There’s More to Car Seat Safety Than Proper Installation

Ad for http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/kids

If you are Canadian, have you seen the ad above yet? Do you know that car seats expire? Do you know why?

While trying to buy a used car seat/stroller travel system online I was amazed by how many people listed expired car seats for sale. Most didn’t even know they expired. This is not good. If someone else who doesn’t realize they expire buys from them, there are more people using expired car seats around. They expire for a reason!

What reason?

1. The material it’s made out of doesn’t last forever. Plastic breaks down or gets small fractures too small to see but enough to cause danger. Straps deteriorate. Even the safety stickers and labels fade or wear away. 
2. As new safety features come out, older car seats won’t have them and therefore won’t be as safe as a newer car seat.
3. Car seats haven’t been tested past 5 or 6 years. So we don’t know how much danger the above two mentioned points would cause.

The average car seat lasts 6 years but different brands last different lengths. Expiration dates are printed on the underside of the car seat and base. You can also check out the Transport Canada website for how long common cars eats last.

Please do NOT use an expired car seat or sell it to someone else. The bases expire too. Don’t just throw them out though either. If you put it to the curb, someone else will take it home and use it. It is recommended that you cut the straps

Furthermore… in Canada, you are ONLY supposed to use car seats manufactured in Canada as they are the only ones that bear the National Safety Mark which ensures it’s been tested by Transport Canada.

If throwing out a car seat or turning down a great sale in the USA seems like a pain to you, remember, IT’S A MATTER OF CHILD SAFETY!