The Car Seat Lady

Prevent Strangulation – learn how to “lock” the seat belt

thecarseatlady — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:41:00 +0000

PROBLEM:
Kids will be kids. Strapped in with nothing to do, kids will find something – anything – to play with. Unfortunately, several dozen kids have nearly strangled to death after finding an unused shoulder belt, and in the midst of playing with it, wrapped it around their neck.

You might be thinking: “Why can’t you simply unwrap the belt?” Virtually every seat belt found in the back seat of cars since 1996 here in the US has a locking mode – whereby when you pull the shoulder belt out to the very end, the seat belt no longer moves in and out freely, but rather will only get shorter, not longer. When the children play with the seat belts, they inadvertently switch the shoulder belt into this locking mode – and once in the locking mode, the belt only gets shorter, but can not be lengthened no matter how hard you pull. With the belt in this locking mode, it is very difficult for the child – and even the parents – to free the belt from the child’s neck (a belt cutter, knife, or scissors has been used in most cases to cut the belt and free the child).

The New York Times Magazine featured an article by Matt Bai, where he writes of his own harrowing experience where his 3-year-old son Ichi nearly strangled to death while playing with the unused shoulder belt in the center seat of their vehicle. An 8 year old boy in New York recently came very close to dying - were it not for several police officers who happened to be very nearby. A 5 year old girl recently came within seconds of strangling to death – and was rescued when a neighbor was able to find a pair of scissors to cut the belt free from around the child’s neck.

SOLUTION:

1. Make sure any shoulder belts within your child’s reach are switched to their locking mode.

2. Keep seat belt cutters in your glove box – in case your child does figure out how to wrap the belt around their neck

Keep a Seat Belt Cutter in your glove box

Safety Belt Safe has a fantastic easy-to-print tip sheet on how to keep kids safe from entanglement.

Photo above (copyright Heather Corley 2009) – is from a great article on about.com

A few tips:

Teach children that seat belts are not toys.
Be aware that most shoulder belts have a retractor with two locking modes – an emergency locking mode and an automatic locking mode.
- To lock the retractor (i.e. switch it from the emergency to automatic locking mode): Slowly, without yanking, pull the shoulder belt all the way out. As the belt goes back into the retractor, a ratcheting (clicking) sound may be heard. The belt cannot be loosened without unbuckling the belt and letting most of it go back into the retractor.
For any child:
- Buckle any nearby shoulder-lap belts that are unused or holding a car seat. Slowly, without yanking, pull the shoulder belt out to the very end. As you let the belt go back in you will usually hear a ratcheting (clicking) sound – this is normal.
For kids riding in shoulder-lap belts (with or without booster seats)
- Teach the child to NEVER play with their belt. Once they are buckled in, they should not be touching their belt.
- Some parents may consider “locking” the seat belt on the child (i.e. pulling the shoulder belt all the way out and engaging the seat belt’s built in locking feature). Locking the seat belt has the potential to increase injury in a crash as with the belt locked, there is a greater chance of the child sliding under the lap belt (often called submarining). Therefore, we suggest locking the seat belt on a child in a booster/seat belt ONLY if the parent feels that the child can not be trusted to not play with the seat belt AND there is no way for the child to ride in a 5-point-harness car seat instead of a booster/seat belt.
For kids riding in 5-point harness car seats:
- If you have used the vehicle’s shoulder-lap belt to secure the child seat to the car:
  - Follow installation instructions in the manuals for the child seat and the vehicle.
  - After installation, make sure that the shoulder belt is either locked tight without slack or that it moves freely in and out and cannot be locked.
- If you have used the lower LATCH connectors to secure the child seat to the car:Always check the owner’s manual to your vehicle & child car seat as they may have specific instructions.
  - First, buckle the shoulder–lap belt and lock the retractor, and remove the slack in the belt so it lies flat against the vehicle seat.
  - Install the child seat with the lower LATCH connectors according to instructions.
  - Note: Some vehicle manufacturers state the unused belt should be released from the buckle after the safety seat is installed.

No nursing while the car is moving!

thecarseatlady — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:23:23 +0000

This picture shows a very DANGEROUS practice – i.e. nursing while the car is moving.

