Do you replace your carseat once it's expired?

↑ mother1000

Tue, Nov 19 2024, 7:55 pm

I save my old car seats in my attic till targets trade in event and then bring them in for 20% off when I need some baby gear

amother

Waterlily

Tue, Nov 19 2024, 7:59 pm

I used an expired infant car seat for many years. Not something I'm proud of, but we were not in the car regularly and it was very hard to justify a large expense for those rare times I was driving with the baby. I would regularly check for sales but didn't find anything.

Finally this year found a new one for $50 when I actually had $50 and replaced the 14yo infant seat.

Yes I know that money should not be more important than safety, but food and electricity sometimes do feel more urgent.

↑ ra_mom

Tue, Nov 19 2024, 8:01 pm

amother OP wrote:

we only used our doona for abt a yr for 2 kids...so even if the expiration date passed, it was used for very little amount of time.
does anyone know what the manufacturer takes into account by putting dates?

It degrades even when not in use. Have you ever had something sit around for a few years, and then you take it out of storage, and some of the lining just crumbles in your hand? It's super super dangerous.
I had a brand new expensive style car seat that I used for 1 year. It was stored and kept beautiful. When I took it out to use again it had just expired. I not only threw it out, but I destroyed it because people would take nice looking items from the trash, and we couldn't take that achrayus.
Yes it was painful to throw out a beautiful item that I had loved and enjoyed. I don't regret it.

amother

Tan

Tue, Nov 19 2024, 8:12 pm

ra_mom wrote:

I had that with swimming goggles.
It literally crumbled in my hands.
I was shocked because it was an expensive one.

seeker

Tue, Nov 19 2024, 9:23 pm

ra_mom wrote:

That's why I gave away my nice car seats as soon as my babies outgrew them. Figured it will come back around somehow when I need it but at least it should be used and not rot in my closet.

No shame on you, I'm sure you did what made sense for you at the time. Just sharing.

amother

↑ Bisque ↓

Tue, Nov 19 2024, 9:25 pm

amother Waterlily wrote:

Just fyi you can ask your fire or police station they often have a few free brand new car seats for this exact scenario.

amother

Offwhite

Yesterday at 2:45 pm

Yes.
Just replaced my doona but bought the evenflo dualshyft cuz it was on sale and I hate having the same thing as everyone else.

amother

Firebrick

Yesterday at 2:56 pm

amother Offwhite wrote:

Yes.
Just replaced my doona but bought the evenflo dualshyft cuz it was on sale and I hate having the same thing as everyone else.

how does it compare?

amother

↑ Saddlebrown

Yesterday at 3:36 pm

amother Offwhite wrote:

Yes.
Just replaced my doona but bought the evenflo dualshyft cuz it was on sale and I hate having the same thing as everyone else.

I need to get a doona or similar and it’s not just about being different - they each have their Maalos and chisronos. For example the evenflo is heavier. But you can remove the car seat from the wheels- but only when the wheels are in the base in the car, so not sure if that’s helpful for me.

Trying to decide between the two

Ema of 5 ↓

Yesterday at 3:44 pm

amother OP wrote:

how important is it to replace your carseat once its expired?

asking specifically about my doona

Not always with the same seat right away. For example, my baby now is using the car seat that I bought 6 years ago. By the time it expired he will be long out of it, and I won’t need it anymore.
I used the same infant seat for three kids, but bought a new one when I had my fourth kid.
I bought a forward facing car seat for my now 8 year old when she was 4. It’s 4 years old now, and I will probably use it when my baby is ready to forward face.

↑ Ema of 5

Yesterday at 3:46 pm

Brit in Israel wrote:

the plastic can only last at that strength for a certain amount of time.

I have also found that, over time, the straps become more slack-y and it becomes harder the get the right fit.

amother

↑ Bisque

Yesterday at 4:21 pm

amother Foxglove wrote:

Would you use an expired car seat as an attachment to a stroller? Not for a car.

A baby isn’t really supposed to be in a car seat for a long time so it’s not really great to use it on stroller. But it doesn’t have the safety risks of a car. It’s different risks.