At what point would you consider importing a seat?

hedgefun

New member
I will state for the record that I am not the carseat police and do not care all that much what others choose to do with their kids in their cars.

But the "I want it because I want to play with it", or "because it's cool" is very offputting to me. We are trying to educate parents that carseats are vital pieces of safety equipment and they need to choose carseats that fit their child and their car. Breaking the law for cool new toys seems not to fit in with that mission.

Maybe it's just me.

I think it depends on what the PP meant by her statement. I agree that it would be cool to play with a Swedish seat. Does that mean I would like to play with the install and see how kids fit? Yes. Does it mean I would actually use it with the vehicle in motion with said hypothetical kids, short of a zombie attack? No. Now, this is just assuming I won the lotto or could borrow a seat from someone just to "check it out." And again, this is just my perspective - I have no idea what the other poster meant. :twocents:

In response to the original post, I would import if I had a child under 2 who could not fit RF in any US seats. I would consider it if the child was under 3, but I would need to do more research first.
 
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christineka

New member
I believe that the Swedish car seats are safe, even if they are illegal to use in the US. I would not even mention the use of an illegal car seat to someone at a car seat check. (Of course, I probably wouldn't even mention a radian because people who come to car seat checks out here don't want to spend any money on a car seat.) I don't think it's a big deal to own and use a swedish seat just because I had the money to buy one.
 

luckyclov

New member
Have we met KQs youngest? Yeah....
KQ's Zento was outboard 3rd row, where bracing isn't disallowed by the vehicle due to potential airbag/sensor interference (vehicles equipped and advised as such, I should say). So, legalities aside, it was, technically, installed properly, since it wasn't bracing in a no-bracing zone.

I will state for the record that I am not the carseat police and do not care all that much what others choose to do with their kids in their cars.
And, I like this, so I'm going to be original and stamp a ditto on it. ;)
 

Phineasmama

New member
IMHO making something that is safer for a child illegal is just stupid. So if I had a ton of money sure I'd import a seat or two. Since I don't have a ton of money and definitely don't have enough room in my car...that's not going to happen any time soon.
 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member
The thing is, if it were just Swedish seats, sure of course, make them legal, find a way to be able to test them, etc. But then there's all the other seats like the ones in Japan that are basically a belt with a baby harness on it. So obviously we can't have those be legal.

And yes KQ's kid has a long torso. She is certainly not the only child on here with a long torso, and I have yet to see one outgrow every single safe domestic option by height before two.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Since KQ's kid has been mentioned a couple times, I just wanted to add that I believe she got a medical exemption that makes her imported seats technically not-illegal in California.
 

BabyKaykes

New member
KQ's Zento was outboard 3rd row, where bracing isn't disallowed by the vehicle due to potential airbag/sensor interference (vehicles equipped and advised as such, I should say). So, legalities aside, it was, technically, installed properly, since it wasn't bracing in a no-bracing zone.

Not being snarky at all, I swear, but what does this have to do with anything?

I'm sure I missed something...

And yes KQ's kid has a long torso. She is certainly not the only child on here with a long torso, and I have yet to see one outgrow every single safe domestic option by height before two.

True. Which is why I'd only consider importing between the ages of 2 and 3yo. Cause I'm not FFing a 2yo...or a 2yr9mth old, I MIGHT consider FF a 2yr11mth old...MIGHT.
 

luckyclov

New member
Not being snarky at all, I swear, but what does this have to do with anything?
Because it wasn't specific, I misunderstood your post when you asked if we had met KQ's youngest. Since it came in after a couple of posts discussing installation/bracing, I took it as you using it as an example of how Swedish seats would perform acceptably in American vehicles in a crash. Based on that, I felt it was relevant to mention the Zento was installed 3rd row, braced against 2nd row, which is, to my knowledge, always a bracing-friendly situation.

ETA: On the flip side, when Aurora posted KQ's youngests' long torso, I asked myself...WTH prompted THAT? :p
 
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BabyKaykes

New member
Because it wasn't specific, I misunderstood your post when you asked if we had met KQ's youngest. Since it came in after a couple of posts discussing installation/bracing, I took it as you using it as an example of how Swedish seats would perform acceptably in American vehicles in a crash. Based on that, I felt it was relevant to mention the Zento was installed 3rd row, braced against 2nd row, which is, to my knowledge, always a bracing-friendly situation.