As a pediatrician in a NICU and the daughter of a lactation consultant, I’m very, very pro-breastfeeding… but nursing has a time and a place. A moving vehicle is NOT the time or the place. Nursing your child while the car is moving puts both you and your baby at significant risk of unnecessary injury. Here’s why:

In a crash, everything will weigh its weight multiplied by the G’s of the crash – G’s being the force of gravity. A 30mph crash, like they test the car seats at, has about 20-25 G’s. If mom weighs 120 pounds, and is in a crash with 20 G’s, her entire body will weigh 120 pounds x 20G’s = 2400 pounds. You can imagine that her chest will weigh at least 1,000 of these pounds – and if she is leaning over the baby to nurse, her chest will slam down on the baby’s body in a sudden stop or crash – as both the mom and baby will be moving in the same direction due to the physics of the crash. You wouldn’t drop a 1,000 pound cinder block on a baby – so too you shouldn’t lean over the child to nurse them – as your body can crush the child. Even if you are nursing with your seat belt on, the belt is loose enough that your chest is very close to the baby (otherwise your breast couldn’t be in baby’s mouth), which means that your chest will certainly make hard contact with the baby in a crash.

The risks to the baby from nursing in a moving car are great, and so too are the risks to mom. Mom is at significantly increased risk for a head injury as the loose shoulder belt can not prevent her chest and head from moving forward and hitting hard structures in the car – like the back of the front seats, the door, window, child’s car seat, etc. If Mom removes her seat belt, not only is she at significantly increased risk of injury, but so too is everyone else in the car – as studies show that if one person in the back seat doesn’t wear their seat belt, the other people in the car who are buckled (like the baby, the driver, etc) are up to 3 times more likely to die in the crash because the unbuckled person becomes a human missile.

This post is dedicated to the memory of Ian Ezra Kahn and his mother. Mom was nursing Ian in the backseat while Dad was driving. Even though they weren’t going far and they weren’t going fast, a car came out of nowhere and hit them. Mom and Ian died at the scene; both would have survived without injury had they been buckled up. Dad survived without any external injuries – but suffered from a broken heart after losing his wife and 3-month-old son. Had Ian been in his car seat during the crash, he would now be finishing high school and getting ready for college.

Chemicals In Your Child’s Car Seat

thecarseatlady — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:06:23 +0000

August 3, 2011 HealthyStuff.org published sensational test results showing potentially unhealthy chemicals in the majority of children’s car seats.

What does The Car Seat Lady think about these test results?
As a pediatrician, I worry about the chemicals our children are exposed to. However, since car crashes remain the #1 cause of death and injury to children in the US, I worry more about the risks from a car crash than from chemicals found in the car seat. Therefore, I would urge parents to select a car seat based on the following criteria: the car seat fits the child’s age/weight/height, the seat installs securely in the vehicle, the parent finds it user-friendly enough to use properly on every trip.

As you will see below, we do not dispute that there are flame retardants in car seats; however, we have serious questions and concerns about the accuracy and validity of the HealthyStuff.org testing and results – and the ability to extrapolate their data into a prediction of risk for a child. HealthyStuff.org freely admits that ”the levels given are not intended to correspond to levels known to cause health effects.”

Putting this into Perspective:
Unfortunately, the chemicals in the HealthyStuff.org testing – bromine, lead, & chlorine – are not exclusive to children’s car seats, but rather are found extensively throughout your home and vehicle – they are likely in your breastfeeding pillow, bassinet mattress, carpet, kids’ pajamas, bouncy seats, etc. A 2011 study in the journal of the American Chemical Society found that more than 80% of the baby products they tested (including car seats, mattresses, breast feeding pillows, and more) contained a halogenated flame retardant additive – many of them chlorinated organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs).

To put things into perspective, your child likely spends less than 2 hours a day in the car seat, while (hopefully) they spend 10-16 hours a day in a crib. Therefore, the potential exposure from chemicals in the car seat is far less than the exposure from their crib mattress. I therefore find it curious that HealthyStuff.org has not tested crib mattresses. Also, as if there weren’t already enough reasons to avoid using the infant car seat as your child’s crib/stroller seat/swing, etc, here’s another one.

Flame Retardant Standards & Requirements
Many children’s products, including car seats, are required to meet strict flame retardancy standards – which typically requires the use of not-so-healthy chemicals. HealthyStuff.org notes that in their testing “over half (60%) contained at least one of the chemicals tested for.” However they did not test for CFRs (Chlorinated Flame Retardants) which are known to be unhealthy. Why they omitted this chemical, we don’t know. It makes us wonder if the 40% of seats in their testing that did not contain any of the chemicals they tested for, actually had other unhealthy chemicals – like CFRs.

