Baby Trend?

lacTAYter

New member
I'm curious about other's (technicians and people with knowledge of carseat safety -- certified or not) responses to the chest clip issue that a lot of people seem to be up in arms about?

Thanks!
 
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trippsmom

CPST Instructor
I'm curious about other's (technicians and people with knowledge of carseat safety -- certified or not) responses to the chest clip issue that a lot of people seem to be up in arms about?

Thanks!

Chest clips are pre-crash positioners not meant to take and hold up to crash-forces in the same manor as the actual buckle and straps. Doesn't worry me at all that some woman figured out how to manipulate it.

I've seen a male instructor bend a locking clip with his bare hands. Doesn't make me any more worried that one wouldn't do it's job of holding the belt to a fixed length up until the belt locked in a crash.
 

lacTAYter

New member
Chest clips are pre-crash positioners not meant to take and hold up to crash-forces in the same manor as the actual buckle and straps. Doesn't worry me at all that some woman figured out how to manipulate it.

I've seen a male instructor bend a locking clip with his bare hands. Doesn't make me any more worried that one wouldn't do it's job of holding the belt to a fixed length up until the belt locked in a crash.



Thank you so much!

What about the people claiming that their children undo the clip and remove their arms from the harness? Is that truly possible with a properly secured child?
 

trippsmom

CPST Instructor
Thank you so much!

What about the people claiming that their children undo the clip and remove their arms from the harness? Is that truly possible with a properly secured child?

Yes, it is possible. I had a child who regularly did it in his TrueFit Premier. In those instances I recommend adjusting the harness height to see if it helps or adjust tightness. Then work on discipline. My son stopped after I dumped a cup of ice on him one day. I was in traffic in Memphis and I reached back to check and he had taken his shoulders out. I couldn't stop and he wouldn't wake up.
 

Kecia

Admin - CPST Instructor
Is the issue just with the infant seats? Honestly, most babies outgrow their BT infant seats before a year old and I really don't worry about babies manipulating chest clips the way toddlers and older kids can. So add me to the list of people who are thoroughly unconcerned about this issue. Even so, I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that BT is offering replacement chest clips to consumers who are having issues so I'm not sure what the ruckus is about?

As a mom, I do understand the initial reaction that some people are having because they think something on their carseat is broken or unsafe in some way. That's the kind of thing that brings out the protective mama bear in all of us. But as Trippsmom pointed out - the chest clip is only a pre-crash positioner. During a crash it serves no purpose or function. It's not even required by FMVSS 213.

It shouldn't pop open on its own, all willy-nilly, but I don't think anyone is claiming that it does that. People are just assuming that the chest clip should be securely "locked" once it's closed but it really doesn't need to be locked to do its job properly. The old 1-piece "paper clip style" chest clips didn't "lock" but they were still effective and no one thought twice about it.

I actually had a Fisher-Price Stay-In-View infant seat for DS2 who was born in 2004 and that seat didn't even have a chest clip. We used it every day until he outgrew it and didn't have any issues with keeping the harness in its proper position.

Maybe I should write a blog on the function and purpose of chest clips?
 
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Keeyamah

Active member
Maybe I should write a blog on the function and purpose of chest clips?

I'd love to see one, for my personal education and maybe to help me explain to my mom and in-laws why the crotch buckle is more important (in relative terms, I realize that the chest clip is important for proper use, but if they are going to leave something unbuckled, I want it to be the one that isn't primarily responsible for holding the child in the seat, given that I set the harness snugness for them).
 

jjordan

Moderator
I went to Baby Trend's facebook page because I heard that they had addressed the issue there, and part of their solution was providing a link to a thread from this forum! I was surprised to see that!

