Here's Why It's Okay To Be The Annoying Mom Nagging Everyone About Car Seat Straps

This story proves there’s no such thing as “nagging” too much when it comes to car seat straps

Even though moms should never, ever feel guilty about nagging family members and friends about car seat straps — we are made to feel that way sometimes. We’re often on the receiving end of eye rolls and smirks, letting us know that we’re being “extra” about our kids’ safety.

Well, let this story provide all the validation we need moving forward — because one mom’s nagging helped her son stay safe during a car accident.

Rebecca Tafaro Boyer shared a harrowing experience her family endured — a car crash her husband and infant son were involved in. The mom’s Facebook post has quickly gone viral, because we can all relate to being that “nagging” mom about car seat straps. And for good reason.

“Friends, let’s have a quick chat about something that some of my family members think makes me a super annoying overprotective mom – car seat safety,” Boyer begins. Raise your hand if you can relate. She writes that on her first day back from maternity leave, her husband sent her a photo of her son in his car seat during an outing. Immediately, Boyer noticed that his straps weren’t safe at all.

“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,” she writes. “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.”

Well, thank the universe she felt no qualms about “nagging” her husband about it, because a short while later he was involved in a car accident. With their infant son in the car.

“David just didn’t have enough time to stop – it could have happened to anyone,” she writes. “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.” He received a minor jolt during the impact — but not significant enough to wake him from his nap. He and his dad went to their local emergency department and baby William was checked out and declared completely fine.

Her husband, on the other hand, suffered a broken foot. But what’s most important here is that her son was okay — because she spoke up. “I am so thankful that my husband took the extra one minute that was necessary to put William in his car seat safely,” she says. “I can’t even begin to imagine how different the outcome could have been. 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.”

I have a toddler. There have been countless instances where grandparents or other relatives have wanted to take my daughter on an outing, or “help out” by taking her back to their houses so I can work sometimes. Each and every time, I buckle her in and show them exactly where everything needs to be in regard to her car seat straps. And more times than I care to count, she comes home with the straps either too loose, slightly askew, or the chest clip down near her diaphragm. Now no one takes her anywhere except myself and her dad 99% of the time.

Boyer tells Scary Mommy she’s learned a lot about car seat manufacturing and safety regulations since her post went viral. “All seats manufactured in the United States pass the same safety tests meet the same regulations,” she says. “So there is a safe seat out there for everyone! The most important part is that it is installed correctly and your baby is secured correctly in the seat.”

Her car insurance company reimbursed her for the cost of a new car seat since it’s no longer considered safe after being in a crash. But let this entire story be a lesson to everyone about “nagging moms” — we don’t do it for our health, we do it because our children are everything to us, and it’s our job to keep them safe.

“The car is a loss, but cars can be replaced – my boys can’t.”