Travel tip: Hotel cribs and play yards

When you're traveling with an infant, a hotel crib or play yard can be a safe haven for your baby. But if you don't know how old the crib or play yard is, it could be outdated and not up to today's safety standards.

To play it safe, you may want to take your play yard from home when you're traveling. When your baby sleeps in a play yard at night, place the play yard next to your bed, within arm's reach. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that your baby sleep in the same room with you (but not the same bed) until he is at least 6 months old, whether you're at home or on the road.

Because the bassinet feature in play yards can only be used for sleeping for babies up to 15 pounds, you'll need to go to plan B after that. One option: Put your baby to sleep on the floor of your play yard. It's close to the ground and uses the same mattress/floor pad as the bassinet.

If you can't or don't want to travel with a play yard, use the hotel's crib or play yard, but be sure to do your own assessment. For hotel cribs, check to make sure that the mattress is firm and tight-fitting. You shouldn't be able to fit two fingers between the edge of the mattress and the crib side. You shouldn't be able to fit a soda can between the slats. There also shouldn't be any missing parts, which can make the crib unstable or create dangerous gaps. There should be no protruding parts, screws, or bolts, or corner posts more than 1/16 inch or less than 16 inches high (anything in between can catch clothing, posing a strangulation hazard) or cutouts in the head or footboard, which can trap an infant's head or limbs. (Do the same tests at home and at Grandma's house.) Ask for another crib if the one you're offered doesn't pass muster. (See more safe sleep tips.)

Baby & child news roundup: Toys, outlet covers, family cars, more

Outlet cover choking hazard. A concerned grandfather wrote to us recently to say that the family of his "toddler granddaughter" had been given some animal-shaped outlet covers that he suspected were more of a hazard than an effective childproofing device. The multi-colored plastic plugs "certainly would seem to be attractive to a toddler," he wrote. Read the full Safety blog post.

Fewer toy recalls, more child injuries. The Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently hailed the significant reduction in toy recalls this year. But the CPSC's annual report showed that there were 172,700 toy-related injuries that sent children under 15 to the nation's emergency rooms in 2008, the highest injury level since 2001. Read the full Safety blog post.

What’s the better family car? "I'm trying to decide between buying a Camry or an Accord, which would you recommend for a family or four with two young children in car seats?" Find out our answer in the Cars blog family sedan chat transcript.

School lunch makeover. Having lived through school lunches of chicken fried steak with cream gravy and mashed potatoes, I realize that many school cafeterias have made some strides. But placing a largely ignored bowl of apples at the end of the line does little. Read the full Health blog post.

Despite risks, teens report texting while driving. A new study shows that a quarter of American teens have texted while driving—dangerous behavior for a group that statistically, already carries significant risks when behind the wheel. Read the full Cars blog post.

Holiday guide: Best toys for children 3 to 6 years old

By 3 years old, children start interacting with each other and engaging in pretend play. They enjoy acting out grown-up roles and using props such as costumes to bring their imaginations to life.

Suggested toys
Electronic toys that convert your TV or PC into a learning/interactive play site, nontoxic art supplies, books, videos, musical instruments, and outdoor toys such as a baseball tee, slide, or swing.

For related information, see our other reports: 

• toys buying guide
• best toys for newborn to 3-month-old babies
• best toys for babies 4-10 months old
• best toys for babies 9 months to 1 year old
• best toys for babies and children 1 to 3 years old

Holiday guide: Best toys for babies 1 to 3 years old

Playtime can get messy starting at 1 year old, when children begin to take an interest in emptying, transferring, and rearranging their environment. Filling and dumping are organizing skills that help your toddler to experience how things work and relate to each other. Stacking toys, which kids younger than 1 might enjoy, continue to be fun for kids this age. Starting about 12 months, your baby might also begin walking. From 2 to 3 years old, playing actively and testing physical skills by jumping, climbing, and throwing is the name of the game. Toddlers this age also like using their expanding hand-eye coordination to work with basic arts and crafts, blocks, and simple puzzles.

Suggested toys
Those that encourage your child's budding ambulatory skills, including blocks, books, fit-together toys, push-and-pull toys, pounding and shape toys, fill-and-spill sets, and balls. To bath time, add spoons, a plastic pitcher, measuring cups, and plastic cups to encourage filling and dumping skills without a mess. Toddlers and preschoolers also love ride-on toys and starter tricycles. For more information, see our report on Tricycles, ride-on toys, and scooters.

See best toys for newborn to 3-month-old babies, best toys for babies 4-10 months old, and best toys for babies 9 months to 1 year old for more buying advice.

