I realize this is probably the most biased place I could ask this, but I'm curious... Would you let your almost 4yo ride in a car seat like this? Assume the car is at least 10 years old.
We had one of these in our old van. My ds was a baby when we got a new car, but these were 5 point harness and good for a 4 year old or so. I would never put my 8 year old in it. Way too small for a bigger kid.
We used these in some of the taxis in Germany when my ds was 3.5. They were built into most of the taxis we rode in.
This is pretty much exactly like what the brand new ones designed by Volvo ones look like. And that ones that other models of my car come with It looks like a five point harness right? So assuming I can trust the regular seatbelts on my car, I imagine I can trust these.
Post by thebreakfastclub on Jul 8, 2015 9:25:55 GMT -5
Interesting NYT article on marketing the overselling of certain products, including car seats.
I like this quote from the safety manager at Graco:
"It's not as if you'll hit the expiration date and the plastic will become weak," he said. "The plastic is good for at least 10 years. But regulations and standards are constantly changing."
Interesting NYT article on marketing the overselling of certain products, including car seats.
I like this quote from the safety manager at Graco:
"It's not as if you'll hit the expiration date and the plastic will become weak," he said. "The plastic is good for at least 10 years. But regulations and standards are constantly changing."
Amen. Safety is important, but when you weigh risk, resources, etc., I really think safety is a little top-heavy.
It will KILL me when I have to "cut the straps" on our first truly expired car seat, knowing there are people out there without.
And come on. Our local Goodwill store won't accept ANY baby gear because of safety concerns. What. The. Heck. Yes, yes, expiration dates and recalls. What about waste and those truly in need? We are in the midst of a terrible cycle.
I would not because I would question the integrity of the buckles especially if they are only plastic (unlike regular seatbelts that are metal reinforced).
Post by sillygoosegirl on Jul 8, 2015 9:38:53 GMT -5
If I was thinking of buying a car with those, or someone who regularly cared for my child had a car with those, I would probably do some research. However, given that 50% of car seats are installed wrong, I'm guessing those are pretty safe if they are even remotely well designed. (I do think I'm smarter than 50% of the general population, but it's not like people knowingly/purposefully drive around with poorly installed car seats.)
And I hope to God I will be able to have my kid in nothing by 8-10 years old.
My almost 8 yo still uses a low back booster with a seatbelt, but putting a typical 8 yo in a 5 point harness seems pretty nuts.
Confession. I really wish cars came with 5 point harness vs a shoulder belt lol. Did you see that Nascar accident? Part of why he walked away with a bruise is because of 5 point harness seatbelts Well, and a head harness and roll cage but still!
Interesting NYT article on marketing the overselling of certain products, including car seats. Â
I like this quote from the safety manager at Graco:
"It's not as if you'll hit the expiration date and the plastic will become weak," he said. "The plastic is good for at least 10 years. But regulations and standards are constantly changing."
Thank you for this. I use my car seats well past their supposed internet chat room "expiration date" and I never knew where people were getting this 5 year thing from. It's good to know it's just complete BS.
Interesting NYT article on marketing the overselling of certain products, including car seats.
I like this quote from the safety manager at Graco:
"It's not as if you'll hit the expiration date and the plastic will become weak," he said. "The plastic is good for at least 10 years. But regulations and standards are constantly changing."
Exactly. I work in a very highly regulated industry and our products have 5 and 10 year expiration dates. I get why this is frustrating for customers but we are required to prove a very high level of safety. In order to extend the expiration we would have to make the product even more expensive and do even more testing, which in turn costs more for the customer. In reality, our products are frequently used far past their expiration and rarely have problems, but it they do, we as the manufacturer are no longer responsible.
The expiration date is basically a way to say- we know FOR SURE your product will be safe this long, and if you use it past that date we are no longer responsible for any issues.
Why is it that we're so concerned about child seat expirations, but not the age of safety belts and other aspects of the actual seats in cars?
I am really ALL for child seat safety, but I think we may take it a little too far.
I have been wondering if I would be crucified on MMM for the fact that we accepted a free, used infant car seat. It's the same model/different color from what we had picked out. It belonged to Calvin's boss, whose youngest is now 16 months. We're taking it on faith that they said no crashes with it, and that it was purchased for their youngest, but I can't independently verify
Why is it that we're so concerned about child seat expirations, but not the age of safety belts and other aspects of the actual seats in cars?
I am really ALL for child seat safety, but I think we may take it a little too far.
