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Car Seat Accessories |
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Most car seats come with accessories, these are additional attachments sold with the seat by the manufacturer. Not all accessories are compatible with all car seats. As a general rule of thumb if the product didn't come with your seat, do not add it or use it with your seat.
Accessories may be required for some car seats for infant comfort or a secure installation, these may include the locking clip, padded inserts and items like a chest clip, drink caddy or infant head support.
Some accessories can be used along with your child's car seat, like a snap-n-go frame for your infants car seat. But some items that can be used with your child seat, should not be used, as they can interfere with the seats function and may be fatal in an accident, these include non manufacturer issued seat inserts, parts off other manufacturers car seats and non slip mats to be placed under the car seat.
Why can I not use some accessories?
Non manufacturer issued covers
Snap-n-go frame
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Why can I not use some accessories with my car seat?
Most manufacturers advise against adding accessories from other brands or items that did not come with the seat when first purchased.
Not all accessories are compatible with all restraints. Unless the car seat is crash tested with these products in use, it is not a advised to add other branded products to your child restraint. Doing so may void any warranty on your seat and may cause injury to your child in the event of an accident.
Most accessories are made as replacements only for those currently fitted to your car seat.
"The seat(s) need to be used in accordance with the instruction manuals, this is how they are certified and tested. The seats should not be fitted [or used] any other way." - ICG Dorel 2007 |
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The Happi insert is designed for infants that need to have their heads slightly back more than the car seat allows. This is to prevent the child from becoming unable to breathe. It is important to note that not all infants require this set up. The insert is quite thick and therefore will interfere with the functioning of the seat belt. The product has not been crash tested and since it is not issued by the manufacturer, most do not recommend its use. Premature infants may require the Happi insert, the hospital should let you know if this is so, and they will carry out a car seat check to ensure that the infant can breathe well, both in the car seat, and with the insert. |
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Locking clips work by restricting movement of the lap and sash sections of retractable safety belts. These belts do not lock when fully extended and have a free sliding latch plate. Locking clips do not need to be used with lap only belts.
Locking clips do not need to be used with seat belts that lock for child restraints when fully extended, but can be used if personally preferred.
Locking belts?
The "H" clip is the traditonal sytle manufactured in the early 90's and still used today. It is often gold in colour, some have been made silver also.
Safe-n-Sound manufacture a "bent" style locking clip that is black in colour and bent in the middle. The sides are also longer. These clips can be harder for some people to get into the seat belt.
They must be fitted the correct way or the clip will slide on the belt and not work at all. A good way to remember this is "wings up" that means the hooks at each end should be seen when fitted to the belt.
Exactus "Blue" clip
Exactus make an easy to use locking clip on a hinge that can be opened to place and remove the seat belt. It is blue in colour. Older models were a bright green. The outside of the clip is a heavy duty plastic.
The Exactus locking clip is made in New Zealand and is tested to Australian Standard AS/NZS 1754. It is easy to use and does not heat up in hot weather.
The clip is simple to use.
- Open the clip up by pushing the latch at the end
- Put section of belt into clip (older (green)models this needs to be slid under a "tongue").
- Close lock off, some pressure may be required to get it to close correctly. If it does not close at all, open the clip and check that the belt is resting in the central groove and not on the end portions. Reposition if needed.
Fixed locking clip
A fixed locking clip is attached and is part of the child restraint. Safe-n-Sound seats often have a forward facing locking clip known as a "lock-off". Not all models are fitted with inbulit locking clips, if your seat is not, either purchase the Safe-n-sound clips that attach to the seat, or use a Safe-n-sound bent clip if your seat belts do not lock.
The newer high end models have also have a rear facing lock off (this is shown in the image below to the left) - the black clip. The forward facing clip is shown to the right, the red clip.
The rear facing black lock-off works by opening the latch at the front of the image, feed the belt through and then Push the clip back towards the seat where it will lock into place.
The red forward facing lock off works by pressing the end that sticks out towards the side of the seat, inwards (right side of image) and sliding the belt between the red and gray plastic (left side) and then press with a bit of pressure towards the base of the seat, in reverse from the first step mentioned above.
The lock offs prevents the belt from seat belt slack and helps maintain a firm install in the car.
American car seats sold in New Zealand, such as Cosco and Evenflo seats will come with a locking clip, this is normally found attached to the back, or underside of the the seat.
Please note:
A locking clip is not a substitue for a chest clip. If you use it in place of a chest clip, or on a seat that does not have a chest clip you or your child could be seriously injured in an accident. The clip may come away from the child's seat when used this way and could pose a hazard to anyone inside the car.
Fitting the locking clip
The images below show how the clip is fitted to the belt. It needs to be fitted to the buckle end of the belt at about 1cm (1/2 inch) from the latch plate.
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Non-manufacturer issued covers and inserts
Covers that come with your seat have been tested to the standard applied to your child's seat. While it is easy to think that the cover is mearly a selling point, this is not true.
Covers are required to meet strict fire safety standards, this means that many seat covers (issued by the manufacturer) have been coated with a flame retardant protectant, this is not visible, and does not smell. By using a non-manufacturer issued child seat cover you are taking that safety feature away from your child. It is also important that when you wash your child's seat cover you adhdere to the manufacturers instructions to prevent the retardant from being washed off.
Another reason that non-manufacturer issued covers are not approprite is because the cover does not include important information as required by standards testing, that is the rear facing warning that warns people against placing a rear facing seat in the front seat, especially in cars fitted with airbags. Doing so could be fatal to your child.
These covers also have no indication as to what seat or brand of seat it was made for, and therefore may lead to a poor fitting cover, that might interfere with the seat belt function.
These home made covers may not fit the seat shell snuggly and may allow additonal movement in an accident which could cause greater injuries to your child.
The same goes for head rests/snuggles that are not issued by the manufacturer for use with the car seat, these may have slots that are not the correct size for your child's car seat, this may force the belt too close to or too far from your child's neck and body, rendering the harness useless in an accident.
In place of a head rest you can use rolled up towels or nappies and place these down the side of your infant, this does not intefere with the harness or seat funtion at all.
Did it come with your seat?
If not, then what are you doing with it?