As governments take steps to ban certain flame retardants, other chemicals step in to replace the banned ones. In many instances, the new chemicals are found to be similarly unhealthy compared to the banned ones. There are companies that are using Oeko-Tex (R) non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame retardants that they claim are “non-toxic and harmless to human health” – but it remains to be seen if these chemicals are truly as healthy as they claim.

How does the presence of a certain chemical translate into that chemical harming the child?

Flame retardants come in two varieties: additive & reactive. Additive flame retardants are not chemically bound to the product – which allows them to migrate out of the product and into the environment (i.e. house dust, food chain, sewage sludge) over time. Reactive flame retardants are chemically bound to the material in the product. While the bound chemicals are not released from the product, any residual unbound (i.e. unreacted) flame retardant can be released and lead to human exposure.

HealthyStuff.org does not discuss how the chemicals – bromine, chlorine & lead – make their way from the fabric, or the plastic chest clip, or the plastic base of the seat into a child’s body in order to cause potential harm. Different methods of absorbing a chemical are possible, including: transdermally (through the skin) either via direct contact or if the chemical is volatilized/aerosolized, via inhalation (which would presumably require that the chemical aerosolizes itself), and via ingestion (if the child were to suck/chew on a particular piece). However, from their information, it is not clear which routes pertain to which chemicals. If the transdermal route is the only method of absorption for a specific chemical, and the child’s skin does not contact that surface, then even though there is a potentially hazardous chemical in that product it should not be able to harm the child as there is no vehicle for transfer into the child. This would apply to chemicals in the plastic base/shell of the seat – as the child’s body is typically not in contact with them, but rather just the fabric cover. Interestingly, Chlorinated Flame Retardants, which were NOT included in HealthyStuff.org’s testing, are known to aerosolize and can therefore spread far beyond the product in which they were originally found.

What can you do?

The real way to affect change is to encourage the government to change the flame retardant standards – as this is truly the way that unhealthy chemicals will begin to make their way out of our children’s car seats, clothing, and home products. Write to your local congressman & senator and tell them that you want a healthier environment for your child. For example, Governor Cuomo of NY just signed a state law banning Tris – a flame retardant – from any children’s product. In 1977 the US Consumer Products Safety Commission banned Tris’ use in children’s clothing as it is a known carcinogen.

It is important to recognize that flame retardants are put into/on the car seat for a reason – i.e. to slow down the time it takes for your child’s car seat to ignite and incinerate, thereby hopefully giving you a few extra seconds to get the child out of the car seat before the fire spreads. Altering the fabric cover to your child’s car seat in any way that violates the manufacturer’s instructions will void your warranty – which means that should your child be injured, the manufacturer will not be liable.

Repeated washing/cleaning of any type is likely to decrease the flame retardancy of the fabric – especially the use of soaps. Soaps contain fats which deteriorate the flame retardants (laundry detergents are not soaps). Flame retardants and other chemicals are known to off-gas or degrade during exposure to heat and/or UV rays. Therefore, a parent might chose to leave a new car seat out in the hot sun for a few days prior to the child’s first time using it. When caring for fabrics containing flame retardants, one can follow these instructions to prevent degrading/deteriorating the flame retardancy. If a parent chose to go against the car seat manufacturer’s instructions and wished to degrade the flame retardancy, the parent could follow the opposite of these care instructions.

Understanding the HealthyStuff.org Testing

The Car Seat Lady feels that before one can interpret data, one must know how the data was obtained and the limitations of the testing methods. We find it concerning that the news reports did not highlight the significant discrepancies and other potential flaws in the testing methods and results. Please read our analysis and interpretation of HealthyStuff.org’s methodology and our conclusions below.

DISCREPANT RESULTS AMONGST IDENTICAL PRODUCTS

The following table below lists 6 different Britax car seats that all have the EXACT SAME FABRIC – called the Onyx pattern. This table highlights how there are VERY discrepant results amongst what should seemingly have identical results. I can’t seem to understand how there is a difference in 3 orders of magnitude in the Bromine content (54 to 76,286ppm) between the fabrics of these seats – when the fabric is identical. Even on those seats tested on the same day – 1/1/08 – there is a difference of nearly 2 orders of magnitude in the Bromine content – 1401ppm to 76,286ppm.