Holiday guide: Best toys for babies 9 months-1 year old

Starting at about 9 months, babies play by shaking, banging, throwing, and dropping toys. They enjoy searching for hidden objects, taking objects out of containers, and poking their fingers into holes. Your baby will be able to grasp objects with her fingers and put one object on top of or into another, such as a ball into a box. Stacking and nesting are another way babies develop eye-hand coordination and learn about spatial relationships. Sorting helps babies to understand the relationships among objects—how they fit together and spatially relate to one another and how they differ in size and shape.

Suggested toys
Lightweight balls, nesting and stacking blocks or cups with rounded edges, pop-up toys that require sliding, toggling, pulling, and turning, squeeze and bath toys, soft dolls, puppets, and baby books, musical toys, and toy telephones and push-pull playthings.

See best toys for newborn to 3-month-old babies and best toys for babies 4-10 months old for more buying advice.

Stroller hinges: A closer look at the standards

Stroller hinge mechanisms—the joints on the sides that allow the stationary parts of the stroller to pivot and permit the stroller to fold—have been in the news since the November 9, 2009 recall of 1 million Maclaren umbrella strollers. The recall was prompted by 12 reports of children’s fingertips being amputated when their fingers became caught in the strollers’ hinge mechanisms. But like other strollers bearing the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) certification logo, the Maclaren models all meet current voluntary stroller standards. (Read what does the JPMA certification logo really mean?)

So what happened? The standards for stroller hinges apply to the product when it is in a locked, open position—not when it’s actually being opened or closed. According to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall notice, the Maclaren strollers’ hinge mechanism poses a hazard when the stroller is being unfolded or opened.

In general, strollers present risks to young children. In 2008 alone, strollers were responsible for an estimated 12,400 injuries to children under age 5—more than any other baby product—according to the CPSC. The leading cause of all baby product injuries were falls, and the head was most frequently injured. But with the recent Maclaren recall, fingertip safety is now being brought to light.

To rate strollers at Consumer Reports, many of our tests are based on the voluntary standards created by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)-International. Among other safety checks, our engineers check hinges and other parts of the strollers—once they’re in an open, locked position—for the following criteria:

Holiday guide: Best toys for babies 4-10 months old

By 4 to 10 months of age, babies can reach for and grasp objects, move them from one hand to the other, and play with their feet. They'll search for the source of sounds.

Suggested toys
A take-off on overhead mobiles, activity gyms feature charming, brightly-colored floor and hanging detachable toys that make sounds, play music, and have tantalizing textures. Some might include unbreakable, embedded mirrors, a definite plus. Like rattles and play keys, activity gyms help babies to explore their environment through their senses of sound, touch, sight, and taste. Their fine-motor skills get a tune-up when they bat, reach, and grab for toys. And if you place your baby in a gym on his tummy ("tummy time"), you'll help develop his posture and neck strength, a prerequisite for crawling and other physical skills.

Babies of this age also tend to enjoy soft balls with sounds inside, musical toys, washable baby books, and toys with flaps or lids that can be opened and closed. They'll still be fascinated by rattles, and the more their pickup skills develop, the more they'll reach for and play with them.

See best toys for newborn to 3-month-old babies for more buying advice.

Holiday guide: Best toys for newborn to 3-month-old babies

Babies are born with natural curiosity and gather information about the world through their senses. Babies enjoy looking at the world around them—lights, shapes, patterns, and colors. At about 3 months, they begin to swipe at objects and might try to reach for them.

Suggested toys
Rattles and play keys with high-contrast colors that make interesting noises, and musical crib mobiles with bright, primary-color objects or patterns that stimulate your baby's sense of sight. But keep toys out of the crib. Mobiles can be suspended near or above the crib as long as they're safely mounted. Mobiles are safest near the foot of the bed, where they can't fall on a child. Remove the mobile when your baby can push up on his hands and knees, at about 6 months.

Babies can see bright colors and shapes of rattles and play keys (for babies younger than 4 months, the toy should be any combination of red, black and white—the colors this age group sees best), feel their smooth or nubby texture, hear their rattling or clinking sound, and mouth them, which stimulates brain development.

See best toys for babies 4-10 months old for related information.

Infant car seats: Get the right angle

It’s important to get the right angle when you install your child’s infant seat. Installation procedures vary from model to model, so you’ll need to read and follow the instructions in the manual that came with your particular seat and car. If you are at all unsure about whether you’re installing it correctly, you can have it checked by a certified child-passenger safety seat technician. (To find one in your area, call your local police department or go to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Child Safety Seat Inspection Station Locator.)

