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Safe and snug through the car wash

There’s nothing overtly remarkable about the new Britax Roundabout 50. Sure, it is safe for children up to 50 pounds with the 5-point harness. Yeah, it has the Britax patented Versa-Tether strap on the back. And yes, it’s pretty. But those are not the most important things about this car seat, not according to this mom.

It’s easy to install.

How many hours of your life have you spent fighting to get your child’s car seat installed just right? Have you actually driven to one of those car seat safety centers, or sought the help of your fire or police stations? In our family, car seat installation usually includes a lot of sweat, cursing, and argument. There are often rolled-up towels involved.

One the day I wanted to put the new Roundabout into my car, courtesy of Britax itself, I asked my husband to do the deed before he left for work. Of course he forgot, and I forgot to remind him, and I was down one car seat with no choice but to do the install myself. I took a deep breath and went in.

And I was finished in about 30 seconds.

Oh wait. First I ignored the directions, just like a man, and did it wrong. Parents, please read the directions. Learn from my mistake. You will thank me. You must take the LATCH strap from where it is stored in the seat during delivery, and move it to the lower openings. Only then will you be able to stretch the strap long enough to click the latches into both latch loops in your car without using superhuman strength, which apparently I possess because I succeeded in totally doing it wrong the first time.

But! Once I read the instructions I installed this bad boy in about 30 seconds. It is snug, safe, and looks fantastic. And thank goodness it will allow my boy to sit in a 5-point harness for a bit longer.

Recently there was an incident in which a Britax seat saved a child in a crash with a train!  Here is a special video about that story.

Volvo City Safety On The Road video

I recently had an opportunity to test the brand-new Volvo XC60 Crossover with City Safety installed, and was extremely impressed with the system. 

Basically it allows for the vehicle to stop automatically if it senses a pending collision and you are going between 2 and 18 mph. As long as you are not actively steering, accelerating,  or braking the system will apply the brakes at up to 50%. Under 9 mph this will result in a complete stop and accident avoidance, between 9-18 mph this will result in a near-stop, and accident reduction.

On a test track Volvo had laid out for us, the vehicle did in fact stop and avoid the obstruction, but only on my second run. First time through, I braked before the system had a chance to kick in. When City Safety does stop the vehicle, it feels very abrupt to the driver.

This is another safety innovation from Volvo that for now is only available on the forthcoming XC60, and will only prevent collisions with objects resembling another car in shape and size. 

Volvo safety engineer Thomas Broberg, inventor of the City Safety system, let us in on a little secret: it will protect pedestrian/bicycle collisions when it becomes available on the 2010 S60. My guess is, knowing Volvo, all future models after 2011 will have some version of the feature.

The IIHS came out with a booster seat study today, highlighting the need for parents to be more conscious of their choice of carseats. A comprehensive study found that several popular models of booster seats were failing to do their job properly.

In a nutshell, belt positioning boosters only work to restrain and keep a child safe if the booster elevates the child to a seating position where a lap/shoulder belt fits across their body properly. A poor fit can actually increase the risk of abdominal injury in a crash. Although this premise is a simple one, the differences in the car seats and belts in various cars, and the assorted shapes and sizes of kids who might be seated in a booster, make evaluating booster seat fit complex and difficult. Additionally, boosters that can be used with and without the backrest portion, need to be evaluated as two separate entities.

In the end, the IIHS came out with a list of seats that performed (best and worst), when tested in several car models by an average sized six year old. Interestingly, many of the models that performed poorly are "convertible" styles that advertise themselves as the only seat you will ever need to buy. These same seats may have received favorable ratings in their five point harness and/or rear facing modes, but fall down miserably when used as a backless booster.

The study, while canning several models of boosters, is also a reminder of our need to be vigilant. It’s not enough to pop our kids in a booster seat, if the seat does nothing to keep our kids safe. We need to check the belt fit in every car/booster combination that our children ride in. Also of note – price had little to do with the list of seats recommended. Favorable ratings were giving to seats in multiple price categories.

If nothing else, this study is a good argument to keep kids in five-point harnesses as long as possible.

No one wants to plan for an emergency, but a little bit of planning goes a long way towards making the most of your vacation days and can help prevent a tragedy. Worth the effort!

If you are planning a trip then you will want to check out some of the offerrings at the Chicks and Cubs website.  Some picks to consider:

1. Physical IDs for children to have all the information they need, ON them, to get back to parents quickly if they become lost. ID bracelets, Shoe Stickers, Shoe Tags, Dog Tags, Temporary Tattoos, Electronic Child Locator ($8.00-$30.00)

2. Wallet IDs These are great for putting all the important information in one place. Parents carry the card and hand it over to authorities if you child is lost. Also great for giving to other caregivers (child care on a cruise, playdates,…). This can also be a physical ID for tweens/teens – since they don’t have a drivers license yet. ($10.00 for 5 cards)

3. Parking Pal Magnet This is a magnet that you put on your car. It gives children something to do while you get babies and/or other gear out of the car so they don’t dart out into traffic in a parking lot. (set of 2 magnets for $16.00)

4. Information for before you go on a trip (to busy, crowded places!!). Kid Escape! from Child Abductors DVD – teaches kids physical moves to try there very best to ESCAPE from an abductor.  ($12.00)

5. Mini First Aid  Kit This first aid kit is great for little scrapes. Great size for diaper bag, camera bag, purse. ($6.00)