Car Seat Information (Isn’t it a joy to lug around?)
A friend of mine recently sent an email asking a few moms for our input on car seats and stroller systems. I didn’t even know that car seats fit into strollers until I registered at Babies R Us. Luckily there was a very knowledgeable customer assistant to inform my husband and I on all the safety features. We ended up choosing the Graco Safeseat in the color we liked best. Also, the stroller that is paired with the seat has rubber wheels. I have been grateful for the rubber wheels when I use the stroller at the park. Even though we didn’t know a lot about car seats when we registered, we are happy with our Graco Safeseat.
How Do You Choose a Car Seat?
Babycenter.com says, “All car seats currently on the market meet the U.S. government’s stringent crash- and fire-safety standards, so any car seat you buy new is technically safe. (The same isn’t true for secondhand car seats or car seats purchased more than a couple of years ago, which may have been designed to meet outdated standards or may have been damaged in an accident or been recalled for safety violations.)”
I knew that we wanted more than one child, so we bought a new car seat in a gender neutral color to be used multiple times. We were very blessed that my old office gave me a gift card to buy our seat.
More in depth help with choosing a car seat:
Buying Advice (Consumer Reports.org)
Car seat safety: How to choose and use a car seat (BabyCenter.com)
Choosing a Car Seat: What You Need to Know (ivillage.com)
Carseat Buying Guide (Car-Safety.Org)
Car Seat Ratings (ConsumerReports.org)
Child Seat Safety
“Child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% (less than 1 year old) and by 54% for toddlers (1-4 years old) in passenger cars.” according the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Traffic Safety Facts 2006.
There is a scene in Tyler Perry’s movie “Why Did I Get Married?” where Janet Jackson’s character is expressing her guilt on why her son passed. She explains how she was in a hurry, she thought that she had buckled her child in the correct way, and she had to swerve on the road and got into an accident. This scene haunts me. Every time I buckle in Ace I slow down and make sure that she is in her seat properly. I have heard of other mothers that have been in a hurry and something terrible happens. No matter how tired we are or how late we are, making sure that our children are buckled up safely takes priority over everything else.
More statistics on child seat safety:
Statistics on Car Seats from CarSeatSite.com
2007 NSUBS Results on Booster Seat, Child Restraint and Seat Belt Use
Car Safety Seats and Transportation Safety on American Academy of Pediatrics
Consumer Reports Car Seat Update from October 2007
Seat Installation
According to SeatCheck.org, “While 96 percent of parents and caregivers believe their child safety seats are installed correctly, research shows that seven out of 10 children are improperly restrained.”
What are the most common child safety seat installation mistakes? (from SeatCheck.org)
- Not using the right child safety seats for a child’s size and age;
- Not placing the child safety seat in the correct direction;
- Incorrect installation of the child safety seat in relation to the vehicle’s air bags;
- Incorrect installation and tightness of the child safety seat to the vehicle seat;
- Not securing or tightening the child safety seat’s harness and crotch straps;
- Improper use of locking clips for certain vehicle safety belts;
- Not making sure the vehicle’s seat belts fit properly across the child when using a booster seat; and
- Using a defective or broken child safety seat.
Locate a Child Safety Seat Inspection Station in your area:
Child Safety Seat Inspection Station Locator
How do you know when you are supposed to use the right car seat?
There are four basic types of car seats: Infant-only carrier, convertible seats, toddler booster seats, and booster seats. McKenna had the opportunity to interview Ms. Elaine Bobbey an Executive Officer for Evenflo at a recent Baby Expo in San Antonio, TX. In the video Ms. Bobbey explains the different types of car seats and what age you should use each one. She advocates that a child should use a seat until the age of 8.
More detailed information about the types of car seats:
Types of Car Seats (ConsumerReports.org)
Graco’s Guide for First Time Parents
NHTSA Video, “Not Sure Which Car Seat to Use?”
Car Seat Recalls
Car Seats are important for the safety of our children and we need to be aware if our seats have been recalled. To find out if your seat has been recalled you can look at the list on SaferCar.org.
How did you choose your car seat? How would advise anyone buying a car seat for the first time? What type of car seat do you use?
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I’m curious about something. Should I not use the same car seat for my daughter that I used for my son b/c it’s more than a couple of years old? I have to buy a new car seat for each child? It just seems so… wasteful to throw away a perfectly good car seat that has the “imperfection” of being 2 or 3 years old. Sorry, I’ve been living overseas too long and hate seeing things go to waste. Is my kid really going to be protected that much better if I buy a brand new one?
@Sharon – I am no car seat expert, but I don’t think you would have to get a new one at all. I bought mine in hopes of using it for many years to come. I just have to be sure to keep it clean for the third kid!
I think some of the advice is for folks who buy a car seat at a Thrift Store or a garage sale, that you need to be sure you know which year it is from. I know if I were out shopping for one I wouldn’t know which year it is from by looking at the seat. My mom bought some old stuff from a thrift store, that I wasn’t too sure about.