Your rear-facing infant car seat should be tilted just enough for your baby to lay her head back comfortably, typically around 45 degrees. If she’s sitting too upright, her head could drop forward cutting off her airway. However, if her head is too far back, you’ll create the risk of absorbing the forces of a crash in the head, neck, and shoulders. As your baby develops more neck strength and is able to hold her head up, the seat can be in a more upright position; if her head falls forward, you’ll know the seat is not tilted back enough.

Smart habits to prevent changing-table falls

If you have the space, a well-stocked changing station will help make diaper duty go more smoothly by giving you a place to keep diapers and other essentials close at hand. But because your baby is off the floor, it has its hazards.

Each year an estimated 3,000 babies, on average, are injured in changing table accidents. Some injuries are fatal. In no more time than it takes to turn for a diaper or wipe, an active baby can roll over and tumble to the ground. For a child, a fall from a changing table is like an adult plunging from several stories and could be fatal.

While changing tables with barriers on the two opposing long sides of the top comply with the ASTM International standard if they have a contoured changing pad, we recommend using a table with barriers on all four sides. Whether you use a table with barriers on two, three, or four sides, or you use a contoured pad on top of a dresser, prevent accidents by always using the safety straps on your changing table or pad. Never leave your baby unattended—even for a moment, even if you’re using the safety straps, and even if you’re sure your baby is secure. (See more changing table features.)

In fact, make it a practice to keep one hand on your baby. When you are shopping for a changing table, make sure that the drawers and shelves are easily accessible so you won’t have to let go of your baby to reach something.

Before changing your baby’s diaper, be sure that any products you need—diapers, wipes, or the wipe warmer—are within arm’s reach but not within your baby’s range, and place the diaper pail adjacent to the table. If you run out of diapers or forget your little one’s outfit, carry her with you while you get what you need. If you wheel your changing table from room to room, be sure to lock the wheels on a stable, flat surface. Park your changing table away from small objects your baby can grasp and hot objects, such as a radiator. Never wheel the table with your baby on it, strapped on or not.

Recall: One million Maclaren strollers

After getting reports of 12 fingertip amputations, Maclaren USA is recalling one million strollers, which includes every umbrella stroller of that brand sold in the U.S. for the past 10 years. The amputations occurred when the children got their fingers caught in the stroller’s hinge mechanism. According to Maclaren, at the time of the incidents the children were outside the stroller and a parent or caregiver was either opening it or folding it up. 
 
The strollers were sold at Babies 'R' Us, Target, and other juvenile product and mass merchandise retailers from 1999 through November 2009 for between $100 and $360. The recall involves all Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers including Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller. See the full Safety blog post for more information.

Also see 7 common stroller mistakes for safety measures you should take when using a stroller.

Children’s art easels recalled due to high levels of lead

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission yesterday announced a voluntary recall of about 10,000 Young Artist Easels manufactured by MacPherson’s of Emeryville, Calif. The recall notice claims that high levels of lead are contained in the chalkboard’s surface coating, which violates the federal lead paint standard. Although no incidents or injuries have been reported, the CPSC encourages consumers to stop using the easels immediately. The easels were manufactured in China.

The easels have a chalkboard surface on one side and a whiteboard surface on the other side. The item number is AA13301 and the UPC number is 082435133010, which can be found on the original packaging.

What you can do. Consumers should immediately take these easels away from children and contact MacPherson’s to receive a free replacement chalkboard panel. Reach MacPherson’s at 866-319-5335 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, or via e-mail at recall@macphersonart.com. You can also visit the firm’s Web site at www.art-alternatives.com/recall.

Learn more about toys for children of all ages.

Pets and animals: Child safety tips

Children often love animals and want to play with them. But a bite from an unfamiliar dog or cat can frighten and harm your child. By teaching your child how to be safe around strange animals, you can prevent a bite from occuring. Here are some tips, plus what to do in the event of a bite or scratch.

Teach your child to stay away from unfamiliar animals. Animals that appear friendly or are cute can still bite, scratch, or have rabies, including adorable dogs and cats. Each year, about 4000,000 children need medical attention for dog bites. This includes all children, not just infants or toddlers. Almost two-thirds of injuries among children 4 and younger are to the head and neck region. Rabies is a disease of mammals but is much more common among wild animals. Most-common carriers are skunks, raccoons, beavers, squirrels, bats, foxes, and coyotes. But even a cute goat at a petting zoo can transmit it.

Supervise children around pets. You might have a sweet older dog or cat that you would never could ever bite or scratch anyone. But even the most docile pet can be provoked into biting or scratching if a small child decides to pull on the pet's ears or tail, or otherwise inadvertently hurts the animal. So don't let your little ones play with your pets unless you are within arm's reach.

