Thursday, March 31, 2011

Rebecca Black - of "Friday" fame - meet Tyler Presnell, he might just save your life!

Watched this video - Black Friday - that's become an internet sensation and all I could think was how awful it was that 68 million people have watched a video glorifying behavior that gets kids killed. Rebecca Black and 4 other teenagers pile into a convertible and sing and dance about partying it up - NO ONE is wearing a seat belt.  Car crashes are the NUMBER ONE cause of death for teenagers in the US - but it doesn't have to be this way.  Seat belts, extended supervised driving time, driving without peers in the car, and graduated licenses save lives!


Tyler Presnell knows all too well what its like to be the cool kid riding in the back seat of a friend's car without a seat belt; his story doesn't have a happy ending.  When the 16-year-old driver of the car Tyler was riding tried to show off for his friends, the car ended up wrapped around a telephone pole.  Tyler suffered a traumatic brain injury and injured every organ in his abdomen as shards of his pelvic bone ripped through his abdomen. Twenty one surgeries and 11 years later, Tyler has relearned how to walk, how to feed himself, how to talk, and how to remember - but he will never be the same. 
Listen to him tell his story.
Listen and learn!

 

Monday, March 21, 2011

American Academy of Pediatrics Says Rear-facing Until Age 2 in New Policy Statement Published 3/21/11


Alisa Baer, MD - Pediatrician & The Car Seat Lady - explains the 5 key points in the new recommendations so you have the information you need to keep your child as safe as possible.


 
For more information, go to to the AAP's 2011 Car Seat Guide for Families

Friday, March 4, 2011

What does a 36 pound almost-3-year-old look like rear-facing???



LOVE IT!!! Mom of the 2 kids above sent me this email: 
"My son is so happy with his new seat, and actually seems to be more comfortable in it. He fell asleep almost immediately after we left you (and he's never been a kid who loves to sleep in the car)." 
FYI - Her son is 2y10m & 36lbs - and had been forward facing for a few months until she decided to get him a new seat with a 40lb rear-facing weight limit.  He is now riding in a Safety 1st Complete Air 65 (rear-facing to 40 pounds), and his younger sister is riding in his old Britax Marathon (rear-facing to 35 pounds).  

Curious about what kind of leg room he has?  The answer is not a lot.  He sits with his legs in "frog legged position" - but the important part is that HE IS COMFORTABLE (let me tell you, he has the verbal skills to tell you about everything else, he would definitely mention if he wasn't comfortable).  


Can you spot the MISUSE in this NomieBaby picture?


Unbelievable!! I got an email yesterday from NomieBaby.com with this picture. Why would I recommend a product that not only violates the instructions & warranty of basically every car seat (including the Britax Roundabout this child is riding in) - but is designed by someone who can't even strap her own daughter (child in pic) properly into a seat? Worst part: I spoke extensively with the designer last year about my concerns re: pics with mistakes.

Misuses:
1. Using an aftermarket product that goes under the child & around the straps
2. The crotch buckle is unbuckled
3. Shoulder straps are coming from below the child's shoulders (forward facing they should be coming at or above the child's shoulders)
4. The chest clip should be higher - at arm pit level.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

LATCH 201 - The Basics

WHAT LATCH ATTACHMENTS 
COME WITH MY CHILD SAFETY SEAT?


INFANT SEAT WITH BASE
Rear-facing infant seats usually come with a base.


LOWER ANCHOR STRAP: permanently attached to the base
TETHER STRAP: no infant seats currently sold in the US use a tether.
NOTE: If you want to use the carrier without the base, this is possible with all currently sold models EXCEPT The First Years Via (which requires the use of the base at all times).  With the infant seats that allow you to use the carrier without the base, you will have to use the vehicle's seat belt to secure the carrier as the lower anchor strap is permanently attached to the base (and shouldn't be removed).



