If you've read ZRecs for any length of time, you'll know how passionate we are about keeping kids buckled in the safest car seats, properly installed. I participated in a Twitter party on Wednesday for the new website Child Passenger Safety, where I was reminded that tomorrow, September 12, is National Seat Check Saturday. The event kicks off a week dedicated to child passenger safety (stay tuned for a review of a new car seat we've been testing out). On National Seat Check Saturday and all next week, we urge you to find a child safety seat check station and have your seat installation checked by certified Child Safety Technicians. (If you miss the event though, you can still have your seat checked by a technician at any time!)

A few years ago, this kind of post title might have been harder for me to write. But it's clear that when it comes to children dying after being forgotten in their car seats, what we have is a societal problem in need of solutions instead of isolated cases of "bad parents" being negligent in forgetting children in their cars. Over on Z Recommends we have a post up today about the issue, and thought we'd share some tips that can help ensure you or your loved ones don't make this tragic mistake. We've compiled these tips from KidsandCars.org, the SafeKids Campaign, and our own thoughts.

• Put something you'll need on the floorboard in the back seat - your cell phone, purse, wallet, or other daily necessity you won't forget.


• Never leave a young child alone in a car, even for a "quick" errand, even with the windows down, even if they're old enough to not be in a car seat. Cars pose a variety of hazards for young children beyond the possibility of heat stroke - carbon monoxide poisoning from older vehicles left running, airbags, trunk entrapment, and more. It can also turn an opportunistic car theft into a kidnapping.


• Establish a habit of opening the back door of your vehicle every time you arrive at your destination to make sure no child has been left behind. Developing the habit, even on days you know you don't have your child with you, can help you remember your child is there if you ever do let your child's presence slip out of your conscious mind.


• Keep a large stuffed animal in the child's car seat when it’s not occupied. When you put your child in their car seat, move the stuffed toy into the front passenger seat.


• Make arrangements with your child’s day care or sitter to call you if your child does not arrive on time on scheduled days, or establish a quick-call routine with your spouse to say hello on your arrival at your destination.


• If you see a child alone in a vehicle, take action. If the parent cannot immediately be found, call 911 or your local emergency number.

On our recent flight to Las Vegas for the ABC Kids Expo, we took the opportunity to test out the Kids Fly Safe CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System). When we've flown in the past, we've brought our folding Sunshine Kids Radian 80 with us and grunted and puffed (well, I stood there while Jeremiah grunted and puffed) until we had successfully installed it in Z's airline seat. Even with a folding car seat, it's still a pain to get it down those ever-skinner airline aisles and to maneuver in your ever-narrower row. On this last trip, we gate-checked our car seat and walked down the aisles a lot lighter. Instead of joining me in watching Jeremiah grunting and puffing, Z sat in her seat while we looped the FAA-approved (yes, even for takeoff and landing) CARES restraint over the back of her seat and adjusted it to the appropriate height. We buckled her in and were ready to go... actually, almost that quickly. It took us about 2 minutes to install it.

How it works

The way CARES works is simple. Looking at it from the front, it's a "pi"-shaped arrangement of seat belt fabric, with the top bar in fact a loop that hugs the back of the airline seat at your child's head height and drops two "legs" down the child's chest, which the seat's own safety belt is threaded through. I guess the shape is more of a Roman numeral "II" - hmm, maybe it's just better to give you another view of things:



In flight, we left her buckled in the CARES restraint and in addition to their being a lot more elbow room for all of us (since the car seat wasn't taking up so much space), it gave her a bit more freedom for "projects" (coloring, eating, stickering, etc). During takeoff and landing, we had the straps cinched as we would in a car seat, with the front clip positioned at Z's upper chest level; during the remainder of the flight, it was essential to loosen the straps, as she otherwise would not have been able to reach her tray table, and she, and we, would have been miserable. We were confident that if we hit any turbulence (and we did) we could cinch up the straps and ask her to sit back for a few minutes. (That's when videos on our portable DVD player came in handy.)