Besides I haven’t seen anything showing what exactly has changed in car seats in between years to justify buying a new one. I hope that answers your question.
Does anyone else have any thoughts about Sharon’s question?
This is the one I’m leaning toward. What do you think?
http://tinyurl.com/4ej29g
I use a Britax Marathon and I love it! It is highly rated and comfortable. It installs easily and fits in our car.
Car seats have expiration dates. So as long as it hasn’t been in a car wreck and it is not expired, you can use it for multiple kids. Good thing since these seats cost soooo much! Manufacturers put the expiration date now on the label. Everywhere that I have read says though that the general rule of thumb is 6 years.
Personally, I would never buy a seat from a thrift store or garage sale. You just never really know the history of the seat. Just because someone says it has never been in an accident doesn’t mean that it hasn’t.
BTW, thank you for visiting my blog and commenting awhile back!
For our firstborn, a Graco traveler system was purchased for the ease of simply transporting an infant from car to stroller without having to take the baby out of the car seat. If we have a 3rd child, we will still use it even though it will be at least 5 years by then. We did purchase a neutral color as well so it could be used multiple times.
When our son grew out of it, we purchased an Evenflo Triumph convertible due to its ratings on Consumer Reports. It was the next best thing after Britax. It served us well but had to be replaced early last year due to all the beatings it received from our airline travels. One thing we didn’t like about the Triumph is the wideness. We couldn’t sit 2 adults in the back of our Camry when we had family visiting because it’s too wide. My husband also really didn’t like seeing our son’s head flopping around everytime he fell asleep in his car seat. We replaced it with the Britax Marathon. The Marathon is great and our son NEVER had his head flopping around while he was sleeping like he did while strapped in the Triumph. Now that our daughter grew out of the infant car seat, she’s now using the Marathon while my son uses the Britax Monarch Booster.
We use a Graco infant carrier/stroller system and a Cosco front-facing carseat. Eli’s future front-facing seat is also Cosco. They work great. Now I wish I could have gotten something more aesthetically pleasing – there are SO MANY CUTE STROLLERS now!, which is funny to me, since it was just 2 years ago that we bought ours – but we have gotten every cent’s worth out of what we have, so I shouldn’t complain.
If in doubt you can call your local fire department and ask them if they have someone there that can inspect your carseat according to the up to date standards. They can even show you the proper way to install/fasten it into the seat. If they cannot help they may be able to direct you in the correct direction. I remember going to the Leon Valley Community Center (behind the library) July 4th one year and carseat safety was one of their concerns and issues.
Melissa – I think the seat is great. I have a few friends and they have the Snugfit and they like it. Also, I think that might be one of the lighter ones.
Christine – Thanks for reminding us about the expiration dates. I had forgotten about that!
Heidi – We had the same problem when we rented a minivan in CA. We put a convertible seat and a booster in the back seat and there was barely any room in between to seat an adult. We made it work, but it wasn’t a comfortable ride.
Dawn – You are right! I was just discussing that the ither day with a friend. Its funny how toys and patterns keep changing! Even my stuff from last year is outdated looking.
Tracy – Thanks for the tip on the Fire Department!
@Christine — Thanks for the info about expiration dates and stuff. We have a Britax Marathon and it’s great! The only thing I’ve had to do is replace the car seat cover b/c the old one got a little ratty.
@Melissa — We had a similar one for our son and really liked it. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll have to buy another car seat after approx. six months. Some people just skip the infant car seat and go straight to the convertible to save money.
i have to put another vote in for the britax. we bought two for my son, and he fit in them until we switched him to a booster right before kindergarten. it was kind of a moving up moment for him. before that, we had used the eddie bauer carrying system, and i was really happy with it. we seemed to get the most bang for our buck using the stroller/carrier/carseat combo, and then switching to the britax full fledged carseat that was rated for 40-50 pounds.
I live in Vancouver Canada and am a certified car seat technician here (believe it or not it’s a 2 day course!!). Canadian and American standards are slightly different but having said that, all seats have expiration dates. When you buy a seat make sure you send in the registration card. It’s the only way the company can contact you in the event of a recall. You can google car seat recall and sign up to receive emails when car seats are recalled. It happens monthly and all companies have been on the recall list at one time or another. In Canada, and I assume it’s the same in the USA, all seats meet a certain safety standard. It’s marketing if they tell you that one seat is the safest or safer than the rest. They are all safe (new) but some may be more cushy, thinner, wider, heavier etc. You should always try out the seat in your car prior to purchasing it. All seats fit each car differently. It depends on the depth and slope of the car’s seat, the width of the carseat, how many seats you are putting in the car, whether there are UAS bolts in all the positions or only 2, etc. Most stores are good about this. You always want to look at the manual for the seat and the car’s manual before installing the seat. Anyway, there’s more to say but I’ll quit now. I’m happy to answer any questions should someone email. Car seats are one of the most important purchases you will buy.
Shana
http://www.weetravel.ca