Well, here I am writing about car seats again! If you remember, I first discussed the topic back in October when I originally saw HealthyStuff.org’s car seat safety rankings, which is based on the presence of hazardous flame retardants and chemical additives. Since then, I have accessed the list for my own purposes as I have been doing research in order to buy my growing son his next seat. It seems that HealthyStuff.org has expanded their list and added some other features to make it easier to search for particular brands.
How Safe is Your Child?
Because picking out a car seat is one of the more important and costly decisions a parent has to make, I thought I would revisit the topic. If you are going about it the right way, you have probably spent an immense amount of time trying to find the safest car seat for your child. I know that for this recent purchase, I have spent hours. I talk to friends about what they have, I look for the seats with the best car crash safety ratings, I read user ratings and then I cross reference that list with HealthyStuffs.org’s list.
Here’s why HealthyStuff.org’s information so important. “Over 150, 2011-model car seats were tested for bromine (associated with brominated flame retardants); chlorine (indicating the presence of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC and plasticizers); lead; other heavy metals, and allergens. These substances have been linked to allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, and cancer. Heat and UV-ray exposure in cars can accelerate the breakdown of these chemicals and possibly increase their toxicity. Babies are the most vulnerable population in terms of exposure, since their bodily systems are still developing and they spend many hours in their car seats” (HealthyStuff.org). While there were some car seats that were found to have little to no chemicals, over sixty percent of them do! Before buying your next car seat, please see this link to HealthyStuff.org’s list.
This car seat received one of the better scores in HealthyStuff.org's test for chemicals
Where to start your research: When it comes time for you to purchase your next car seat, start by looking at the HealthyStuff.org’s Car Seat List. Use the list to locate the brands and models that are rated as having ‘low’ or ‘no’ toxic chemicals. Then take those models and research their crash test, user and third party reviewer ratings. It’s important to note that one model of car seat containing a low rating for containing toxic chemicals may be rated high in another color or fabric choice!
So what else can we do? Besides choosing to buy the car seats that have rated at LOW or NONE on healthystuff.org’s ratings, we can get in touch with the car seat manufacturers and demand safer options, asking them to get rid of the chemicals – perhaps they do not know that wool is a natural flame retardant that they can use instead!
References
Gearhart, Jeff. Hazardous Flame Retardants and Chemical Additives Found in over Half of 2011 Child Car Seats Tested by HealthyStuff.org. HealthyStuff.org. August 3, 2011. Web. December 2011.
where can I access car crash safety ratings?
you can either subscribe to consumer reports or google each car seat you are looking at along with the words ‘safety ratings’ and ratings will come up
Thank you for your in-site on Car Seat Purchasing Tips for Safety. This is something that didn’t cross my mind until I came across your blog when I was researching nutrition, vaccinations, and other scary factors that are in our country. By the way … Love your responce above
How many children die from being in a car accident and not being a seat compared to the children that die from the chemicals? Get your priorities right.
Seriously? If you read my article in full you will have seen that more than once I recommend reviewing the crash test ratings when choosing a car seat. Checking for the chemicals is in addition to making sure a car seat is safe for crashes. I prefer to have my children as safe as possible – both in case of an accident and when they are in the seat every other moment we are driving somewhere. Not sure how that makes my priorities not right.
This article is for those of us parents who want to go the extra mile =]
Healthystuff only checks for certain chemicals too so it is not the “end all be all” to chemical safety! Most of the “safe”ones are LOADED with toxic phosphates and other toxic chemicals!