Kyle David Miller Foundation Blog

Rear Facing To Age 2

2011-03-21T14:13:00.004-04:00

What exciting news this is!!! The American Academy of Pediatrics has officially said we should keep children rear facing until they are 2. It is suggested that we keep kids rear facing until 2 as a minimum, however, best to keep them rear facing until they reach the rear facing limits of the child restraint. If your child outgrows the rear facing weight of your car seat before their 2nd birthday, it is time to look at another seat that has a higher rear facing limit. Research has shown that children are 5 times safer rear facing than they are forward facing. Rear facing helps allow for the restraint system to absorb the crash forces, not the child. In the event of an accident, children are cradled into the seat to help protect them and reduce their injury.

There are more seats on the market today with rear facing limits of 35lbs and higher. Some seats even rear face up to 40lbs. and 45lbs. These seats will help you reach the 2 year mark and higher with ease.

Children that are forward facing already, and are within the weight limits to continue rear facing should be turned back around. If your child is rear facing, continue to keep them rear facing until they reach the limits of their restraint.

When your child outgrows this limit to rear face and you turn them around, harnessing seats go as high as 85lbs. It is just as important to harness them for longer, just as it is to rear face them longer. We suggest harnessing them until you no longer can. Depending on the child this can get you to 8 years old or even more with a 5 point restraint. Harnessing them helps reduce the crash forces off them, eliminates the question of if the seat belt is properly positioned on the child, and if they are ready for it.

Booster seats are for big kids. Children from roughly 7 years old up to as much as 12 even. It is important to make sure your child can sit with their knees bent properly over the edge of the seat, the belt lays correctly over their hips, the shoulder belt lays properly across their shoulder, and they can sit where they need to be without moving around. They must also be 4'9".

This is extremely exciting news for the Kyle David Miller Foundation. We are very pleased to see these new statements being released and that the A.A.P. is helping change a trend in car seat safety.

I always remind people that children are your most precious cargo. You don't know how well the people around you are at controlling their vehicles, so take the steps ahead of time. Head off excess injuries before you're faced with an accident and you can't change things anymore - rear face your children until you can't, harness them until they are 7 and 8 years old, and then booster them until they can truly sit without a booster.

Happy 9th Birthday baby boy

2011-03-14T11:29:00.001-04:00

We miss you more than words can say.......

5 point harness saves lives

2010-11-09T14:02:00.003-05:00

We were recently alerted to this story of the Cox family who were involved in a side impact crash. Both children were secured in a 5 point harness seats, which a Safe Kids representative commented saved their life. If they had been in booster seats, at least one of the children would not have made it. You can read more about the Cox family's crash on their blog here

It's child passenger safety week!

2010-09-22T14:40:00.002-04:00

We couldn't let this important week pass without a reminder from the board members and volunteers of the Kyle David Miller Foundation to make sure you are

securing your child in an appropriate child restraint - rear-facing to the max and harnessing to the max.
that your restraint is appropriately installed - no more than 1 inch of movement side to side, front to back when tugged lightly at the belt path
that you are using your child restraint correctly - harness is set at the correct height (at or below shoulders for rear-facing, at or above shoulders for forward-facing), the harness is tight enough (pinch test at the collarbone) and the chest clip is placed at armpit height
if your child is in a booster seat, make sure the lap portion of the seatbelt lies low across the child's hips (not on the abdomen) and the shoulder portion lies across the middle of the chest and lays on the shoulder (not touching the neck)

We want to thank everyone for your support of the foundation, both past and ongoing. Our aim is to avoid parents going through the heartbreak of losing their child in a crash. Through our car seat donation program, we have assisted parents with this aim. Help us to assist more and consider donating to the foundation.

Buckle UP everyone!

Great new rear-facing YouTube video

2010-08-30T11:49:00.001-04:00

Meet Lewis!!!

2010-07-19T11:17:00.003-04:00

We send our warmest wishes to the Craddock family - friendship and love. Lewis is an amazing little boy who is showing the world how to overcome any obstacle. Please take a few moments to learn about his story.

New Britax Seats - RF to 40lbs! FF to 70lbs, improved side impact protection

2010-06-28T10:41:00.001-04:00

NEW BRITAX CAR SEAT LINE OFFERS 360 DEGREE PROTECTION AND REVOLUTIONARY HEAD SAFETY TECHNOLOGY

- New technology on convertible car seat range addresses no. 1 cause of death for children in vehicle crashes -

CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 28, 2010 - Britax today announced a full redesign and relaunch of its line of best-selling convertible car seats. The new line offers Superior 360 Degree Protection with Revolutionary Head Safety Technology that dramatically reduces the risk of head injury and provides complete protection from all sides in the event of a vehicle crash.

Head safety is critical because even tiny increases in head excursion - the distance the head travels forward during the crash - can exponentially increase the risk of head injury. Head injury is the leading cause of death for children up to 12 years old involved vehicle crashes and comprises 65 percent of injuries in both frontal and side impact crashes, according to Child Injury Led Design and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. With this in mind, Britax designed its new line to help prevent real world injury for children and make it that much easier for parents and caregivers to use their children's car seats correctly each and every time.

Unprecedented Head Safety
Britax Revolutionary Head Safety Technology incorporates features that lower the child's center of gravity, strengthen the child seat and manage crash energy. Together, they reduce head excursion and offer the most advanced protection to children. These include:

* A re-engineered lower center of gravity that allows the child to sit lower and creates stability in the event of a crash.
* Integrated steel bars that strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing of the child seat during a crash.
* Patent-pending Britax SafeCell(tm) Technology with SafeCells that are designed to compress in a crash. This significantly lowers the center of gravity and counteracts the forward rotation of the child seat, which normally propels the child toward the front seat.
* Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether(r) with a two-point attachment and staged-release tether webbing to anchor the top of the car seat. This minimizes forward-rotation and reduces crash forces reaching the child.

Enhanced side impact protection, extended weight capacities
Britax designed its new line to improve upon its Side Impact Protection (SIP) and True Side Impact Protection(r) (TSIP). The car seats feature deeper side walls lined with energy-absorbing EPP foam that distribute crash forces, shield from vehicle intrusion, and contain the head, neck and body. Britax TSIP car seats also offer a head restraint that creates an extra layer of energy-absorbing EPP foam, keeping the head, neck and spine "in true" or aligned. This protection is imperative, as approximately one in four of all motor vehicle crashes that involve children occur from the side, and these result in a significantly higher injury rate than frontal or rear impacts, according to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
In addition to enhanced side impact protection, the new line offers higher weight capacities to keep children rear facing longer and to allow for extended use of a five-point harness. The convertible car seats can accommodate children from between 5 and 40 pounds rear facing and up to 70 pounds forward facing, and the mid-capacity convertible allows children to sit forward facing up to 55 pounds. The new seats offer a harness position that helps position the harness at or below baby's shoulder, and an infant insert is available separately to properly position the infant and protect the airway.

Installation and Ease of Use Features
The new convertibles also include features that make them easier to install and use properly and consistently.
Non-handed premium LATCH connectors allow the seats to easily transition from rear to forward facing, while an easy access cover and access to belt paths from the front of the seat reduce the time needed for installation. Built-in lock-offs ensure a tight lap and shoulder seat belt installation with minimal effort.
Ease-of-use features include: a quick-adjust head restraint, a no-rethread harness (available on all convertibles except for the line's mid-capacity convertible), buckle adjustments and multiple recline adjustments.
The revamped line includes the Roundabout 55 (SRP: $199.99), Marathon 70 (SRP: $279.99), Boulevard 70 (SRP: $309.99), Boulevard 70 CS (SRP: $329.99) and Advocate 70 CS (SRP: $369.99). They will be available in a variety of fashions at independent and mass retailers in August 2010.
Additional information including product pages, video clips and user guides will be available on www.BritaxUSA.com starting July 1, 2010.
About Britax Child Safety Inc.

Child car seat and stroller manufacturer Britax(r) Child Safety Inc. is the leader in developing cutting edge technologies that absorb crash forces and manage energy away from the child in a crash. Britax has pioneered features such as side impact protection, True Side Impact Protection(r), and Side Impact Cushion(tm) Technology to minimize the risk of injury in side impact crashes, which are the most severe vehicle collisions. The Britax range includes a car seat for every stage of a child's life from "birth to belt" and offers higher weight capacities to keep children rear facing and in a five-point harness longer.

Remember - lap babies are not safe

2010-06-25T14:30:00.003-04:00

It was great to see this piece by CBS News today about the dangers of lap children. We wrote about this very same subject on the blog last year, but it is always good to get the message out and remind parents to purchase a seat for their children on the plane and to take their car seat on board and install it. Most restraints are FAA approved for use on the plane. There is a sticker on the side of your seat which will confirm that.

Rock your shocks!

2010-05-14T14:54:00.003-04:00

I had the fortune recently to attend a child passenger safety update class presented by Sarah Tilton of Britax and Vera Fullaway of Combi USA. Child Passenger Safety Technicians are required to perform continuing education and re-certify every two years. This is to hopefully ensure that we stay current with all the latest recommendations and the new car seats which are hitting the market.

