best infant ride on toys image
julie.cipr
I am going to be getting my son a new car seat because he no longer fits in his old one. The new one is forward facing. In the old car seat, we have a bar that has rattles and a light up musical frog that my son loves to play with. Anyone have any ideas for an awesome car seat toy? I'm looking for the best one out there, one that I haven't seen on my google searches. Thank you!!
Answer
When deciding on any toy to be allowed in the car, think about what's going to happen in an accident and it goes flying. This will sound silly, but its a simple test to decide whether it should be allowed as a toy in the car: smack yourself upside the head with it. did it hurt? If not, go for it, if it hurt you, think about how much more it will hurt a baby, whose skull is softer, and when in an accident it will hit with a lot more force. Ican't at all remember who made them, but check your local kids resale shop (like Once Upon a Child) since they seem to have them often: soft toy steering wheels so child can play-drive while in the car.
However, a bigger issue here, would be how old is your child and what size? Sounds like he's outgrowing an infant carrier car seat? Kids do not go from infant carrier seat straight to forward facing seat. The next step is a rear facing convertible car seat. Most state laws require kids to be rear facing until at least 20lbs and 1 year, but more importantly, the laws of physics say kids should stay rear facing as long as they possibly can. Its THAT much safer. The old 20lbs/1 year rule is just that. OLD. It came about in the 1980's when our seats were only capable of rear facing to 20lbs and we didn't know any better. Now we definitely know better and all current convertible seats rear face to at least 30lbs, but its hard getting people to realize this.
Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life!
1)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.
2)A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.
3)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.
4)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)
It works this way: when you get in an accident and run into something, the car stop suddently, but everything and everyone in the car keeps moving in the direction the car was moving when it stopped, in most accidents, this is forward. So in an accident with a child in a forward facing seat, his head, the heaviest part of the body on babies and toddlers, flies forward very forcefully and easily snaps. If that same child is in a rear facing seat, his head tries to fly forward but is supported by the back of the rear facing seat, so there is no stress put on the child's neck and spine.
Check out this photo album exclusively of rear facing kids, many of them much older than 12 months: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum.aspx There isn't a single documented case of a child breaking their legs b/c they were rear facing in an accident. There are, however, lots of cases where children have been killed and seriously injured where a rear facing seat would have protected them better. And most kids actually prefer to be rear facing b/c they can rest their feet on the vehicle seat back. When they are forward facing, their legs don't receive enough support and will frequently fall asleep.
WHY REAR FACING:
http://www.carseat.org/Resources/633.pdf
In the foreground is a forward facing seat, in the background a rear facing seat. You can see how much trauma the forward facing dummy has to endure. The rear facing child simply rides it out.
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/videos/test2002/frontcrash/maxicosipriori.mpg
Here's another video. You can see how there is NO trauma to the baby, it simply sits there waiting for it to end.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v163/jen_nah/carseats/?action=view¤t=video06A_MGA_213_RearFace-Convertib.flv
The story of a child who suffered severe injuries from being forward facing when he could've been rear facing:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=59783
When deciding on any toy to be allowed in the car, think about what's going to happen in an accident and it goes flying. This will sound silly, but its a simple test to decide whether it should be allowed as a toy in the car: smack yourself upside the head with it. did it hurt? If not, go for it, if it hurt you, think about how much more it will hurt a baby, whose skull is softer, and when in an accident it will hit with a lot more force. Ican't at all remember who made them, but check your local kids resale shop (like Once Upon a Child) since they seem to have them often: soft toy steering wheels so child can play-drive while in the car.
However, a bigger issue here, would be how old is your child and what size? Sounds like he's outgrowing an infant carrier car seat? Kids do not go from infant carrier seat straight to forward facing seat. The next step is a rear facing convertible car seat. Most state laws require kids to be rear facing until at least 20lbs and 1 year, but more importantly, the laws of physics say kids should stay rear facing as long as they possibly can. Its THAT much safer. The old 20lbs/1 year rule is just that. OLD. It came about in the 1980's when our seats were only capable of rear facing to 20lbs and we didn't know any better. Now we definitely know better and all current convertible seats rear face to at least 30lbs, but its hard getting people to realize this.
Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life!
1)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.
2)A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.
3)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.
4)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)
It works this way: when you get in an accident and run into something, the car stop suddently, but everything and everyone in the car keeps moving in the direction the car was moving when it stopped, in most accidents, this is forward. So in an accident with a child in a forward facing seat, his head, the heaviest part of the body on babies and toddlers, flies forward very forcefully and easily snaps. If that same child is in a rear facing seat, his head tries to fly forward but is supported by the back of the rear facing seat, so there is no stress put on the child's neck and spine.
Check out this photo album exclusively of rear facing kids, many of them much older than 12 months: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum.aspx There isn't a single documented case of a child breaking their legs b/c they were rear facing in an accident. There are, however, lots of cases where children have been killed and seriously injured where a rear facing seat would have protected them better. And most kids actually prefer to be rear facing b/c they can rest their feet on the vehicle seat back. When they are forward facing, their legs don't receive enough support and will frequently fall asleep.
WHY REAR FACING:
http://www.carseat.org/Resources/633.pdf
In the foreground is a forward facing seat, in the background a rear facing seat. You can see how much trauma the forward facing dummy has to endure. The rear facing child simply rides it out.
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/videos/test2002/frontcrash/maxicosipriori.mpg
Here's another video. You can see how there is NO trauma to the baby, it simply sits there waiting for it to end.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v163/jen_nah/carseats/?action=view¤t=video06A_MGA_213_RearFace-Convertib.flv
The story of a child who suffered severe injuries from being forward facing when he could've been rear facing:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=59783
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep a 4mth old happy while riding in a carseat?
Mich35
I have toys that hang from the infant seat handle. I have one of those mirrored/lightup toys. I've also just started putting stuffed animals in front of her so she can talk to them. This is helping a little. Is there anything else I can do?
Answer
Some good advice so far.
Re: infant seat handles being REQUIRED to be down in the car, not true. Some are required, some aren't. Read your manual to be sure. Graco allows you to keep it up if you want. At least one infant seat actually requires you to leave the handle UP in the car. So double-check those manuals!
Only soft toys or mirrors in the car. A one-pound object becomes a 30-pound object flying at you in a 30 mile an hour crash. If it's not something you would actually be okay with throwing at your head, don't bring it in the car.
Some babies are just really unhappy car riders, no matter what. As a previous poster said, angle can have a lot to do with it. If your baby has good head and neck control you can move him/her to a convertible carseat, still rear-facing, of course, and install it as upright as is comfortable for your baby, but no more than about a 30 degree angle. 45 degree angle is only required for infants without good head control.
Please don't think that turning baby around at 1 year old and 20 pounds is the "cure" for this. My daughter became a much unhappier car rider when she was 13 months old and 25 pounds and I turned forward. Her legs dangle when forward, putting strain on her back. When rear-facing she can rest her legs on the vehicle seatback, almost like a recliner chair. She also started getting carsick. :o(
Knowing what I know now, I'd have kept her rear-facing to the maximum limits of her convertible carseat, which was 35 pounds. All seats on the market in the US today rear-face to at least 30 pounds, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended for 5 years now to keep kids rear-facing to the maximum limits of a convertible seat for optimum safety. Too bad lots of pediatricians don't keep up-to-date with their own agency's policy statements, and still recommend the outdated policy.
Some good advice so far.
Re: infant seat handles being REQUIRED to be down in the car, not true. Some are required, some aren't. Read your manual to be sure. Graco allows you to keep it up if you want. At least one infant seat actually requires you to leave the handle UP in the car. So double-check those manuals!
Only soft toys or mirrors in the car. A one-pound object becomes a 30-pound object flying at you in a 30 mile an hour crash. If it's not something you would actually be okay with throwing at your head, don't bring it in the car.
Some babies are just really unhappy car riders, no matter what. As a previous poster said, angle can have a lot to do with it. If your baby has good head and neck control you can move him/her to a convertible carseat, still rear-facing, of course, and install it as upright as is comfortable for your baby, but no more than about a 30 degree angle. 45 degree angle is only required for infants without good head control.
Please don't think that turning baby around at 1 year old and 20 pounds is the "cure" for this. My daughter became a much unhappier car rider when she was 13 months old and 25 pounds and I turned forward. Her legs dangle when forward, putting strain on her back. When rear-facing she can rest her legs on the vehicle seatback, almost like a recliner chair. She also started getting carsick. :o(
Knowing what I know now, I'd have kept her rear-facing to the maximum limits of her convertible carseat, which was 35 pounds. All seats on the market in the US today rear-face to at least 30 pounds, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended for 5 years now to keep kids rear-facing to the maximum limits of a convertible seat for optimum safety. Too bad lots of pediatricians don't keep up-to-date with their own agency's policy statements, and still recommend the outdated policy.
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