November 9, 2009
We paid quite a lot of money for our babies car seat and it fits perfectly into our car seat and dosent move an inch when it is fitted. My mother in law on the other hand got one that was really cheap and to me it dosent feel as tightly secure as mine does, ours is pretty heavy and hers is really light. Are car seats all just as safe as each other because they need to meet certain standards or do you think I should be concerned about it and maybe ask her to use mine insted? I do kind of want to ask her to use mine but I dont want to be rude, I dont know if I am worrying for no reason, as you can tell I’m pretty confused! What do you think I should do?
I think all car seats have to pass tests and requirements before being put on the market. Just make sure it is buckeled into the car right and TIGHT. That is important. If the seat wiggles and moves then it needs to be adjusted.
Just because you pay $300 doesn’t mean your car seat is better than the $80 one. You can compare the features of the seats online. I payed $80-$110 each for both of mine. They work just fine…one is heavier than the other, but it has more features and cushioning…same brand.
have her make sure it is installed correctly by taking to get inspected (call the hospital and ask where to do it) on my instructions it says its ok if it moves an inch in any direction.
Technically, all seats must pass the same standards, so all are safe, on the surface. However – there are differences between the cheap/pricier seats that can mean a safer seat. Its not the seat itself – its in how easy it is to install and use. B/c the easier it is to use, the more likely it will be used correctly. Also, sometimes the cheaper seast don’t have any EPS foam (like the cosco Scenera) which helps absorb impact. The Scenera is a great budget seat that techs recommend all the time b/c its only $45 and rear faces to 35lbs. However, it has no EPS foam. Another thing that sometimes incredibly cheap seats miss the boat on, is that they don’t last a child long enough to keep them safely in it until they’re ready for the next level of seat. Parents buy one thinking it will last the child till booster age, and it won’t.
So they all start out equal – but once you start using them is when those extra tidbits can make the dfiference in safety. No matter how much it cost – if it is installed correctly (less than 1″ of movement in any direction) and used correctly 100% of the time, its a safe seat.
As for asking her to use yours – if you want her to, that’s your prerogitive as the parent. However, keep in mind that the more often you uninstall/install the seat, the more likely it is it will be installed incorrectly. over 80% of seats are installed/used incorrectly and won’t protect a child in a crash. All seats are made of the same plastics, but there is differences in padding. The biggest difference is in how easy or hard they are to install. For example, the Britax Marathon installs easily in almost every vehicle. Its easy to instal and use, making it more likely it will be used correctly. Those Alpha Omega/3-in-1 seats, however, are rather difficult to install and use, making it much more likely they’ll be used or installed wrong.
Make sense?