During the training course (which was EXCELLENT!), Sarah referred to a type of installation that she terms, "Rock your shocks". You know the one, the seat is in there so tight that when you tug on the child seat, the whole car shakes. You're so proud of your tight install - nothing's moving that sucker, right?

Well, actually wrong! You don't want that kind of installation. You see, each component in a car seat, be it the harness, or the seat belt/LATCH belt that is securing the seat is designed to absorb some of those violent crash forces. Let's refer to Sir Isaac Newton here and his first law of motion:

Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

In a crash, your child's body (and their internal organs) will continue at the speed and direction that your vehicle was traveling in - until something stops them. You don't want all the stopping force transferred directly to your child.

In a crash, you WANT the seat belt or the LATCH belt to stretch in the crash - that stretching absorbs some of those crash forces, keeping them off your child's body. If you've got a "rock your shocks" installation, those belts are already stretched and so the forces will go directly to your child's body. This is not what you want!

So how should we best install our car seat. Well, it should be in there snuggly. When you tug lightly, with your weak hand, at the belt path, it should not move more than 1 inch laterally side to side, front to back. This is a good installation and will ensure that those violent crash forces are absorbed by your child restraint and vehicle restraint system as they are designed to do.

We have a winner!!!

2010-04-19T11:16:00.003-04:00

Congratulation to Crystal Stegman who is our winner of the Britax cowmooflage marathon. We'll be getting that seat shipped out to you tomorrow, Crystal.

Congratulations to winner and to everyone else who entered and spread the word about the contest.

What would you like to see next for a contest? Any interest in winning a Britax Frontier 85? Comment here to let me know and I will get things in motion.

Moo Moo! It's a giveaway/contest

2010-04-14T13:39:00.012-04:00

Feast your eyes on this beauty!

Isn't she pretty? (yes, apparently car seats are female like boats!) SHE can be yours and you can win her by following these simple steps.

1) Your first entry should be a donation to the foundation. For this, you need to go over to the foundation website and click on "Donate" on the right hand side. Make a $5 donation and in the comments note that it is for the Moowflage Marathon giveaway. Then come back to this post and comment that you donated. Each $5 donated counts as one entry, so say if you wanted two entries, donate $10 etc.

2) Increase your chances of winning by posting about this giveaway on your Facebook page, then come back here to comment with a link to your post. You can use this wording:

Win a cowmooflage Britax Marathon in the KDMF contest here - http://tinyurl.com/y3yajxd

3) For your third entry, tweet about this giveaway, then come back here to comment with a link to your tweet. You can use this wording:

Win a cowmooflage Britax Marathon in the KDMF contest here - http://tinyurl.com/y3yajxd

4) For your fourth entry, blog about this giveaway, then come back here to comment with a link to your blog post.

5) For your fifth entry, become a fan of the KDMF on Facebook and come back here to comment that you did.

Here's the small print. This giveaway is running until midnight EST Sunday 18th April. You will win a brand new in the box Britax Marathon in Cowmooflage print. This seat rear-faces to 35lbs and then foward-faces to 65lbs. The seat will be shipped to you at no cost. The winner will be announced on Monday 19th April and will be chosen by random.org.

If you would like to enter the contest without a donation, please email info@kyledavidmiller.org

OK GO!!!! Good luck!!!

Two boys survive crash that kills 9 - police credit their child restraints

2010-03-29T11:31:00.002-04:00

Tragic crash kills 9, but two boys survive a crash in KY - due to their child restraints.

MARROWBONE, Ky. - As members of a close-knit Mennonite community prepared to bury their own, they sliced through wooden planks with electric saws Saturday and wrestled with the loss of a family of nine killed in a central Kentucky crash.

The casket work was determined and solemn, yet the buzzing saws pierced silent prayers under way in a nearby home where churchgoers reiterated their belief that the deaths were God's will.

Nathaniel Yoder was among those laboring inside the workshop of a vinyl siding business owned by John and Sadie Esh, two of the 11 people killed Friday when a tractor-trailer crossed an interstate and collided head-on with the family van as they traveled to Iowa for a wedding.

It's kind of morbid," Yoder said. "I never did anything like this. The only thing that helps is to know they're all in heaven."

The sole survivors were two young siblings adopted by the Eshes.

Although burial still hadn't been scheduled for the Mennonites involved in the crash, the community had picked a final resting place. Eight family members and Joel Gingerich — Yoder's close friend who was engaged to one of the Eshes' daughters — were expected to be buried at a makeshift cemetery in the grassy churchyard, a few feet from a volleyball court.

The only grave there now belongs to Johnny S. Esh Jr., who died in a 2006 snowmobiling accident during a mission to Ukraine. The small marker, sitting on grassy flatland near several farms, reads: "Lost in wonder, love and praise." The woman getting married in Iowa had known him from the Ukraine trip.

Many Mennonites fought back tears and consoled one another, trying to understand the tragedy.

"It's a little like a tapestry," said Kai Steinmann, 25. "If you focus on one piece, it looks black and bad, but it has to be a part of a bigger whole."

'Jesus may come today'
Preliminary investigations showed the tractor-trailer left the road and plowed over a cable barrier in the median before it struck the van, said Christopher Hart, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. A cause has not yet been determined.

He said there was at least one witness, a second tractor-trailer driver who pulled two surviving children from the wrecked van.

The Esh family has experienced hardship before — and their community was quick to respond then, too. A fire destroyed the family's home last year, forcing one of the girls to escape by leaping out of an upstairs window onto a trampoline. Within two months, other Mennonites had built them a new home next to John and Sadie's vinyl siding business.

On Saturday, a sign that read "Jesus may come today" was on the mailbox.

Church member William Carey helped build the house and was back helping construct the casket boxes.

"Instant depression and letdown," Carey said. "I am still in shock."

Marrowbone Christian Brotherhood opened as a sister congregation to one the Eshes attended in North Carolina. About six years ago, it was transitioned from New Order Amish to Mennonite, allowing members for the first time to drive motorized vehicles.

That was when John Esh bought the 15-passenger van that was involved in the crash. Pastor Leroy Kauffman recalled getting his driver's license with Esh, also a minister in the church, who was reluctant at first.

"He was concerned about stepping the lifestyle up in the faster pace," Kauffman said.

Florist Wanda Branham, who wasn't part of the Mennonite church but knew many of the family members, recalled Gingerich often stopping by her shop to buy one or two roses for Rachel Esh, his bride-to-be, who also was killed in the accident.

Sometimes, Branham's husband would tease Gingerich, urging him to spring for a full dozen.

"He would say, 'I'm not that far yet,'" Branham recalled.

Boys survive
But Monday, four days before the crash, Gingerich was in the shop for his largest order yet — one dozen red roses, and a dozen pink.

Hazel Smith, who works at an adult daycare center, said the Eshes would often sing there, including their rendition of "Amazing Grace." The family, full of singers, had recorded several albums and traveled many places in the van hit by the tractor-trailer.

In addition to John and Sadie Esh, the dead included their children Anna, Rose, Rachel, and Leroy and his wife, Naomi. Jalen, the adopted infant son of Leroy and Naomi, also was killed. Funerals for the family and Gingerich were set for Tuesday.

Family friend Ashlie Kramer and the truck driver, 45-year-old Kenneth Laymon of Alabama, also died.

The only survivors of the crash were two boys from Guatemala also adopted by the couple as infants. Police credited child safety seats for sparing Josiah, 5, and Johnny, 3.

It took Josiah little time after the crash to begin asking where his parents were.

When told they had gone to heaven, Kauffman said the boy reacted almost as if he already knew.

"He seems to be kind of in shock — very quiet, very subdued, just watching what's going on around him," Kauffman said. "Very heart-wrenching."

Car Seats Make the Difference Between Safe and Sorry

2010-03-12T17:14:00.003-05:00

Radian XT Car Seats do their job in mother’s collision with dump truck.

What started out as a festive drive to a holiday gathering suddenly turned horrific for Leah Bechtol of and her two young children.

It was snowing lightly the afternoon of December 28th, 2009, when Leah set out from their home in Ashland, Ohio, in her new mini-van to exchange Christmas gifts with a friend approximately 23 miles away in Tiffin. She was driving cautiously on State Route 603 with her son, Wyatt, 4 years, and daughter, Mira, 2-1/2 years, each strapped into their RadianXT car seats, facing forward in the back seat.

They had just completed the lower portion of an S-curve and were on a short straight stretch when Leah noticed a large truck approaching them in the oncoming lane. The fully loaded, 70,000 pound dump truck had crossed the centerline and was veering toward the van. Leah reacted instantly to evade a collision by steering the van toward to the right shoulder, but it was too late.

The dump truck struck the front corner and driver’s side door and continued along the length of the vehicle, pushing the van off the road into a ditch, and tearing off most of the left side of the van. The vehicle was so mangled that EMT crews had to use the Jaws of Life to free Leah, Wyatt and Mira. All were taken immediately to nearby MedCentral Hospital.

The children remained in their car seats until they had been examined by the ER doctor. Leah suffered several broken bones on the left side of her body, air bag bruising and the loss of a tooth. She went into emergency surgery that evening and has been in a cast and a wheelchair since being released from the hospital.

The children each had slight bruising from their car seat straps and tiny cuts from the window glass, but were otherwise unharmed.