With regard to Lead, how is it that one seat had no detectable lead, yet another seat tested on the same day with the same fabric had 463ppm?

BRITAX Car Seat (with Onyx fabric)	Testing Date	Bromine (in seat fabric)	Lead (in seat fabric)
Companion	1/1/08	44,528ppm	96ppm
Marathon	1/1/08	1401ppm	0ppm
Regent	1/1/08	69,985ppm	208ppm
Roundabout	1/1/08	76,286ppm	463ppm
Parkway SG	2/14/11	178ppm	0ppm
Advocate 70 CS	2/17/11	54ppm	0ppm

Here is another example of discrepant results, this time with Britax seats having the Cowmooflage fabric

BRITAX Car Seat (with Cowmooflage fabric)	Testing Date	Bromine (in seat fabric)
Marathon	1/1/08	0ppm
Roundabout	1/1/08	0ppm
Advocate 70 CS	2/17/11	53ppm
Chaperone	2/17/11	158ppm

One other problem with using XRF for bromine detection was highlighted in this study which found that there were some instances of false positives of bromine in polyurethane foam when using the XRF.

We’ll take another manufacturer to highlight further discrepant results in HealthyStuff.org’s testing. Chicco makes the Key Fit 30 infant seat. All Key Fit 30’s are made of the SAME plastic shell, use the SAME plastic chest clip – and only differ in the fabrics used for the cover. Therefore, one would expect different results in the seat (i.e. the fabric) but the same results in the base (plastic) and clip. However, this is not what we see… and yet HealthyStuff.org does not explain how this discrepancy is possible.

The Car Seat Lady has two deas on how to explain this discrepancy:
1. There are flaws in the testing and/or the machine used in the testing
2. The companies who manufacture the clips and the base are putting varying amounts of bromine & lead into their products – which would mean that the rankings HealthyStuff.org assigned do not apply to all Key Fit 30’s with a given fabric, but rather just to that one specific seat that was tested.
3. The upper and lower end of the results are within the margin of error of the XRF machine – which would discredit the entire report. Nowhere does HealthyStuff.org state the margin of error of the XRF machine, they only state the LOD (limits of detection).

Chicco Key Fit 30 (Fabric name)	Date Tested	Lead in Base	Bromine in Base	Bromine in Clip
Adventure	1/31/11	0ppm	0ppm	43ppm
Adventure	2/17/11	10ppm	16ppm	233ppm
Cubes	2/14/11	0ppm	0ppm	0ppm
Extreme	2/14/11	0ppm	0ppm	56ppm
Fuego	2/17/11	9ppm	45ppm	39ppm
Limonata	2/14/11	0ppm	0ppm	0ppm
Race	2/17/11	10ppm	11ppm	46ppm
Romantic	2/17/11	0ppm	7ppm	54ppm

Tagged: BFR, bromine, car seat, carseat, CFR, chemical, chlorine, flame retardant, lead, toxic

Keeping your child COOL in the car seat when it is HOT outside

thecarseatlady — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:06:23 +0000

With temperatures reaching 100 degrees in many parts of the US now, many parents are asking “How do I keep my child cool in the car seat while we are driving? I’m really concerned about my rear-facing child.”

Besides the obvious of using the air conditioning in the car (or rolling down the windows if there is no a/c), here are 6 tips to keep your child cool. If you have other tips, please leave them in a comment to this post.

1. Keep the car cooler for everyone:

Get a reflective sunshade for the front AND rear windshields so that while you are parked the car doesn’t get as hot
- 2 piece reflective sunshade
- accordian-style reflective sunshade
Consider getting your vehicle’s windows tinted – certain types also block UV radiation

2. If you are buying a new car seat or a new car, pick a light color for the fabric/interior.

The color of your car’s interior can have a huge impact on how hot your car gets. This chart below, courtesy of Safe Kids, shows how on a 79 degree day, the vehicle with a light colored interior will stay much cooler than one with a dark colored interior.

