http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/us_med_car_seats_children

hrmmm... that gives me something to ponder... since just switched my youngest (9 months old now, but a big, strong baby) from a rear-facing to a front-facing, due mostly to the fact that he looks to have positively out-grown the rear-facing one, and in a small part due to his reluctance to stay lying down i.e. keeps trying to get up. Mind you, my three other children have all been strapped in from the day they left the hospital, so it's not like I am doing it out of ignorance (or apparently I am?).

...anyway, always keep your young uns in the car-seat, however they argue,scream or throw tantrums... the younger they start, the easier it will be... my first child was born in the uk, and the first thing the hospital gave to us was a proper child-seat when they found out we had none (actually, they gave us a whole bunch of stuff, from clothes, diapers, medicines, and even a stroller... yeah I know... it was a used one but still... but that's another story) and were taking him home via taxi. So, coming home I stuck with the whole rigmarole, even when I apparently was the only one interested in the safety of my kids, since both sets of grandparents were tsk'ing and tut'ing, looking at their grandchild being strapped in, especially when they start fussing or crying. Even the wife tries to persuade me to let the aby ride sans carseat for all sorts of reasons e.g. short distance, baby screaming etc but hey, what's the use of being the head of the household when you can't put your foot down especially on something as essential as your child's safety?

...keep'em strapped in... malang memang tidak berbau... it really rankles me when I see apparently educated and loving parents letting their children un-strapped in the car, or even worse, stick their heads/hands out of the window or even the sunroof... I am like, my god

Yups..grinner...i'm the same with you..i gelengkan kepala when i see those kids...and sometimes see 2 young kids sitting in the front passenger's seat. I always say..even though we try to be a careful driver when our kids are in the car..but you just don't know about other drivers.

...Well, kids being kids, they're just doing what's natural for them i.e monsters ... it's the parents I don't understand... everyday when I pick up my two kids from school, I frequently see this lady in a viva, stop her car leaving half on it on the road, leave a small kid on the passanger seat then bring literally a whole brood of kids into the car. there must've been about 7 in the back seat, i kid you not. and each time i am like ...just came out in the papers today, the 4-yo kid being taken when the car he was in was hijacked after the dad left the car with the engine running to go to the shops for a few minutes... if not for the fact that there was a real kid involved, I would have said 'serves you right' if anything nasty happened... brainless...

... not saying I am anywhere the perfect father of course, but stuff like this really makes me wonder how adults like these function...

This post has been edited by grinner: Mar 22 2011, 12:16 PM

It's not the first time this carjack with a kid inside has happened..and really...we never learn from it.

I meant to post something about this, rather than just put up the link, but got called away for something else in the middle of it.

I was interested when the article mentioned kids under 13 should sit at the back seat.. My 6+ sits in front once in a while, and it just occurred to me, that much like her baby brother who's 3, the seat belt doesn't fit her that well too... so how? booster seat too ke?

Though I did see this thingamajig at Jusco once, some kind of seat belt adjuster thingy for small kids.. Alas, didn't bother to read the instructions or labels...

I think booster seat will be ideal..though i've not come to that stage yet to really look for it. what's this thingamjig that you saw? probably..the next time round..can you please post a picture of it?

It's something like this.. Dunno if it is as safe as having them sit on the booster seat and wear seat belt normally...

Hmmm..interesting. However, i have my doubts when it comes to these kind of 'inventions'. I'd rather get the real mccoy..then something that may look of similar function but not sure if it really functions the same.

Judging from the photo..it looks like the seatbelt is still lose and the child can still wriggle his way out. Whereas, if a booster seat..i think it can be adjusted to snugly fit the child.

That's my personal point of view.

since 1 mth give him car carrier and turn 1 change to car seat.
i told him that he need to be stay in car seat and will bring him go gai gai
fortunely, he very co-operate with me. so far very enjoy bring him out alone

...think booster seat is the way to go. My 4 yo just graduated from a carseat to using a booster seat, and though he pleads once in a while to not use the booster seat like his two older siblings, I told him he does not fit in the seatbelts yet and if anything happens, he might get hurt. And I tell him he does not want to end up like the kakak in the safety commercials that were on not that long ago (about this girl who came into class with a bruised and knocked up face due to her parents not using seatbelts on her). Works every time

anyone interested?


http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=1994998

hi sifus -

i've got few questions :

1) can we put the newborn(between 1-14days old) into the carseat? i need to travel 3hrs journey
2) there are few models that can't fully recline to flat or the design is a bit curve..can the baby sleep in the not flat position? will it hurt the back or spine?
3) do you need to buy another carseat as your child grows-up?

appreciate your wise answer/advise. thanks

metaltooth, u can get either baby car seat cum carrier (usually stated 0-13kg) or those car seat that can be reclined (usually stated there 0-18kg or some sort)... hope i'm giving the rite advice i'm planning to sell my baby car seat cum carrier that i've gotten from phythia so i can get another car seat for my growing boy... anyone interested? planning to sell abt RM30-40... still in good condition la...

1. My almost 2 week old loves his car seat. We have a Recaro Akuna (stroller) which comes with a Profi Plus (Infant carseat/stroller attachment). Your one should be fine, we introduced Cyrus to the seat in our room and let him sit in it for a few minutes when he was clean and well fed. You will probably want to plan a stop or 2 on your trip to give him a change and feed, depending on how often he needs to eat and stuff (with our schedule i would give him a good long feed before we left and then have a break half way through the trip).

2. Our seat isn't a fully reclined one (like a bassinet) as they only last until 3months old so not so worth while. Generally the slightly reclined/curved ones (that usually work as a rocker on the floor as well) generally seem to last until around 9months which is a little more worth it. Obviously don't let your baby sleep in the seat all day and night, but for a day trip or a car ride won't do any harm at all. As for sleep, as soon as the car (or stroller for that matter) starts moving, Cyrus is fast asleep and will stay that way until we stop.

3. We will be switching to a Recaro ProRide (hopefully, still need to arrange to get one into the country) which is rated for newborn to around 5years (after which we may still need to use a booster seat for a couple of years depending) once he grows out of the Profi Plus... if you weren't set on a specific brand like we are you would probably be able to get a seat that didn't suit a newborn but would last until older to switch to once you grow out of the first one.

I hope that helps. Basically make sure the seat you are looking at is suitable for your age range and hopefully will last for a decent amount of time. Also try to find one that has had some safety testing done.

Hey Metaltooth,

My baby travel'ed from Ipoh to KL in baby car seat before 14days old.
We change to a bigger car seat when he's around 4th month (Can't really recall the exact month).

hi metaltooth,

1) it's fine to put your newborn into the carseat. my cousin was staying at Pahang. the day she discharge from hospital, she travelled with her baby all the way back to Johor, her hometown for confinement. anyway, it's more safety.

2) i'm not too sure if the design will hurt the baby's back or spine but Sweet Cherry brand carseat that i bought from Jusco is not bad. my girl (2YO) still sit in the carseat when we travel around.

3) i think some carseat really can be used for newborn until about 4-5 yrs old. for me, i will only consider to get another one if i have 2 small kids

i'm using a child's booster seat for my 3yo son and a bucket type for 7m baby..so far no problem

Booster seat is for taller or older kids right? Ur 3ye old got be quite tall huh?

I couldn't agree with you more. The awareness about child safety amongst Malaysia is so alarming low. You can even see parents riding motocycles with their baby between them. So not safe at all! Can't parents think for their child carefully? We can see a lot of careless acts by parents everywhere. Or do they want to wait for law enforcing child safety first then only will act?!