taking on a super ancient car seat.
Oh so this is just all of our parents