Following the crash, Sunshine Kids, the manufacturer of the children’s RadianXT car seats, performed a thorough evaluation of both seats. Sunshine Kids’ Director of Engineering, David Clement, said that the seats came through the accident with “no significant damage to the seats or the key structural components.”

Brad Keller, President of Sunshine Kids said, “This was a frightening experience for Leah and her children, and we share the family’s relief that Wyatt and Mira had no serious injuries. This kind of positive outcome validates the way we design and test our products. When it comes to protecting children in these kinds of accidents, you simply cannot compromise on engineering or quality.”

Leah is recovering from her injures and expects to be out of her cast and wheelchair by the end of March. She expressed her appreciation to Sunshine Kids in a recent letter to the company:

“Despite the severity of the crash and of my injuries,” Leah wrote, “we are so very grateful and relieved that our children were unharmed. We know that your excellent product (RadianXT) was a major factor in their safety and we want to thank you for making these high quality car seats.”

Even though the Bechtol’s car seats were structurally sound after the accident, Sunshine Kids’ provided the family with two new RadianXT car seats through the company’s Crashed Restraint Exchange Program. For more information about this program, go to www.skjp.com/crash_exchange.php.

About Sunshine Kids Juvenile Products
Sunshine Kids manufactures, markets and sells travel solutions for the children of today’s families. With innovative product designs and unparalleled safety testing, Sunshine Kids conveniently secures and protects children through every stage of your journey. With more than a decade of experience, Sunshine Kids is recognized by consumer and trade organizations for its unique functionality and thoughtful design in 48 countries worldwide, while maintaining offices in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany. For more information on the renowned Radian and Monterey car seats and travel accessory line, visit www.skjp.com.

For More Information Contact: Kathy Laux, Marketing Director 253-859-5700, ext 122, kathy.laux@skjp.com

Skidmore family donation

2010-03-02T13:09:00.002-05:00

Meet the Skidmore family!

This darling cutie is 2 years old, 35lbs and was outgrowing his previous seat, the Alpha Omega forward-facing by height. He will have plenty of growing room in his donated Britax Regent.

Many thanks to Michael Toth, CPST, who showed Ms. Skidmore how to correctly install and use her new seat. Ms Skidmore noted, "Today my son got his Britax Regent installed by Officer Toth and another officer. Everything went well they got his seat in nice and snug. I want to thank you guys for helping our family.

Kyle you will always be in our hearts. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Frontier 85 review

2010-03-01T12:01:00.007-05:00

I was very excited to get my hands on the long rumoured and awaited, updated Britax Frontier. The new model is called the Frontier 85 and reflects the increased weight capacity from 80 to 85lbs.

When the original Frontier was released, I'll be honest, I was disappointed. Yes, I wanted the side impact protection that was in this seat and yes, the fact that it would convert to a belt positioning booster seat eventually when the harness was outgrown, was attractive. Then I read the information on the top harness slot height - 18.25 inches. That was a full 1.75 inches lower than the Regent (which presumably, the originaly Frontier was going to replace). I won't lie to you, I have two Regents in boxes in my basement set aside for my older son so that when he eventually outgrew his current seat, I would have a Regent for him to move to. Why? Well, naturally I wanted to harness him for as long as possible.

Information that the Regent was going to be discontinued hit the streets (hence the unopened boxes in my basement) and it was thought at that time that the original Frontier was going to be the only high weight harnessing option from Britax available.

Christine Miller immediately contacted Britax when this news broke and appealed for a comparable seat with at least the same top harness slot height to be available prior to the Regent going away. Britax promised her that they would take her plea seriously and examine what could be done. I'd like to personally applaud Britax for their response and introduce their offering to you - the Frontier 85.

Unboxing the new seat was exciting and I immediately set about reading the manual which was very clear and had some great information that I was thrilled to see in there - e.g. warning about dangers of bulky clothing.

The new seat can be used in harness mode between 25 and 85lbs, between heights of 30 and 57 inches and for children who are at least 2 years old. I applaud Britax in limiting this forward-facing only seat to children over 2 years - hopefully re-enforcing the message that children should remain rear-facing for as long as possible. In booster mode, the seat should be used only with children between 40 and 120 lbs (I believe the previous Frontier did not specify a max booster weight) and between heights 42 and 65 inches. I would have loved to have seen a minimum age restriction of 4 years of age here to emphasize 'best practice' of not boostering a children under age 4 years and 40lbs. The foundation of course recommends harnessing for as long as possible, and I have a minimum age recommendation of 6 years before considering a move to a booster so that a child has gained sufficient maturity to sit correctly in a booster seat.

My willing model had previously been secured in a Britax Marathon, forward-facing and is currently 36lbs and 4 1/2 years old. He was on the third harness slot of his Marathon. On the Frontier 85, he is second from bottom harness height and crotch buckle is moved out one position. There are a total of 10 harness height choices (up from 8 on the original Frontier) and three crotch buckle positions. The crotch buckle cannot be emerging under from under the body of child.

I had a small problem with the harness shield on the back of the seat - when I unclipped the tether anchor from that, the shield fell off completely - I had to do quite some persuasion to get the shield back on and to stay on. Seemed like there was some fit issues here with the plastic.

I performed a LATCH installation in my vehicle quickly and simply. There is one adjustment side for the lower anchor connectors. Sometimes on seats, that can lead to tough times getting the belt tight enough, however, following the instructions in the manual, pulling the end through the opening on the front of the seat, I was able to tighten things down snugly.

I attached and tightened the top tether anchor. This is recommended to be used for installation, but REQUIRED in harnessing mode for children 65lbs and above. If your vehicle does not have a top tether anchor (generally older than a 2001 model year), you can usually have an anchor retrofitted, and often for free. I loved the attached elastic on the tether strap which enabled tidy folding and storage of the excess strap.

Those of you who already have the Frontier will be familiar with the positioning block - this is located under the seat - it swings to the back for booster mode and should be swung to the front for harness mode. This gives the seat a recline for harness mode. The block now snaps and is held in place - previously, it would spring back to booster mode when you lifted the seat to install it in a vehicle, which was annoying.

In the above picture, you will see the space between the back of the Frontier 85 and my vehicle seat - this is due to the recline caused by the positioning block.

The harness adjusts smoothly and easily - I found it to be much smoother than the already smooth Marathon. The release lever is a push design, similar to those on a Graco Snugride with the strap a similar width to those infant seats. I am not sure if this was the same on the previous Frontier, but it was a surprise to me. The adjustment is low down and I think would be tough for a child to loosen on their own - great news for parents whose children would loosen their harness themselves on the go. My son was able to secure himself and tighten the harness appropriately himself this morning - I obviously checked it as well, but this was good for children who like to assert their independence in this manner.

The built in cup holders were a big hit with my husband! He actually does base a lot of his vehicle buying decisions on the available cup holders. Coming from the UK where I never thought of this as a buying criteria, I thought it was funny....but apparently, cup holders are important commodities. My son too was impressed that his new seat had these. I'll be honest, it will be great to have fewer "I've dropped my milk" cries from the back seat.

Comfort wise, the seat has been reported to be "very comfy!" and the reduced seating height from the Marathon in the vehicle has been noted, as this seat does not rest on the base like a convertible seat. The view outside has not been reported as adversely restricted though.

My product tester certainly gave this seat the thumbs up as you can see!

Here are a few highlights of the seat - let me know if anyone has any questions!

9 year lifespan from date of manufacture
4 adjustment heights for booster mode (down from 6 on previous model)
option "Secure Guard" clip for booster mode - this is similar to the one available on the Parkway SG - ~ $20. The purpose of this is to prevent submarining in booster mode and helps keep lap portion of seatbelt low on the child's hips and off the abdomen.
Britax recommends harnessing mode of this seat until the harness is outgrown before considering moving to booster mode - yay!!
Harness height is adjusted by a release lever in the back - no rethreading of harness is necessary. The seat does need to be uninstalled from the vehicle in order to adjust the harness height.
Top harness slot height - 20 inches
Long and short belt path installations available for lap/shoulder belts - this can help eliminate any vehicle incompatability. Unlike they Regent, there is no requirement for one method or the other at various child weights.
Dimensions at base - 19 inches deep and 19 inches across.

The Frontier 85 is currently available for pre-order from Hip Monkey, our sister site where all proceeds from sales go directly to the foundation, and in turn to purchasing seats for families in need. Release date of the Frontier 85 is March 9th.

Castro family donation

2010-03-01T11:31:00.003-05:00

Meet the Castro family!

The foundation was delighted to be able to recently donate a Britax Regent to the Castro family. The adorable recipient is 4 year old (which a younger infant sibling) and doesn't she just look so comfy in her new seat? Many thanks to CPST, Rochelle Carlton, for all her assistance with this installation!

Here's a note of thanks from Ms. Castro:

"I would like to tell you and everyone who works so hard to run the Kyle David Miller Foundation thank you very much for providing my daughter with a safe car seat. My family and I really appreciate it. [My daughter] was so excited about her car seat, she was telling all her friends at school and relatives that she was getting her big girl car seat. She didn't stop talking about her car seat the rest of the way home. She kept going on and on about how it's perfect for her and she loves it. She was telling her little sister that when she grows out of the car seat that she will pass it on to her. My husband and I feel so much more safe with [our older daughter] in a car seat. Being a low income family it's nice to know that there are wonderful people who run and fund organizations like the Kyle David Miller Foundation. You will always be apart of our life.

