On her first day back to work after maternity leave, Memphis mum Rebecca Tafaro Boyer requested that her husband, David, send her “hourly updates and recaps” on how their three-month-old baby William was going.
It would be William’s first day without his mum and she knew she was going to miss him at work.
David obliged with hourly updates. At 2:15pm Rebeca received a message of baby William asleep in his car seat, ready for an outing to Walgreens (a pharmacy). The first thing Rebecca noticed was that William’s car seat straps weren’t quite right.
My nagging wife reply was to correct William’s position in the car seat – the straps were too loose and the chest clip was way too low.
And because I know my husband, I’m sure that he laughed at me and rolled his eyes before tightening the car seat and fixing the chest clip,” Rebecca wrote on Facebook.
Thankfully, Rebecca said what she said and that her husband fixed it, because, 15 minutes later, the pair were in a car accident. William and David were fine, thanks to Rebecca and her ‘nagging wife reply’.
Rebecca got the call from her husband at 2:30pm, just 15 minutes after his last text, to inform her about the car accident. He had hit someone who had pulled into oncoming traffic.
“He slammed on the brakes at nearly 50 miles an hour before colliding with the front passenger side door of her SUV. My precious little bundle of joy was so well restrained in his car seat, THAT HE DIDN’T EVEN WAKE UP.”
Annoying nagging mom voice saves the day
“The car is a loss, but cars can be replaced – my boys can’t. Â
I truly believe that the reason my family is at home sitting on the couch with a pair of crutches instead of down at the hospital is because of my annoying nagging mom voice.
Tonight I am on my knees thanking God for watching over my two precious boys, thanking the amazing staff at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital Emergency Department for checking out my little man so quickly, praising Britax for making an incredibly safe car seat, lamenting the loss of my beloved Volkswagen Jetta, and most of all thanking my husband – who has finally proven that yes indeed he is actually listening when I nag him!”Â
Thanks, Rebecca for sharing this important reminder! Husbands, LISTEN TO YOUR WIVES.
Have a read of this auntie’s warning about a popular car seat headrest add-on. Her eight-month-old nephew’s death was due to suffocation from a car seat headrest add-on that slid out of place on impact. Read her story here.Â
Car Seat Safety: How to Keep Your Child Safe
To provide your child with the best protection and help keep them safe when travelling, be sure to follow these simple steps:
- Make certain you are using the most appropriate child car restraint for your child’s age and size. Child Car Seats has an excellent comparison tool.
- Fit child car restraints properly.
- Ensure your child buckles up on every journey.
- All car seats should comply with the Australian and New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1754.
- Always refer to and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
- If using a second-hand car seat, make sure it is less than 10 years old and has not been involved in any accidents.
- Do not progress to the next stage car restraint until your child has exceeded the maximum size limits.
- Children must be at least 145 cms before travelling in an adult seat.
1 Comment
I know an Emergency Services guy who was called to a country accident scene. When he arrived at the scene he and his work partner discovered the car had smashed into a tree with what appeared to have happened due to 2 punctured front tyres. According to witnesses the car was actually going slowly as they had just left a shopping centre where there was building alterations in progress. Both the driver and front seat passenger were deceased. as they were walking away from the car one of them spotted the baby carseat, and almost just walked away.They decided to check the the baby was breathing. They feared it .was most likely injured and probably unconscious. They very gently lifted the baby out, still in the baby seat. One of the guys radioed through and told them they needed an ambulance stat. that they had a breathing baby in the back seat. I’m not sure who got the biggest surprise when the baby woke up and smiled as they were working out to transport the baby safely – still in the babyseat…..The baby was tested and xrayed from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. No injuries at all, just a few tiny bruises. It was a Britax brand babyseat. People were complaining that it was an expensive brand. Babies in other brands in cars with only minor damage had died after arriving in Hospital