A mother named Holly had no idea she’d been placing her child, the most important thing in the world to her, in the car seat wrong.
In 2014, Holly’s life took a devastating turn. Her son Cameron was just under 1 year old when her now ex-boyfriend ran a stop sign. Cameron was ejected through the windshield; he was facing the wrong way in his car seat and was improperly buckled. Cameron passed away the day after Mother’s Day. She’s now using her story to help other parents avoid making the same mistake.

Cameron's mother wrote an incredibly honest and heartbreaking post about losing her son that she wants every parent to see.  She writes:

"Have you ever seen someone do something that you know was wrong but were too afraid to tell them? For instance…. let’s say you know a good bit about car seats and you see a lady in the Wal-Mart parking lot that has her child in a forward facing car seat and you know that child should still be rear facing and buckled in properly. You don’t know her so you decide it’s best not to interfere because your scared she may get upset or think your crazy.  WRONG I can NOT stress this enough….TELL THEM HOW TO FIX IT!!!"

Cameron all buckled in the WRONG way! ( He should be rear facing and the straps should not be twisted.)

"I was that mom… the one placing her child, the most important thing to her, in the car seat wrong. I was that mom that would share pictures like the one above on social media sites and never was corrected. I was that mom that would allow friends and family to take my children places and assumed they were safe in the car. I was that mom that would put hundreds of miles on the car without a care in the world assuming everything was perfect until………….."

"It was too late. It only takes a second for your life to change."

She continues:

"My son was 11 months and 27 days old when my (now EX) boyfriend ran a stop sign. My perfect little baby went through the windshield……. and was found dead in a ditch. He was resuscitated and spent 16 days in ICU. 8 surgeries in the first three days…. his brain was damaged beyond repair. It would not allow his body to absorb any nutrients and my child was starving himself to death. I had two choices….

1:Let him starve …. or

2:Remove life support

I had to make a choice."

May 13, 2013 Cameron grew his wings.

"Now, I’m that mom who doesn’t sleep at night. I’m that mom who spends most of her shopping trips avoiding the baby boy clothes. I am the mom that has learned from her mistakes.

I AM THAT WOMAN THAT WILL TELL YOU YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG!!!!

And you know why??

…..because I wish every single day of my life now that someone would have told me I was doing it wrong BEFORE it was too late."

Holly’s story is so tragic, but she hopes that by sharing it and these car seat safety tips, other families will be spared the heartache she lives with every day.

Statistics show up to 70 percent of children are improperly restrained in the car.

Many parents and grandparents are confused by all the information and equipment out there and make mistakes.

Julie Prom, a Car Seat Safety Advocate gave some information on how to keep kids safest in the car. She says plainly that, “rear-facing is safest.” Parents should keep children rear-facing until at least 2 years old, longer if the car safety seat weight and height limits allows.” 

She also says the transition- from forward-facing to a booster seat is often rushed before a child is ready or safe. Julie says, “most children younger than 5-years-old are not mature enough to sit without a full harness.” She recommends keeping children harnessed until age 5 or 6 when a child can sit still through an entire ride, including when they fall asleep. 

Fire departments, hospitals and health departments usually offer car seat clinics and appointments so you can check to make sure your car seat is installed properly, and to make sure your child is restrained the right way as well.

Holly has shared her story about her loss as a warning to other families, so they never have to deal with such heartache. "So when I comment on your post of your children not buckled in properly, or stop you in the Walmart parking lot and try to give u advice, don't take it as me calling you a bad guardian," she says. "Take it as a bereaved mother trying to help keep your children safe to save you and your child the pain and suffering. All children deserve to live a long, happy, and SAFE life!"

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below is a video about Cameron’s story