I found an interesting story in this morning's paper regarding a Cosco booster seat and some serious damages that were awarded to a family that used a Cosco booster seat:
http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/news/news01/oct01/871414.html
What intrigued me most was the caption on the photo:
Am I wrong to read that as saying, "Just because the government says it's safe doesn't mean it's safe"??
Here's a very scary revelation:
And again an astounding fact:
WOW.
Folks, it's not up to the Feds in matters like this. Caviller is careful to avoid bias--properly so, no doubt--by stating that seats meet federal standards. But even proper use of this particular seat isn't good, according to the NHTSA whose guidelines the seat meets.
Go figure.
So how many other seats out there technically meet the guidelines but aren't any good? It's up to you, the parent, to investigate and decide. Don't take Uncle Sugar's word on it based solely on "it meets federal guidelines". Watching people do so is scary--almost as scary as watching them choose a child seat based on price.
In this case, people were lulled into buying this seat because it had Uncle Sugar's stamp of approval and it was cheap.
Wow.
Add to this the fact that booster seats are less regulated than seats for children under 4 years and/or 40 pounds, and you see the problems we face in trying to do the right thing for our children.
Just like with everything else with our children, it's up to us to know what to do and how to do it--and then just do it. If it means spending time on research and then paying a few bucks more for the right solution, so be it.
I will keep a PDF of this article around, in case anyone wants to see it later on after the paper archives it.
http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/news/news01/oct01/871414.html
What intrigued me most was the caption on the photo:
Wow. I found that fascinating, that a booster seat meets the NHTSA guidelines but isn't recommended by the NHTSA. Is that an indictment of the federal bureaucracy or what?<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">The Grand Explorer booster seat meets minimum standards established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But because the seat uses a padded plastic shield to restrain a child, rather than a safety harness, neither the NHTSA nor the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the seat.</font>
Am I wrong to read that as saying, "Just because the government says it's safe doesn't mean it's safe"??
Here's a very scary revelation:
Just like I said, people will go cheap regardless of the consequences. I'm astounded at that. Price is everything, even when it comes to a child's safety. Wow.<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Grand Explorer seats are popular with consumers because they usually sell for less than $20, which is one-third the cost of many other booster seats.</font>
And again an astounding fact:
The driver met head-on with a grain truck that crossed the center line, received nothing more than a scratch on the head despite wearing no seat belt, and her daughter DIED.<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Tracy Elking, whose car was traveling about 35 mph, suffered a minor cut on her forehead, even though she was not wearing a seat belt, court records show.</font>
WOW.
Folks, it's not up to the Feds in matters like this. Caviller is careful to avoid bias--properly so, no doubt--by stating that seats meet federal standards. But even proper use of this particular seat isn't good, according to the NHTSA whose guidelines the seat meets.
Go figure.
So how many other seats out there technically meet the guidelines but aren't any good? It's up to you, the parent, to investigate and decide. Don't take Uncle Sugar's word on it based solely on "it meets federal guidelines". Watching people do so is scary--almost as scary as watching them choose a child seat based on price.
In this case, people were lulled into buying this seat because it had Uncle Sugar's stamp of approval and it was cheap.
Wow.
Add to this the fact that booster seats are less regulated than seats for children under 4 years and/or 40 pounds, and you see the problems we face in trying to do the right thing for our children.
Just like with everything else with our children, it's up to us to know what to do and how to do it--and then just do it. If it means spending time on research and then paying a few bucks more for the right solution, so be it.
I will keep a PDF of this article around, in case anyone wants to see it later on after the paper archives it.