My baby fell out of a moving vehicle
@BellasmamaTiff (2544)
United States
September 25, 2007 11:04am CST
My two an a half year old daughter unbuckled her carseat and opened the car door. She fell out, got her foot stuck in the seatbelt and was dragged a few feet by her foot, on her belly, under the car. At the ER, they put her under, and cleaned the wound, which was not nearly as bad as I had thought. I have never felt so HORRIBLE in my life. I got a new carseat, and now she has figured out how to unbuckle that one as well. My vehicle does NOT have child safety locks on the doors. I cannot bear to go through this again! What can I do??? Have any of you had this type of experience before? Please tell me its not just me and my child!
3 people like this
11 responses
@violeta_va (4831)
• Australia
26 Sep 07
oh dear poor baby. Man are these kid clever or what. My husband started showing our son how to do it him self I was going to kill him. I am perfectly fine knowing that he cant undo it.
I dont know what advise to give you I know there was a product on the market that made it hard for them to un do it and even if they did it was hard to get them out, but no idea what it was called.
the other option is to install the child safety thing on the doors.
1 person likes this
@izathewzia (5134)
• Philippines
26 Sep 07
Oh, my heart ache for your baby. God thing she is okay now and did not hurt that bad really. Next time be sure for her safety while inside a car. Perhaps there are many options available at hand to do os. i have no idea regarding it because i don't drive a car. And I regularly commute only with my children.
1 person likes this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
26 Sep 07
Boy bells I bet your heart was in your mouth. I know mine was until I read the whole discussion. Kids learn things just too fast and some are too smart for their own good. Over 60 years ago I too opened the door and fell out. Luckly it was winter and I had a snow suit on. Mom apearently was going very slow too. is there any way to remove the door handles from the inside? That way she couldn't open the doors. I know it would be a pain if you had older children or adults in the back seeat but it would be worth it. Glad she's alright.
@cynddvs (2948)
• United States
25 Sep 07
Does the city you live in offer free car seat check points anywhere? I know in my city they offer them through the police department and sometimes car dealerships have them set up. Maybe you could go to one of them and explain to them your situation. Maybe they could give you some suggestions on ways to rig the carseat so she can't unbuckle it or ways to make your car safer so she can't get out. I'm so glad to hear your daughter is doing better now. I couldn't imagine the trauma of going through something horrible like that. Good luck!
@BellasmamaTiff (2544)
• United States
25 Sep 07
Yes, they do actually. The fire department here gave us the new carseat, and also, they installed it for me, and showed me how to make sure it was properly latched and snug fitting. The one that we had, actually had a recall last year and I had no idea!!! Thanks for your advice.
@michecu (637)
• Philippines
26 Sep 07
I'm sorry to hear what happened to your daughter. I think perhaps it's better to bring someone else who can watch over your daughter if you have to have her in your vehicle. It's better to careful that to allow another accident to happen to her. She's a treasure and anything for her safety must be done.
@sylvia13 (1850)
• Nelson Bay, Australia
25 Sep 07
I don't know who to feel more sorry for, you or your child! How awful! I think it is one of those things that people (especially mothers) fear about driving! Here in Austria its the Automobile Club the one that worries about seat belts and child seats in cars. I am sure they could recommend something, or otherwise ask the car makers for a special safety lock to be installed. I am sure you are not the first one with a kid with fidgety fingers! Dont worry, you are doing the right thing! This reminds me of an accident that happened here a few years ago. A kid was delivered by a small van in school, but the driver did not check things and the kid was dragged for over a kilometer! He survived, but had severe injuries on his arms and legs, poor kid!
@tutul0045 (2630)
• India
25 Sep 07
hi,
Iam sorry to what happened to you and your kid. Life is full of uncertainties and we sure dont know what is going to struck us next.
Just want to remind you that feel lucky that there was no furthur harm and thank jesus the almighty.
Cheers,
Tutul
@makingpots (11915)
• United States
25 Sep 07
Oh, you poor dear. Of course you felt horrible. A similar thing happened to me when I was a kid, but we didn't have car seats back then and no one had ever thought of child safety locks on doors. Things like this are just going to happen. Kids just want to do things they see mommy doing and she has just seen you undo that buckle so many times. (If it makes you feel better, I fell on my face instead of my belly. It could have been much worse. Be thankful for that.)
You might consider going to the car dealership and talking to them about it. Maybe there is something they could do to the locks on the backseats. I'm sure they won't be able to replace them with safety locks but perhaps they could essentially just break the lock so it no longer works. I know that seems extreme but maybe they will have some better ideas.
