soapbox

I have a thing for car-seat safety. Yes I am "one of those moms" Yep, my 7 1/2 year old JUST started using the seat belt with a booster instead of being harnessed with the 5 point buckels, and my 5 1/2 year old is still in the 5 point.

Did you know,

Oregon law is:
~rear facing in a 5 point restraint until 1 year AND 20lbs
~ in a 5 point restraint until the child is 4 AND 40lbs. This does not mean your 39lbs 6 year old can be in a booster seat or heaven forbid only the seat belt.
~booster seat until the child is 4 foot 9 inches tall or are 8 years old.
(yes my oldest child will not be 4'9" by the time he is 8 and he will still be in a booster)
~seat belts OFTEN fail. Please watch this short video all the way thru
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ
~you can buy harnessed car seats that exceed the 40lb limit most seats go to.
See these
http://www.albeebaby.com/britax-marathon-convertible-car-seat-onyx.html

http://www.albeebaby.com/britax-frontier-convertible-booster-car-seat-canyon.html

http://www.albeebaby.com/britax-regent-youth-car-seat-onyx.html

http://www.albeebaby.com/graco-nautilus-3-in-1-car-seat-8j00mtx-matrix.html

there are other's out there in various price ranges as well.

~car seats expire, there is a date on every car seat, plastic deteriorates in the sun and heat.
~high backed boosters are the safest type of booster if you do not have the option of keeping your child harnessed.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_on_go_ot/booster_seats

While I am at it did you know that like 75% or some really high % of carseats are not installed correctly. Some of the most common mis-installations are
~not locking the seatbelt (pulling the belt all the way out so it clicks as it pulls back in, this helps keep the seat tight)
~having the seat to loose, there is suppose to be less than 1/2 of "play" on the seat belt, in other words, the carseat should not be able to move around.
~not having the top part of the buckel just under the child's chin, this helps prevent them from flying out
~ not having the 5 point straps tight
~having the handle up on a infant seat
~not having an infant seat level




so the reason for my soap box, today my 5 year old had a field trip to the pumpkin patch, of the 8 kids that did not ride with parents, 3 of them had car-seats (boosters) and the other 5 did not.