As much as I am not a huge fan of BT infant seats, I do feel sort of bad for them being at the center of this big social media storm when chest clips are not really worth getting fired up about (from a safety point of view).
 

katymyers

Active member
I went to Baby Trend's facebook page because I heard that they had addressed the issue there, and part of their solution was providing a link to a thread from this forum! I was surprised to see that! As much as I am not a huge fan of BT infant seats, I do feel sort of bad for them being at the center of this big social media storm when chest clips are not really worth getting fired up about (from a safety point of view).
I feel horribly for Baby Trend in this whole thing. Normally my feelings for the company are lukewarm at best. This whole thing has gotten completely ridiculous and way too many people are just not listening to reason. The statement from Baby Trend said they're seats are safe without chest clips at all and yet people are still going nuts over the whole thing. I don't even think I totally buy into the video, she's manipulating the clip in a way that wouldn't even be possible with a child strapped in with the harness tight. I can do the same thing with Dorel chest clips. They just don't deserve all the bad press over this particular issue, which is actually nothing :thumbsdown:
 

lacTAYter

New member
I feel horribly for Baby Trend in this whole thing. Normally my feelings for the company are lukewarm at best. This whole thing has gotten completely ridiculous and way too many people are just not listening to reason. The statement from Baby Trend said they're seats are safe without chest clips at all and yet people are still going nuts over the whole thing. I don't even think I totally buy into the video, she's manipulating the clip in a way that wouldn't even be possible with a child strapped in with the harness tight. I can do the same thing with Dorel chest clips. They just don't deserve all the bad press over this particular issue, which is actually nothing :thumbsdown:

I agree 100% with all of this. People have gotten WAY out of line, in my opinion. This woman has started, what's basically a witch hunt. She is fear mongering other parents and now many of the people are jumping on her bandwagon as well. No one is even listening to the people with expertise and knowledge in the matter.
 

Keeks64

New member
There was a mom on FB group who went nuts on me when I linked BT response to the issue , assuming I worked for them & I needed to realize they are dangerous & she was going to the media etc .....

She claimed her 7 week old could undo the harness, yet in her video she was manipulating the clip .... Not one person who's complained about the issue has posted a child doing it yet even the original video poster claimed her child could undo it but never backed it with a video

I admit the BT clips are flimsy but with the harness adjusted properly I can't imagine it would be much more than a fluke for a baby under 1 to open it.

I know that it takes bending at just the right angle to open like in those videos & I suspect that it's always been like that but now that the masses are looking for it to happen it's creating this hysteria
 

SavsMom

New member
I agree 100% with all of this. People have gotten WAY out of line, in my opinion. This woman has started, what's basically a witch hunt. She is fear mongering other parents and now many of the people are jumping on her bandwagon as well. No one is even listening to the people with expertise and knowledge in the matter.

I agree as well. Some of the posts are completely crazy - there is no reasoning with people who can't admit they are wrong.
 

carseatmama007

New member
Maybe I should write a blog on the function and purpose of chest clips?

This would be great, not only for the BT issue but just in general. I often see people thinking that as long as the chest clip is in the right spot & "locked" that it must mean the child can't come out of the harness... zero emphasis on harness tightness.
 

Mercuria

Active member
I've been waiting for a thread here on this! I saw someone link the video on fb and was hoping I could link a thread and say "we 'Carseat Nazis' don't even think that this is a problem, and we're certainly not on BT's payroll," but there wasn't one, and I haven't seen reference to it since.
 
Oh for gosh sakes. People are blowing this way, way out of proportion. Poor BT.. No, I'm not a huge fan of their seats but I would still use one if it fit the child/vehicle.

On a side note, when looking for the video everyone was talking about I came across this:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B4bodafjq9Q&desktop_uri=/watch?v=B4bodafjq9Q

Whatcha think? I hadn't heard anything about that happening, but I don't think that BT would recommend the adjuster strap be pulled any way but straight down/out. Still, I can totally see parents doing this with the foot muff on. Although the video is more than 2 years old.
 

tiggercat

New member
What a mess. Just read the comments (never read the comments, ugh), and it's pretty ugly from both sides. Whoever that CPST in training is (really, aren't you either a CPST or not?) is not helping at all with our public image!

If the chest clip is popping open with typical use, then something needs to be done. If parents are manipulating it into opening but it's not happening during use, it's not a big deal.

The hysteria is pretty incredible!

Sent from my iPod touch using Car-Seat.Org
 

bbartlettnfld

New member
I haven't followed the "chest clip" debacle at all, but hey maybe the mom is like the other BT infant seat users I see here that only buckle the chest clip! If you are using the chest clip as the sole way to keep your child in the car, I suppose you should be freaked out that it is so easy to open. Maybe you'll actually buckle the harness properly!
 

Kecia

Admin - CPST Instructor

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