We are truly thankful,
The Castro Family"

It was a pleasure Arlene!

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Arhontes family donation

2010-02-27T09:35:00.000-05:00

Meet the Arhontes family!

This little cutie is 3 years old and 46lbs. She was previously sitting in a booster seat. We are so pleased we were able to assist her family and get her safe in a Britax Regent.

Many thanks to Shirely Lenhart, CPST, who helped us with the installation of this seat - she taught Ms. Arhontes how to correctly install and use the seat.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Ostrowski family donation

2010-02-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

Meet the Ostrowski family!

This family has two children - 6 years and 4 years. Aren't they adorable? Love the long hair! Many thanks to Mandi Summers, child passenger safety technician, who taught Ms. Ostrowski how to correctly install and use these lovely Britax Regents the foundation donated.

Here is a lovely note from Mom:

"We want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for providing our boys with these wonderful safe seats! I cannot tell you how much it puts my mind at ease to know we are doing something to help keep them a bit safer.

Mandi Summers and the other tech were very nice and helpful at the installation.....Wow those regents are big seats! It took a bit of work but they got them into our van and the boys love them. Our older son was a bit hesitant at first but he adjusted quickly to the new seat and loves it now. He even points out when kids his age are in boosters and tells me "mom he/she is not in a safe seat." It is actually amazing to me when I pick him up at school to see how many children his size are not even in a booster just a regular car
seatbelt! Our younger son loved the seat right away! He says it is so comfy and calls it his race car driver seat! Again thank you so much.

We are very grateful to the Kyle David Miller Foundation!

The Ostrowski Family"

Each seat the foundation donates costs us approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk while they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Starkey family safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Starkey family donation

2010-02-25T13:07:00.003-05:00

Meet the Starkey family!

This family has two children - 5 years and 3 years. Aren't they adorable? Many thanks to Corey Perrault, child passenger safety technician, who taught Ms. Starkey how to correctly install and use these lovely Britax Regents the foundation donated.

Each seat the foundation donates costs us approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk while they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Starkey family safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Prodzenski family donation

2010-02-24T12:31:00.003-05:00

Meet the Prodzenski family!

This family has three children - 8 years, 6 years and 5 years. These seats were a must to keep these wiggly worms safe in their vehicle! Aren't they adorable?

Many thanks to Cindy Stuchl and Debbie Hahn, both child passenger safety technicians, who taught Ms. Prodzenski how to correctly install and use these lovely Britax Regents the foundation donated.

Each seat the foundation donates costs us approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk while they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Prodzenski family safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Britax Announces new Frontier 85

2010-02-22T14:21:00.002-05:00

NEW FRONTIER® 85 HARNESS-2-BOOSTER™ KEEPS CHILDREN IN A FIVE-POINT HARNESS LONGER

See the video here

Britax booster offers children greater protection and better fit

CHARLOTTE, N.C., February 22, 2010 — Britax is introducing a new combination booster seat that offers the highest harnessed weight and height capacity in the industry. The Frontier® 85 Combination Harness-2-BoosterTM with True Side Impact Protection® allows children to remain in a five-point harness up to 85 pounds with a seated shoulder height of up to 20 inches. As a belt-positioning booster, the seat can accommodate children up to 120 pounds and 65 inches tall.

Designed to keep children in a five-point harness for as long as possible, the Frontier 85 helps safely graduate children who are at least 2 years old and weigh at least 25 pounds from their convertible car seats. The True Side Impact Protection technology on the Frontier 85 includes deeper side walls, and works to distribute crash forces, shield from vehicle intrusion, contain the head and body, and keep the head, neck and spine aligned. This is important because one in four of all motor vehicle crashes that involve children occur from the side, and these crashes result in a significantly higher injury rate than front or rear crashes.

“We know that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics promote keeping children harnessed for as long as possible,” said Sebastiaan Selders, product manager at Britax. “We designed the Frontier 85 to not only help children remain in a five-point harness longer and provide greater side impact protection, but to also offer superior ease-of-use and installation features. This is critical because when a seat is used correctly it provides optimal protection for the child.”

In order to accommodate the higher height limit and provide a secure fit, the Frontier 85 offers a total of 10 harness positions and three buckle strap positions. The harness also has a cobble weave design with sewn buckle stops to help prevent the harness from twisting and sliding out of place.

The Frontier 85 includes a number of parent-favorite features. These include: a quick-adjust head restraint, no-rethread harness, color-coded vehicle belt guides, Versa-Tether®, Harness Ultra Guard System (HUGS™) and premium LATCH connectors. The seat also offers big, comfortable armrests, dual cup holders, and a durable, washable cover.

When used as a belt-positioning booster the Frontier 85 is compatible with the new Britax SecureGuard Belt Positioning Accessory Clip. The SecureGuard, which is sold separately, works with the vehicle safety belt to prevent the child from sliding under the lap-belt portion of the safety belt during impact, reducing the risk of abdominal injury.

The Frontier 85 comes in four fashions and will be available at independent and mass retailers in late March 2010. The suggested retail price is $279.99.

About Britax Child Safety Inc.

Child car seat and stroller manufacturer Britax® Child Safety Inc. is the leader in developing cutting edge technologies that absorb crash forces and manage energy away from the child in a crash. Britax pioneered features such as side impact protection and True Side Impact Protection® to minimize the risk of injury in side impact crashes, which are the most severe collisions. Side Impact Cushion™ Technology, the newest innovation from Britax, is the first and only technology to reduce side impact crash energy by 50 percent for the child in the seat while also protecting adjacent passengers. Britax child seats also offer higher weight capacities to keep children rear-facing longer and to support extended use of a five-point harness.

Britax is the best-selling child seat in Europe and has become one of the most-trusted brands in North America by parents and caregivers since entering the market in 1996. The company recently launched a line of premium strollers that includes the travel system compatible Chaperone stroller and the lightweight Blink umbrella-fold stroller. For more information, visit www.britaxusa.com.

Krambeck family donation

2010-02-22T13:40:00.002-05:00

Meet the Krambeck family!

Many thanks to Child Passenger Safety Technician, Geneva Scheets, who provided the technical education on this installation. This seat will have great use for the Krambeck family who welcome foster children into their home. Pictured above is their daughter in the donated Britax Frontier.

Each seat the foundation donates costs us approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk while they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like Ms. Krambeck's children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Petry family donation

2010-02-18T15:53:00.008-05:00

Meet the Petry family!

Many thanks to CPST Jennifer Werges for all her help with this installation! The Petry children are 5, 7 and 8 years old, with weights hovering around 40lbs. We were thrilled to be able to assist keeping this family safer!

Each seat the foundation donates costs us approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk while they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like Ms. Petry's children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Raffle Winners!!!

2010-02-01T12:41:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to John Butrovich of Woodland, CA - you win a Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL car seat, a car seat poncho, a Fleurville lunchbox bag in either Coco Stripes or Digital Camo and a $100 gift certificate to Hip Monkey. Please contact me at bombedier@hotmail.com with your choice of cover for the car seat and lunchbox bag.

Congratulations to Kelly Mitchell of Scottsdale, AZ - you win a Britax Travel System in Red Mill (includes Chaperone car seat, base and stroller in matching fabric), a sling (your choice of style) and a Pacimal (your choice of animal) from HipMonkey.com Please also contact me to let me know your sling and Pacimal choices.

Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone who took part in the raffle. Have you checked out the goodies up for grabs in our Silent Auction?

Silent Auction

2010-01-29T12:19:00.018-05:00

The foundation is excited to run our very first silent auction! The auction will be running for the month of February. In order to make a bid, please email the name of the item you are bidding on, your name, address and the amount you wish to bid to laura@kyledavidmiller.org. Love Bugs Co - 3 Giving it Back Care Packs from - for more details on the contents of these packs, check their website here.

Cotton Candy Customized Camera Strap - a gift certificate for a customized camera strap from Cotton Candy Straps retails $30.

Cookie Lee jewelry - generously donated by a supporter.

Green earrings - retail $19.00

Crystal/Emeral elasticated ring - retail $16.00

Brown/bronze elasticated bracelet - retails $26.00

Set of 3 brown bead braclets - retail $28.00

Set of 2 glass bead bracelets - retail $30.00

Set of 2 green bead bracelets - retail $28.00

Petunia Picklebottom Diaper bag - Boxy Backpack Ginger Roll in Rose Burgundy.

Hands-free backpack or long messenger strap
Built-in changing station w/detachable changing pad
2 large diaper/wipes pockets
4 bottle pockets
2 organizational pockets
Small pacifier pocket
Detachable dirty diaper pouch
“No more digging” key clip
Water-resistant liner
PPB monogrammed wipes case
Dimensions: 13 X 13.5 X 5.5
Dry clean only. Spot clean liner with damp cloth.

Retails $169.00

Car Seat Cover Quilt - 13 carseat covers, 10 of which were from expired carseats. Bound in the straps from the carseats, not backed (so you can see the wear on the covers as well.) The covers were all from old car seat and this was crafted with care by Rebecca Cook and generously donated to this silent auction.