3. Try cooling the child’s car seat ahead of time (or while you are in the store doing your shopping) with a car seat cover

NOTE: these are NOT meant to be used when the child is in the seat

Baby Be Cool - Car Seat Cooler Pad

4. Help your child sweat!

Sweating works by cooling you off as the water evaporates off your skin. Using cool water, wet your child’s hair & exposed skin (and you may even want to wet their shirt somewhat) before putting them in the car seat to help them stay cool in the car. If you will be going into an air-conditioned space at the end of the car ride, you will want to avoid getting the child’s clothes wet as they may become too cold in the air conditioning.

Toddlers and older children might enjoy holding a spray bottle filled with water that they can use during the car ride to keep cool. Older kids might like the spray bottles that have fans attached (make sure the child is old enough and trustworthy enough that they won’t try to chew on the fan blades – even though they are soft, they could be a choking hazard).

5. Keep them cool throughout the car ride with these cooling towels & bandanas

Frogg Toggs Cooling Towel

Note: Cooling towels should only be used OVER the child’s harness straps – never underneath

TOWELS
- Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad Super Cooling Towel
- Ergodyne Chill-Its Cooling Towel

BANDANAS
- Ergodyne Chill-Its Evaporative Cooling Bandana with Cooling Towel

6. Use a car seat sunshade

Protect-A-Bub car seat sunshade

If you are using an infant carrier, keep the sunshade up while in the car to block some of the sun coming in from the side windows. For older kids in convertible & combination seats, this Protect-A-Bub car seat sunshade is rated UPF 50+ and will block a lot of the bright sun coming in from the side windows (and for forward facing kids, from the back window too). It is very soft and flexible – so you don’t have to worry about any hard/sharp parts hurting your child in the event of a crash.

Note: many parents use the roller sun shades that go on the vehicle’s side windows – but these are not recommended as the shade is likely to fly off in a crash, and the hard roller part could seriously injure your child if it hit the child’s head. Also, anything that is on the window of your car should be transparent enough that you can see through it – if it blocks the driver’s visibility, this is NOT safe. Tinting your windows is a good alternative – as this also laminates the windows so that should there be a crash the windows will not break into tiny pieces of glass that can fly around the car.

NEVER LEAVE A CHILD OR ANIMAL ALONE IN A CAR… NOT EVEN FOR A MINUTE

While we are on the topic of hot cars, please remember to NEVER, EVER, EVER leave a child or animal alone in a hot car – even for a minute. A car can become an oven in just a few minutes on a warm day. So far nearly 2 dozen children have died in hot cars just this year. Read what you can do to prevent this from happening to your child:

It’s really bad when… Evenflo can’t figure out how to properly install their own car seat

thecarseatlady — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:33:55 +0000

This video is supposed to be funny; Evenflo, I’m not laughing. Not one bit.

What’s funny about a Dad improperly installing his son’s (Evenflo Symphony 65 e3) car seat? He installs it forward-facing and forgets to use the tether strap – which is the most important part of a forward-facing car seat as it decreases how far the child’s head moves forward by 6-8 inches in a crash (that can mean the difference between the child’s head hitting something hard, or not).

What’s funny about a very young child (not even sure the baby is 1 year old) riding forward-facing? What’s funny about unnecessary brain and spinal cord injuries that could be prevented if the Dad had only installed the seat rear-facing? The cruel irony is that this seat has a 40 pound REAR facing weight limit specifically to allow older heavier kids to ride in the safest way possible for as long as possible.

The worst part… the Dad mocks the Mom when she suggests taking the car seat to someone trained for help with the installation.

Evenflo… I’m not amused.

Note: This video is made by Evenflo and found on their YouTube page.

Graco Snug Ride 30: Shoulder straps come in the WRONG slot for NEWBORNS

thecarseatlady — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:07:44 +0000

When you take a Graco Snug Ride 30 out of its box you will notice that the shoulder straps come from the 2nd of 4 slots – not from the 1st slot as you would expect. Apparently, Graco thought that most newborns would be too big for the 1st slot (as the seat is designed for babies as small as 4 pounds). However, I think that nearly EVERY newborn should be using the shoulder straps on the 1st slot. In this picture you will see a 9lb 30z, 20 inch newborn in a Graco Snug Ride 30. You can see that with the straps in the 1st slot they fit perfectly. Remember, rear-facing you want the shoulder straps to come from AT OR BELOW the child’s shoulders. The 2nd slot is more than 1 inch above his shoulder. As this baby is bigger than most newborns, it stands to reason that if he needed the 1st slot, most newborns will also. Therefore, you will need to move the shoulder straps to the 1st slot if using this seat for a newborn.

