SAFETY SQUAD: Empowing Your Family

Be careful on parenting forums

We like to read parenting forums to see what parents are saying about car seats.  Forums are a tremendous resource for parenting information, but when it comes to car seats... forums can sometimes be misleading.

Recently, we found a discussion about expiration dates that referenced an entry on our site.  The original poster in the discussion rightly tried to raise awareness of the expiration date issue and pointed readers in the right direction for correct information.

In the next comment, a different poster said that her specific car seat was manufactured at a certain date and was good for 10 years.  She then said

Why is installation so hard?

Before you bought your car seat, you checked with friends, family, searched the web and decided on a seat that had great reviews and even scored well on the "Ease of Use" charts. There were so many choices, but you picked a Graco or Britax or maybe a Peg Perego, to name a few. So why after all that research is your car seat so hard to use?

The same is true when you bought your car or SUV. Saab, BMW, Lexus, Honda, Mercedes, Toyota and others score well in crash ratings and come packed with dozens of safety features, but when you try to install that great car seat into your great car it doesn't feel or fit right.

First of all, it's not you. You are a parent that has cared...

Registration Cards: Easy to do, often neglected

To date, we've stuck to issues that in our opinion are most important to safety. This requires time, accuracy and an original thought (which can be difficult in this business). So, in an effort to post more, we are going to take issue with the little things we see as integral to your child's safety, as well as the big stuff.

Case in point: Registration Cards!

As part of our business in Chicago, when we open a car seat box, we take the registration cards and submit them for clients. Additionally, we file all the car seat information in our database. In the event of a recall, our clients will be notified by the manufacturer and Safety Squad. Redundancy for safety's sake!

Registration cards are the only way the manufacturer will contact you in the event of an advisory notice or recall. The store where you bought your seat may notify you, but by no means is this reliable.

Often parents will hear of recalls on the news, but not know if their model is involved. In a recent Britax recall, only a portion of Marathons were recalled. All those who registered their seats can expect a notice in the mail, while the rest are stuck investigating or unaware altogether.

It takes a minute to fill out... and while you're at it, register online too. Some manufacturers provide this option. Here are a couple:

• Britax Online Registration
• Graco Online Registration
• Dorel Juvenille Registration  (Cosco, Safety 1st, Eddie Bauer)

You can also fill out NHTSA's generic registration form

How should I dispose of an expired car seat?

We received an email asking us what to do with a car seat once it has expired. This is a great question and is the perfect follow-up for the "Do car seats have expiration dates?" post.  Thanks Kim B. for the question.

It's important to ensure that the seat is not reused by any parent for their child.  One effective way to do this is to remove the harness and dispose of it separately. Remove the padding, break it up and throw it out separately, as well.  Finally, use a permanent marker to write NOT SAFE FOR USE in large print in several locations on the shell. 

We have heard some people suggest that parents break up the shell with heavy tools. Safety Squad doesn't recommend this. We don't want anyone hurting themselves trying to destroy car seats. Seats can be difficult to destroy and tools can take high levels of skill to use safely. Not to mention, flying metal and plastic can cause serious injury.

Perhaps, you can drop the shell off at a recycling center in your community.  We checked in Chicago and car seats are not listed among their accepted items.  Maybe your community actually has a plan to accept retired car seats. Call your local government's information line for answers.

If you are so inclined... the best way to ensure that the seat is totally destroyed is to watch the garbage truck crush it on trash day.  Short of that, double bag it with heavy duty trash bags and tie it securely before throwing it in the garbage.  The idea is to make it hard for people picking through the trash to resurrect your dead seat.

We realize this seems like a lot of work...and it is, but your efforts can actually save a child's life. 

 

Why do car seats have expiration dates?

You may have heard that car seats have expiration dates.  It's true, they do.  There are concrete and important reasons why we must retire our trusty seats after a certain time.

Take some time to look through the galleries on the left. We have provided photos of some popular car seats and where to look for the date of manufacture and expiration dates. These labels also may include model, serial and batch numbers. The companies don't always make this process easy. This is especially true when the date is found molded into the plastic.  We did our best to help you find the appropriate information for certain child seats. If you need more guidance finding this information on your particular model, contact your manufacturer or post your question and we'll try and assist you.  We will grow our photo library over time to address additional seats.

If you've looked at the photos, you understand that there are indeed manufacturer expiration dates. We found that dates can be as many as 8 years and in some cases as little as 5. Parents should know that NHTSA instructs its techs and both Safe Kids and the Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association agree that no seat should be used for more than a period of 6 years from its date of manufacture.  What should the public take from this?  They should note both experts and seat manufacturers agree that seats do have a finite lifespan. Best practice would be to retire that seat after 6 years.  That is of course unless your car seat manufacturer states that its lifespan is 5 years.  Always consult your seat markings, labels and manual for this information.

Let's say you're on board so far. Now, you need to know the reasons why they expire.

Technology changes 

Car seat technology is always evolving, as are vehicles' ability to secure seats properly and consistently. Before 2002, Lower Anchor & Tethers for Children (LATCH) did not exist.  Now it's a common system by which car seats are installed.  The same is true of top tethers on car seats and tether anchors in cars. A skilled technician would never think to bypass tether usage if it is an option. This technology exists to make our children safer.

Materials wear out

Plastic stresses and warps. Straps and fabrics fray and rip. Instruction manuals get lost or destroyed. Important instructional labels fade, tear or fall off completely.

Manufacturing landscapes change

Your manufacturer may no longer stock replacement manuals and parts. Maybe the company has gone out of business entirely.

The bottom line is this: Know how to check your car seat's expiration date and vital information. Retire that old car seat and get a new one if necessary. As always, ask for help. Contact a CPS technician for some curb-side instruction.

Check out Part 2 on Expired Car Seats