Tiny Grass

We did something really dumb recently. We forgot to keep up with M’s carseat specifications and we let him go over the 40 lb. limit for his carseat. I’m really kicking myself. I’m usually absolutely obsessed with carseat safety - proper installation, proper fit, and keeping them rear-facing until the weight limit of the seat (we didn’t turn M around to face forward until he was close to 2, and J, at 18 months, is still rear-facing (see this link for why)). So we’ve plunked down quite a bit of money to buy him a new seat, a Britax Regent. The good news is that it should last him until he is around 80 lbs, which very well might be when he is 10 years old. So the money will be well spent.

I remember being in a very scary looking carseat when I was young. I’m not even sure it was belted in, and I am confident it would not have saved my life had I been in an accident. When I was older, my sisters and I just rode around without seatbelts. Some would say that we don’t need carseats - we survived, after all, right? Well, I maintain that we survived despite the unsafe conditions, due to sheer luck. I’m well-educated enough to know not to gamble on my own kids’ luck.

Some helpful links for carseat safety:

Keep your child rear-facing!

More on why keeping your child rear-facing longer is important

Don’t use an old Shield Booster! (the kind with the big plastic part that sits in front on your child, on his lap)

Guidelines for used carseats (never use a carseat if you don’t know the previous owner or the crash history of the seat!)

When can your child be in a regular carseat, without a booster?

Carseat Compatibility - Check if a particular carseat will likely fit in your car

Some good carseat recommendations

This entry was posted on Friday, December 8th, 2006 at 8:55 pm and is filed under parenting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.