Parents – did you know car seats expire?
Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at
12:38 am
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Yes I knew about it. It’s probably for the best. I dunno.
I’m not a mom but I knew that. I would get a new car seat; money is no object when it comes to the safety of a child.
There is a date of expiration somewhere on the back of the seat.
Weird I did not know that. I wonder why….
I found out the hard way, much like you did. Our daughter ougrew 2 seats, the infant carrier seat, then the first seat we got her. Our son made it into the world just in time for the carrier to expire (it expired a month after he was born) and the car seats .. yes 2 of them one for each car expired 6 months after he got into them.
We still used the infant carrier, then sold it at a garage sale.. with a note about the expiration.
We still use the car seats.
What you were not told is WHY they expire. That is the important part.
They expire because new standards come out for the safety of the car as well as the car seats. Remember the NEW idea of the LATCH for car seats. We have 2 different seats both have the latch, both of them are different.
It is not that the seat is unsafe anymore, only that it is not as safe as it could be. Even that isnt true, the seats we are using are identical to ones being sold now (for more money) and they have the same rateing.
Check your current seat and then check out the NEW seats online and see if you spot a critical difference. If not then use the seat. I have no issues using the car seats we have now. When my daughter outgrows her booster then he can use those too.
A LOT of it goes into the fact that we did NOT buy the cheapest thing out there. We got seats that exceeded the standards, so when the standards went up, our seats were still good.
Hello this is a Great Questions… I have a 3yr old Son and he is my Life No amount of Money or looks of a Child safety seat will ever keep me from tossing it in to a trash can.. With that said i have a link for you with a great and very true story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ&feature=related
Also some have told not so right info.. Most car seats are made of plastic.. This car seat for the most part spends year round in you’re car van truck or what not ..?
OK Winter its very very cold in most place below zero…
Summer time it can get well over 120 degrees in a vehicle.. This car seat made of plastic gets very hot then very cold then hot and cold after a few years the structure begins to break down and when in an accident this allows for the over all car seat to fail leaving you’re loved one to be tossed about a car like a rag doll…
The above link also will help you link to..
http://www.hipmonkey.com/
This site sells all the top of the line car seats cheaper and no shipping over $99.00 and it helps the Kyle foundation. They also have a spot to get help if you’re child has out growing there current car seat and you are a low income family in need..
Good Luck
Tonya
Yeah, but i guess it’s for the best. Because i mean every 6 years they probably have a better safe carseat then they did 6 years ago, you know? I know what you mean with it being so expensive and i hate that too. But, i guess money isn’t an object when it comes to safety.
Yes, I have known for several years now. Texas Tiger is *wrong* about the seat not being unsafe though… the reason he gave is only one of two reasons seats expire.
The other reason is that the plastic in seats breaks down over time in ways that are not visible to the ‘naked eye’. No one can say for certain exactly when your particular seat will be come unsafe… but the carseat company has done its research and found the date they are no longer willing to guarentee it as safe.
It might make you feel a bit better about tossing the seat to see how this pretty 10 year old Britax performed in a crash test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvCRz7BRAM0
The straps pulled right out of the old plastic… scary, huh?
I not only throw away my old seats… I cut the straps to bits and take a sledge hammer to the seat so that someone *else* won’t pick it up and put their child in that seat thinking they have just made a ‘great find’.