Keeping it Safe

Since many of our readers have children and appreciate my kid related tips and tricks, today I thought I would share with you my car seat recommendations. Let me preface this by saying, I am not a car seat expert, but I do care greatly about the safety of my child while driving. 

As you may know, my family was in a car accident when The Mini was only 7 weeks old. Long story short, someone ran a red light, t-boned our car and the car rolled a full 360 degrees all the way back up to the wheels. It was terrible. I still have nightmares. Luckily The Mini was held safely into her car seat by a 5 point harness, and she was totally fine. 

Anyway, the point of telling you this story is to give you some history as to why I am a bit neurotic when it comes to car seat safety. The Mini currently rides in the Britax Marathon G4.1 Convertible seat. In hind sight I might have gone with the Boulevard of the Advocate given they have more side protection, but overall we have been happy with this one. 

She can remain in this seat until she reaches 49 inches and/or 65 lbs. Most parents are anxious to get kids out of convertible car seats and into boosters, and while I totally understand the rushed feeling, I've had to "slow" myself down and remember what we went through and refocus on safety. 

The Mini is going to be in a 5 point harness as long as possible. Given how tall she is (98% for her age), height limits for seats are the deciding factor for us in choosing a new seat. After lots of research, I've decided to stick with Britax, and our next seat will be the Pinnacle since it has one of the highest height limits of any of the 5 point booster seats.

Britax Pinnacle G1.1 ClickTight Harness-2-Booster Car Seat, Broadway

Of course, the Mini Fashionista likes the pink flowers and can't wait until we make the switch. At the rate she is growing, it will easily be within the year!

Safe driving!

Keeping it Real...and Safe

For those of you with children...especially those who live in cool/cold climates, I encourage you to read this post and watch the videos. You won't be sorry.

I try to keep the kid related content to a minimum here on C&C, but this is something I feel is very important to share. I am a bit neurotic when it comes to car seat safety. You see, when the Mini Fashionista was just 7 weeks old, we were in a very serious car accident. A woman ran a red light, t-boned our car which proceeded to roll...and roll...and roll...all the way back to four wheels.

Fortunately the Mini and my husband were not hurt. I unfortunately suffered two fractured vertebrae (compression fractures) in my spine. While the injury still bothers me over three years later, I am so thankful that none of us were hurt more severely. It could have been far, far worse.

Anyway....my car seat neuroses are therefore totally warranted. So here is what I want to share with you. The five point harness is the safest way to buckle your child into your car. However, in the winter we layer our kids in coats and sweaters and that can prevent the five point harness from doing it's job.

So today I am sharing with you (thanks to these videos), how you can safely buckle your child in their car seat while still wearing a coat. I encourage you to watch both videos.