Can I donate my car seat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh how incredibly successful the carseat makers have been at lobbying. Not only have they got everyone obessesed by them (and the Freakenomics team have it so right - seatbelts with a lower point of gravity (the over shoulder strap coming out lower in the seat) would be so much safer) BUT they have also persuaded the slightly ignorant that the things have a use-by date so you need to buy another. Like lettuce - you use it for a while and then you need a new one. It goes off! It's brilliant. I am a lobbyist. I am awed by these guys. They have made a fairly useless device the "angst fret over" thing of an entire generation of parents. I'm just sorry they didn't hire me. Quick question: other than the fact the industry wants you to buy a new one: why would you need a new carseat? Have you looked at the figures regarding how long plastic takes to biodegrade. I'll give you a clue. There are more than 4 zeros at the end of it.

The rear-facing thing for little ones is absolutely essential because of neck strength (vunlerability). You're a moron if you don't use one. But for toddlers - it's a rort.

If you have bought into this whole stupid concept then please be my guest and look at how much the industry has spent lobbying for laws/rules/regulations that support their commercial/business model. I'll try to find a link. And next time when you're addressing a question like this, how about reflecting about how is paying whom to influence your opinion. If you know, this whole thread reads like a manual on how to push personal buttons to alter public opinion.

+100 on the carseat saftey issue- love the Freakonomics guys. But the plastic is interesting. I have a friend who is a chemist. Her family are super cheap, but because of the way plastic weakens and cracks over time, they buy new car seats for each kid, and each stage.

[Anonymous]

Ms Lobbyist here again. If you think they expire because the straps wear out let me ask you how many "worn straps gave way in accident" law suits you've seen? Google tells me none (although I'd love to be corrected). You can go to the nearest nautical museum and find 18th century fabric straps which still have integrity and would hold even the chunkiest toddler in place. So, if it's true that the modern iteration are capable of 'wearing out,' then arguably they are either being designed that way or someone wants you to look at the beautiful, adored cherished child you've got and make the assumption "gosh I've got to get the SAFEST, NEWEST, car seat - ooh I know, let's go and buy a new one".

[Anonymous]

I take it you did not actually try Googling, given that "car seat failure" pulls up 12,500,000 hits (well, okay, "about 12,500,000"). Granted, not all car seat failures are harness-related, and not all failures are age-related. But the fact that any are is a good reason for manufacturers to cover themselves. Some manufacturers extend lives of seats after further testing, and longer lives are a selling point for some seats, so I don't really think it's that they're out to gouge you for new seats (especially given that most seats have six- or seven-year lifespans---longer than a single child would fit in them, and longer than two or three relatively closely spaced children would need them for, too.)

We're getting by with just one of each type of seat for two children 3.5 years apart by handing the seats down, so...yeah.

[Anonymous]

12,500,000 hits. And people still use these things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP If you are anywhere near Silver Spring I will take your carseat!!

My partner and I are in the process of adopting an infant and have saved up for all the fees/costs involved.
We are trying to save money now on baby stuff so we have money later for swimming lessons, gym classe and stuff like that.
We have been given a crib and some other items but really need an infant carseat and a pack and play still.

If you are using an agency, please check with them first. We used Adoptions Together, and their requirement at the time [2008] was that you had to have a new carseat purchased within 6 months of placement, with a receipt to prove it, or you couldn't take the baby. When we first joined the waiting pool in 2006, there was no policy, and we bought an infant seat then that we couldn't use almost two years later. Fortunately Goodwill was happy to take a new-in-box carseat, but no other agencies or charities that we called would take it because we couldn't prove that it had never been in an accident.

[Anonymous]

to the most recent PP, This is the PP who would like the carseat.

We are actually using adoptions together and they never said anything like that to us.
I actually have a new convertible seat that I bought about 6 months ago but dont know if I have the receipt.

I would like the bucket style for the first few months but am not planning on using it past the 6 months stage, too heavy
Ill use the RF convertible I already have at that point.