American Baby article

[Patriot201]

Have you all seen the August 2007 issue of American Baby? There is an article in it about carseats.

Unfortunately, there are several (relatively minor) errors.

• Evenflo Titan pictured says 5-30 pounds RF; 20-40 FF. Doesn't the Titan have new weight regulations? Isn't it now 5-35 lbs RF; 20-50 lbs FF?
• The KeyFit 30 is pictured, but it says 4-22 pounds, under 30" (the stats for the KeyFit, not the KeyFit 30)
• The KeyFit 30 is mentioned, but it says that it is larger and longer than the KeyFit. Didn't we figure out that it is not?
• Under Graco ComfortSport, it says, "If you can't spend big bucks but want a solid seat, this is a great choice." I wish articles would note that it is outgrown at an early age.
• The Roundabout is recommended. It says, "It's not overly large, so it fits most vehicles easily and accommodates average-sized kids very well until they are ready to go into a booster." Hmm. True, but I am not sure most kids are ready for a booster when they outgrow the Roundabout. Some are, but most?
• The Radian is recommended. It says, "This seat is not only a dream to install, but its narrow width also makes it easy to squeeze next to other car seats..." I don't know about it being a "dream to install." In some cars, yes. In other cars, it is far from a dream to install.

There is no mention of Britax's HWH seats, Evenflo Triumph, Cosco Scenera, or many other seats. The only seats outlined are: Graco Snugride, Graco Safeseat 1, Chicco KeyFit & KeyFit 30, Britax Companion, Graco ComfortSport, Evenflo Titan, Britax Roundabout, Sunshine Kids Radain 65, Safety 1st Apex 65, Graco Turbo/SafeSeat3, Britax Parkway.


There are also some GREAT tips/notes in this article, though!

• "LATCH is not a safety device- it's a convenience. If you can get a tight fit in the center using a seat belt, that's your best option."
  
• "Your child will be better off in a properly installed seat in an outboard position than she will be in a seat that's improperly installed in the center."
  
• "DON'T use the two inside LATCH anchors of the outer LATCH positions to install a carseat in the center unless your vehicle manual and carseat manual both specifically tell you that this is allowable.
  
• You should keep convertible seats in their rear-facing position until your child reaches the maximum rear-facing weight and height allowed by the seat."
  
• "Keep your child facing rear as long as your convertible car seat will allow. That means most kids should stay facing rear well past their first birthday. It can mean the difference between life and death."

[jen_nah]

Okay not sticking up for AB but over all their safety tips have been pretty good compared to other baby mags I have read in the past.

The Evenflo Titan error- The article probably was written before the new seat was released. Example you get the July issue late June and the new Titan released late June so that article was probably written in Apr/May time frame.

As for the KeyFit I am sure they just used a stock photo for both seats not knowning the cover option on the 30 is not available on the 22. They also probably assumed that since one only went to 22lbs & 30" that the 30 since it goes to 30lbs and higher weight limit that the seat "has" to be bigger when that isn't the case. I haven't seen a 30 in person so I don't know it is or is not the same as the 22.

They will not be bashing the Graco Comfortsport or any seat for that matter. They would lose sponsers that way. While we all know it's not our top pick seat they aren't going to say what we know. Graco would pull their ads and that would mean $$$ lost. The same thing goes for the Radian too (even though I am not impressed with the Radian as a whole).

The Roundabout true we all know that some kids will meet the requirements to go to a booster once out of the RA. But, They are basing this off the "average" 4yr & 40lb child. And, At 4yrs & 40lbs the child meets SK "bare" mininum to move to a booster. Not that any of us agree with those bare mininum requirements. But, It's a fact a lot of parents don't want to then buy a HWH seat after a RA then after the HWH then a booster. I know all of us regulars wouldn't think twice doing it but the average parent most likely wouldn't.

We will be hard pressed to find any magazine article that was absolute perfect like we all would want. But, I personally think over all the article was pretty good and at least giving the parents a lot more information then most others do.

[Patriot201]

Originally Posted by jen_nah

We will be hard pressed to find any magazine article that was absolute perfect like we all would want. But, I personally think over all the article was pretty good and at least giving the parents a lot more information then most others do.

Oh, I agree! That's why I bolded the really good points in the article.

[Momto2whosews]

I saw it too. When the magazine came and I saw the title on the cover, I dreaded reading it, thinking it would be full of the same 'ole crap.

But I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was pretty good actually. Yes, there were some recommendations that I disagreed with, but the general safety statements were great. I was very happy that there was NO mention of RF to 1 yr and 20 lbs. in the whole article. It just said to keep them RF until they max out the seat.

I also noticed the byline - it was written by a CPST. Later, I thought that it was kinda wierd that a CPST would write an article specifically recommending certain models and brands. I thought we weren't supposed to do that.

I'm sure space was limited so they couldn't possibly mention everything. But I think it would have been nice to mention features to look for when buying a seat (like EPS foam, higher harness slots, etc.)

[Patriot201]

Originally Posted by Momto2whosews

I also noticed the byline - it was written by a CPST. Later, I thought that it was kinda wierd that a CPST would write an article specifically recommending certain models and brands. I thought we weren't supposed to do that.

I noticed that too.