September is Child Passenger Safety Month. We spend countless hours trying to keep our kids out of harm’s way but for things we can’t predict, like a car accident, we want to be prepared. GreenwichMoms.com teamed up with a number of moms and bloggers in Fairfield County to spread the word about child passenger safety. We brought in experts from the carseat manufacture, Britax, to show us one of the most technologically advanced carseats on the market: the Britax Advocate. After thorough demonstration, we installed the carseats in our own vehicles and experienced them for ourselves. Needless to say, we are impressed…
The Britax Advocate has a versa tether which is attached at two points on the carseat. The two point attachment reduces the side to side movement in a side impact collision. All other carseats have one tether at the top that allow more swing in an accident. Another advanced, patented feature of the Britax Advocate is the red stitching, or rip stitches. As the car seat goes forward in an accident, the rip stitches will start ripping to slow down the forward movement so it’s not such a hard stop or impact.
Britax has a steel frame. The two piece frame allows the car seat be flexible in an accident similar to buildings designed to move and bend in cities prone to earthquakes.
There is a weight limit for carseats installed with latches. We admit, we forgot too. The weight limit is 65 pounds (including the roughly 30-31 pound carseat) so if you have a 35 pound child, you have reached the limit for the latch system. Once at the limit, carseats must be secured with a seatbelt. The installation of the Advocate with a seat belt is super easy so you don’t have to think about changing from the latches to the seatbelt down the road (pun intended). The Advocate’s Click-Tight technology makes it super easy. With the Click-Tight system, turn the latch for the seat to come up and simply bring the seatbelt across the seat with the same tension as when you put one around your own lap. The seatbelt gets pinched in the steel frame without any pulling, tugging, or weighing it down. Close it and you’re installed.
The Britax Advocate head supports have side air filled pockets and for additional impact protection, Britax is the only carseat manufacturer that uses expanded polypropylene- the same material used for football helmets and motorcycle helmets.
The Britax Advocate can hold up to 65 pounds, which can be a 5-6 year old child, so you will get a lot of life and a lot of use out of this carseat. For extra length as your child gets bigger and taller, the tether and buckle can be adjusted.
Are you familiar with the pinch test? When you pinch the material of the harness and you can get the fabric together, the harness is too loose. If you can’t get two fingers between the harness and the child, the harness is too tight. With the Britax Advocate, you can avoid the pinch test all together. This amazing seat has an audible so you know when you’re at the correct tension. Pull on the belt and it will click when the correct tension has been reached.
An additional safety feature is the honeycomb design of the harness grips. The design of these grips allows it to compress in an accident and spread the energy of the impact over a larger surface of the child’s chest thereby reducing serious injury. We can go on and on about how much we love this carseat, but we recommend trying out this fantastic technology for yourself. Safety first! https://us.britax.com/media-center/advocateclicktightarb
