Royal Car Seat Controversey

[roddma]

It seems you can't win if you are a British royal. First, it was all the hoopla over leaving Prince George behind. now, William and Kate take the baby and cause a car seat ruckus. Not breaking link since it is only AOL.

http://travel.aol.co.uk/2014/04/06/prin ... w-zealand/

[crazyforkate]

They're also analyzing baby George over his conduct at a play date. The kid is eight months old. Are you kidding me.

[lizziesmom]

Kuddos to his parents for keeping him for the most part out of the media. I hope they continue to balance their privacy with the public demand for information/photos. What happened on the play date? Did he hit somebody with the Royal scepter?

[bea]

I was glad that William waited to marry until he was older, and married a woman his own age, who seems to be able to handle all this crap with aplomb. The "Royal Family" is not raising this little cutie, his mom and dad are, with help from childcare providers and family members.

It must be a hell of a lot of pressure on Kate, who seems smart and classy and possibly most importantly, keeps the media at arm's length.

[louisa05]

So much crazy. People are analyzing the baby's body language at the play date event. And there is much handwringing about the web because we have not seen William hold him in public, although on one royal-watching FB page, a poster declared that this was definitely due to the "protocol intent of the trip". No idea what that might mean. The poster seems to have no idea either.

I am endlessly fascinated with the very weird subculture of women who are so obsessed with Kate's clothes that they devote their time to trying to dress exactly like her. Some of them bought maternity dresses, even though they were not pregnant. And now they are obsessing equally over acquiring the baby's clothing. My husband's response to that: "those poor cats". :lol:

As for the car seat controversy on this tour--they are traveling in motorcades, the chances of an accident are almost zero so people should just calm down.

[Boogalou]

Louisa05, are you reading "What Kate Wore"? Those people are crazy, and I say that as a member of FJ, lol! Kate steps out of a plane and before she's down the stairs they have already identified and bought the coat she's wearing. It's pretty intense.

But I still read there because I'm crazy too apparently. Actually, they have pretty decent Will and Kate coverage, they are not crazy like the Daily Mail and they allow comments unlike Hello! Also, Hello takes a weird tone, I'm not sure how to describe it.

And George is a cutie. The picture with him resting his head on Kate's shoulder is adorable!

[louisa05]

Louisa05, are you reading "What Kate Wore"? Those people are crazy, and I say that as a member of FJ, lol! Kate steps out of a plane and before she's down the stairs they have already identified and bought the coat she's wearing. It's pretty intense.

But I still read there because I'm crazy too apparently. Actually, they have pretty decent Will and Kate coverage, they are not crazy like the Daily Mail and they allow comments unlike Hello! Also, Hello takes a weird tone, I'm not sure how to describe it.

And George is a cutie. The picture with him resting his head on Kate's shoulder is adorable!

Yes. I like fashion, so I like the info...but those women are certifiable. It is a train wreck and I can't look away. And I really don't get why anyone who truly loves fashion would want to just copy someone else from head to toe--that is not having style at all. And very few of the ones posting pics of themselves in their Kate attire have a body type remotely like hers. That is a huge reason for not randomly copying someone else to that extreme!

[crazyforkate]

Kuddos to his parents for keeping him for the most part out of the media. I hope they continue to balance their privacy with the public demand for information/photos. What happened on the play date? Did he hit somebody with the Royal scepter?

Took a little girl's toy. THE HORROR.

[Seren Ann]

The controversy is because a baby and toddler company, Plunket, that offers to fit car seats for people, installed the car seat for them and had it forward facing. Rear facing as long as possible is by far the safest option, but many parents aren't aware of this or don't take it seriously because it is easier to see baby. So I think the controversy is more about disbelief that when given such visibility in the media, instead of normalizing rear facing, Plunket chose to front face the baby.

Google internal decapitation and you'll see why it's totally worth it to rear face your child as long as possible. The 2 year guideline is not excessive at all.

[miffy]

Wasn't there a scandal not long ago because either Zombie.. I mean Freddie Windsor or Sophie had Maud on their lap in a slow moving motorcade?

