- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Nurseries and Baby Gear
funkymonkeyohyeahhh
member
Car seat "experts"- A question
funkymonkeyohyeahhh
member
I am wondering if a certain seat is considered "safe". I can't find a photo of what I'm talking about online, but I will do my best to describe it. It's a toddler seat with a waist bar that goes up and down, like on a roller coaster ride. The bar comes down over the head to the waist.
My neighbors are taking care of their 2-3 year old grandson and they are very poor. I have wondered about how safe the seat is that they use. It looks very, very old but I am not well-educated on car seat safety. If it's recalled or considered "old technology", I'd like to buy them a new seat and just place it on their front porch anonymously.
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Car seat "experts"- A question
I'm no expert but I do know that car seats expire after 6 years b/c the plastic in them breaks down. So if it "looks very, very old" it is probably expired.
That's very thoughtful of you to buy them a new seat!
Is it safer than no car seat at all? Maybe. Is it safe compared to what is on the market now? Absolutely not. As the pp mentioned, it's almost certainly expired.
As of a few years ago there was a manufacturer that was still marketing these, so it's possible that the seat is not expired (very unlikely though), but that particular style of seat is not manufactured anymore for a reason - they are not as safe as a 5-point harness.
TTC since 11/05...ectopic pg 4/08...early m/c 6/09...BFP 10/5/09!
Nora B...June 15, 2010...8lbs, 8oz...Med-free birth!
TTC #2 since 7/11...cycle #3 of Clomid + IUI = BFP
Malcolm...September 21, 2012...8lbs, 6oz...Another med-free birth!
That style of car seat isn't as safe but I think they're still being manufactured. Here is a link with some more info. If it looks really old though, it is probably expired, which is a safety concern. Here is some more info about car seat expiration.
I think buying them a new seat is such a nice thing to do!
med-free birth x2, breastfeeding, baby wearing SAHM
My BFP Chart
That sounds like the same kind of car seat I had as a kid... so I would guess it is probably WAY outdated. Maybe if you run across a great deal (as in, pretty much free) on a used newer one you could give it to them and just tell them you got it for free and thought they might want a newer one for him?
ETA: Or the anonymous gift idea is great too - I didn't read that far into your post
.
The last time I saw one of those seats was about 9 years ago when my cousin was in one. I am not so sure it was new then either. I would not use it.
A friend of mine is a certified car seat tech. They give out seats to people who can not afford them. Maybe see if there are programs like that in your area?
i had one of those with my first son 14yrs ago...
i'm pretty sure i haven't seen any of those in at least 5yrs, so i would bet that it's expired and unsafe for that reason...
apparently the bar wasn't very safe to begin with so that's why they're not made like that...
i would say they could definitely use a newer one
They were still being made by Cosco (I think it was Cosco) until a few years ago. So, it should be getting near the expiration. I have actually seen about 3 of these in the last few weeks.
I think they nicknamed them skull crushers or something like that.
I think it is awesome of you to be thinking of them (and their grandson!). I know that you can get a Cosco Scenera (which is rated highly) for around $40 sometimes less.
Thanks for the replies ladies. I feel like one of those weird creeper neighbors because I am constantly peeking out the window when the little boy comes out side lately. I've been trying to figure out how big/old I think he is so I can get him a proper seat, haha.
These people are seriously batshitcrazy so if I did get them a new one, I would just take it out of the box and put a note on it at their door. If I left it in the box, I am sure they would return it and take the money. Both grandparents work at Wal-Mart so it's a wonder to me why they haven't bought one already with their discount.
They won't ever speak to me, but they've made friends with my husband because he gives them all of our aluminum cans when he takes out the recycling because he noticed they were picking them out of our recycling box anyway. (Apparently they cash them in.) Maybe I'll have him ask about their grandson casually some time.
Anyway, thanks again for your help! I am glad I wasn't just being judgy about the seat and it legitimately is out of date/not preferred.
ETA: Good idea about a possible local program. I'll look around online and see. If not, I'll hit up Wal-Mart since a couple of you mentioned there are some good deals there.