Great Review on About.com

Great grade from About.com

 The Car Seat Poncho got a/nother great review, this time on About.com's "Baby's First Year" blog:

"When I first glanced at this product, I'll be honest and say I wasn't too sure about it. I am a New Englander, and the winters up here get beyond frigid.

Would the Car Seat Poncho really keep my baby or toddler warm? Closer inspection reveals a solid, "Yes!"

The reason being, this poncho is made out of not just one layer of fleece, but two layers of 400-weight fleece. The weight of the blanketed poncho traps warm air next to your child while you go out to the carseat.

The other features of this product that I find appealing over some of the other winter car seat accessories are:

1. It works with both infant car seat carriers AND any 5-point harness. So if you are using a convertible car seat, this product will work for you.


2. It prevents any layers of material from coming between your baby and the harness straps. The straps remain as close to your baby as possible at all times, unlike popular winter gear like the Bundle Me.


3. It also can be used as warm weather wear. You get to your destination, and your child has the freedom to walk around and still keep warm."

Thanks to blogger Jennifer White, of About.com.  FYI: Unlike many other "product review" blogs, there was no "freebie" product given in exchange for a review.  Ms. White chose the Car Seat Poncho to review based on her own research and suggestions from her readers -- bona fide journalism!

Was there anything she left out of her great review?  Leave your two cents in the comment area for the article:  http://baby.about.com/b/2011/01/03/the-car-seat-poncho.htm#commentform

Want to read some more love?  Here are more Car Seat Poncho reviews.

Drowning Doesn't Look (or Sound) Like You'd Expect

Most people who succumb to drowning do not flail their arms or shout for help.  They usually go under silently.  This excellent article on gCaptain (by and for maritime professionals such as but not including lifeguards) reminds us to keep our eyes AND our ears alert for each other this summer.  Unlike what you'd expect, LACK of noise is the real red flag that someone is in trouble:

"There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening (source: CDC)."

I became aware of this article on one of my local mommies' e-loops.  It has apparently been shooting around on Facebook, but I'd never read it before.  I guess I'm "injecting" it into my social media neighborhood.  Of course, I hope none of us has these close calls this summer or ever, but I'm glad now to be aware and to share it with all of you and your loved ones.

Babies forgotten in the car: a solution?

According to the New York Times, a team of NASA employees have developed a keychain alarm that sounds if a child is left in the car. Other companies are considering options like body-temperature monitors. Personally, I have concerns about the use of technology and gizmos to off-load plain old parental/caretaker responsibility. Thoughts?

I Am Now A Certified CPS Tech!

After much encouragement from CPS techs and instructors around the country, I attended the NHTSA Child Passenger Safety Training Program this week.  Today, I was officially certified as a technician!



The program consisted of three days of classroom work, hands-on training activities and tests, then one day of installs.  We were given different "dummy" children and asked to choose and install the appropriate seat for their height, weight and age.  We were given different child/restraint scenarios and asked to identify installation errors and misuse.  Finally, we conducted installations for the general public while being observed and evaluated by CPS instructors. 



During one of my installs, I advised a mom against using the Bundle Me in her infant's car seat.  In another, I advised a mom to take off her son's puffy jacket.  When she looked at it, she was aghast at the puffiness in the back AND the front, and how much slack that would generate under a harness.  Both of these things I knew before going into certification, but now, since we had discussed it in class, I had relevant authority in my advice.



Whew! It was a grueling week -- but totally, absolutely worth it.  Along the way, I met some really great people -- police officers and emergency responders from all over the state.  We got to know each other pretty well, had some good laughs over lunch, during breaks.  And now we're certified!

Rear-Facing Advocate Is a Fan of the Car Seat Poncho!

Jim Peralta, aka "Grandpa Jim" is a fan of the Car Seat Poncho.  He purchased several for his grandchildren, and posted a link to our store on his website.



Jim is also a vocal advocate of extended rear-facing, because his grandson, Joel, was critically injured in a car crash.  The impact of the collision threw his body forward, and his car seat did its job of restraining him. But at 18 months, his skeleton was not mature or strong enough to keep his head from being thrown toward the front of the car.  Joel's neck was broken.



As Jim posted on Car-Seat.Org, "Some of the doctors put it in very simple terms...his skull, internally, became detached from his body... and was basically held on with his skin."



Babies and toddlers are not protected from neck and spinal cord injuries in the forward-facing position. The head is the heaviest part of the body at that age, and even at "low" speeds like 30 mph, a child's head would be thrown forward and pull the rest of the spinal cord with it. It's a very graphic term, but it's technically known as internal decapitation.  The American Association of Pediatrics recommends at least 2 years rear-facing, even better would be to rear-face to the height and weight limits set by your car seat's manufacturer.



Watch the news video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcG_CKT1j7c

Keep up with Joel's progress:  http://www.joelsjourney.org/index.html

More Safety Peeps Love the Car Seat Poncho!

The Car Seat Poncho gets the thumbs up from the Kyle David Miller Foundation, in their recent blog entry, "Dressing for Winter and Safety:"

... [The Car Seat Poncho] is wonderful, purpose designed poncho that keeps children both safe and cozy in your vehicle. The double zip function makes it easy to push aside the material in the front while you secure their harness underneath. The poncho then sits over the harness putting nothing bulky between your child, their seat and the harness. I love this product and it is my #1 child christmas/birthday gift.

I'm thrilled to be mentioned in their post, because keeping children safe is the super-duper, primo numero uno mission of the Kyle David Miller Foundation.  KDMF is a wonderful non-profit organization which seeks to increase awareness high-weight harnessing and donates high weight capacity 5 point harness car seats to low income families across North America.  It was founded in in December 2006 after the Miller family lost their 3 year old son Kyle in a motor vehicle crash on May 2005. The seat belt holding his booster seat failed and he was ejected from the vehicle and killed.

To support the goals of the foundation, H Barry Boo LLC donates $3 from the proceeds of every Pink Camo and Gadget poncho sale.  We call these Kyle's Ponchos.  When parents purchase either of these styles, they are not only keeping their children safer, they are helping an important cause and honoring the short life of a sweet little boy who was taken much too soon.

 

And while we're at it, why not throw in a BLOG SPECIAL:  From now until midnight Sunday, November 8, 2009, purchase either of Kyles's Ponchos and get a FREE MATCHING HAT.  Quantities are limited, so don't miss this chance to score a fetching, car seat safe winter ensemble for your little one.  Feel free to pass this info around to birth boards and Facebook friends!