ETA: On the flip side, when Aurora posted KQ's youngests' long torso, I asked myself...WTH prompted THAT? :p

:p LOL, ok!
 

moonmommy

Senior Community Member
I just got my Multi-Tech this week (have not installed it yet). I imported because my son is getting close to the RF weight limit of his SKR XT and I STILL am not ready to FF him at 3y 7m. The MT might be able to keep him RF to 6. My husband and I lost our first 2 children, and I will do pretty much anything in my power to prevent going through that Hell again. For me, it is well worth the possible legal ramifications of using a foreign seat for the benefit of continuing to RF my only living child. I did a bit of research to decide which seat would last longest AND work best in my vehicles.
 

SignCuer

New member
I probably would consider if my future kids outgrew the Radian before age 3. (Yani is not going to outgrow it by age 3, I tried her in one and she has oodles (still on the 1st slot, creeping up to second soon) of height left. However that might change since my van's rules are RFing until at least 4 years so who knows?!

On my faithful sidekick :) Don't text and drive... It may save a life!

My ladybug, 6 months old, 13 lbs, 25 1/2 inches riding in different seats each day until she gets her Combi Shuttle 35!
 

gsdguenter

Well-known member
moonmommy said:
I just got my Multi-Tech this week (have not installed it yet). I imported because my son is getting close to the RF weight limit of his SKR XT and I STILL am not ready to FF him at 3y 7m. The MT might be able to keep him RF to 6. My husband and I lost our first 2 children, and I will do pretty much anything in my power to prevent going through that Hell again. For me, it is well worth the possible legal ramifications of using a foreign seat for the benefit of continuing to RF my only living child. I did a bit of research to decide which seat would last longest AND work best in my vehicles.

That's a good perspective. DH was in a serious car accident 12 years ago that put him in a coma for quite some time and he suffered a TBI and now has many lasting medical/emotional problems because of it like seizures and other things associated with frontal lobe injuries. Because of this we are extra cautious about car safety. He was wearing a seatbelt and was driving an old BMW. He feel asleep and crashed into a tree head on.

So, pp, I see your perspective about wanting to do everything you can to protect what you have. It's one of the reasons we have an MT. I'm sorry for your losses as well :-(
 

luckyclov

New member
Quote:
Originally Posted by clov878
Not the KQ kid in general, but her torso length (unless I missed previous discussion about her torso...).

It was in response to this, which was a reference to her torso height.


Quote:
Originally Posted by BabyKaykes
Have we met KQs youngest? Yeah....
I know that NOW.:p

But I thought BK's comment, because it was non-specific and *I* had no idea about KQ's kid's long torso, was referring to the fact that KQ's youngest had a Swedish installed seat, braced (bracing in non-bracing vehicles had been the discussion a couple posts prior), in an American vehicle, that performed fine in a crash.

So, while BK has no idea where *my* response about the location of KQ's Zento in the crash came from - because she was referring to the torso - *I* had no idea where the long torso comment came from. Get it now?:p
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I would import if:

1) I had a kid who outgrew every American seat prior to age two.

Or

2) I had a kid who had a condition that made his/her neck weaker than an average child.
 

KaiLing

New member
For me having an MT is about having a big kid and having lost a lot of people to car accidents. We could have bought a new car and an XTSL, but a MT was cheaper. I'm less concerned about potential legal issues and more concerned about keeping my kid RF to age 3+, ideally 4. I'm fine having a difference of opinion with other techs on this, I basically AM a tech because I wanted to know as much as possible when doing something unorthodox, and I'm comfortable not suggesting importing to anyone else. But I've still not yet met a kid as tall and big as mine in real life (and I only see maybe 3 people a year as tall as my husband).
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I don't think we even have as much of a difference of opinion as you might think we do. I'd probably not choose to import (I realize this is easy for me to say because my kid didn't hit 45# until age 6), but I don't get all het up when people make a careful and educated decision, even if it isn't the decision I'd make.

It's the arguments that "they're cool, so who cares if they're illegal", and "well, they brace in Sweden so of course we should brace here" that I feel are inappropriate on a carseat safety board.
 

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