How much do you know about car seat safety? And a great coupon code for car seats, strollers,etc

In many Scandinavian countries, children are kept in rear facing car seats for 4 years or more.  The number of children who die in car crashes in those countries is SIGNIFICANTLY less than the United States.  Here is some more info on that.

Our laws are not nearly stringent enough to keep our kids safe - therefore we have to take it upon ourselves to learn about how we can keep our kids safe.

Unfortunately, many of the lower cost car seats do not keep kids rear facing very long. And the companies that allow extended rear facing are out of the price range of average income families.

My youngest son turned one today and I will not be turning him forward facing anytime in the near future.  It will be a battle that I fight with my husband one day I'm sure.  But I will not give in when it comes to my child's safety.  The convenience of putting him front facing is not worth it to me. He is in a Britax Marathon in my husband's car and a Roundabout in my car.  When he outgrows the Roundabout, we will look for another car seat that will keep him rear facing longer.

My four year old (almost!) is not going to be moving to a booster this year.  NJ State law allows us to move him to one - but the added safety of keeping him in a 5pt harness had convinced me that this is not going to happen.  We have him in a Recaro Signo in my car and a Britax Frontier in hubby's car.  He will be in a 5pt harness until he hits 8 and is out of car seats if I can help it.

Some more car seat facts:

• 9 out of 10 car seats are installed improperly - please have yours checked by a car seat technician.  You can find locations for testing here.
• Car seats expire - the plastic and the restraints break down and become weaker with time.  Please check the expiration dates on your seats.  Here's a link to show you how.
• After a motor vehicle crash, your car seat may need to be replaced.  There may be an unseen crack in the plastic or another injury that affects the reliability of the seat.  This is why it is not recommended to purchase seats from unknown strangers.  Your vehicle insurance company will pay to replace seats after a crash.

OFF MY SOAP BOX AND ONTO THE DEAL...

HipMonkey is running a promotion for 20% off anything on their site.  This includes car seats, strollers and many other items.  Use code:  20thanks.  Purchases over $100 ship free ON THE SAME DAY and they do not charge tax - saving you even more money.

This is an amazing web site because all of the proceeds they make go towards purchasing car seats that will help little ones stay rear facing longer for families who cannot afford these seats.  It is a non-profit organization started by parents who lost their child in a car accident.