The bottom line

I was initially hesitant to test out the CARES restraint because I wasn't sure how this product could replace having a car seat along. We aren't crazy about checking our car seat with the rest of our luggage - we've seen how those pieces get thrown around and come tumbling down the conveyor belt. We're also reasonably wary of renting one so bringing a car seat and gate-checking it seemed the only reasonable option. (If you must check your car seat with your luggage, try to use the original manufacturer's packaging - anyone still have that? - or wrap it with padding and place it in a duffle bag.) And, we reasoned, if you're going to all the trouble to schlep the car seat through the airport, what's the point of having a different restraint for the flight?

What I figured out is that it really makes a big difference during the actual flight.

It meant we didn't have to unbag, unfold, install, uninstall, refold, rebag when boarding and deboarding and that means less of those stressful moments when a whole line of people is waiting for you, your luggage, and your restless child to get out of their way. It also meant not having to worry about bonking someone's elbow with our Radian, backpack-style, on the march to the seat. The CARES restraint is stored in a fabric drawstring back about the size of a petite lunch bag.

Because it is so easy to install, we had a lot more time to arrange ourselves and our daughter before takeoff - time we spent getting her prepared with a small project to keep her occupied during that dead zone of take-off and cruising altitude time when you can't do anything. We had time to get ourselves settled in - getting out the water bottles, finding the magazine, searching for the headphones you bought on the last flight so you don't have to buy them again (more on that in a later travel post), hiding a few in-flight trinkets for preschool diversionary tactics, try to find some leg room among the bags.

As for safety: The CARES restraint is the first and only restraint approved by the FAA for use throughout a flight as an alternative to a car seat. It is clear how it works, why it offers additional protection, and how it benefits children who wear it. Certification has also been approved in many other countries and continues to advance, and FAA regulations stipulate that airline personnel cannot restrict the use of CARES at their discretion. On our flight, we had an anxious stewardess pass slowly by and then return with another to ask us about it, stating that she hadn't seen one before; the FAA certification label quickly put her at ease.

Future plans

We knew then and there that we'd be using our CARES restraint as long as we could - but noted with disappointment that Z was about at the end of the limits for use of the device, which tops out at 44" or 40 pounds. When we got to the trade show, I went to meet with Louise Stoll, inventor of the CARES restraint, to tell her our one complaint - that there wasn't one for the 4+ age group. She told me that they have a CARES product for that age group in the process of FAA testing and certification right now! Not only is this a step in the right direction, but it will address a growing need for parents who practice extended harnessing, as many of those larger-sized seats are not FAA-certified for use because of their bulky dimensions.

The CARES restraint ranges in price from about $65 to its MSRP of $75. You can purchase it from the manufacturer, KidsFlySafe, or from Amazon.com.

But! And, to quote Pee Wee Herman, this is one big but - KidsFlySafe has also agreed to give away three CARES restraints as our ZRecs Newsletter giveaway for the month of October. If you are already a subscriber to our monthly email newsletter, you are already entered to win; if not, subscribe and you'll be all set. We'll draw three winners at random at the beginning of November from the subscriber rolls, announce winners in the next newsletter, and they'll get a CARES system in time for any holiday travel, and beyond. You can sign up here or find the link in the subscription box that appears in the righthand column of all ZRecs blogs. Please note, you will be receiving one, and only one, email a month from us, so please sign up only if you want a monthly compendium of news, information, and deals from ZRecs in your inbox.

Official Rules: No purchase necessary. Entrants must be 18 or older and reside in the United States. Item will be shipped to a U.S. address only. Winner will be announced in subsequent ZRecs Monthly Newsletter; failure to respond within 5 business days of contact with a valid U.S. mailing address for shipment will result in forfeiture of prize and awarding of prize to an alternate designated by ZRecs. Neither the prize sponsor nor ZRecs is responsible for items lost or damaged in transit. Winner will be selected on or around Nov. 1, 2008.