What to do if your child is bitten or scratched. Wash a dog or cat bite or scratch immediately and thoroughly for at least five minutes, then call the doctor. Bites, especially around the head or face, require medical attention. If the animal is a stray, call animal control. If you know the owner, find out if the animal has been vaccinated. If your child needs a rabies shot, it must be given as soon as possible. If you have a pet, keep all vaccinations up to date. If a wild animal bites your pet, your pet could be infected, so call your vet immediately.

See more general safety tips for children and pets and homeowners insurers don't like some dog breeds for related information. And see the Consumer Reports Guide to Childproofing & Safety for more great child safety tips, available here and at retailers nationwide.

What tips do you recommend to keep your pets and children safe? Let us know in comments.

Why Consumer Reports Still Says Don’t Buy the Orbit Infant Car Seat

Last week we reported that Consumer Reports stands behind our earlier judgment that the Orbit Infant Car Seat poses a safety risk and warrants a Don’t Buy Rating, even though government tests now show the seat meets federal safety standards. The manufacturer and a few others have questioned our position, arguing that we should change our rating on the seat. Here’s a short answer that explains why we won’t – and a series of longer answers that should provide plenty of detail for those who are interested.

The short answer is simple: Consumer Reports has tested child car seats since 1972, and we take any failures seriously. In the past year alone, we’ve tested 31 different child and infant car seats. Of those, the Orbit Infant Car Seat was the only one that failed our tests. Two out of six Orbit seats detached from their bases in our simulated 30 mph frontal crash tests. We have examined our methodology in detail and believe our tests were properly conducted. We’re concerned about the seat’s safety, and do not feel comfortable recommending it to parents because – when it comes to child safety – we believe no failure is acceptable.

It’s not the first time that Consumer Reports’ view on safety has differed from that of a manufacturer or the government. These differences aren’t surprising given our respective roles in the marketplace. Consumer Reports does not certify that products meet federal safety requirements—that’s the manufacturer’s responsibility. Nor do we conduct compliance testing to confirm that products are legally fit for sale—that’s for the government to do. Consumer Reports independently compares how well products perform from a consumer perspective. And when we find a product that we believe poses a hazard, we advise you not to buy it.

For those who want to know more about how our tests were conducted, why we disagree with the manufacturer’s objections about our methodology, and why we are sticking with our Don’t Buy Rating, see the detailed questions and answers below.

Where did CR get the Orbit Infant Car Seats for its tests?
How were the seats tested?
How did the seats perform?
What does a CR “Don’t Buy” Rating mean?
What has the manufacturer said?
How did CR handle the seat installation?
What has NHTSA said about CR's installation?
What have other experts said about CR’s tests?
Why has CR decided not to run additional tests?
What are our testers' qualifications?
What’s CR’s experience testing car seats?
How did these tests differ from our 2007 car seat tests?
How did the seat perform in NHTSA’s tests?
What does it mean to “pass” the government test?
Are there safe alternatives to this seat?
What should I do if I own the seat?
Are other Orbit Baby products safe?

Where did CR get the Orbit Infant Car Seats for its tests?
All of the Orbit Infant Car Seats used in our tests were bought anonymously by Consumer Reports at retail. Consistent with our policy, we do not rate samples provided by manufacturers. We pay for them the same way you do.

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How were the seats tested?
Orbit Infant Car Seats were tested at an outside lab that specializes in car seat testing. The same lab is used by the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) for car seat testing, and was used in the government’s recent tests of the Orbit Infant Car Seats. It was also used by Orbit Baby for the manufacturer’s seat tests.

Simulated crash tests of the rear-facing infant seats were closely supervised by our program manager of vehicle and child safety Jennifer Stockburger and automotive safety engineer Michelle Tsai, both of whom are engineers and certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) technicians. Tests were overseen by the manager at the outside lab, who is also CPS certified, and conducted by other trained lab technicians.

These are the same tests that Consumer Reports routinely performs when evaluating car seats. We have a 37-year history of testing car seats and in the last year tested 31 seat models, including the Orbit seat (15 infant and 16 convertible car seats). (See What's CR's experience testing car seats?) We conducted the tests using the manufacturer’s instructions on seat installation. And we were guided by specific standards for speed and impact crash simulations in the federal standard for child restraints (the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard—FMVSS 213). Our crash tests simulated a head-on 30-mph crash and used a 22-pound CRABI dummy, which represents a 12-month-old child.

Three Orbit seats were tested using the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system to install the base. We also installed two seats using a 3-point (lap-and-shoulder) seat belt. And finally one seat was tested with just a lap belt.

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How did the seats perform?
We saw failures with the Orbit Infant Car Seats in two out of six tests: Once when the car seat base was attached using the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system, and again in one of the instances when the base was installed with the 3-point (lap-and-shoulder) seat belt. We tested two seats as part of our normal test procedure. When one seat detached from its base, we purchased another four seats to see if the failure was reproducible – and we did see a second failure in one of the four seats.

