WWYD - Car Seats

[sangtarah]

Grandparents have two forward-facing car seats from 5+ years ago. Cosco and Evenflo brand. They have been stored in an outside shed (in FL).  My dc are 5yo (41lbs) and 2yo (21lbs). 2yo still faces backwards at home. We can fly with our rear-facing seat, but it may not fit in their vehicle. Grandparents do not often have children stay with them (sometimes my nephew uses a car seat when there), and they think it's silly to buy new seats. 

Would you buy new car seats for the grandparents house? 

[SKL]

I would not buy a new seat.

[bolt.]

I’d check the expiry date as the best way to assess the level of plastic degradation. If they are expired I’d choose another option (travel with, buy new, rent).

The plastic really does degrade. I’ve had part of an expired car seat snap in my hands as I tried to tighten a strap. It was a viscerally terrifying moment. It would have done *nothing* for my baby in a collision.

[Arcadia]

We bought Cosco Scenara car seat when my kids were infants because it was the cheapest car seat that could be used on planes and rental sedans/minivans. We bought because my in-laws think car seats are a nuisance and they obliged only because they don’t want demerit points and a fine. In your scenario, I’ll buy and bring along for your rear facing two year old and be less worried using their forward facing car seat (if in good condition) for your five year old.

[Katy]

I'd get on amazon and have the two cheapest seats that fit your safety requirements shipped to their house.

[HomeAgain]

Yes, and I actually have done this.  DS was at a weird size where he fit in my car just fine but not MIL's, so I bought a new seat immediately after arriving.

If you can fly with your seats, that would absolutely be my first option.  I'd also send an email to the manufacturer and ask about the front seats touching (some allow it, some don't, some are vague).  Buying slim/small seats would be my second option, and my no way in hell option would be using seats stored out in a shed that are near their expiration date.  I figure it this way: these are emergency devices.  The goal is to not have them fail in an emergency.  Since Cosco and Evenflo already like to skirt around the truth I wouldn't put my kid in one without knowing exactly how its been stored, what the recalls are, and if everything is up to date.  And even then, I would put my kid in something other than those two companies.

[HomeAgain]

4 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

I’m not terribly worried about a lot of the car seat expiration drama unless they’ve been dropped or in a crash.  The brittle plastic thing and faded or fraying straps have been dealt with in some good blog posts, and those also outline what actual level of damage should be counted as discard time.  It was very helpful to have a visual from actual car seat techs.

I’d probably be comfortable with the seats remaining in use infrequently for grandma and grandpa, if buying news ones was genuinely onerous.  Otherwise there are some good, inexpensive forward facing options to consider that you may just gift them and be done with it.

 

Do you have any links? 

[Bambam]

I'd either purchase from Amazon and have them shipped, take my own (if possible), or consider renting a car and carseats from the car rental place. 

[katilac]

Being stored in an outdoor shed in Florida would give me pause. I've lived in Florida and I can't imagine the plastic being okay. Cars get very hot, it's  true, but it's broken up by using air conditioning. And, 5+ years in the shed? Both the brands you listed generally have have an expiration of six years, sounds like they are mighty close or past it. 

I would buy new seats and not entertain arguing about it. "This is what I need to do in order to relax and have fun." 

Edited to add that I would either show up with them or have them shipped. If you plan to buy them there, they will be more likely to keep arguing. 

Edited March 22, 2019 by katilac

[happi duck]

I'd want different car seats.  Can they be rented or borrowed?  Maybe their local fire department, police department or hospital would have advice or rentals.

[HomeAgain]

Just now, happi duck said:

I'd want different car seats.  Can they be rented or borrowed?  Maybe their local fire department, police department or hospital would have advice or rentals.

Those at the fire department, police department, and hospital are all trained by Safe Kids.  They will all have been discouraged from encouraging rentals during every training session they have had because they cannot guarantee the condition seats come back in.  Any of the three may have a free seat program, but they will not rent seats.

An option would be to borrow from a friend, but even that Safe Kids will *gently* discourage because they want you to be familiar with the seat and know if there are any recalls. The only 100% way to do that would be to buy new - which is what they will tell you.  I would say if you have a friend with a spare seat you know well, then that could be a viable option, especially if it's had a recent safety check.  But I'm no longer a tech so I can say that. 🙂

[Garga]

I’d buy new.  The grandparents think it’s silly, but do they understand they come with expiration dates and it’s due to the plastic degrading?  It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with how often the seat is used.  They might not be informed.  

Edited March 22, 2019 by Garga

[kbutton]

2 hours ago, sangtarah said:

Grandparents have two forward-facing car seats from 5+ years ago. Cosco and Evenflo brand. They have been stored in an outside shed (in FL).  My dc are 5yo (41lbs) and 2yo (21lbs). 2yo still faces backwards at home. We can fly with our rear-facing seat, but it may not fit in their vehicle. Grandparents do not often have children stay with them (sometimes my nephew uses a car seat when there), and they think it's silly to buy new seats. 

Would you buy new car seats for the grandparents house? 