Tagged: Graco Snug Ride 30, shoulder straps

Graco joins the “center LATCH” club!!!!

thecarseatlady — Tue, 17 May 2011 03:13:16 +0000

Graco now allows center LATCH!!!

Best of all, the change is RETROACTIVE for ALL GRACO SEATS!!!

P.S. CHICCO, if you’re listening, we’d love for you to do the same

See below for Graco’s official statement which will begin appearing in their instruction manuals.

Infant in a Graco Snug Ride 35 (yes, the harness straps are buckled & snug - the blanket is OVER the straps, giving the baby a snug swaddled feeling. And yes, it is OK for the baby's head to rest to the side like this - so long as her chin is off her chest she will have no trouble breathing.

Not sure what “center LATCH” means, or why this is so exciting… don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Check out our LATCH section (see the top toolbar for “LATCH”): Start here for a thorough explanation of LATCH, then jump here to learn about center LATCH, then peruse our spreadsheets to see if your vehicle allows for center LATCH, and finally, check here to see if your child’s car seat allows for center LATCH.

Phew, that was kinda complicated for a system that was supposed to make things less complicated!

The other members of the “center LATCH” club are: Britax, Combi, Orbit, Recaro, Safeguard, Snug Seat, Sunshine Kids, and Triple Play

GRACO’s POLICY ON THE USE OF THE LOWER ANCHORS TO SECURE A GRACO SEAT IN THE CENTER OF THE VEHICLE

Graco is now allowing all child restraints to be installed using non-standard LATCH spacing in the center position based on the following criteria:

- Distance between the two inboard LATCH anchors must be 11” or greater.

- The vehicle owner’s manual must permit the use of LATCH in the center seating position.

- A tight installation can be achieved per the child restraint instruction manual.

- There must not be any contact or obstructions that could damage the CRS straps and/or the vehicle safety belts.

This direction is retroactive to all Graco child restraints that may be installed using LATCH.

LATCH lower vehicle anchor points are defined as 11 inches from the center of one LATCH anchor to the center of another LATCH anchor.

If allowed by your Vehicle Owner’s Manual, the center seating position may be used if the anchor spacing is 11” or greater.

Tips for Safe (and Convenient) Taxi Travel

thecarseatlady — Sun, 15 May 2011 21:38:28 +0000

AVOID REGRETS: TIPS FOR TRAVELING SAFELY IN TAXIS

In NYC in 2000 (the most recent year for which data are available) 2,600 children were injured in 17,000 taxi-related accidents. Studies show that NYC taxi passengers are 2.5 times more likely to be seriously injured or killed than the passengers in the other vehicle involved in the crash.

Accidents happen – but you can prevent injuries. Have NO REGRETS; protect your children. Make sure that quick taxi ride to school or a playdate doesn’t send your child to the hospital.
DO:

Keep kids rear-facing as long as possible – it’s 5 times safer than forward-facing – even for 3-year-olds!
Keep kids in a 5-point harness car seat as long as possible
Use a booster until the child passes the 5-step test

DON’T

Let anyone ride UNrestrained. A seat belt is ALWAYS better than nothing.
Buckle two people in one belt. Things in a crash weigh their weight times the speed of a crash. An adult will weigh several thousand pounds, crushing a child sitting on their lap or carried on their chest.
Put the shoulder belt behind the child’s back or under the arm.This removes all head & chest protection
Forget your own seat belt. Restrained passengers are 4 times more likely to die if one person in the car is not restrained, as the unrestrained person becomes a human missile.

REAR-FACING CAR SEAT OPTIONS

INFANT SEATS (with upper weight limits of 30+ pounds – list includes those CURRENTLY sold)

Baby Trend Flex-Loc 30 (Note: base will not install securely in many cars)

Britax Chaperone
Chicco Key Fit 30

Combi Shuttle 33

Cybex Aton
Evenflo Secure Ride 35 e3, Serenade
Graco Snug Ride 30 and Snug Ride 35 or Teutonia T-tario 35

Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP 30/30 (Note: base will not install securely in many cars)

Safety 1st OnBoard 35, OnBoard 35 Air

CONVERTIBLE SEATS (go REAR facing and then later FORWARD facing)

Combi Coccoro

Rear-facing 5-33 lbs, forward to 40 lbs. Lightweight (11 lbs)
Fits on Combi Coccoro Flash stroller (shown in pic to the right). Installs well in most vehicles, has built-in-locking clips for easier seat belt installation.