The point of failure with the Orbit seat occurred when the carrier detached from its seat base in two test runs.

Diagram of the Orbit Infant Car Seat shows point of failure between the seat and the base

In all six of our simulated crashes, the Orbit seat base remained attached to the sled bench. (The sled bench is used in simulated crash tests as a requirement to meet government standards, and substitutes for a vehicle seat.)

Time-lapse photos of the Orbit Infant Car Seat shot during one of CR's two failed tests show the seat separating from its base

The four other Orbit seats did not detach from their bases. And neither did two samples from each of the other models tested in this batch of infant travel systems, the Graco Stylus and the Eddie Bauer Adventurer.

Based on those two failures, Consumer Reports rated the Orbit Infant System Don’t Buy: Safety Risk.

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What does a CR “Don’t Buy” Rating mean?
Consumer Reports’ tests are designed to help parents to make decisions about which car seats to buy. We test seats for crash protection, guided by minimum standards for speed and crash dynamics used in government tests. We also compare car seats in terms of how well they perform in areas such as “ease of use” and “fit to vehicle.” We give car seats an overall Rating that tells you which seats may be a good value for your family. Don’t Buy: Safety Risk is our strongest negative recommendation, and indicates our opinion that there is a serious safety risk. In this case, it means we don’t recommend the Orbit Infant Car Seat.

Our view is that when it comes to safety, no test failure is acceptable—and that’s especially so where child safety is concerned. Of the 15 infant seat models we have tested this year using in each case the same minimum standard, simulated frontal impact tests, and conducted in the same specialized lab, the Orbit Infant Car Seat was the only one of the samples we bought and tested that detached from its base.

Another reason the failures raise such serious concerns for us is that the tests run by Consumer Reports followed minimum standards for safety. We conducted simulated frontal crash tests at 30 mph, the speed required by government standards. But other safety tests go beyond those parameters. For example, when the government evaluates the crashworthiness of vehicles and assesses the effects of frontal impacts on adult passengers as part of the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), it conducts crash tests at 35 mph. Though child seats are not normally included in NCAP car evaluations, when they have been, some child restraint recalls have been initiated based on seat failures in these tests even when those same seats met conditions of the minimum FMVSS 213 standard. Consumer Reports believes that seats with a sufficient safety margin should consistently pass tests run at the minimum standard for speed, and also perform well in tests conducted at slightly higher speeds seen in some real-world crashes.

Note that Consumer Reports’ Don’t Buy Rating doesn’t necessarily mean that a seat has failed to comply with government safety standards. The manufacturer is responsible for testing to ensure its seats meet the government standards. And only the government can set those standards and confirm that a particular seat passes or fails. (See How did the seat perform in NHTSA’s tests? and What does it mean to “pass” the government test?)

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What has the manufacturer said?
We notified Orbit Baby, the manufacturer based in Newark, Calif., of our findings before we published the results and invited the company to review our test procedures and findings at our Yonkers headquarters. Following that review, Orbit Baby’s chief executive officer, Joseph Hei, said in an e-mailed statement: “Orbit Baby has never received any report of a child being injured while in an Orbit baby seat. We do not believe the test results obtained by Consumers Union are indicative of the safety of our Infant Car seats. Our car seats are used by children, including our own, and safety is our top priority. We strongly believe in the quality of our product.”

The company said that it had run extensive and regular compliance testing in the past in the same independent lab used by Consumer Reports, and that every seat had passed. It also said that upon being notified of our test results, it had conducted more tests at the same lab to see if they could replicate our findings, and found no failures.

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How did CR handle the seat installation?
Orbit Baby has raised concerns about the way seats were installed in our tests, and suggested this may have led to our observed seat failures. We respectfully disagree with the manufacturer’s suggestion that our tests were not properly conducted.

Click to view the base label

The manufacturer raised two specific concerns about our testing: The first has to do with the fact that we did not use the patented StrongArm mechanism when installing the base. The Orbit instructions say to turn the StrongArm knob to amplify your strength when tightening the seat belts that secure the base, and note that the belt has reached “the optimal tightness setting” when the seat base does not move more than one inch in any direction. The installation directions on the seat base direct as follows: “If the base moves more than 1 inch, turn the StrongArm clockwise or reinstall the Base according to the instruction manual.” (See left.) In each of our tests, lab personnel checked to see that the base met the 1-inch movement criteria and was at “optimal” tightness without needing to use the StrongArm.FMVSS 213 also dictates a required tension range for the belts used to attach the seat base to the bench (12 to 15 lbs). Lab personnel installed the Orbit bases to meet that requirement as well, again without needing to use the StrongArm.

Some Orbit Infant System owners have commented on our blogs and said that they don’t understand how we installed the base securely without using the StrongArm feature.

1) Sled bench used for our Orbit Baby tests. 2) A back-view of the sled bench seats shows the belts used to secure the base

While it may be helpful or necessary to use the StrongArm to ensure that the base can move no more than one inch in any direction when the seat is installed in a car, our lab tests are conducted using the federally mandated sled bench. The bench enables easier access to the belts (including from behind the seat) and is softer and flatter than many vehicle seats. These design features often make it easier to install child seats on the sled bench than in a real car. We confirmed that our installation met the optimal installation outlined in the Orbit manual and the tension requirements of the federal standard.

A photo from one of our test installation shows the top harness slot position used by CR. Testers judged it appropriate to use the top harness slot with a clothed 12-month CRABI dummy

The manufacturer also said our testers had used the wrong position for the harness strap that holds the infant in the carrier. Specifically, Orbit claims that we should have used the middle harness slot position. The harness was positioned in the top slots for all of our six tests. The Orbit instruction manual and instructions for all rear facing seats state that the straps should be positioned “even with or just below” the child’s shoulders. The dummy required by the FMVSS 213 for rear facing child seats is a clothed 12-Month CRABI dummy. Test lab personnel and our CPS technicians judged that it was appropriate to use the highest of the three strap positions to meet the Orbit guidelines for this CRABI dummy.

Based on the details outlined above, again we respectfully disagree with the manufacturer’s claims that we didn’t follow the instructions. We believe that installing the seat as described above should not cause the seat to fail a minimum standard test—and if it does, we think there’s a problem with the seat.

Car-seat installation in the real world is not an exact science. Installation can vary from family to family, and car to car. And the top three installation issues for parents include choosing the correct harness position and tension and getting sufficient vehicle-belt tension. (See NHTSA's research on this issue.) Parents have a right to expect that seats will be engineered with enough margin of safety to accommodate some variations in installation. If a seat’s ability to stay attached to its base depends upon parents using a middle slot instead of the higher slot for a child the size and weight of the 12 month CRABI dummy—when trained CPS technicians and lab personnel all used their best judgment to select the higher slot—we believe that seat doesn’t meet the standards it should to protect a child.

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What has NHTSA said about CR's installation?
Consumer Reports and Orbit Baby also shared their test results with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal agency that regulates car seat safety. The agency recently ran its own tests on the seat (See How did the Orbit Infant Car Seat perform in NHTSA’s tests?). In a later update on their Web site, Orbit Baby reported that a letter to Consumers Union from NHTSA “…Confirmed that the magazine’s original tests of the Infant Car Seat deviated from their official government’s test procedures and were NOT configured correctly according to FMVSS 213”. Orbit suggested this “improper test set up” contributed to what it called our "inconsistent results." We believe this characterization of NHTSA’s comments about our tests is misleading and could be confusing for consumers.

In NHTSA’s report on the research tests (not their letter to Consumers Union) the agency describes two ways in which our tests deviated from FMVSS 213. First it notes that for some of our tests we installed the Orbit Infant Car Seats using a 3 point (lap-and-shoulder) seat belt. Consumer Reports routinely performs crash tests using the 3-point belt configuration (in addition to the LATCH system and two-point lap belt required by FMVSS 213) because this belt system is featured on many newer cars. Second, NHTSA notes we did not use the StrongArm as instructed in the Orbit manual. As we’ve explained, our testers were able to achieve the required belt tension specified by the owner’s manual and the FMVSS standards without needing to use the StrongArm. While it notes differences in protocol, NHTSA does not say that these deviations from their standards invalidate Consumer Reports’ tests or our results.

In addition to regulating the protocol for performing FMVSS 213 tests, the government has recommended practices for contract laboratories such as the one used by Consumer Reports. For rear facing infant seats the agency recommends that the harness be placed through the slot at or below the level of the dummy’s shoulder.  In the case of the Orbit seat and 12 month old CRABI dummy, NHTSA's report on its research tests states that it believes the middle slot is the appropriate one. After noting that Consumer Reports placed the harness through the top slot, however, the agency concludes ".......use of the top slot is permitted by FMVSS No. 213.”

Orbit has sharply criticized Consumer Reports’ use of the top harness slot. An article on the company's Web site states: “Correct harness positioning has an especially large influence on crash testing results…. Improperly securing the test dummy allows it to accelerate upwards in a significant way, resulting in unpredictable test conditions.” Again, while Consumer Reports' harness installation differed from NHTSA's, the agency clearly states that our installation is permitted and it does not question the validity of our tests.