I would try to figure out if your rear-facing seat will fit--that might just be a call to your local safety inspection place with the carseat model and the car make/model. If you can take it, then I would have the least expensive forward facing seat shipped to their house for your older child. If the grands are bothered by that, you can maybe arrange to have it donated someplace local to them. They might have a family in need that would be comfortable taking the seat from you. We did this once when visiting family after flying, and it was so much easier than trying to figure out other possible ways to work it out.

[Shoeless]

Bring your existing seats and rent a car in Florida if you find the seats do not fit in the grandparents' car.  If you rent a mini-van, you can fit more people in the car for trips, which may help shut down arguments about how silly all of this car seat business is, ("I hear you, mom and dad, but the mini-van means we can all ride together.  Besides, the kids are used to riding in their regular seats"). 

[73349]

Yes.

Using a car seat that's expired or not rated for the age/size of the child may be illegal. (I live in a "proper use" state & am not familiar with other states' laws.) Using one with possibly degraded plastic is too dangerous for my taste.

For me to be comfortable with that, we would have to have no plans to use the car & consider it just an emergency option.

[katilac]

7 hours ago, MissLemon said:

Bring your existing seats and rent a car in Florida if you find the seats do not fit in the grandparents' car.  If you rent a mini-van, you can fit more people in the car for trips, which may help shut down arguments about how silly all of this car seat business is, ("I hear you, mom and dad, but the mini-van means we can all ride together.  Besides, the kids are used to riding in their regular seats"). 

 

Schlepping car seats around the airport is not for the faint of heart. Three kids, three carseats, and all the luggage is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, lol. 

I also think that renting a car for several days (a week?) would cost more than buying the carseats. 

Edited to say that I just realized I gaver the OP a third child, lol. 

Edited March 23, 2019 by katilac

[Farrar]

I would be fine with it for the 5  yo. It's the 2 yo that I'd kind of pause on. Maybe schlepp one seat as a compromise?

That said, I will not judge you. When we went to Costa Rica, they did not have the seats we had rented in the rental car and we totally drove around the whole country with our toddlers with seats that were way less okay. So.

[katilac]

34 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

How long will the kids be there?  Will you be there with them?  What is the driving record of the people who might be driving them?  What is the safety record of the places they will be going?

 

The purpose of a car seat is to mitigate potential injury when a wreck happens.  I am of the firm belief that working to avoid the wreck is a better option.  That doesn't mean don't put the kids in a car seat, but that the question of "how likely is a wreck" might be a better risk and cost benefit analysis to consider.

 

But she doesn't have to choose one option; she can work to avoid the wreck and put them in better car seats. You can have a perfect record and drive in a low-risk area and still get in a horrific wreck. "how likely is a wreck" is actually not a good question to ask as far as risk in this situation goes, for the simple fact that the cost of being in a bad wreck is so high that the benefit from not getting new car seats doesn't register in the equation.  To continue your analogy, providing adequate car seats is an unavoidable cost of doing business. You might consider it very unlikely that your office will burn to the ground, but you still have to buy fire extinguishers and insurance.

[BusyMom5]

What would I do?  I would take the seat for the 2 year old, snd use a rented booster or carseat for the 5 year old.  I'm assuming this is for a vacation.  I've loaned nice, not exprired sears out several times to grandparents of babies flying in.  I would have them ask at church if anyone has a seat that you kniw will fit.  

[Tap]

I would go by the expiration date and even with that give it a generous +6mths leeway. Have them send you pix of the date tag. 

Car seat expiration dates are for worst case, normal use senerios. Considering the temps in Florida are similar to the entire span of Southern states, I don't think the date is any different there than in Southern California. A seat stored in a car in Florida, is the same as a shed in Florida to me. Same expiration would apply.  I would guess that the car, would actually be hotter than the shed, unless it is a metal, air tight shed and then it would likely be the same. 

If you are really bothered by the idea, then buy new and ask the gparents to sell them on CL afterward. Maybe you wouldn't buy used, but there are many, many families who can't afford seats who would happily buy a newer used seat than have their child go without. 

[wintermom]

I would definitely want to rear-facing seat for your 2 yo. You can bring your own, or buy a seat that also converts to forward-facing that fits the grandparents vehicle (for future use). The 5 yo could use one of the seats already with the grandparents, or you could bring a booster seat with you (or purchase new).  I would not rent car seats as you have no real way of knowing whether they have been in a collision.

I would not worry about grandparents believing that buying new is "silly." These are your children and your responsibility. Feeling confident that you have safe car seats will be one less thing to stress about while visiting. 

[Heathermomster]

I would take the rear facing seat for the 2 yo and purchase a $20 Graco booster for the 5 yo.  Purchase the Graco at Walmart and have the grandparents do an in store pickup.

[sangtarah]

Thanks for all the opinions and discussion. We are going to take our own seats, so it will be more to travel with, but I’ll be more relaxed! We will be driving for hours and hours back and forth across the state visiting family - and traffic can be very heavy, so it’s worth the trouble. 😀