A wonderful blog post with good info on ERF & ERF car seats with a dash of facts, a sprinkle of her fav. seats and the cherry on top is the external links to more information! ๐ Well worth a read.
Author Archives: ERFmama
Blog is on new domain!
My dear readers! ๐
Thank you so much for following the blog for such a long time! And still I am getting email’s from readers and also new followers who follow this blog. ๐
I am writing this new post after so many years of not writing a new one just because it seems not everyone is aware that the blog is fully active at it’s new address!! ๐
I would LOVE for ย you to follow us on our new (but no longer so new) domain which is very much active and full of content and helpful tips. ๐
Our new domain is: www.erfmission.com
I hope to see you all there! I just think it’s such a shame that you are missing out on so much content and info because I probably haven’t made it clear enough that we moved. ๐
Have a wonderful summer and I hope to see you there! ๐
Drive safe!
*ERFmama*
A year later
This is the story about a little girl called Anniston Jade. When she was 3 years old she was involved in a car accident.
Her story shows us how quick our entire lives can change, in the blink of an eye… I can not begin to describe how such a thing is like, how it feels like or how devastating it is. Words escape me.
Her family wished for her story to spread so that more and more will know the importance of using the correct car seats in the car.
Little Anniston Jade is a victim of the law. Because in the eyes of the law, she was fine… but the law does not favour reality and her parents bless them, didn’t know any different.
Please take the time to read her story, learn from it, educate others as I try to educate, because when I pester you all again and again about keeping your children correctly fitted in the car seats in the car, it is because I am desperately trying to prevent something like this happening to them should you ever be involved in an accident.Anniston lost her life on January 22nd 2014, but with her body she saved lives, and her legacy will live on to help others and teach us the importance of using the correct car seats.
My thoughts go to her family and friends.
On January 12, 2014, my life was forever changed by one phone call. โBaby, I had a wreckโ was all I heard on the other end of the phone talking to our daughters dad. In a split second, our lives changed by a brief moment that caused the car to go into the other lane of oncoming traffic.
Anniston Jade was born on May 8, 2010. She was a beautiful little girl. We watched her grow everyday & like all parents, we had hopes and dreams for her. When she was born, Anniston had jet black hair and it was a straight as could be. As she grew older, it turned blonde and curly. She was the prettiest thing we had ever seen.
I will never forget her excitement as she opened up her presents on her 3rd birthday. A pack of panties made her the happiest little girl andโฆ
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The Blog has a new home!
The blog has a new home! Make sure you bookmark the new home so that you can continue to follow our updates! All current subscribers etc will be moved over as well, but just to be safe make sure you’re following us! ๐ โค
New blog address: http://www.erfmission.com
Edit: WordPress has moved over all subscribers, but if you are following my blog from a wordpress account on wordpress, you will need to follow me again on my new adress! ๐
60% of car seats are installed incorrectly!!
And 99% of parents thinks they are correctly fitted!
According to Good Egg Safety, on a national level, 6 out of 10 car seats are installed incorrectly! That is scary!
ย “Figures released by Good Egg Safety indicate a 13% rise in badly fitted child car seats in the four-year period 2010-2013.
The figures – which are based on more than 10,500 tests conducted by Good Egg across England, Scotland and Wales – show a rise in unsafe fitting
from 47% in 2010, to 55% in 2011, 57% in 2012 and 60% in 2013.” – Road Safety GB <<Article>>
That they are installed incorrectly doesn’t just mean that they look like this:
The car seat is not even installed. The seatbelt has just been strapped across the car seat and baby, and buckled in. A fatality waiting to happen!
It can be something “small” that we might not even think that much about, like this:
Straps are so loose that in the event of any impact, the child is most likely going to be sent flying out of the seat. Straps need to be nice and snug!
What can happen if the straps aren’t tight enough? This crash test video will show you (below):
Another lethal error that is seen are these:
Charlie is showing an ill fitted baby carrier. Photo cred: rearfacingtoddlers.com
The picture on the leftย shows the shoulder belt threaded in the path of where the lap belt should go, and the lap belt is going behind the seat through the path of what should be the shoulder belt. The picture on the right shows the the car seat forward facing.
