Monday, March 2, 2009

Are Infant Car Seats Safe?

I just read a recent investigative report by the Chicago Tribune about Infant Safety Seats. It was disturbing to me as a parent, so I thought I would pass it along.

Apparently, there is a problem with infant seats coming off of their base in impact testing. Until the Tribune published their report, no data on such tests had been made public. They have posted video of what can happen in a test dummy trial. They tested every major brand. If you are a parent of a newborn or know someone who will be soon, please brace yourself and have a look. Then, please, please pass the information along.

As a result of this article, today Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced a top-to-bottom review of car safety seats, standards, use, and industry testing.

- Midwest Mom

8 comments:

  1. Wow. I think the safest place for kids is walking. Always have;)

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  2. This became an issue with Evenflo's infant seats back in 2005. Since I had bought one for my son, I contacted them and asked what they were going to do about it. Their reply was that it was not really a problem and that they had an issue with the way the tests were run.

    I guess it is true that no one is going to watch out for our kids they way we do - even if it supposed to be their business to do so!

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  3. Wow, good info thanks for sharing. there is so many issues with children's products, we had a recall on my daughters crib ugh...such a pain to deal with them!

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  4. I heard about this...thank god my kids aren't in those infant seats anymore.

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  5. I agree -- it's scary how while trying to protect our children -- make them safe, this can happen. Great post. :) Sue DeAngelis

    Are you a Good Mom Quiz

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  6. Thanks for posting this, I've passed it along to my mom friends/co workers. Scary to think the thing that is supposed to keep you child safe could do more harm than good.

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  7. I like the blog! There's nothing better than family and we have to take care of our children!!! My son is 18, but it seems like, with each new generation, things get worse for our children. We need to stop that trend.

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  8. Thank you all for your comments. If you have had a look at the report and have specific concerns about your brand of car seat, I would encourage you to contact the manufacturer. Be sure to copy in the Trib, your Congressional representative, and the Sec. of Transportation, for that matter! We parents should make our voices heard about important issues like these.

    I especially liked hearing that Maureen at Wisconsin Mommy did exactly that when issues with her car seat came up. Hopefully, if many parents speak up at once about these issues, they will be resolved this time.

    Welcome to new Midwest Moms readers Maureen, Susan and Gena! It's good to meet you! :D

    - Julia

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