Question about Sunshine Kids aftermarket products

jlepitzki · Mar 28, 2011

Sorry if this is a really obvious question, but I thought all 'add-in' products were not to be used with car seats...and SK has a whole lot of them.

I needed to make my Radian useable for my 9 month old but misplaced the extra cushions that came with the seat. They told me to purchase this, which does look the same as what had come with my seat originally, but next to all the other items they have on the website I'm wondering if I should?

Thanks!

love-pink · Mar 28, 2011

:thumbsup: Thats the same thing that comes with the radian, just a different color. That specifically is tested with their seats, the other stuff they sell isnt tested. :twocents:

jlepitzki · Mar 28, 2011

Thanks! When looking at it next to the seat warmers and such I was wondering if it was legit.

DadToThree · Mar 29, 2011

Hey guys ... not sure if you have seen this, but thought it might help answer some of your questions...

http://www.skjp.com/simg/26916857.pdf

Keeanh · Mar 30, 2011

Thanks Ben! It's good to know that that stuff has been tested. There are a few items there that might fall under "parental discretion".

But really, SKJP??? Do you have to keep selling the Mighty-tite? It's one thing to put a soft mirror on a headrest, or design a glorified pool noodle. But messing with the vehicle's seatbelt is just... NO, NO, NO. :thumbsdown:

urchin_grey · Mar 30, 2011

I just got a Dry Seat for our Radian because I'm trying to be done with diapers (my 5yo is special needs and still not 100% potty learned). My sister got one for her 14mo too, mainly to keep Whales out of the cracks in the seat.

I'm perfectly okay with using them, with the Radian, of course. I wouldn't use them with any other seat.

Pixels · Mar 30, 2011

Much of that testing is the same as the testing that the makers of the BundleMe do - they grab a seat or two, test it with a dummy, and it still passes. Doesn't mean that it's safe in every configuration. I am certain they don't test with every seat available, with all the crash test dummies, with all the installation options (baseless or with base for buckets, FF/RF convertibles, LATCH vs seatbelt install, etc).

There is also no oversight with this type of stuff. With carseats, the government tests seats and they must pass before being sold in Canada. In the US, the manufacturer self-certifies, but NHTSA does random checks to make sure that nobody is cheating. Aftermarket stuff isn't tested by anybody but the original manufacturer, who has a financial incentive to say that it's safe.

sparkyd · Mar 30, 2011

Pixels said:
With carseats, the government tests seats and they must pass before being sold in Canada. In the US, the manufacturer self-certifies, but NHTSA does random checks to make sure that nobody is cheating.

Actually, the manufacturer's "self-certify" in Canada too. I believe the way it works is they do all their testing themselves and send the test results to Transport Canada. TC does their own testing as well, but not necessarily before a new seat goes to market. I'm not sure how they pick which seats to test each year. I know there are others that have more details on how this works. I do know that the testing is very expensive and I'm sure that is a big factor in why it works this way.

Judi · Mar 30, 2011

They can throw is against a wall and say it is crash tested. Plus really, if they use a dummy, it is basically a doll. No instrumentation.

Pixels · Mar 30, 2011

sparkyd said:
Actually, the manufacturer's "self-certify" in Canada too. I believe the way it works is they do all their testing themselves and send the test results to Transport Canada. TC does their own testing as well, but not necessarily before a new seat goes to market. I'm not sure how they pick which seats to test each year. I know there are others that have more details on how this works. I do know that the testing is very expensive and I'm sure that is a big factor in why it works this way.

Okay, good to know.

featherhead · Mar 31, 2011

For a 9 month old you don't really need to have the pillows, but you can use them if you want to. I got my first Radian65 for my daughter when she was 7 months old. We didn't have the pillows, and it worked just fine for her:thumbsup:

Question about Sunshine Kids aftermarket products

jlepitzki

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love-pink

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jlepitzki

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DadToThree

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urchin_grey

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Pixels

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sparkyd

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Pixels

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