Lassiegirl Pinafore - This modern reversible girls pinafore top is perfect for layering ~ Looks great worn by itself or with a t-shirt, onesie or blouse underneath and worn with bloomers, jeans and leggings, or even a skirt! Great for preschool, pictures, parties or ordinary play days at the park - Plus, you have two tops in one! 100% cotton, machine wash/tumble dry. Available in sizes 3m - 4T. Retails $18.00 Lassiegirl.com

Loop-tee-Do - EnvirO Mental makes wonderful scarves, jewelry, bags and other items by recycling post-consumer good such as T-Shirts and paper. This Loop-tee-Do is made of post-consumer white undershirts that have been dyed a chocolate brown color.

This can be worn as a necklace and/or Scarf. It can be wrapped around once or twice. The options and styles are endless. This is super soft and cozy! Find us online at http://www.enviromental.etsy.com/. Made in a pet-free Smoke-free home.

Colby Lane Designs - we have two sets of three bibs on offer for your bids, pictured below. Colby Lane Designs are whimsical chenille baby bibs. Perfect for your lil' teether, or give as a fun gift for new moms and dads. In business since 2004, their bibs are messy-baby-tested and mom-approved. Bring on the drool! :) Each bib retails $8.00

Set 1
Set 2

Maya Papaya - 10 hair clips featured below in the picture are available as a one bid group item. All Maya Papaya wool felt is certified by the "International Wool Secretariat". Free of Harmful Substances, including lead, earning the Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 certification.**

Maya Papaya clips are made using PREMIUM 100% WOOL FELT and are completely hand stitched by me with a needle and thread - NO GLUE. 100% wool felt is 10 times the cost of regular craft felt/wool blends, but is 1,000 times worth it! It is absolutely nothing like the cheap, flimsy felt you find in craft/fabric stores. Their wool felt does not pill or lose shape and has a beautiful matte sheen to it (unlike the shiny synthetic stuff). Maya Papaya clips are made to last and are soft to boot! Wait till you see and feel the difference. Each clip retails $6.50

Car Seat Poncho - H Barry Boo LLC is proud to donate this one-of-a-kind Car Seat Poncho to the Kyle David Miller Foundation Silent Auction. It was made as a designer sample for consideration by high-end boutiques, but was never produced for sale. The lucky winner of the Leopard/Black Trim Car Seat Poncho will truly be warm, safe and chic!

The Car Seat Poncho is the easiest way to keep your baby safe and warm – without a hassle. A bulky coat underneath harness straps puts her at risk of ejection in a crash, but the Car Seat Poncho makes it easy for moms to dress their kids, secure them safely, and be on the road in no time. It was invented by a CPST and is recommended by safety experts all over the US and in Canada. Regular stock poncho's retail ~$45.00

Luna B. Tee Shirts -have very kindly been donated three shirts to auction. Each shirt will be a separate bid item and any item featured on their site - Luna B. Tee - will be customized for you.

Luna B. Tee is the original fun, fresh, and fabulous line of personalized tees to fit every special occasion! Printed on high quality 100% ring-spun cotton, these tees feature vibrant graphics that are personalized to your specifications. A must-have for birthday parties, starting school, and expecting a new addition to the family! We have the perfect gift for multiples and the new big brother or sister. Not limited to children's clothing, our adult line of tees are perfect as Mother's Day gifts or to honor the loved one in your life. We have tees for your favorite 18 inch doll and dogs tees too! Sizes range from newborn onesies to 2XL tees. Each T-shirt retails $28.00

Gamble family donation

2010-01-16T08:31:00.000-05:00

Meet the Gamble family!

The foundation recently donated a Britax Regent to this charming family whose daughter is aged 6 years old. She suffers from sensory issues, so a soft harnessing seat was in order. Staphanie Miller was the CPS Technician who assisted with the installation and we thank her wholeheartedly for her assistance!

Each seat the foundation donates costs us approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk while they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like Ms. Gamble's daughter safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

McKeller-Jones Family Donation

2010-01-15T11:10:00.002-05:00

Meet the McKeller-Jones family!

The foundation recently donated two Britax Regents to this charming family whose boys are aged 7 and 4 years old. Officer Nathan Preve was the CPS Technician who assisted with the installation. He has some glowing words to share about the boys and their Mom:

"The installation went very well. April has a great understanding of car seats and their functions. By speaking with the children, they talk a lot about being safe in their car seats. That tells me that mom is doing her job and doing it well. The youngest one, was a big help in the installation process. He was a big help for only being four years old. It's not very often that you see children that knowlegable about car seat safety. Mom has done a wonderful job."

Each seat the foundation donates costs us approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk while they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like these boys safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Buxton Family Donation

2010-01-12T15:49:00.003-05:00

Prior to the holidays, the foundation donated a Britax Regent to the Buxton family. Unfortunatley, there are no pictures to share, but we received a lovely note from Mr. Buxton in thanks, which is below.

"Thank you for the car seat for my 5 year old. I t's perfect becauseshe had just passed the weight limit of 40 lbs of the car seat she was in and was too big to be able to use the 5 point harness that came with it. The one you sent us is good up to 80 lbs, plus it's big enough that she can use the 5 point harness. This was such an excellent quality of a car seat that there's no way we could have spent this much on one. Plus, the State of New Mexico has just furloughed their employees 5 days over the next 6 months due to state budget reasons. This came at a great time when we are trying to balance our own personal budget due to my employer having budget issues themselves.

I appreciate all the suggestions you and the installers of the car seat have given to me and my wife on safer installations of our car seats. Our two children are two of the most important individuals in our lives.

Again, thank you."

Many thanks to CPS Technician Maredi Salaz for all her help with this donation and for teaching the family how to correctly install and use the seat.

Have you had your seat checked by a CPST?

2010-01-08T11:09:00.007-05:00

With the recent weather and increase in accidents locally, it draws me to write about the importance of making sure your seat is installed and being used correctly. For many of us, winter is in full swing. With this, it brings increased risk and concern, and the reminder that if we have not had an appointment with a CPST, that it would be a good time to set that up.

One of the biggest questions I get asked in the winter is why we tell people that we advise against winter coats or bulky clothing. The reason for this is those coats or bulky clothing can give you a false tightness on the harness. The materials compress and can actually make the belt seem tighter than it really is. This then gives the child more room under the harness to move with the crash forces should you be in an accident, making the injuries greater.

How you can help keep your child warm :
-Have the car warmed up before you put your child in.
-Let your child wear their coat until they are in the car, then take it off and buckle them in. If you still want them to have the coat place it on backwards over the harness to 'blanket' them.
-Use a poncho style 'coat' that goes over the belts.
-Use blankets *my kids got kid size snuggies for Christmas and they work GREAT in the van*.

No matter how careful you are, you never know how the people are driving around you. It's important, any time of the year, to make sure your seats are installed properly and you fully understand your child's seat. Each seat is different, and this means weight limits could be different, belt paths, etc. could all be different.

When you make an appointment with a CPST they will help you understand your seat and go over the right and wrong uses. They will show you, instruct you, then watch you install your seat so you're confident that if you have to move it you can repeat the proper install each and every time. If your tech doesn't ask you to install the seat before you leave, ask them to let you with their supervision, so you know you can redo it.

Things you should also expect your tech to discuss with you is :
-Harness tightness
-Harness placement
-Use of extra items in, with, or around the car seat
-Winter coats and safety
-Belt tightness
-Discussion of both rear facing and forward facing
-Rear facing as long as possible and forward harnessing as long as possible
-How to use your seat properly every time you use it

You can have the top of the line car seat but if you don't have it installed properly, it's not going to perform how you want it to. Think of car seats like life insurance; you hope you never need it, but want it there just incase. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Make an appointment with a local CPST today!

Keller family donation

2010-01-07T10:42:00.003-05:00

Meet the Keller family!

The foundation donated two Sunshine Kids Radians to this family and they were installed by our very own advisory technician, Kris Abbink, with assistance from Ellen Mettenbrink.

Kris talks about how the installation went:

" Becky Keller is very knowledgeable and was eager to both learn and help me get the seats installed. The girls were in school at the time of the install, but in a previous meeting we had the girls fitted to the seats and had gone over details on the seat adjustments and fits for the girls. The girls looked great in their seats the day we fit them, and Becky emailed me pictures the afternoon of the installation of the girls safe and comfy in their Radians.

The whole expirence was both a good one and a learning one also. Having been a tech for over two years I still learn more every day in my continual study and research of safety and updated information. This install proved to teach me more. When we met the first time we had some installation issues both another tech and myself were not sure on. So with further research, the help of Laura from the foundation and some internet resources we learned we were able to get the seats in.

Becky did great installing them on her own and I am more than confident that she will get those seats in right each and every time she has to move them. She was very grateful for our help and the added safety and comfort she now has driving the girls around. "

New Website, Sponsor a Car Seat & TWO Raffles!!!

2009-12-22T10:22:00.004-05:00

If you've been over to the foundation website over the past couple of days, you will have noticed, we've had a little face lift. Our graphic designer Heather McMeekan and our new webmaster, Ben Davis have been working hard to bring you our new look. We hope you like it. If you have any feedback, or there are things you would like to see on there, don't hesitate to get in touch with us!

