NHTSA Announces New Car Seat Recommendations

In case you hadn't heard, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has changed their guidelines for car seat restraints for children. We have been hearing much of this information for some time from AAP, so it's no surprise, and it's still worth sharing. Below is a post from the SafeMama website that details the changed NHTSA guidelines very well.

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Repost from SafeMama website.

I’m not sure why this hasn’t happened sooner, especially since it’s been the ongoing recommendation of many car seat manufacturers. But today the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration changed its guidelines for car seat restraints for children. In the new guidelines, NHTSA is advising parents and caregivers to keep children in their appropriate seat restraint for as long as possible before moving up to the next style seat. This includes rear-facing, forward-facing and booster seats.

In “keeping pace” with the latest scientific and medical research, NHTSA is following the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommends parents keep children in “rear-facing restraints until two years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer.” The AAP indicates that there should be no rush to move kids up to the next level of seat restraint if not absolutely possible.

NHTSA’s new recommendations aim to help parents in choosing the right seat for their child by selecting seats based on the child's height, weight AND age:

Birth to 1: Children under the age of 1 should always ride on a REAR-FACING car seat. There are different types of rear-facing car seats: Infant-only seats can only be used rear-facing. Convertible and 3-in 1 car seats typically have higher height and weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for a longer period of time.

Age 1 – 3: Keep your 1 to 3 year old children in a REAR-FACING car seat for as long as possible. It’s the best way to keep them safe. They should remain in a rear-facing car seat until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once outgrown the rear-facing car seat, your child is ready to travel in a FORWARD-FACING car seat with a harness.

Age 4 – 7: Keep your 4 to 7 year old children in their FORWARD-FACING car seat with a harness until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once they outgrow their forward-facing car seat with a harness, it’s time to travel on a BOOSTER SEAT … but still in the rear seat.

Age 8 – 12: Keep your 8 to 12 year old children on their BOOSTER SEAT until they are big enough to fit in a seat belt properly. Seat Belts – For a seat belt to fit properly the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face.

Please visit the NHTSA website for more information about the new recommendations and to find a Certified Car Seat Inspection location near you.

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By the way, SafeMama is a great website! They call themselves "the original one-stop child safety, product recall, healthy, well-being, non-toxic, eco-conscious resource, for parents" and I have to agree with that (been a follower for three years). You can sign up for emails so you don't miss any posts, or if you follow other sites, you can sign up through google friend connect, networked blogs and also RSS feeds. Or, you can like them on facebook where they also feed their posts.

Car Seat Check Events

Many local police and fire departments offer regular weekly or scheduled car seat checks. Whether it's a car seat for your infants or a booster seat for your kindergartners, it's always a good idea to stop by any time you have a new seat (or base) to make sure it is installed correctly for your car and also fit properly for your child. It is also a good idea to go in once a year for a re-check, especially if you need to take your car seats out put them back in any time throughout the year, just to make sure everything is still okay.

Here are some regularly scheduled checks in Franklin County:

TUESDAY’S
8:30 am to 12:00 pm
Washington Twp. Fire
6200 Eiterman Road
Dublin, OH
Call (614) 652-3920
To Schedule an Appointment

TUESDAY’S
1 pm to 4 pm
Violet Twp. Fire
8700 Refugee Road
Pickerington, OH
Call (614) 837-4125
To Schedule an Appointment

WEDNESDAY’S
8:30 am to 3:00 pm
Westerville Fire
400 W. Main Street
Westerville, OH
Call (614) 901-6889
To Schedule an Appointment

THURSDAY’S
9 am to 4 pm
Washington Twp. Fire
6200 Eiterman Road
Dublin, OH
Call (614) 652-3920
To Schedule an Appointment

SATURDAY’S
9 am to 12 pm
Violet Twp. Fire
8700 Refugee Road
Pickerington, OH
Call (614) 837-4125
To Schedule an Appointment


Below are a few of the date specific car seat check events:

AUGUST 16, SEPTEMBER 20, OCTOBER 18, NOVEMBER 15 and DECEMBER 20, 2010
MONDAY
10 am to 2 pm
Norwich Twp. Fire
5181 Northwest Parkway
Hilliard, OH
Call (614) 876-7694
To Schedule an Appointment


Here are Delaware County's date specific car seat check events:

Wednesday, August 18th
3:00 – 6:30 pm
Powell Police Department
47 Hall Street
Powell, OH 43065
Appointment required