Consumer Reports tests are designed to determine comparative performance in a variety of areas, including safety. We are guided by FMVSS 213 and follow specific standards for speed and impact in assessing performance around crash protection. But our tests are designed to allow us to assess comparative performance, and we don’t claim to replicate the government’s tests exactly or to follow all FMVSS 213 test protocols. As an example, the government tests in some areas that we simply don’t cover (such as an Aircraft Passenger Seat Inversion Test). For more information, see How did the seat perform in NHTSA's tests? 

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What have other experts said about CR’s tests?
Consumer Reports regularly confers with outside experts when developing tests. Before publication of our results in this case, our test findings were reviewed by an outside child-safety expert who has broad experience in child restraint crash testing.

Consumer Reports also commissioned an independent consultant to review our tests. Brian O’Neill, former president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which runs its own large crash-test program, was given access to all Consumer Reports documents concerning the project. His report concludes, “After reviewing the Consumers Union reports of its tests of the Orbit Infant System, the response of the manufacturer, and the comments posted on the blogs I believe the CU warnings about this infant carrier are justified.”

Read O’Neill’s report and conclusions.

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Why has CR decided not to run additional tests?
Consumer Reports has already done three rounds of testing on the Orbit Infant Car Seat. We initially tested two seats, and observed one failure. We conducted a second round of tests to see if the failure was reproducible and tested four additional seats, experienced a second failure (a total of two seat failures out of six tested seats). Finally, we purchased two more seats and tested their performance without the base to give owners of the Orbit seat a safer alternative installation.

After a detailed review, we believe our tests were performed correctly. And we have decided not to run additional tests at this time.

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What are our testers' qualifications?
Consumer Reports child passenger safety staff members who closely supervised these tests are engineers and certified Child Passenger Safety technicians (CPS) trained in child restraint installation. As part of this certification, our experts have worked in the field helping parents to install their car seats, so they understand the nuances of seat installation in lab and real-world conditions. Tests were overseen by a CPS certified test manager and conducted by technicians at a lab that is certified to run car seat tests for the government, and also conducted seat tests for Orbit Baby. Many of our testers are also parents who regularly move their own child seats from one test car to another.

We take proper car seat installation very seriously. CU has been a vocal advocate for following proper seat installation for many years. In all reports that touch on child safety related to cars, we encourage parents to read and carefully follow instruction manuals. We’ve also suggested that parents make sure that their car seats are properly installed at child seat checkpoints. Find the one nearest to you.

Our work in this area has taught us how challenging car seat instructions can be for parents to follow and we draw on our experiences to push for improvements. We’ve actively promoted labeling clarity and ease of use for car seat manuals and instructions. We recently submitted comments on this topic to NHTSA (August 2007), to assist them in developing guidelines for universal symbols used in car seat and vehicle instructions. Our comments specifically addressed improved labeling and education regarding top-tether usage, LATCH improvements, and improved prominence for labels that identify LATCH hardware in the cars.

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What's CR's experience testing car seats?
Consumer Reports has a long history of testing infant car seats, beginning with crash-tests run for the magazine's August 1972 issue: We rated 12 out of 15 of them Not Acceptable.

CR's 1972 report on infant car seats

Between 1972 and 1977, Consumer Reports tested child seats four times, making it the only publication then regularly crash-testing safety seats and reporting the results to consumers and the government. The day after we released our 1974 report, the government proposed a stronger child-restraint amendment and as of January 1, 1981, all manufacturers of child safety seats had to certify that their seats would pass a rigorous crash test.

Today we continue to test child safety seats in order to help consumers to make educated decisions about which car seats to choose for their children. Simulated crash tests not only provide a “check” that seats are meeting the minimum requirements of the standard as child seats are self-certified by their manufacturers but their performance in those tests help us to rank those that reduce a child’s potential for injury better than others. Our testing also includes significant information relative to the seat’s Ease-of-Use and Fit-to-Vehicle assessments. Our CPS technicians and safety experts regularly provide comments to the government on proposals for new standards.

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How did these tests differ from our 2007 "side impact" car seat tests?
In this 2007 case, a series of misjudgments and a key misunderstanding between Consumer Reports and an outside lab led to the publication of erroneous crash test data for a batch of infant car seats. Our report was withdrawn just 14 days after it was first published, when evidence first surfaced that it was flawed. (See How Our Car Seat Tests Went Wrong.)

These recent tests differed significantly from the flawed tests we reported on in 2007. Those tests evaluated seats in conditions exceeding the minimum standards recommended by FMVSS 213, both in speed and in crash orientation. In 2007, in addition to frontal crash tests, we ran side impact crash tests which is where the test flaws occurred. Our 2009 tests of Orbit Infant Car Seats were in conditions based on the current minimum federal standards for sale of seats, which specify no more than a 30-mph speed and are confined to frontal impact.