We are very excited to launch with this new website a new fundraising program that will give you, our supporters the chance to make a huge impact on the foundation. We are so happy to introduce 'Sponsor a car seat' to you. With this program, over the course of a year by regular, automatic payments, you will have donated one (or more) car seats to a child. Each seat costs the foundation $200 to donate - by making 4 quarterly paymeents of $50, or 12 monthly payments of $16.67 - you will have provided one seat by the end of a year. We have provided you the flexibility to set the frequency and the amount of the recurring payment to suit your preferences. We can't wait to get our first sponsors to sign up!!!

We would also like the opportunity to give back to you too! It's been a while since we ran a Raffle, so we are running, not one, but TWO!! Here's what's on offer:

Infant Raffle – In this prize package we have a Britax Travel System in Red Mill (includes Chaperone car seat, base and stroller in matching fabric), a sling (your choice of style) and a Pacimal (your choice of animal).

Young Child Raffle – In this prize package we have a top of the line Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL car seat, a car seat poncho, a Fleurville lunchbox bag in either Coco Stripes or Digital Camo and a $100 gift certificate to Hip Monkey.

To enter either Raffle, a ticket is $10. Multiples of $10 will purchase multplie tickets. You wll receive your ticket number through email. The raffles both run until midnight Jan 31st and the winner will be announced on Feb 1st in the blog, on Twitter, on Facebook and be notified through email.

Please watch out for our new newsletter which will be shortly published.

The foundation board members and volunteers want to wish you all the very happiest of Holidays and thank you all deeply for all the support and love you have given the foundation over the past year. Here's to a very successful 2010!

Graham family donation

2009-12-17T09:09:00.000-05:00

We recently donated a Sunshine Kids Radian XT to the Graham family.

The Graham family have three children - to get three across in their vehicle, they needed a Radian in the mix.

Many thanks to CPS Tech Brett Bates for teaching the family how install and correctly use this seat.

Help the foundation get $5000 in the next 24 hours!!!

2009-12-16T10:28:00.000-05:00

iGive.com is going to attempt to donate $5,000 in just 24 hours to Kyle David Miller Foundation and other causes.

For each person who joins iGive using the special link below and does just one web search on their site between now and noon Thursday, they'll give Kyle David Miller Foundation
a dollar.

5,000 new members, $5,000. No purchase necessary.

Of course, if you search more (or buy something)you'll earn even more money for Kyle David Miller Foundation. Right now, they're donating $.02 per search and a bonus $5 for that first purchase plus the usual percentage.

This is the link:
http://www.igive.com/welcome/warm_reg_promo.cfm?c=42845

The details:
- Offer active between now and 11:59 a.m., December 17, 2009 (Chicago time).
- New members only (never have been an iGive member previously). All the normal rules of membership, searching, and purchasing apply, their site has the details.
- Once they've given away $5,000, the offer ends.

Newton family donation

2009-12-16T09:49:00.000-05:00

Meet the Newton family!

We donated a total of 4 Britax Regents to the family for their 8, 6, 4 and 2 year old (not pictured)children. Normally we would encourage a family to train an 8 year old to sit correctly in a booster seat, but this particular 8 year old is just over 40lbs and on the smaller side, so we complied with her parents wishes that she remain harnessed for as long as possible.

Many thanks to CPS tech Beth Heifner for installing and teaching the family on installation and usage of these seats.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Newton children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Davey family donation

2009-12-15T12:01:00.001-05:00

Meet the Davey family!

We donated a Britax Regent to this family for their 7 year old son.

CPS Tech Dianne Robertson performed the installation and education session on this seat and we thank her immensely. Dianne also checked the two other restraints in the vehicle at this same appointment and made some minor adjustments.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Davey boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Munch family donation

2009-12-14T11:13:00.004-05:00

Meet the Munch family!

What a car full of car seats! The foundation donated three Sunshine Kids Radians, a Sunshine Kids Montery booster to be used with an EZ-On 86-Y harness which we also donated.

Many thanks to Child Passenger Safety Technician Judi Lambert and her husband, who gets to be featured on our blog too!

You see him here wielding a drill for a very good reason.....he installed the heavy duty anchor for the 86-Y in the vehicle and drilled through the bottom of the Munch vehicle. What a talented family the Lamberts are!!!

It's great to know that these cuties are all riding safely!

The Radians worked out perfectly to get this three across installation you see above. Judi also turned the youngest Munch family member back to rear-facing as this is 5 times safer than forward-facing. All children who can fit rear-facing in their convertible seats should remain this way until they outgrow the seat either by height or weight, whichever comes first.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Munch family safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

2 month old is ejected from vehicle

2009-12-10T13:03:00.003-05:00

Thankfully this two month old was miraculously uninjured as a result of this crash, but this serves to highlight the importance of dressing your child correctly in their car seat (not bulky layers, unlike Desiree McLaughlin's 5 month old who was featured in the piece dressed in a snow suit in his car seat) and to tighen that harness correctly.

As a reminder, to ensure your child is correclty restrained in their car seat during the colder months, do not dress the child in thick coats, buntings or layers.
A thin fleece jacket or blanket over the child following securing in the seat is sufficient to keep them warm.
Ensure the harness is correctly tightened by performing the pinch test (attempting to horizontally pinch the harness together and failing) at the collarbone of the child.
Place the chest clip level with the child's underams.
Do not use unregulated items such as the BundleMe in your infant seat.

As we discussed previously, thick layers between the child and the harness will compress in a crash causing the harness to be too loose. This can result in ejection of the child from the seat.

Why is the JJ Cole BundleMe unsafe??

2009-12-02T16:47:00.000-05:00

I refer you to an excellent blog post by Donna Eng of Car Seat Ponco here.

Read. Digest. Tell your friends.

Vote for the foundation

2009-11-25T14:33:00.001-05:00

Do you need a car seat?

2009-10-20T14:03:00.003-04:00

My husband has said for years that he doesn't trust statistics. "Statistics," he says, "can be skewed any way you wish to prove whatever point you wish to make." We came to blows over 'statistics' when it came to deciding to keep our son rear-facing - a discussion I am very pleased to say that resulted in our son rear-facing to the full 33lbs rear-facing weight capacity of his seat (and beyond his 4th birthday).

Today, Good Morning America did a piece on the new book 'SuperFreakonomics' and highlighted one of this pair of gentlemen's contentions that a 2 year old fairs no better in a seatbelt alone than when using a car seat. Firstly, let's get beyond the sensationalism of that statement and deconstruct what the actual message this pair makes. I don't want to rework some of the fantastic work already done by Darren of Carseatblog.com on this piece and I will cut right to the chase on this subject.

The bottom line on this discussion is that upwards of 85% of car seats are installed or used incorrectly - the video piece in GMA proves my point so eloquently and I am sure, unintentionally, showing an infant seat using a JJ Cole BundleMe and a child in a puffy winter jacket, chest clips positioned too low that they will not keep a harness on your child's shoulders in a crash, and children with seatbelts cutting across their necks. All classic examples of misuse. The real issue at hand is how to ensure that our children are restrained in their seats correctly (whether that restraint be a car or booster seat), and that their child restraint be correctly installed.

There are resources available to parents to help you do this - make an appointment with your local child passenger safety technician TODAY - don't put it on your 'to do' list. Between today and when you get to making the appointment, that crash (which could result in serious injuries, or worse) can happen. These people are trained to assist you and volunteer their time and effort to helping YOU learn how to correctly install and use your restraint.

Ensure at your appointment with your technician that you KNOW how to correctly install your seat. The last person to install the car seat and to secure your child in their restraint should be YOU - not the technician. Do not leave the appointment until you are comfortable with your skills. If you have follow up questions at a later time, contact the technician. They will LOVE to answer them for you.

The foundation will always answer your questions about installation or usage. We have a team of advisory technicians on staff who love to help you keep your children safe. Email us at info@kyledavidmiller.org today. We are here to help!

Interesting thought on this sensationalist piece.....did anyone ask these gentlemen how they restrained their children when they were 2 years old? Mmmmmm......thought not! ;) Don't believe the hype.

Dressing for winter and safety

2009-10-16T10:41:00.006-04:00

The first snowflakes fell today in my town, though I know for many of you, you've had some snowfalls already. Not too sure about this global warming - brrrr!

As I secured my sons into their seats this morning, I made mental note that it was a good time to have a little virtual chat with you all about how to dress your children both warmly and safely in their child restraints.

You've probably heard from your car seat technician, or read online, that you should not secure a child in their seat while they are wearing thick bulky layers. The reason behind this is, in a crash, those puffy layers which made it difficult to secure the harness tightly, will compress in a crash and make the harness too loose to correctly secure your child. This could lead to injury or even ejection of your child from their seat. Don't believe me? Watch this YouTube Video:

My youngest son wears a Car Seat Poncho which is a wonderful, purpose designed poncho that keeps children both safe and cozy in your vehicle. The double zip function makes it easy to push aside the material in the front while you secure their harness underneath. The poncho then sits over the harness putting nothing bulky between your child, their seat and the harness. I love this product and it is my #1 child christmas/birthday gift. Donna Eng, the owner of this company, very generously gives a donation of $3 to the foundation on the purchase of these two styles of ponchos.

My oldest son wears a polar fleece jacket from LLBean which is very thin in terms of layering, but keeps him nice and warm.