Sit N’ Stroll **Note: Sit N’ Stroll will not install securely in most cars**

Rear-facing 5-30 lbs, forward to 40 lbs. Has stroller wheels built in.

FORWARD-FACING CAR SEAT OPTIONS

FORWARD-FACING ONLY SEAT

Safety 1st Go Hybrid (formerly the Safeguard Go)

5-point harness up to 60 lbs (booster to 100 lbs). Lightweight (9 lbs) & comes in a travel bag. When using 5-point-harness MUST use tether. Can’t be used on airplane (no tether), but fits in overhead bin.

CONVERTIBLE SEATS (see rear-facing above – these seats go rear & forward)

BOOSTER SEAT & VEST OPTIONS

4-8 year olds are 59% safer in boosters than with just a seat belt. Boosters keep the seat belt on the strongest parts of the body – hip bones & collar bone – and best of all require no installation. These 2 products each weigh JUST 1 POUND and will fit in your child’s bag – making them EASY to take in taxis.

FYI: Bubble Bum & Ride Safer Travel Vest pass all the U.S. crash tests.

Bubble Bum

Backless booster for kids 40-80 lbs. Inflatable (but tough – made of life raft material). Very comfortable AND positions seat belt very well.

Safe Traffic Systems Ride Safer Travel Vest

Functions like a booster to keep vehicle’s seat belt properly positioned. For kids 30-50 lbs (small) & 50-80 lbs (large). Note: strongly recommend using crotch strap to optimize lap belt positioning.

Alisa Baer, MD www.TheCarSeatLady.com (Last Update 5/11)

Tips for Buying a Safe Vehicle

thecarseatlady — Sun, 15 May 2011 17:34:47 +0000

TIPS FOR BUYING A SAFE VEHICLE

When buying a vehicle (new or used) it is important to make sure that it will be safe for everyone – the kids in the back and the adults in the front. Deciding which vehicle to buy can be overwhelming, but here are some must-have safety features that might help narrow down your list. In my opinion, these 3 are the non-negotiables (i.e. if the vehicle doesn’t have it, I wouldn’t buy it). At the bottom are some links to crash test ratings for new and used vehicles.

MUST-HAVE SAFETY FEATURES

1. Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC)

Like most people, you have probably never heard of this technology – but it is expected to save more lives than the invention of the seat belt – as it PREVENTS crashes from happening in the first place! If all vehicles were equipped with ESC, as many as 9,000 fatal crashes could be avoided each year in the US.

Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) systems are marketed under various names, including dynamic stability control, vehicle stability control, dynamic stability and traction control, among others. The percentage of vehicles with this technology has increased tenfold since the 1998 model year. For the 2009 model year, ESC was standard on 73 percent of new passenger vehicle models and optional on 14 percent. ESC was standard on 74 percent of cars, 99 percent of SUVs, and 38 percent of pickups.

Curious about ESC? Click here for a great explanation of ESC and how it works.
Curious whether your vehicle has ESC? Click here to see all the vehicles since model year 1995 with ESC.

2. Side-Impact Airbags (SABs) that offer head protection to the front AND back seat passengers

Visit this website from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to learn which vehicles offer side airbags. When you find a vehicle you are interested in, click on the “view details” button to learn about which type of side airbags are featured in that vehicle. The ideal is one that offers head protection for the front AND back seat occupants.

There are three main types of SABs: chest (torso) SABs, head SABs, and head/chest combination (combo) SABs.

Chest (torso) SABs are mounted in the side of the seat back or in the door and are designed to help protect the chest in a serious side-impact crash.
Head SABs are usually mounted in the roof rail above the side windows and are designed to help protect the head in a side-impact crash. There are two types of head SABs: curtain SABs and tubular SABs. Curtain airbags drop down like a curtain to cover the windows, which means they can also protect passengers from flying glass when the windows break in a crash.
Head/chest combination (“combo”) SABs are usually mounted in the side of the seat and are typically larger than chest (torso) SABs. Combo SABs are designed to help protect both the head and chest of an adult – they are usually found only for the front seats.