Wednesday, September 15th
3:00 – 6:30 pm
Genoa Township Fire Station
7049 Big Walnut Road
Galena, OH 43021
Appointment required

Wednesday, October 20th
3:00 – 6:30 pm
Orange Township Fire Station
7307 South Old State Rd.
Lewis Center, OH 43035
Appointment required

Wednesday, November 17th
3:00 – 6:30 pm
B.S.T.& G. Fire Station
350 W. Cherry Street
Sunbury, OH 43074
Appointment required

Wednesday, December 15th
3:00 – 6:30 pm
Orange Township Fire Station
7700 Gooding Boulevard
Delaware, OH 43015
Appointment required


No appointments needed, walk-ins are welcome at these events:

Saturday, August 21st
9:00 am – Noon
Berlin Township Fire Station
2708 Lackey Old State Road
Delaware, OH 43015

Saturday, November 20th
9:00 am – Noon
Tri-Township Fire Station
495 Sunbury Road
Delaware, OH 43015

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Know of other places or dates? Please let us know.

New Child Safety Laws

Changes to the Ohio Revised Code relative to safety belt and child restraint took effect Wednesday, October 7, 2009. For the first six months, any violators will be issued a warning, however beginning April 7, 2010 the new laws go into full effect. Read on for a summary of the new requirements.

• Every child* under eight-years-of-age and less than 4'9" in height must ride in a booster seat or other appropriate child safety seat.**
• Every child* aged eight-to-15 years who is not secured by a child safety seat must be secured by the vehicle's safety belt.

These new requirements are secondary offenses and police are not permitted to stop a vehicle for the sole purpose of issuing a ticket for a violation of these offenses. If the operator of a vehicle is cited for failing to properly secure more than one child, he/she will be charged with one violation. The associated fines will range from $25 to $75 per violation under state law. The fines may be higher under a city code. A repeat violation is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree punishable by a fine up to $250 and up to 30 days incarceration.

Car safety belts are not designed for children. Typically, at around age four, children are too large for toddler seats but too small for adult safety belts. A booster seat raises children up so that the seat belt can fit correctly - with the shoulder belt crossing the chest and resting snugly on the shoulder, and the lap belt resting low across the pelvis or hip area and not the stomach area.

For additional details of the new laws and guidelines for securing your children safely, visit the following websites:

• www.lsc.state.oh.us/analyses127/h0320-rs-127.pdf - detailing Substitute House Bill 320.
• www.boosterseat.gov - guidelines for buying and using child safety seats.
• www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm - locations for area child safety seat inspection stations, for advice on what is best for your situation.

* - Exceptions include a life threatening situation, a physician-signed affidavit exempting the child from the law due to a physical impairment, or the vehicle is a taxicab, public safety vehicle or was manufactured without seatbelts.
** - Child safety seats include infant seats, convertible seats, forward-facing seats, booster seats or other federally approved safety devices.

Car Seats...where do I go next?

Question: My twins are quickly outgrowing their infant seats. What do I do? What kind of seat should I buy? I've heard a lot about Britax, what are your thoughts? Thanks.

Answers:

I'm out of the loop on car seats these days. I do know from experience that a car seat you by for a 1 year old will likely NOT be the last one you will buy. You may end up buying basic belt-positioning boosters when they are older- for age 6 - 8 or so. But the good news is that those are MUCH less expensive. Also remember that car seats have a "shelf-life" and most are rated for only about 6 years. Current Ohio law requires kids to be in some form of supplemental restraint until age 8. There is also a social factor when you get into elementary school.

Other things to consider. Does the Frontier rear-face? Studies show that children are safer rear facing up to about age 2. There are a lot of seats on the market that will get them closer to that mark, then you can turn them forward. I realize that most people won't RF their kids that long, but most 1 year olds aren't developed enough skeletally for FF to be safest. Another good seat to consider is the Sunshine Kids Radian. It won't convert to a booster, but it's best feature is that it's narrow, allowing for 3-across if you need it, and it comes in 2 weight ratings- 65# and 85#.

If I were looking for a seat to move up from the infant bucket, I would look for one that RF to about 32-34# and also FF to at least #65. Then when the kids are older- 5 or 6, I'd shop for a specific booster that would get them through at least age 8. I know many kids won't hit those weight marks, but the higher weight seats offer taller harness heights, etc that will accommodate an average height kid who is below average weight.