INFANT SEAT WITHOUT BASE
Sometimes rear-facing infant seats come by themselves (i.e. without a base).  The information below is for carriers that come without a base (for carriers that come with a base, see above info)


LOWER ANCHOR STRAP: permanently attached to the carrier
TETHER STRAP: no infant seats currently sold in the US use a tether




**************************************************************************************************************

CONVERTIBLE SEAT
(CONVERTS FROM REAR-FACING to FORWARD-FACING)
Rear-Facing Convertible


LOWER ANCHOR STRAP: permanently attached to the seat.
Most convertible seats have one long lower anchor strap with a connector on either end - while others (some Britax & Recaro for example) have 2 separate lower anchor straps each with a connector on the end.  Some convertible seats have a separate lower anchor strap for rear-facing & forward facing (ex. Graco My Ride 65).


**Always make sure the lower anchor strap is routed/positioned in the proper place for the direction the seat is facing - nearly all seats require you to make some change in the lower anchor strap when the seat goes from rear-facing to forward-facing.




Forward-Facing Convertible
TETHER STRAP: Most convertible seats do not use the tether rear-facing.  ALL convertible seats use the tether forward-facing.  
***Remember: While the lower anchors are used INSTEAD of the vehicle's safety belt to secure the child safety seat to the vehicle, tethers are used IN ADDITION to the lower anchors OR the vehicle's safety belt to secure a forward-facing (and some rear-facing) child safety seat to the vehicle.


These convertible seats can use the tether rear-facing:


  • Britax: all convertible car seats allow Swedish or Australian method
  • Combi Coccoro: will soon retroactively allow tethering (further info to come)
  • Snug Seat Hippo: changed 5/30/07 to retroactively allow Swedish or Australian method
  • Sunshine Kids Radian (all models) - tether using Swedish method


**************************************************************************************************************
COMBINATION SEAT 
(FORWARD-FACING 5-POINT HARNESS CAR SEAT 
THAT TURNS INTO A BELT POSITIONING BOOSTER)

5-POINT HARNESS CAR SEAT MODE

Combination seat in
5 point harness
car seat mode
LOWER ANCHOR STRAP: permanently attached to the seat.


TETHER STRAP: All combination seats come with a tether.  While the tether is technically optional on most combination seats (but should always be used whenever possible as it decreases how far the child's head moves forward by up to 8 inches), there are a few that require the tether.  For example, the Safety 1st Go Hybrid requires the tether at all times, while the Britax Frontier 85 requires it for children weighing more than 65 pounds who are using the 5 point harness.


***Remember: While the lower anchors are used INSTEAD of the vehicle's safety belt to secure the child safety seat to the vehicle, tethers are used IN ADDITION to the lower anchors OR the vehicle's safety belt to secure a forward-facing (and some rear-facing) child safety seat to the vehicle.


BELT POSITIONING BOOSTER MODE

Combination seat with 
harness removed 
for Booster mode
Most combination seats do NOT allow the use of the lower anchor OR tether strap to secure the seat to the vehicle while the seat is being used in the booster mode (i.e. the child is using the vehicle's shoulder/lap belt across them). 


Current exceptions:


              • Britax Frontier & Frontier 85: allow use of lower anchors & tether
              • Evenflo - all combination seats (retroactively) allow use of lower anchors & tether
              • Recaro Pro Sport - recommends use of tether (does not allow lower anchors)
              • Safety 1st Go Hybrid (formerly Safeguard Go) - allows use of lower anchors




**************************************************************************************************************
BELT POSITIONING BOOSTER
High Back or Backless


High-Back
Belt Positioning Booster 
LOWER ANCHOR STRAP:  Most booster seats do not come with lower anchor connectors.  Those that do, sometimes have rigid lower anchor connectors instead of a flexible lower anchor strap as is found on nearly every other type of car seat.  See close-up drawing at left of a rigid lower anchor connector. 


TETHER STRAP: None of the high-back boosters (that weren't part of a combination seat) currently come with a tether strap.


High-Back
Belt Positioning Booster
with rigid lower anchors
The following booster seats allow the use of the lower anchors and/or tether: