Parental Choice
(under construction)
What does that mean? Well, sometimes there are gray areas when it comes to choices you must make when keeping your children safe. You always want to follow your manufacturer's instructions, but sometimes they conflict with Best Practice. Sometimes a manufacturer will say something that is not necessarily a safety issue, but rather than risk liability, they cover themselves and say don't do it.
Not all touch choices are "Parental Choice" issues. For example, turning a too-young child forward facing is not a "tough choice". It is the parent's choice to make, but the evidence is clear that the risks of doing so are very, very high.
Here are a few "parental choice" issues, and my opinions on them.
Top tethering past the stated weight of your vehicle's tether anchors.
Tether anchors have a weight limit. Your vehicle manufacturer will not tell you it is safe to exceed them. However, there has never been an incidence of a top tether failing in a real-world crash. Test results indicate that were the top tether anchor to fail in a crash, it would be after it has accomplished it's pupose. It is my opinion, based on a great deal of research, that it is desirable to continue to use a top tether with all forward facing seats as long as a designated tether anchor is available. PLEASE NOTE: This does NOT apply to the weight limits on your lower anchors! (aka LATCH anchors) These weights ARE set in stone. Do not exceed them. We do not know what would happen in a crash if the weights on the lower anchors is greater than that which the manufacturer allows.
Using a child seat past the stated HEIGHT limit.
Height limits are generally regarded as fluid guidelines. This is because children (and adults) can carry their height differently. Two children can both be 36" tall, but one can be all legs and have plenty of room to rear facing, and the other can be all torso and need a taller seat. However, NHTSA regulations require a standing height limit listed for each seat. It is the parent's choice to exceed those limits as long as their child has not outgrown the seat.
A rear facing seat is outgrown when there is less than one inch of seat shell above the child's head (regardless of overall height). A forward facing seat is outgrown by height when EITHER the shoulders are above the top harness slots* OR the ears are above the top of the seat.
* The Sunshine Kids Radian does allow the shoulders to exceed the top slots by one inch, however there is some concern among technicians as to the wisdom of this rule.
Choosing a booster vs. harnessed seat for an older child.
I generally recommend a harnessed seat to 5 to 6 years old, depending on the child. However some parents wish to move an older child into a harnessed seat. A child over the age of 6 generally does well in a booster. While a harness is safer, statistically at this age a child using a booster properly is VERY safe. While I will not discourage a parent choosing to keep their child harnessed to the limit, I have no issues with a parent choosing a booster for their school-age child.
Children in the front seat.
Children do not belong in the front seat, but in the real world sometimes a parent has no choice, especially in small sedans or when a family suddenly increases in size unexpectedly.
If a child MUST ride in the front seat, you want the most protected child in the least protected spot.
In a vehicle with a passenger side airbag a rear facing child should NEVER use the front seat. In a crash the airbag will deploy and decapitate the child.
If there is an airbag you want the oldest HARNESSED child in the front seat, with the seat pushed back as far as it will go.
If there is NOT an airbag, a rear facing seat can be installed there and would indeed follow the "most protected child in the least protected spot" rule.
I will be adding additional parental choices, with my opinions on them, soon.
This page was last modified on Tuesday, July 08, 2008 02:05:48 PM