When my youngest was still in his infant seat, I used a shower cap style of car seat cover to keep him warm, like this one from Lands End

PLEASE PLEASE do NOT use the JJ Cole BundleMe product in your infant car seat. This product is not safe to use in a car seat. It gives a bulky layer between your child and their seat. interferes with the harness and it is NOT crash tested (despite their claims) - there are no crash testing standards for items like these to comply to.

Other options available - use a blanket and place it over your child and their harness after they are secured into their seat. Or, secure your child into their seat and put their coat on backwards.

If you have a thin jacket that you are wondering is safe for your child to wear under the harness in their seat, there is a simple test you can do.

1) Secure your child while wearing their jacket into the seat. Check the harness passes the pinch test.
2) Without loosening the harness tightness, unbuckle the harness and remove the coat from your child.
3) Rebuckle the harness (but do not tighten in any way) and perform the pinch test once again.

If the harness passes the pinch test, the coat is fine to wear. If not, the coat is too thick.

Please vote - only two days left!

2009-10-13T16:59:00.001-04:00

Would you please lend a moment of your time to vote for the foundation? We are currently in 6th place. If we win, the prize is $10,000! That would help a LOT of children get safe car seats! You can vote once per email address here: http://www.ilovechristiecookies.com/contest/form.asp Select the Kyle David Miller Foundation from the drop down list.

Thank you so much!

2009-09-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Meet the Payne family!

This adorable 4 year old is 42lbs and we were delighted to be able to donate a Radian XT to her (in pink!). Many thanks to Bill Craig, CPS Technician for eduating the family on the installation and usage of this seat.

Bill writes of the installation: "I appreciated Mrs. Payne’s knowledge of car seats and the installation process, which made it enjoyable and stress-free. [Her daugher] was patient girl, too. I do like the Radian and have worked with one before with a family who needed to seat three young children in a back seat of an early-90s-model sedan. The Radian was a perfect solution. In Mrs. Payne’s situation, the Radian was installed in the third row seat of a ’98 Dodge Caravan next to a baby in an infant carrier, and a child with a booster. The Radian fit like a glove.

I appreciate the Foundation sending the Payne family a new car seat, and for allowing me to help in this process."

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Simons' boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Davis family donation

2009-09-11T17:46:00.007-04:00

Meet the Davis family!

This cutie is 3 years old and 53lbs - a perfect match for a Britax Regent. A top tether anchor had to be retrofitted into the family's vehicle which is a Ford. We had excellent assistance from Kelley Campos-Adams of Ford who had the part sent overnight to the family's local Ford dealership.
Many thanks to James Cameron, CPS Technician, who went above and beyond to ensure that Ms. Davis vehicle had the tether anchor fitted. He made sure that Ms. Davis understood how to correctly install and use her seat (and the height of the chest clip in these pictures - too low - has been brought to Ms. Davis attention).

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Simons' boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Please help the foundation win $10,000!

2009-09-03T13:32:00.003-04:00

Rivera Family donation (and why we ask for pictures)

2009-09-02T15:19:00.008-04:00

Meet the Rivera family!

These adorable boys received two Britax Regent seats from the foundation in July. Usually I am quick to post pictures we receive of our donated seats, but this time, I hesitated....and the reason will become clear. These two boys are 3 and 5 year old, 39.5 and 58.5lbs. We shipped their seats to a local child passenger safety technician.

Things look like they are going well here, with Dad being shown the features of the seat and we see the recline bar has been installed. Looks good so far!
Then we come to this picture. Hmmmm...something definitely NOT right here - the harness is in slots which are way too high for this child. Well, we think, sometimes we have seen techs leave the harness in the top slot if they feel that there is a danger of the harness not being moved to a higher slot when appropriate. We'll give benefit of the doubt, or at least reserve our comments at the moment.
And THIS is the final product!?! The child in the rear of the picture looks like his harness has been moved down since the picture above...that's good, but let's check out the child in the foreground. His harness is definitely one slot too high. Both harnesses are WAY too loose and the chest clips need properly placed at armpit height.
We immediately contacted the family and the technician to whom we had shipped the seat. Turns out that due to scheduling issue, the tech we had engaged (and provided all installation guidance and support) had passed the seat to the local fire department for installation. All issues on these seats as outlined above have been communicated to both the family and the technician we requested install the seat and we were assured that the corrections would immediately be made. We have been unable at this time to verify if indeed this has happened.

85% of all seats are either installed or used incorrectly. The foundation ships seats to CPSTs in order to try to combat these potential issues. This is a prime example of why the foundation requests pictures following an installation. We love to be able to share with our donors where their money is going - they can see their hard earned cash in action saving lives. The flip side to this is we also get to catch any errors of installation or misuse.

Always read your vehicle and car seat owner's manual so that you are also informed on how to correctly install and use your child restraint.

Friend family

2009-08-21T17:25:00.004-04:00

Meet the Friend family!

This adorable blue-eyed boy is safe in a new Britax Boulevard that the foundation helped this family with. His uncle is a Child Passenger Safety Technician, so we had him install the seat and teach his family how to correctly install and use the seat. Here's a note from his Mommy:

"I am still so thrilled to have this seat! He is a BIG boy! At 8mos, he now weighs 24bs! 'R' LOVES his car seat! He never fusses when getting into it or while riding, no matter how long the trip! It was so easy to install! I love that we can switch it back and forth between our cars and not worry about it being in wrong! 'R' will be rear-facing until he out grows this seat's rear facing weight! Thank you SO MUCH!!! This was a HUGE blessing for our family!"

Can you help us keep more children like 'R' safe?

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Simons' boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Helotie family donation

2009-08-21T16:42:00.004-04:00

Meet the Helotie family!

This family received two Britax Regents from the foundation for their two youngest children, ages 6 and 4 years old, 43 and 33lbs. Child Passenger Safety Technician, Joy Miller, taught the family how to correctly install and use these seats - our deepest thank to Joy!

We received a lovely note from Ms. Helotie in thanks for the seats that we would like to share with you:

"I wanted to let you know that Ms. Joy Miller came out to our home and installed our two new Regents today. We were impressed with her professionalism, her willingness to show me how to adjust and install the seats in my truck for my children, and her cheerfulness in dealing with excited little people! We highly recommend her for anyone else in our area!

[My children] are most thankful for their gifts! [My son] cannot undo his buckles now without help, which will keep him safely seated when in the truck. His autism does not always allow him to think clearly about safety issues, so this is a huge blessing.

Soon after installation, I took everyone for a quick ride…and both of my little ones claimed that they were too cozy to get out of the truck! Even in our 95’ heat today, they wanted to stay IN their seats, and not get out!

Thank you so very much for choosing our family to receive this wonderful gift of love. Our children are safely buckled and comfortable….and that is a peace of mind that no money can buy.

Blessings!
Lucette Helotie"

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Simons' boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Vergara family donation

2009-08-21T16:23:00.002-04:00

Meet the Vergara family!

This delightful family was referred to the foundation by child passenger safety technician, Lisa Sheppard who had met the family and seen their need for high weight capacity harnessing seats that the foundation donates. On this occasion, we donated two Britax Regents to the family to keep their beautiful girls safe. The vehicle had lap belts only and no headrests, meaning the children needed to be seated in harnessing seats. We were thrilled to be able to work together with Lisa to keep this family safe. The girls are 5 and 8 years old and both 55lbs. They will have a good amount of useage from these seats.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Simons' boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Stroh family donation

2009-08-21T15:57:00.004-04:00

Meet the Stroh family!

Pictured above is Master Stroh with Ellen Mettenbrink, CPS technician who taught the family how to install and correctly use this Britax Regent. Master Stroh is 5 years old and 57lbs. He still has 1 more slot on the Regent left for growing room - lots more time to stay harnessed.

Our deepest thanks go to Ellen for her time on a very hot day to install this seat!

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Simons' boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Cottongim family donation

2009-08-19T16:39:00.004-04:00

Meet the Cottongim family!

This adorable guy is 4 years old and 42lbs and was previously in a booster seat. We were so thankful to be able to donate a Britax Regent to the family to keep him safe. As you will see below, he has a couple of siblings to whom the seat can eventually pass down to once he has outgrown it. Many thanks to Alecia Richey, child passenger safety technician, for her time and expertise teaching the family how to install and use the seat. You will see below Mom helping her guy get buckled up.
Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Simons' boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Ferguson family donation

2009-08-19T14:54:00.005-04:00

Meet the Ferguson family!

This cutie is 4 years old and 42lbs. She was previously riding in a booster seat. Thanks to your generous support, we were able to donate a Britax Regent to her. Thanks go to Susan Littnan, child passenger safety technician, for teaching the family how to correctly install and use the seat. We were able to get this seat installed just before the family took a long road trip.
Note - the chest clip is shown slightly low - it should be level with the armpits for correct positioning.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Simons' boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Fraley family donation

2009-08-19T13:59:00.006-04:00

Meet the Fraley family!

Pictured above is the adorable Fraley family with their child passenger safety technician, Jennifer Rubin. Our recipient is 8 years old, but only 44lbs. As you can see, he has plenty of growing room in his Britax Regent and his little brother, who is 4 years old (in the background) will be able to move up to this seat in due course.

