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"JD got a brand-spanking new Britax Boulevard car seat over the weekend--that GF Carlo installed, as usual. Thanks again, bro! Now, if you&amp;#x27;re like me, you have car seat questions. Car seats are bulky and awkward and the straps twist and my kid gets Cheerios in the crevices. But that&amp;#x27;s not all, so I asked Dr. Jana, Pediatrician and child passenger safety technician some Qs: Storked!: Why was the Britax Boulevard a good pick for JD? Dr. Jana: In addition to being a comfortable seat for JD, two features that make the Boulevard stand out are its higher rear-facing capacity and the True Side Impact Protection it provides your son. One in 4 of all motor crashes involving children from 0 to 12 years-old are side impact crashes and these result in the most severe injuries and higher fatality rates. To offer JD added side impact crash protection, the Boulevard has a stiff structure and energy-absorbing foam lining designed to distribute crash forces away from him in the event of a crash, side walls to shield his body from vehicle intrusion, deep side wings for added head and chest containment during a crash and an adjustable head support to allow the seat (and its side impact crash protection features) to grow with him. Storked!: That was a scary Q and A. Moving on: I&amp;#x27;m nosy--my upstairs neighbor has a pickup and since there is no backseat he has the car seat in the front seat. Is this safe for his three-year-old who, er, cart wheels in clogs upstairs? Dr. Jana: The answer to this question is really not an easy one. As someone trained not only as a pediatrician, but a child passenger safety technician, I can not recommend putting a child in the front seat when I know that the safety recommendation is for all children to be seated in the back seat. That said, the reality is that many parents are faced with tough choices when it comes to putting recommendations into practice--whether it&amp;#x27;s the absence of a back seat altogether, needing to transport more than 3 children in a car, etc. Whenever possible, I recommend that parents transport their child(ren) in a car (and child restraints) adequately designed and equipped to protect them in the unfortunate event of a crash. For your neighbor&amp;#x27;s purposes, if he has no other options, I would strongly suggest he schedule an appointment with a certified child passenger safety technician to discuss what, if any options he has. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website (www.nhtsa.gov) offers parents the opportunity to find these trained professionals in all parts of the country. Storked!: My buddy Matt got into a fender bender--actually, a HIT AND RUN. The police officer said he needs to buy a new car seat, but Matt maintains it wasn&amp;#x27;t at all damaged. He&amp;#x27;s of course buying Maddy a new one, but is it really crucial? Dr. Jana: Up until early 2004, NHTSA recommended that all seats that were in use at the time of a crash (as well as the seat belts used to secure them) be replaced. New criteria were established in 2004, however, after evidence suggested that minor crashes don?t always cause damage significant enough to warrant replacement. Anything more than a minor crash does require replacement of the car seat. The good news is that the cost of the replacement seat is something Matt can submit to his insurance company and should be covered. Criteria that qualify a crash as &amp;quot;minor&amp;quot; include: * No visible evidence of damage (including careful inspection of the entire seat ? under the cover, underneath and behind!) *The vehicle is in good enough condition that it can still be driven after the crash. *The vehicle door closest to where the seat was installed isn&amp;#x27;t damaged. *The crash did not trigger any air bag deployment. Storked!: What did you make of the photos of Britney Spears cruising around town with Sean P. on her lap? She claims she was trying to get away from the paps. Dr. Jana: As someone dedicated to promoting safe and healthy habits for children, I can&amp;#x27;t help but notice when anyone doesn&amp;#x27;t have their child(ren) properly restrained, whether it is Britney Spears or the mom in the minivan next to me with a car full of improperly restrained kids pulling out of my children&amp;#x27;s elementary school parking lot. While I am certainly no expert as to the actual level of risk involved in being a celebrity parent, I am all too familiar with the risks associated with unrestrained children in motor vehicles, and I am willing to bet that they outweigh most other risks, since motor vehicle crashes continue to rank as the number one cause of unintentional injury and death in children. Like so many other unfortunate circumstances, I do think that the Britney Spears incident did serve a useful purpose in shedding the national spotlight on just how important it is for all parents to be better informed when it comes to properly securing children each and every time they are in a motor vehicle. Storked!: Huge thanks to Dr. Jana. Now, do any of you have Qs for Dr. Jana? Ask away and I&amp;#x27;ll post the answers in an upcoming blog. Have a great day and buckle up. I have two PS&amp;#x27;es today. The first is from my son: Happy 25th Birthday Aunt Lo! Mama is buying you a shot of JD tonight! XO "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/storked/2008/08/car-seat-safety>