TAMPA, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Car seats, strollers and high chairs. How do you know if you are buying the right kind and better yet, using them correctly?
As a mother, Kim Metschke takes no chances. Metschke told Ivanhoe, "As a mom I have to be on top of my game 24/7 with these guys."
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The kids come with a lot of gear too, Metschke told Ivanhoe."With having four kids under six, I actually have to have four car seats."
And shopping for all this stuff can be a bit much! "It's so overwhelming when you go to the store. I mean there are so many different kinds at so many different price levels," Metshcke told Ivanhoe.
Before buying, find out about recalls. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says for strollers and high chairs get rid of these: Britax B Agile, the Graco Breeze, the Dream on Me Dinah High Chair and Baby Home Eat High Chair.
Elizabeth Monforti is a public information officer for Palm Harbor Fire Rescue and helps parents put car seats in so they work correctly.
Monforti told Ivanhoe, "One of the problems that we see when people come in, they might have the seat rear-facing and they are using the forward-facing belt path or vice versa."
For booster seats, safety experts say do buy or keep the Britax Frontier, Evenflo Chase and Cosco Pronto. And don't buy: the Diono Olympia and the Safety 1st All-In-One. As for car seats, some of the highest rated are: the Baby Trend Inertia and the Angel Guard Angel Ride.
And being careful is how Kim Metschke is able to keep her most precious cargo strapped, snug and safe.
Monforti says parents should keep their children in a car seat with a harness as long as possible.
You can sign up for recall alerts with the Consumer Product Safety Commission on their website www.cpsc.gov.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website also has the complete list of child boosters at www.iihs.org.
Contributors to this news report include:
Emily Maza Gleason, Field Producer; Mary Stufano, Assistant Producer; Travis Bell, Videographer and Jamie Koczan, Editor.