I have been wondering if I would be crucified on MMM for the fact that we accepted a free, used infant car seat. It's the same model/different color from what we had picked out. It belonged to Calvin's boss, whose youngest is now 16 months. We're taking it on faith that they said no crashes with it, and that it was purchased for their youngest, but I can't independently verify
I have both used and passed on used infant bucket seats.
When I talk about it here, there is a moderate amount of clutched pearls.
They're just useful for such a short window. Sharing makes a lot of sense.
Interesting NYT article on marketing the overselling of certain products, including car seats.
I like this quote from the safety manager at Graco:
"It's not as if you'll hit the expiration date and the plastic will become weak," he said. "The plastic is good for at least 10 years. But regulations and standards are constantly changing."
Amen. Safety is important, but when you weigh risk, resources, etc., I really think safety is a little top-heavy.
It will KILL me when I have to "cut the straps" on our first truly expired car seat, knowing there are people out there without.
And come on. Our local Goodwill store won't accept ANY baby gear because of safety concerns. What. The. Heck. Yes, yes, expiration dates and recalls. What about waste and those truly in need? We are in the midst of a terrible cycle.
I felt similarly about a car seat that was "gifted" to me by MIL from someone I never met and had no knowledge of the history of (other than verbal assurances all was OK). I'm sure it was fine, but I wasn't comfortable using it myself. But I also wasn't comfortable just tossing it. I gave it away for free on Craigslist and there was plenty of interest, and lots of posters saying they couldn't afford a new seat for a variety of reasons. So at least it went to a good home.
I have been wondering if I would be crucified on MMM for the fact that we accepted a free, used infant car seat. It's the same model/different color from what we had picked out. It belonged to Calvin's boss, whose youngest is now 16 months. We're taking it on faith that they said no crashes with it, and that it was purchased for their youngest, but I can't independently verify
I would use this without really thinking twice about it.
As would I. A friend gave me her infant car seat under similar circumstances, though we ended up not using it because J decided he desperately wanted a certain color Chicco Keyfit 30 (ugh...men! ) I was going to pass it on to someone else but I tucked it in a closet to get it out of the way and promptly forgot about it, so of course now it's expired. But had my husband not decided we HAD to have the red and gray infant seat I would have used the one my friend gave us in a heartbeat.
Show me an article where a child died because the plastic or foam in the car seat was too brittle.
Let's realign our priorities as a population.
We aren't doing squat for our children if we create such massive waste. That will have more of an impact on many, than the tiny fraction of a percentage I may be increasing my own child's safety by trashing a car seat the day it "expires".
Show me an article where a child died because the plastic or foam in the car seat was too brittle.
Let's realign our priorities as a population.
We aren't doing squat for our children if we create such massive waste. That will have more of an impact on many, than the tiny fraction of a percentage I may be increasing my own child's safety by trashing a car seat the day it "expires".
#foodforthought
DH and I got into a HUGE fight when I insisted we replace expired convertible seats for DD3. HUGE. As a chemist, he's inclined to disbelieve the "plastic/fiber/foam" breakdown arguements. However, what finally swayed him was the fact that at least some insurance companies won't cover injuries to a child in an expired car seat. And no car seat company will. He still grumbled when I bought new ones, hates the new ones I got, yada yada yada. While I completely agree with your points, until insurance companies are willing to cover that potential liability (and I don't blame them one bit for not covering it, given pp's comments about product testing/safety), I won't use an expired car seat. And I'm probably the most breezy car seat person on this board.
DH and I got into a HUGE fight when I insisted we replace expired convertible seats for DD3. HUGE. As a chemist, he's inclined to disbelieve the "plastic/fiber/foam" breakdown arguements. However, what finally swayed him was the fact that at least some insurance companies won't cover injuries to a child in an expired car seat. And no car seat company will. He still grumbled when I bought new ones, hates the new ones I got, yada yada yada. While I completely agree with your points, until insurance companies are willing to cover that potential liability (and I don't blame them one bit for not covering it, given pp's comments about product testing/safety), I won't use an expired car seat. And I'm probably the most breezy car seat person on this board.
Eh, you were merely fighting for the law, not what's actually rational.
Post by penguingrrl on Jul 8, 2015 14:23:35 GMT -5
As long as my kid fit in it properly I would use it. I just googled it and the consensus is that after 15 years you should start inspecting your seatbelts periodically for signs of wear and they probably should be replaced after 20-25 years. If the car is about 10 years old the seatbelts should be fine. I have really tall kids, though, so it's likely that by 4 they would have outgrown that. I think the concept of built-in carseats/boosters is far superior to aftermarket products and don't doubt that they're safe.
