Car Seat rules... How many are YOU breaking?

Hashem_Yaazor

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 12:24 pm

Here:
Latch -- http://mommieslike.com/commonl.....eats/

If you don't have LATCH, look into the following convertible seats (if that's what you're in the market for):
Britax Marathon 70-G3 Convertible Car Seat

The First Years True Fit Recline Convertible Car Sea

These have built-in lockoffs so you won't need a locking clip to make sure the seat belt doesn't stretch out, loosening the install on the car seat.

baltimoremom

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 12:27 pm

A few things: I noticed someone said something about keeping their kid rear facing until the weight limit, more important to look at then the weight is the height limit- the car seat lady told me new converter carseat limits go by height not weight. You can stay rear facing as long as your head is one inch below the top and ff- as long as your ears are below the top. For instance my son will prob have to be turned around because of his height not weight and that was the reason I stopped using the infant seat. My pet peeve is ppl think infant car seats say up to 30lbs so they can keep their child in their forever FALSE- not if your kids head is above the top and they can have straps tightened tight.

baltimoremom

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 12:31 pm

Additionally, I learned that in most cars you can not use the latchs in the middle- who new that- now most carseat latches wont reach but some do and ppl use them in the middle. So now my car seat is on the side.

Also, who knew latches had a weight limit- we aren't there yet but in my car kia optima- I think its 40 lbs and then u can't use the latches.

And yes it bugs me that a lot of moms around here automatically ff when switching to a converter and they say there kids like it better. my son liked the converter carseat more than the infant seat- personally I think ppl should give the converter a try rear facing and see if switching carseats makes their kids happier before they switch to ff.

Lastly- expired carseats- my neighbor had her old carseat in the hall after using it for a while and the foam was coming out that is not ok! it does not pay to be cheap with your child's life-

granolamom

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 12:39 pm

sneakermom wrote:

What do you do if you have an older car and it doesn't come with those car seat fasteners? Also what company car seats do you use? Which are safe and well priced?

We happen to have a walmart carseat that we have passed down from child to child. They stay in it until they turn four and go on to the booster. Unless their weight allows them to sit in a booster earlier. We never did rear facing though. Can you do that with an ordinary eleven year old car seat?

Are you telling me that you keep four year olds in car seats? I dunno. Maybe I have to get more into this stuff.

an 11 year old car seat should probably be replaced.
and yes, I keep my kids in carseats at 4. my ds moved into a booster a few months ago, he's 5.5 yo and tall for his age. my dd is 3 and still in a carseat (unless, as I posted earlier, dh is driving her as a last minute plan and in that case she does sit in a booster embarrassed

).

I bought the britax carseats even though they are pricey because they are SO easy to install properly.

granolamom

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 12:42 pm

baltimoremom wrote:

I did not know LATCH had a weight limit. thank you for posting that, I will look into it.
agree with what you said about height...my kids are very tall and also outgrew rearfacing height before they reached max weight. they were well over a year by then so I turned them around (this was before the recommendation was changed to two years)

imamiri

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 12:42 pm

gp2.0 wrote:

By the time DD was a little over a year old, she no longer fit rear facing. Where are the kids supposed to put their legs? Tucked up to their chests? I don't get it. By the time their feet can hit the backseat, it's time to turn around.

My almost 3 year old DD just folds her legs. I'd much rather have a child with broken legs than a broken neck or massive spine injury.

SivanMom

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 1:01 pm

baltimoremom wrote:

I mentioned in an earlier post that I turned my son when he reached the weight limit. The car seat I was using was a 7 year old Britax Marathon (it expired at the end of December). The max weight limit RF was only 33 lbs. which was why he reached it so soon. Car seats these days have much longer weight limits.

I also wanted to point out that you don't have to spend a lot of money for a good convertible car seat. Most of those mentioned in previous posts (Britax, Triumph, True Fit, etc.) are expensive. You can also get a Cosco Scenera or something similar for $40 at any Target or Walmart. They are perfectly safe, if not as easy to use. Just saying, rather spend the $40 on a cheap, safe convertible, than use your infant car seat for too long, or an expired car seat.

SplitPea

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 1:09 pm

baltimoremom wrote:

Thanks for bringing this up!

I have never understood why there is no LATCH for the middle seat - its known to be the safest place for baby in a crash but they only do it for the side seats Sad

Also another thing on seat placement Car seats should NOT touch the drivers or passengers seat. (Ie if you have a small car or a long car seat rear facing you might be a bit squished!

SplitPea

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 1:12 pm

justmarried123 wrote:

which is safer- Do hook up the car seat to a side seat with LATCH or hook it up with the seat belt in the middle seat?

the middle seat with a seat belt tighter/lock like http://www.toysrus.com/product.....7437. Or a seat with a built in seat belt lock Properly installed where the seat will not move.

calaflower

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 1:35 pm

wow! am I vorrect in what I'm reading? it's not safe to put a latch car seat in middle? I had no idea, anf I'm oneof those crazy ppl who is SUPER into safety rules of the car!!! now I'm curious...what do ppl do if they have more than 4 children in a minivan? we just put my 3yr old on middle of back seat in the van bc that seat does not have a shoulder belt, therefore older children can't sit there safely, we thought using latch four that seat would be the safest?
anyone know?

granolamom

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 1:37 pm

calaflower wrote:

I think LATCH in the middle is the safest spot in the car. not all cars have LATCH in the middle seat, I think that's what people were talking about here.

irrationalrose

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 1:51 pm

SplitPea wrote:

Also another thing on seat placement Car seats should NOT touch the drivers or passengers seat. (Ie if you have a small car or a long car seat rear facing you might be a bit squished!

Really? Why not? I didn't know this - thanks for posting.

granolamom

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 2:07 pm

justmarried123 wrote:

does anyone know which kind of cars have latch in the middle seat?

I think alot of sedans do NOT have middle seat LATCH
in minivans or SUV's with a middle bench, you are more likely to find middle seat LATCH but not all minivans have it in the back row. at least that's what we found when we were replacing our old car a few years ago.
for me, it was a dealbreaker, I have big kids and carpools, I needed the eighth seat and I also needed to have baby in the middle so big kids can get in/out independently without kicking baby in the face.

Shmerling

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 2:18 pm

So I guess the rule about taking off coats applies to adults too?

Also all these rules were made in regard to a crash on a highway driving at 60-70 mph. I dont think you have to be just as strict when driving on quiet residential streets going 5-10 mph.

SplitPea

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 2:19 pm

irrationalrose wrote:

SplitPea wrote:

Also another thing on seat placement Car seats should NOT touch the drivers or passengers seat. (Ie if you have a small car or a long car seat rear facing you might be a bit squished!

Really? Why not? I didn't know this - thanks for posting.

it has to do with airbag sensors in most cars.

certain seats (ie radians) allow it as long as your car model allows it