Prince George is such a cute baby! He has such expressive eyes & looks like he might be a little bit naughty (in a good way!)

[uber frau]

The controversy is because a baby and toddler company, Plunket, that offers to fit car seats for people, installed the car seat for them and had it forward facing. Rear facing as long as possible is by far the safest option, but many parents aren't aware of this or don't take it seriously because it is easier to see baby. So I think the controversy is more about disbelief that when given such visibility in the media, instead of normalizing rear facing, Plunket chose to front face the baby.

Google internal decapitation and you'll see why it's totally worth it to rear face your child as long as possible. The 2 year guideline is not excessive at all.

I'm not sure about NZ but Australian car seat regulations are still in the dark ages. The recommendation is to switch at six months and most car seats only face rearward until 10kg. The absolute highest weight you can get is 12kg and that presumes you have a short baby.

And have I mentioned the latching system is different so you can't use the US/European seats?

It's possible it was the only legal option the company had for that model of car.

[Seren Ann]

I'm not sure about NZ but Australian car seat regulations are still in the dark ages. The recommendation is to switch at six months and most car seats only face rearward until 10kg. The absolute highest weight you can get is 12kg and that presumes you have a short baby.

And have I mentioned the latching system is different so you can't use the US/European seats?

It's possible it was the only legal option the company had for that model of car.

That would be a plausible explanation, thanks for the information :) . Still a bit disappointing that they couldn't make it work, but eh, sometimes it's just not possible with what's available. I don't really have strong feelings about this particular incident to be honest. In general I think it's worth educating people on the importance of rear facing and normalizing it when possible, but I won't get my panties in a bunch over this one case ^^'

Where I live the regulations are crap too. I hope at some point someone sees the light but I'm not holding my breath. Yet another area of life where doing one's research is necessary.

I just posted because people were taking it as an unjustified attack on the royals when I don't think that is what it was at all. There are many legitimate reasons to criticize the royal family but I don't really think this was in their hands.

[bekkah]

I just went down the rabbit hole of what kate wore. Can I please have that time back? And I won't be able to stop going there either! New homework distraction for me....

[louisa05]

I just went down the rabbit hole of what kate wore. Can I please have that time back? And I won't be able to stop going there either! New homework distraction for me....

Facebook or the blog? Facebook is much worse. It is crazy town on Facebook.

[SquirrelySquirrel]

That would be a plausible explanation, thanks for the information :) . Still a bit disappointing that they couldn't make it work, but eh, sometimes it's just not possible with what's available. I don't really have strong feelings about this particular incident to be honest. In general I think it's worth educating people on the importance of rear facing and normalizing it when possible, but I won't get my panties in a bunch over this one case ^^'

Where I live the regulations are crap too. I hope at some point someone sees the light but I'm not holding my breath. Yet another area of life where doing one's research is necessary.

I just posted because people were taking it as an unjustified attack on the royals when I don't think that is what it was at all. There are many legitimate reasons to criticize the royal family but I don't really think this was in their hands.

I've made a lot of online mommy friends through the years from all over the globe and my first thought was that it may have been the only viable option for them and I knew it was legal there. I've also noticed in pics from a lot of overseas friends that there aren't chest clips on the straps, at least in England. The babies look like they could fly right out of some of them. I agree that it's good to educate people about the importance of carseat safety because it is very necessary and there is still so much ignorance on the topic, but bashing people rarely gets you anywhere (I know you weren't bashing, but it certainly happens a lot. There are nice ways to educate people.).

There are also unknown circumstances for some people. I wanted to do extended RF but I had a very carsick bub on my hands. I turned her at 15 months when she finally hit 20 lbs and believe me, we were all safer in a vehicle with a driver who wasn't stressed from listening to the baby scream and cry in misery.

[bekkah]

Facebook or the blog? Facebook is much worse. It is crazy town on Facebook.

I didn't know there was a facebook....This is going to get ugly....

[louisa05]

I didn't know there was a facebook....This is going to get ugly....

