Wellness Wednesday is sponsored by Intermountain Health
Parents…remember that feeling at the hospital when you drove your child home for the first time. Overwhelmed by the responsibility for the well being of another human? The first place you put your baby was in car seat.
Depending on which survey you check, somewhere between 75 and 80 percent of Americans shop online. However, that doesn’t mean most of us are savvy Internet shoppers, sometimes putting our loved ones at risk.
Counterfeit car seats are popping up on many reputable online retail websites, and some well-meaning parents are paying real money only to get duped.
“These are coming from reputable retailers, but they are third party vendors,” said Michelle Jameson, community health program manager for Primary Children’s Hospital.
“So the big worry is the car seats that are on the market are tested to a federal crash standard. The chest clip…all of the different features that have to be standard, even that whip strap has to be a standard width. So we worry about the safety of the child in a crash,” said Jameson.
Let’s compare. The name brand car seat has glaring warning stickers in Spanish and English, an owner’s manual and a registration card. The counterfeit car seat has none.
Turn the seat around and on the name brand seat you’ll see a metal clip the width of a nylon belt and extensive stitching. On the counterfeit car seat you’ll see a much narrower belt loop around each other. If any strap fails, every strap fails. Another major factor? The connections on the front of the belt.
With an authentic car seat you’ll find a five point harness and a chest clip, which keeps the baby’s body in place.
If you see these warning signs on a car seat, don't wait a month before you do something about it.
Jameson said, “Give us a call at Primary. We're happy to do a virtual check to walk you through it.”
The whole point? Letting you know what’s safest, because you already know why it’s so important. Your car seat carries the most precious cargo in the whole world, so you’ve got to get the right one.
For more information and to set up a car seat check, click here.
