The Importance of a 5-Point Harness Carseat
The carseat debate rages on - parents today are unsure of what's best or what's right - I myself have had questions - I stopped putting my daughter in a car seat at the age of 3 and put her into a booster - with my son - he will be 3 in just days (on the 13 th of Nov.) and is still and will continue to be in a 5 point harness car seat! - This video just imbeds that thought into my head even more so...Please share it with your friends, neighbors or anyone you know with children - but beware, it's quite sad!
3 Comments:
Thanks for sharing this! How can any parent not shed a tear when watching this. I also thought a booster was okay. I will not make this mistake! Thanks!
When I saw this post come through our Mom Pack list for approval, I thought, "ok, this is just another one of *those* warnings". But, something told me to look at it to see as I am a mom of 6 and anything to do with children holds a special place in my heart. I'm balling my eyes out right now. My heart goes out to his family. I have my car seats in tact and had them installed professionally. My husband's in the field of experiencing accidents every single day so I hear it all first hand. Anything can happen. Special thanks to whoever created this video! -Julie
This is what I shared with a Yahoo group back when the video made its rounds:
I've been researching all day the information that we got from the
video this morning. This is going to make this even harder to
swallow.
The video suggests that a 5-point harness would have saved this
baby's life. That is IF the LATCH system was used instead of the
seat belt and IF it would have performed the way we expect it to.
Unfortunately. LATCH systems are only rated for up to 48 lbs. (or
somewhere around that number). There are problems with LATCH and it is possible for these tethers to fail just as easily as the seatbelt can fail. Here is a CR article: http://tinyurl.com/rpwzx
One important thing I learned (and it's stated in the article above)
is that you aren't supposed to use both LATCH and the seatbelt. My
thought would have been to use both and have the second as back up
should either system fail. In one of the articles I read (possibly
the same one above) regular boosters using the seatbelt were
considered safer than seats using LATCH.
All that said, the real problem is not what type of car seat you
use, but the seat belt in your car. http://tinyurl.com/sfd5j This
article will make you sick. We have no idea how often they fail
because manufactures don't want to report them. (???!!!)
5-point harnesses are safer when they prevent a small child from
getting out of the seatbelt during regular driving or a crash.
During safety tests the booster/seatbelt system worked amazingly well. One thing to make sure of is that you either buckle your child in, or have them test that it is buckled by trying to pull apart the latch at the buckle. Another thing the 5-point is good for is putting your child in the middle of a bench seat (which is the safest spot) where there is often just a lap belt. 5-points may also make a difference in the seatbelt functioning since it is left buckled and not buckled/unbuckled every time your child gets in/out.
(Can buckles wear out?)
I also wanted to share my friend's site since this is another
automobile issue we need to be aware of.
http://www.thezoiefoundation.org/
I did purchase two Regent car seats for my children, and wanted to point out that these seats come with a tether strap to hold onto the seat should the seatbelt fail.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home