For more information and better explanations, visit http://www.car-seats.org/. Browse the forums or ask your specific questions and you'll get a lot of advice on seats that would be safest for your specific needs. Keep in mind that the people who post there are proponents of extending RF and extended harnessing. You'll get a lot of insight, then you can make a decision that works for you.

Good luck with your research and shopping. Don't forget to always ask for a multiples discount. And consider if you need seats for your 2nd vehicle too. A couple of companies that offer great service and pricing are www.hipmonkey.com/ and http://www.elitecarseats.com/ I know that Hip Monkey will price match and both offer a multiples discount, but you have to call customer service to get a code.

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Britax has many good car seats. They have a very good reputation. From what I hear, well worth the money. That said, I don't have one. We needed to get six car seats. I used consumer reports. For the twins, now 2.5 years old, we went from the snug ride to a convertible Evenflo Triumph Advanced (when they were nine months old), which is both rear facing (5 to 35 lbs) and forward facing (20-50 lbs). I kept my boys rear facing as long as I could, which was within months of being 2. You also have to go by height on that. I figured this would last them until it was time for a toddler booster converter (my son has one which uses the 5 pt harness until 65lbs I think, not the car's seat belt which can be dangerous for younger children - like 4 or 5 years old), plus car seats have a shelf life so I knew we would have to get them again anyhow.

I like the seats. I feel good about our decision. I would recommend looking at Consumer Reports and the http://www.carseats.org/.

Also, Babies R Us offers a 10% discount anytime you buy two of anything over $50 each (I think that's the dollar amount). So, when I bought mine, I used the coupons that come out where there's a % off car seats and ALSO the 10% multiple discount. I had to gather coupons from friends and go a couple days (no room in my car) get them. Well worth it.

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I have four kids and three Britax...the Britax RoundAbout Convertible CarSeat....You can use it rear facing and front facing it's a 5-50lbs....I love them, they work great with or without the latch, the only problem is that they are big and durable (very safe) so switching them in and out can give you a workout, but if you are just leaving it put in your car, it's great. Hoping to switch my twins out soon to those boosters!

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I have Eddie Bauer car seats. They are supposed to go all the way from infant to booster. I can't tell you if the booster function is going to be great - my kids are only 3. I do like them though. I would say they are in the higher end of average in cost.

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With my two children we purchased the Eddie Bauer 3 in 1 seats and they worked out great.
We have had multiple cars from trucks, SUV's, sedans and never had any difficulty with install. They are pretty easy to get in and out. The older model had a difficult puzzle type buckle but they have since changed that. That was the only bad thing I would ever have to say about the seat. My in-laws also live far away and we have done trips to Hilton Head etc. with the seats and and they have worked out fine. Our older kids are now 5 and 6 and they have used them since they left the Graco snugride. It is about $100 cheaper per seat, so the cost savings would be worth it.

Obviously this is just our experience, but if it can save your $200 or so I thought it was worth sharing.

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I had a top of the line Graco car seat for my son and I HATED that seat. I still have the seat as an emergency back up but refused to use it for my girls everyday seat. The straps always twisted – such a pain.

That said I went to Babies R Us and bought 2 Britax Marathon car seats. I got the 10% discount for buying 2 of the same item over $100. I would NOT trade these seats for anything. I LOVE THEM. My girls will be 4 next month and we’ve used the seats for 3 years and they are still going strong. They are so comfy and sturdy. Yes, you do get what you pay for.

I love Britax and knowing my girls are safe. Graco has good products – just didn’t like my car seat.

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I tried the Britax Frontier for my boys, but didn't like the installation or that it moved around a lot. It just didn't feel as snug as the other Britax products that do not convert to a booster. We have the Britax Roundabout and it did extremely well when we were in a car accident last year. I think you should stick with the Britax brand if you can swing it.

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What about just the Britax Marathon. They are the best rated on Consumer Reports and work for a long time for rear and forward facing. If you're not picky about pattern, you can find a great deal on them here: http://www.albeebaby.com/britax-marathon-cs-convertible-car-seat-emma.html FWIW, I've ordered several things from albeebaby.com with no issues.

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Additionally, here is a very helpful website (created by the American Academy of Pediatricians):

Healthy Children - This page contains all kinds of info on the different types of seats, which is right for each age/weight, correctly installing, links to find the seat installation inspection locations in your area and much more.

What about you club moms? What do you recommend? How did you decide? What car seat do you use and love? What resources did you read? Please give us your advice and experience.