Car Seats

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The car seat might as well be called the kid’s car seat. In all fairness there are car seats for adults with disabilities and this is an arena onto itself. But when one refers to a car seat, the near unanimous assumption is we’re talking kids (babies included). This is a nostalgic post as memories of grandpa and grandma riding along without a care in the world are plentiful, with tiny family members in the back seat without seatbelts and certainly no car seats to be found. It’s not that they weren’t responsible, good people. It’s just that in the 1970s and earlier road safety wasn’t what it is today. Thanks to a number of non-profit car, road and driving safety organizations, laws have changed dramatically and riding along today with your 15 month year old climbing around the back seat is a gigantic no-no.

Although car seats were still rather new in the 1970s, believe it or not the first car seat made it on the scene in the 1930s! There is a vintage version of the Bunny Bear Company seat, available on eBay and a real collector’s item. Super rudimentary, this seat was designed to keep kids in one place, but not necessarily to protect them. During the 1940s chairs were literally boosted up so kids could see out of the windows. Again, a containment measure, but zero safety on anyone’s mind. In 1962 Leonard Rivkin and Briton Jean Ames designed seats that were a bit more ergonomically inclined, and Ames especially was highly touted as his was a rear-facing seat with a Y-shaped strap, similar to what’s on the market today.

In 1968 Ford came out with a plastic chair with immense padding and later General Motors (not to be topped) released their Love Seat, made from polypropylene and padded with comfy urethane foam. These types of developments ensued, bringing us up to the present where car seats are technological wonders. The Graco 4Ever 4-in-1 Convertible Car Sear is an award-winning number, designed to grow with your kid as little Suzy doesn’t stay the size of a 2-year-old forever. Their patented InRight LATCH system is highly unique and adjustments allow for a whopping 10 distinct positions. The Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat is a snap to install and even lets you know via a bubble indicator once everything is installed perfectly. Featuring a 5-point harness the Chicco also brings a removable canopy to the party. Protection from all elements is front and center here.

Lastly, the Britax Convertible Car Seat is ranked by many leading car seats ranking bodies (believe or not there are quite a few) as the safest seat on the market. This does not mean it is the most comfortable or best looking or the one with all the bells and whistles. Nope, none of that, just the safest. This seat has 3 layers of impact protection and a 14-position harness. Both items are unheard of in car seat circles.

Some excellent options all around. Don’t get caught trolling around with your young one unstrapped. A hefty fine awaits, or worse. Stay smart in 2020 please.