Many parents wonder if side-impact airbags are safe for kids – so far all the real-world crash evidence suggests that they are safe for children. As of 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has investigated over 1,500 cases where SABs have deployed in crashes. Sixty of the cases have involved children (ages 13 and under). NHTSA crash investigators found no moderate or serious injuries to these children as a result of SAB deployments. NHTSA continues to closely monitor real-world SAB deployments involving both children and adults.

3. Adequate trunk space

Cargo in the passenger area just isn’t safe. Things (objects, people, etc) become very heavy in a crash – they will weight their usual weight TIMES the speed of the crash. For example, a 10 lb baby in a 30mph crash will weigh approximately 300 lb! Unrestrained people and objects will fly around in a crash – becoming missiles that can injure the other people in the car. Make sure you have enough trunk space so that cargo stays out of the passenger area. If buying a vehicle with a 3rd row, it is ideal to keep the third row up, allowing it to serve as a barrier between the cargo and the passengers in the 2nd row.

CRASH TEST RATINGS
Two separate government agencies offer crash test ratings for new and older vehicles – NHTSA and IIHS. Both try to determine a vehicle’s crash worthiness using multiple parameters. The two agencies perform different crash tests, which may explain some of the discrepancies between their findings for the same vehicle.

IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

Alisa Baer, MD – http://www.TheCarSeatLady.com (Last update 05/10)

Infant Car Seats by starting weight

thecarseatlady — Thu, 12 May 2011 18:59:19 +0000

Car Seat Tips for Preemies & Small NewbornsAre you taking home a baby weighing less than 5 pounds?

More than 1 in 10 parents take home a baby weighing less than 5 pounds. Every year, more than 10,000 US babies go home weighing less than 4 pounds! Just like infant-sized clothes are too big for these tiny babies, infant-sized car seats are often too big too. Many infant car seats have a starting weight of 5 pounds; only a few start at 4 pounds or less!

Some car seats come with newborn inserts & positioners to improve the harness fit for very small babies.

IMPORTANT: Car seats, and anything that comes in the box with the seat, have rigorous crash testing & standards they must meet. Products sold separately – like infant head/body positioners, fleece sleeping bags, strap covers, etc – are not regulated & do not have to pass any crash tests. Such “aftermarket products” should not be used as they will make your baby LESS SAFE, and will void the car seat’s warranty. NOTHING should be placed under your baby or under the straps. Once your baby is buckled snugly wearing a few thin layers of clothes, you can use blankets on top to keep the baby warm & rolled blankets on the side for extra body support (see picture).If your baby is born before 37 weeks or has a medical condition that may affect her breathing or ability to maintain her oxygen level, she will get a “car seat test”, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), before leaving the hospital. During the car seat test, the baby will sit properly strapped into the car seat for 90 minutes to make sure that her heart rate, breathing rate, and oxygen levels stay in a normal range. The AAP recommends that babies who “pass” their car seat test go home in a rear-facing car seat, NOT a car bed. Car beds should ONLY be used for infants who “fail” – i.e. they can not maintain their heart rate, oxygen level or breathing while in the car seat – as the protection provided by a rear-facing car seat is better documented than that for car beds.

Rear-Facing Infant Seats by Minimum Starting Weight

No Weight Minimum

* Combi – Shuttle 22 & 33, Navette^✫
* Nania – Baby Ride^✫ (model with 4 shoulder strap slots)

4 Pounds

* Britax – Chaperone
* Chicco – Key Fit 22 & 30

* Cybex – Aton
* Graco – Snug Ride 30
* Orbit Baby – G2 Infant Car Seat
* Safety 1st – Comfy Carry, On Board35, and 35 Air
* The First Years – Via (must use carrier with base)

5 Pounds
* Baby Trend – Flex Loc, EZ Flex Loc

* Evenflo – Discovery, Embrace, Serenade
* Graco – Snug Ride 22, Snug Ride 32/35
* Maxi Cosi- Mico
* Peg Perego – Primo Viaggio SIP 30/30
* Safety 1st – Designer
^✫Combi Navette & Nania Baby Ride only available to institutions/agencies and only in multi-packs (3 or 4/box)

Alisa Baer, MD – www.TheCarSeatLady.com (last update 05/11)