There is also a "What George Wore" page, now. I predict it won't do well as he is not seen often. And little boy clothes are going to bore them fairly quickly as he grows (and, my husband assures me, won't be fun anymore once they can't get sizes small enough for those poor cats!). :shifty-kitty:

[dora]

Plunket isn't a baby company, they are the nurses who do well child visits. The recommendation is to rear face at least a year, preferably two. My plunket nurse would go nuts if i turned up at our next appointment and said my baby was forward facing.

I have a Radian seat for my 7 month old and it rear faces until 20kg.

[Ave Maria]

As for the car seat controversy on this tour--they are traveling in motorcades, the chances of an accident are almost zero so people should just calm down.

I almost wonder if it's weirdly SAFER not to bother with the car seat in a motorcade. If everything turns to crap (which would more than likely be from an assassin or a bomb), it would be easier to grab the baby and run if he isn't strapped in.

A morbid thought, but that might be what their security people are thinking...

[thepinkleprechaun]

Chest clips are not meant to keep the child in, they are meant to break during a crash. What keeps the child in the seat is the 5 point harness and the crotch buckle. That's it. That's why Euro seats do not have them, aside from the fact that many countries require a one touch release for all car seats in case of an emergency. So all you'd have to do is press the button to unhook the crotch straps and you can get the baby out.

And yes, it's very common in the UK to forward face children around 9 months, if not even earlier in some cases. They don't have many seats that can rear face to a higher weight.

[OkToBeTakei]

Chest clips are not meant to keep the child in, they are meant to break during a crash. What keeps the child in the seat is the 5 point harness and the crotch buckle. That's it. That's why Euro seats do not have them, aside from the fact that many countries require a one touch release for all car seats in case of an emergency. So all you'd have to do is press the button to unhook the crotch straps and you can get the baby out.

And yes, it's very common in the UK to forward face children around 9 months, if not even earlier in some cases. They don't have many seats that can rear face to a higher weight.

Actually not true. Most if not all Group 0 car seats are for up to 15kg which is generally 15 months depending on weight/size of child. The problem is that Group 1 (9-18kg approx 9mths to 4 yrs) car seats START at 9kg which parents tend to move to maybe too quickly. Group 1 tends to be a fixed forward facing seat which probably looks easier for parents. Most group 1 car seats can be fixed rear facing, again parents just tend to choose not to. Even 10 years ago my Britax Group 1 had the option to rear face. The legislation/law is about to change to rear facing until 15 months or appropriate weight.

I think it is a personal choice for parents which has many deciding factors. I have debated this before but suffice to say impact can happen equally from the front, the rear, and also side impact. Extended rear facing is not a catch all answer. All high speed crashes are not frontal. Car seat manufacturers just like car manufacturers are NOT not for profit companies.

[DGayle]

The controversy is because a baby and toddler company, Plunket, that offers to fit car seats for people, installed the car seat for them and had it forward facing. Rear facing as long as possible is by far the safest option, but many parents aren't aware of this or don't take it seriously because it is easier to see baby. So I think the controversy is more about disbelief that when given such visibility in the media, instead of normalizing rear facing, Plunket chose to front face the baby.

Google internal decapitation and you'll see why it's totally worth it to rear face your child as long as possible. The 2 year guideline is not excessive at all.

It's not like these people are driving down the freeway by themselves. They don't have the same risks the rest of us do. Their kid is so much less likely to be in a car accident at all than mine are to die in one.

It doesn't sound like Plunket decided it. Will and Kate did, and the company respected the decision. I think the idea that they just don't know is absurd. And they shouldn't make all their decisions based on what everyone else wants. As that baby's parents, they need to stand firm in their own decisions, even if they don't always choose the popular things.

[DarkAnts]

I wonder if he is faced forward due to security concerns.

[Ave Maria]

I wonder if he is faced forward due to security concerns.

It's possible.

The way they weigh the cost/benefit of different risks may be different than for the rest of us, because the types of risk they face are different (assassins aren't likely to go after a more ordinary family).

I'm willing to trust that the royal family and their security experts are making informed decisions about the baby's safety.