The baby car seat we buy is a Group 0+ seat. They can only be installed rear facing!ย There are no “faces both ways” in this group of car seats! If the baby’s car seat is installed like this, this is what is going to happen (video below):
This crash test video shows us what an impact at 64km/h looks like if the car seat is installed incorrectly, like the two photos above. It’s not a pretty sight is it? Personally I find it a little hard to watch. ๐ฆ
Some errors are all most invisible to the naked eye..
- Foot-prop:
Always remember to make sure the green light is either “glowing” or “showing” clearly! This indicates that the foot-prop is correctly installed on the ground.
The foot prop should always have the green indicator showing clearly when snapped in place. If it doesn’t have any indicators make sure it’s firmly placed on the ground and in the correct angle according to your car seat manual.
- Harness postiion:
Britax Duelfix installed in ‘forward facing’ mode. Straps are below shoulders. This is wrong.
When the car seat is installed in the forward facing position, the correct placement of the harness is at or above the child’s shoulders. Not below, like Henry is demonstrating in this picture. This is very important becauseย when the child is forward facing during a frontal collision, the crash forces will cause the childโs body to be thrown forward. The harness straps should be positioned at or above the childโs shoulders when forward facing to most effectively decrease the amount of distance the child will travel when propelled forward and to limit the forces on the childโs spine and shoulders.
Crash test video example of wrongly positioned harness:
Britax Max Way is a rear facing car seat. Headrest is pulled to the top, making the straps go far above the child’s shoulders.
Photo credit: http://www.orbitbaby.com
During a frontal crash, the most common type of collision, the crash forces will cause a rear facing childโs body to ride up the seat shell back. The harness straps should be positioned at or below the childโs shoulders to firmly hold the child down in the car seat. If the harness straps are above the childโs shoulders when rear facing, the child would continue to ride up the seat back and potentially expose their head above the car seat shell, leaving their head vulnerable to injury. This is particularly important in infant car seats (Group 0/0+)!
- Isofix:
Isofix.
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1eBKDCZ
Even with ISOFIX seats, you can get a bad install. Here only one of the ISOFIXย connectors are properly plugged in. This can easily happen, so make sure to check that the connectors are green and good to go! ๐
- Buckle crunch:
Buckle crunch!
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1hDlVIr
Not all car seats fit in all cars. A common problem is ‘buckle crunch’. If your car seat has this, it’s not compatible with either your car, or that position in the car. Some seats offer more then one belt path and some cars have different belt buckles depending on where in the car you are. Always make sure you watch out for this! ๐
- Belt path:
Crash test video of wrong belt path install:
The car seat has red for forward facing belt path, and blue for rear facing belt path. This is universal on all car seats. Make sure you read your car seat manual fully and properly while installing your car seat! ๐
* * *
I hope this post has been informative! ๐ โค
For my post dedicated to the harness and how to keep your child safe in the car seat during colder times, please go HERE!
Click image to go to GoodEgg’s website and search for a Free car seat check near you!
Q:// Did you learn something new? Did you find this post informative?
Let me know in a comment below what type of errors you have come across! ๐
Loving the Britax Head-support!
We love our new Britax Head-support in the TWE! โค ๐
Britax TWE & BeSafe izi Plus in our Ford Mondeo -04
Caitlyn Anabelle is 3,5 years old, and Henry is now 19 months. Both very comfy and happy. ๐
3 Stages of a Collision
When one vehicle collides with another, the damages go far beyond that of broken headlights and smashed glass.
Every car crashย has three stages!ย
The first stage is the car crashing into something. Then comes the second when the people inside the car crash into the car’s interior. Hopefully the seat belt and air-bags!
Then comes the third and last stage, where ourย internal organs are banging into each other and into our ribcage, and our brain is banging around in our skull.
To minimise the damage done to us we must wear our seatbelts, and our children mustย be properly secured in their age appropriate car restraint!
The safest position for your child, is the rear facing position. It does not matter what age we are, rear facing will always be safer.
There are a large market for rear facing car seats. I have them all on the top menu under “Extended Rear Facing Car Seats” andย you can also find the “budget seats” under “The Cheaper Car Seats”.
Happy Mothersday!
I hope everyone of you lovely readers had a happy mother’s day. ๐
I got to sleep in and the kids gave me flowers and a card in bed. ๐
My 3yo wrote her name on her own and Henry (19m) had help, but it was so lovely!!
Tough Love
Amazing…and so true. โค
A Rear Facing Family 