There's a lot of pressure on women to avoid being "naggy" — to avoid reiterating concerns and reminders, no matter how well-meaning they are, so that we don't come off as overly critical. This is especially true for moms, who often find themselves in the awkward place between wanting to help others by sharing advice and minding their own business.
If it wasn't for some much-needed nagging, though, Rebecca Tafaro Boyer's infant son might not be alive today.
Rebecca recently took to Facebook to reveal what happened when she chose to correct her husband's car seat strap placement before he went for a drive with their baby.
"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," she began in the July 14 post.
"So today, my first day back from maternity leave, I demanded that my husband send me hourly updates and recaps on how baby William was handling his first day away from mommy…"
Rebecca and her husband, David, welcomed baby William to their family earlier this year.
David followed through with Rebecca's request for updates on her first day back from maternity leave, sending her the following text:
"I got a text from my hubby during their trip to Walgreens," Rebecca wrote on Facebook. "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," she continued, "I’m sure that he laughed at me and rolled his eyes before tightening the car seat and fixing the chest clip."
Just 15 minutes later, she received a phone call from David.
"[My] husband’s panicked voice came through the line, 'Honey, we had a car wreck. We are fine, but the car is going to be totaled,'" Rebecca wrote. "The boys were less than three miles from our house when a woman pulled into oncoming traffic to try and make a quick left turn. David just didn’t have enough time to stop — it could have happened to anyone. He slammed on the brakes at nearly 50 miles an hour before colliding with the front passenger side door of her SUV."
Luckily, William had been properly secured in his car seat during the accident and wasn't hurt at all.
"My precious little bundle of joy was so well restrained in his car seat, THAT HE DIDN’T EVEN WAKE UP," Rebecca added. "Even with the impact of the two cars, William only received a minor jolt — so insignificant that he was able to continue on with his nap, and then spend the next two hours flirting with nurses in the Le Bonheur ED."
The collision broke David's foot in three places and dislocated three of his toes.
But Rebecca is endlessly thankful that her husband didn't sustain any major injuries.
"The car is a loss, but cars can be replaced — my boys can't," she wrote.
"I am so thankful that my husband took the extra one minute that was necessary to put William in his car seat safely," Rebecca said.
In an update to her post, Rebecca revealed that the family's damaged car seat is being donated to the NICU at a local children's hospital "so it can be used to educate new parents on how to safely and properly secure their newborns."
Rebecca hopes her post will teach other parents about proper car seat safety.
"Information on car seat safety and proper installation can be found online via safekids.org, at your local children’s hospital, or local police department," she wrote.
And her post has since gone viral.
More than 32,000 people have shared Rebecca's story since she posted it on July 14.
Other parents have taken to its comments section to share even more car seat safety resources and tips.
Posts like these prove just how valuable social media can be as a learning tool!
It's also worth pointing out that Rebecca's decision to "nag" her husband wound up saving her son's life.
Many women related to Rebecca's experience, judging by some of the comments her post has received.
Click here to read Rebecca's entire Facebook post, and don't forget to SHARE this story with your friends!