After the 2007 tests we took a number of steps to prevent car seat testing errors from happening again, all of which benefited the 2009 tests which included the Orbit Infant Car Seat. These 2009 tests involved much closer interaction with the test lab in coordinating test procedures and conditions, and a review of all data by an independent industry expert. All tests were overseen by trained CPS technicians. And when we discovered failures, as already noted, we ensured that we had the ability to repeat failure modes using additional samples. Finally, before we published our Don’t Buy Rating, we also shared all of our data with the manufacturer and asked for its comments and response.

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How did the seat perform in NHTSA’s tests
Consumer Reports and Orbit Baby had each shared the results of our respective crash tests with NHTSA and asked the agency to review the matter. As we reported last week, in a letter to Consumers Union NHTSA said that the agency had run two subsequent rounds of tests. The first round of compliance tests took place at the same outside lab used by Consumer Reports and Orbit. Tests followed the standards for 30-mph simulated crashes required by FMVSS 213. None of the four seats tested for compliance detached from their bases. The agency’s compliance-test report concludes that the Orbit Infant Car Seat “met or exceeded” the standard safety requirement.

As part of its continuing research, the agency later ran a second round of tests in the same outside lab replicating Consumer Reports’ test configurations and installation methods. Again, none of the four seats used for that research test detached from their bases. The agency said that it had also reviewed its database for safety related incidents associated with the seat, and had not found any consumer complaints concerning safety issues. (See the agency’s report on its research tests.) It determined that “no further action is currently warranted” and said that it will continue to monitor the Orbit Infant Car Seat and include it in its annual compliance test program.

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What does it mean to “pass” the government test?
To meet the government standards, car seats must perform at or below certain required thresholds. For example, car seats must perform so that the test dummy registers data below allowable maximums (for head and chest injury criteria and that the seat does not exceed allowable maximums for back angle (rear facing).

The program relies on self-certification—that is, manufacturers independently perform these tests and are responsible for making sure that they are in compliance with the regulations. NHTSA runs its own tests on a sub-set sample of seats from the market each year to confirm manufacturers’ reported results, but does not test all seats every year.

In this case, the “pass” finding means that the Orbit Infant Car Seat met or exceeded the government safety requirements.

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Are there safe alternatives to this seat?
For those in search of an alternative stroller system, Consumer Reports recommends the Graco Stylus Travel System 7U02GA03 ($245). It passed all of our tests and was named a Best Buy.

We want to respond to people on our blogs who asked whether we were paid by Graco to promote their seats. We pride ourselves on being an independent and objective organization, and our recommendations are based solely on our testing. We don’t accept fees or free samples from any manufacturer and we don’t accept advertising.

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What should I do if I own the seat?
For those who already own an Orbit Infant System, we recommend that you strap the infant carrier directly into the back seat of the vehicle, without the car seat base. We tested the seat in this configuration to see if it offered a safer alternative for seat owners—and based on our result, this arrangement is safe. Correctly installed this way, the infant carrier passed our tests when it was secured using either a two-point (lap) belt or a three-point (lap and shoulder) belt. Obviously this makes the product somewhat less convenient to use.

Used as a stroller, separate tests have also shown the Orbit Infant System to be perfectly safe.

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Are other Orbit products safe?
We have tested other Orbit products and found them to be safe. Last year we evaluated the Orbit Toddler System, which is tested in the same base with a larger 3-year-old dummy and similar speed and attachment protocols (no StrongArm) and had no issues. The Orbit Infant System also performs well in its capacity as a stroller.

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Safe sliding at the playground

Making sure the slide is a joy ride takes some caregiver preparedness. Some slides are meant for older and physically advanced children. Preschool-aged children should only use slides that are straight, or they may use spiral slides if they have only one turn of 360 degrees or less, since a child in this age group has limited ability to maintain balance or postural control. (Learn more about safe climbing at the playground.)

For extra safety, teach your child to follow these rules before using a slide:

• Hold onto the ladder with both hands as you climb up the steps of the slide. (Stay behind your child if necessary.)
• Never climb up two steps at a time.
• Don't climb up the front of the slide.
• Slide down sitting up with your feet first.
• Never slide head first.
• No sliding on your stomach.
• No kneeling to slide.
• Only one child should slide down at a time.

Learn more about playground germs, playing it safe on the swings, what to do when a child's nose bleeds, and best outdoor toys.

See the Consumer Reports Guide to Childproofing & Safety for more great child safety tips, available here or at retailers nationwide.