portable DVD players

[OnTheBrink]

You know those portable DVD players you can get to put in the car? I think they attach to the backs of the front seats with long velcro straps or something. Are they safe? Seems like they could be really scary in an accident - quite the projectile. Any thoughts?

[southpawboston]

agreed. any hard object (DVD player, CD cases, sippy-cups, toys, roll-down sunshades, etc.) can be serious projectiles in a crash. built-in DVD players are designed into the cars and are therefore safe, but i would not trust a portable one (or even an aftermarket installed one! i saw one once at the dealer; on the showroom floor they had a car with an aftermarket-installed DVD player screwed into the roof liner... there was so much free play i thought i could just rip it down with one hand!).

[OnTheBrink]

Sippy cups are the hard one for us! We opt for soft toys, keep the CDs in the glove compartment in a cushioned case, etc. But sippy cups are hard to get rid of with two little ones on long car rides. Any tips on that?

[southpawboston]

yeah, i know... we have the same dilemna. someone else on here mentioned using juice boxes... i wonder if you could "recycle" them for use with your own beverage of choice (i.e., water)? we may start trying that for our DD1.

[AdventureMom]

When we were car shopping recently, we saw a Sienna with aftermarket installed DVD players in the back of the front headrests. But it's a whole new headrest then, so is that safe to remove the original headrest and replace it with this other one...?

Maria

[southpawboston]

it depends. i have not heard of replacing the OEM headrests with aftermarket ones. i have only heard of taking the OEM headrests and "gutting" them to install the screen, run the wiring down through the seat and up into the dash to interface with the DVD player. if they are replacing the OEM headrests with aftermarket ones, i would expect to see some sort of certification that the headrests meet all applicable DOT requirements. that, and provided they fit and lock correctly into place, they should be safe.

[lovinwaves]

Nancy, you may find this thread helpful....

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=9001&highlight=dvd+player

[Synchro246]

Sippy cups are the hard one for us! We opt for soft toys, keep the CDs in the glove compartment in a cushioned case, etc. But sippy cups are hard to get rid of with two little ones on long car rides. Any tips on that?

I've decided to go ahead with the sippy cups for us. I know they aren't safe, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. I use the nubby cups, at least the spout is soft.
Also, you know those stuffed animals designed for use with a baby bottle? I don't recomend their use with a baby for a variety of reasons, but it might make the sippy a little less of a hazzard if it were to go flying around the car.
Or maybe a foam beer cozy to soften the edges a bit. . .
Just some thoughts.

[becca011906]

added after market ones can be dangerous... we bough our land rover and it had on in it, it's a cheap one from china (found on ebay for less then $100 shipped) and mounted on the roof, well ours broke about 4 months after using it a dvd is stuck and won't play, eject, ect... anyways i was driving down a road i drive down atleast 4-6 times a day and i went through a smallish pot hole and it unlocked off the base and swung down and smacked me in the head, hard, if i'd have been doing faster then 20mph it could have prolly knocked me out and i'd have crashed... luckly also i had ds still in the rear jump seats in his parkway and his sister's radian in the middle seat and allie out board and the dvd swung back and hit her car seat, if she would have been in it she would have gotten hurt as well...

We will be buying a new one for our FL vacation and getting the ones that attach to the back of the head rests, we had them before and they worked out well.

[southpawboston]

i went through a smallish pot hole and it unlocked off the base and swung down and smacked me in the head, hard, if i'd have been doing faster then 20mph it could have prolly knocked me out and i'd have crashed...

yep. that's the impression i got just seeing the aftermarket DVD player installed in the roof of new car i was looking at. bad news.

[becca011906]

it was secured on a base that was attached well to the roof but the dvd player un hooked from the base some how... scarey very scarey!!!!

[broken4u05]

I have some on the backs of my seats. Like on the headrests. I dont use them very often so i fixed it so that a towel is over it. I put 2 holes in the towels and took the headrests off and the headrests are kinda rapped with the towel than on my seat. If i want the DVD players out i just move the towels