As far as the carseat expiration dates are concerned, I wouldn't take the liability risk of using an expired one even though I'm certain expiration dates are set with some overuse built in and an assumption that parents may use them 1+ years past expiration and the companies are covering their butts by setting it a bit early. But the way insurance companies will do anything and everything to weasel their way out of covering costs I wouldn't want to have an accident, have a severely injured child and be stuck with all the bills because I used an expired seat and insurance therefore won't cover the injuries. I've spent too many hours fighting with insurance for them to cover things that were by the book (like my c section after 2 hours of pushing that they tried to call an elective procedure) to risk it.
I feel like 6-10 years is a decent amount of time to get out of a child safety product. Both our infant seats were used by my nephew (almost 4), my 3 year old, 1 year old and will be passed back for one more baby before expiry.
I have found it a bit weird when its suggested that if you got in a tiny fender bender you call the insurance company and insist on new seats being covered. They'll cover them I guess because they have to but all that plastic being thrown away for something like a tiny accident seems insane. But then I feel like, if it happened to me, I'd be afraid NOT to replace the seats because the fear and "what ifs" floating around my mind from reading all the warnings...
the implication is "what IF something terrible happened? isn't your child WORTH $200 to you??"
I have been wondering if I would be crucified on MMM for the fact that we accepted a free, used infant car seat. It's the same model/different color from what we had picked out. It belonged to Calvin's boss, whose youngest is now 16 months. We're taking it on faith that they said no crashes with it, and that it was purchased for their youngest, but I can't independently verify
I took one from one of my best friends, she'd purchased it new, and it served me well for both of my boys.
My DH is an engineer, and the expiration dates on car seats drives him crazy.
Interesting NYT article on marketing the overselling of certain products, including car seats.
I like this quote from the safety manager at Graco:
"It's not as if you'll hit the expiration date and the plastic will become weak," he said. "The plastic is good for at least 10 years. But regulations and standards are constantly changing."
Amen. Safety is important, but when you weigh risk, resources, etc., I really think safety is a little top-heavy.
It will KILL me when I have to "cut the straps" on our first truly expired car seat, knowing there are people out there without.
And come on. Our local Goodwill store won't accept ANY baby gear because of safety concerns. What. The. Heck. Yes, yes, expiration dates and recalls. What about waste and those truly in need? We are in the midst of a terrible cycle.
This is the debate DH and I are currently having over our (literally) brand new car seat that was in the car when DH was in an accident Sunday. He was going approximately 20mph and swerved out of the way and hit a curb while rounding a corner. He jacked up his car pretty good (broke the tie rod, busted some sort of fluid container, broke a chunk off the rim, a bit of fender damage, blew the back tire). His argument is that it was the angle that he hit the curb, wasn't going that fast, etc. and is the replacement really necessary. DS used the seat 3 times. I know Graco says replace, but damn. I'd rather be safe than sorry, but I wonder if this is over the top.
Show me an article where a child died because the plastic or foam in the car seat was too brittle.
Let's realign our priorities as a population.
We aren't doing squat for our children if we create such massive waste. That will have more of an impact on many, than the tiny fraction of a percentage I may be increasing my own child's safety by trashing a car seat the day it "expires".
#foodforthought
However, what finally swayed him was the fact that at least some insurance companies won't cover injuries to a child in an expired car seat. And no car seat company will. He still grumbled when I bought new ones, hates the new ones I got, yada yada yada. While I completely agree with your points, until insurance companies are willing to cover that potential liability (and I don't blame them one bit for not covering it, given pp's comments about product testing/safety).
Exactly.
DH and I both agree it's a load of crap that our car seat was safe in December and suddenly became unusable once it hit it's expiration date on Jan. 1, 2015.
But I don't want to risk insurance not paying out the claim should we get into an accident, so off it goes to decompose in a landfill for the next 1,000 years.
That pic doesn't look comfy or appear to have any side impact protection so I wouldn't love that in my car. But I'd sure use it if that was all I had at the time. It's better than the nothing we use in taxis.
I'm not really a fan of integrated car seats unless every car had them, which they won't bc of liability. otherwise they're impractical - since you couldn't take one car seat from car to car. I also loved putting the infant seat in a stroller and wouldn't want to give that up.