We adore that Ms. Fraley is keeping her children harnessed for as long as she can, and that the seat we have donated to this family will be able to keep younger generations safe too, until it expires.
Thanks so much Jennifer for all your time and expertise educating the family on installation and usage of this seat. Of course, at the same appointment, Jennifer made sure everyone's seats were installed and used correctly. According to Jennifer, Ms. Fraley did a fantastic job of installing the Regent in her vehicle.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Simons' boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Cole family donation

2009-08-13T15:33:00.005-04:00

Meet the Cole family!

This adorable girl is 5 years and 46lbs. We were thrilled to be able to donate a Britax Regent to this family. With the help of Kathy Deml, CPS Technician, Ms. Cole learned how to correctly install and use this seat.
The foundation encourages keeping children in a 5 point harness for as long as possible. As you can see, she has plenty of growing room in this seat!

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!The foundation is in desperate need of donations - even $1 helps!

Wolfe family donation

2009-08-07T14:36:00.003-04:00

Meet the Wolfe family!

These darlings are 4, 3 and 2 years old and we were thrilled to be able to donate three Sunshine Kids Radian65s to this family to allow them do install three car seats across their back seat. As you can see, they have plenty of growing room in these seats.

A big thank you goes out to CPS Technicians Emiile Pelleran and Deputy Laurie Jones-Beck who educated the family on how to install and correctly use these seats.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!The foundation is in desperate need of donations - even $1 helps!

Meeham family donation

2009-08-06T15:15:00.010-04:00

Meet the Meehan family!

This adorable cutie is 4 years old and 42lbs - we was seated in a backless booster previously. We were thrilled to be able to offer a Britax Regent to this family to keep their son safer! Many thanks go out to Pedro Avila, CPS Technician, for educating the family about installation and correct usage of this seat.

Check out Ms. Meehan installing the Regent in her vehicle below....

Nice job!

A seat fit for a prince!

Turbulence - why all children should be secured in their own car seat on board a flight!

2009-08-06T10:27:00.005-04:00

The following was written on livescience.com

Turbulence: Leading Cause of In-flight Injuries
livescience.com - Mon Aug 3, 2:20 pm ET

News today that unexpected turbulence injured at least 26 people on Continental Flight 128, en route to Texas, is a stark reminder of why airlines ask you keep your seat belt on whenever seated, even if the flight is calm.

The plane dropped suddenly, throwing flight attendants to the roof, according to news reports.

Turbulence is the leading cause of non-fatal in-flight injuries, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, usually because passengers or crew aren't wearing seatbelts.

Turbulence is air movement that normally cannot be seen and often occurs unexpectedly. It can happen because of changes in air pressure, jet streams, waves created by the influence of mountains, cold or warm fronts, and thunderstorms. It can even occur when the sky is clear.

The rocky air can't always be predicted and radars can't spot it, though researchers are working on other ways to detect it by parsing the data on wind movement provided by radar. While turbulence may cause you to knock your head hard, it isn't likely to be fatal. From 1980 through June 2004, U.S. air carriers had 198 turbulence accidents, resulting in 266 serious injuries and three fatalities, according to the FAA. Despite today's event and other recent high-profile airline accidents, analysts say flying is safer than ever and remains far less dangerous than driving.

________________________________________________

Turbulence can produce such forces that it is impossible for you to hold onto your child seated on your lap....the same forces in a crash that will prevent you from being able to hold onto your child in your lap in a vehicle. For this reason, we strongly advise against lap children on flights and recommend that ALL children have their OWN seat on an airline and that your child restraint is installed in that seat.

There is a fabulous piece on the website JetwithKids about the dangers of the lap child. Probably some of the most eye opening data in that piece are the advertising campaigns by the FAA themselves against lap children.

1) Even the most loving arms can't hold him
2) Childproof your flight
3) Radio/audio ad - Loving Arms

In addition, if you chose to check your car seat, you are potentially exposing your child restraint - you know, the piece of equipment you are relying on in your vehicle to save your child's life - to damage or even loss. Just watch here (about 20 seconds in) the handling by luggage carriers, the heavy suitcases falling on top of your child restraint in the hold, and the hairline/unseen cracks and damage that could have happened as a result. The only way to prevent that potential damage or loss is to keep the restraint with you and onboard the aircraft, installed in your child's seat and restraining your child.

If your child sits rear-facing in your vehicle, they should also sit rear-facing on board your flight. The laws of physics don't change just because you are on an airplane! It is still going to be safer for your child to be rear-facing in their restraint in the case of an emergency and high speed landing.

Do you recall the 3 year old whose life was saved due to her child restraint being used in the plane?

Understandably, the lure of the cost savings of holding your child on your lap are attractive, but ask yourself this question - are those savings worth your child's protection from injury, or worse, their death? Just because you have flown in the past in this manner with no mishap, does not mean it won't happen to you. You use your child restraint in your vehicle because you don't want to be one of the people who think, 'it won't happen to me.' The danger of that line of thinking is that it CAN happen to you, whether it be in a vehicle or in the air.

rear-facing - it's not just for babies

2009-07-29T11:50:00.006-04:00

This is my nearly 4 year old.

He sits in a Britax Marathon with a 33lbs rear-facing weight limit (date of manufacture 2005). As you can see, he's pretty happy and comfortable in his seat. I am thrilled we have made it this far rear-facing.

This is his brother

He is nearly 14 months old, and judging by his love of food, we may be pushing getting to even 3 years old before he hits the 35lbs rear-facing weight limit of his Britax Boulevard. The good news for us though is the recent introduction of seats with a 40lbs rear-facing weight limit. The Sunshine Kids Radian line, the Graco My Ride 65 and the Safety 1st Complete Air are all leading the charge with the higher rear-facing weight limit.

But why is rear-facing so important you might ask? Well, it is a combination of physics and how the human body develops. You may have seen crash tests of rear-facing child restraints. If not, please view them now.

Notice how the child is pushed back into the seat and the head, neck and spine stay in alignment? Now view a forward-facing crash test.

Notice how the head and neck are thrown forward in the crash?

Now let's discuss the human body. A child's head accounts for approximately 25% of their total weight. As you age, this percentage decreases. However, that initial high percentage makes the rear-facing of a child so important. Weight combined with speed equals force. The greater the weight, the greater the force. Internally also, the spine of a young child is made up of cartilage. Not until between the ages of 3 and 6 years old do these bones fuse together, a process known as ossification. When that happens, the spine is able to protect the spinal chord better. Until then, the spinal chord can stretch in a forward-facing crash - up to 2 inches! Only 1/4 inch of stretch is necessary to render a child either paralyzed or dead. The disconnecting of the spinal chord from the brain stem is known as internal decapitation. This, sadly, is not uncommon in forward-facing crashes.

You may be worried about your child's legs when they are rear-facing. I refer you again to this picture:

I assure you my son is very comfortable rear-facing. There have been no documented cases of a child's leg breaking in a rear-facing crash, but sadly many documented cases of broken necks and worse of forward-facing children. Here is Joel's story:

So, if your Pediatrician, or your friend, or your relative tells you it's time to forward-face your child in their child restraint when they have reached 1 year old and 20lbs, you can take that opportunity to educate them that it is 5 times safer to keep your child rear-facing and that's what you will be choosing to do instead.

You can read more information about why rear-facing is the safer choice here on our website.

Morey family donation

2009-07-24T14:41:00.005-04:00

Meet the Morey family!

This was an interesting donation situation. The family don't personally own a vehicle, but they get rides from friends on a regular basis. Since they had three children and often could be getting rides in vehicles with lap belts only and no top tethers, we put this family down for three Sunshine Kids Radians. The Radian outperforms forward-facing crash test standards without the use of the top tether anchor, so was a perfect solution to ensure these precious ones are kept safe. Also, due to the narrow seat, these seats can be fitted three across on a rear-seat as illustrated below:

Our deep and sincerest thanks go (once again) to the utterly amazing Judi Lambert, CPST, who used her own vehicle to teach the family how to correctly install and secure the children in their new seats.

You can watch this video to see Ms. Morey learning how to install these seats with various types of seatbelts.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

The foundation is in desperate need of donations - even $1 helps!

Sunshine Kids Radian - RF weight limit upped to 40lbs

2009-07-09T14:55:00.004-04:00

Sunshine Kids have retroactively upped the rear-facing weight limit of the Radians manufactured in or after September 2008.

Recent additional crash testing has allowed Sunshine Kids to increase this weight limit from 35lbs to 40lbs, keeping pace with the recently released Graco My Ride 65 and recently announced Safety 1st Complete Air.

This change will be reflected in new manuals (end of this summer / early fall by the time it reaches stores.)

Interim Update Notification:
Models: U.S. models only - Radian65 (16500), Radian80 (18500) and RadianXT (19500)
Notice: Rear-facing capacity for these Radian models has been increased to 40 lbs
This change will be reflected on future Radian manuals and stickers.
This change is now retroactive and applies to U.S. Radian models manufactured in or after September, 2008.

Burns family donation

2009-07-07T17:24:00.003-04:00

Meet the Burns family!

This little cutie is the pride of her grandmother who applied for assistance for her granddaughter who is 3 years old and approximately 35lbs. The foundation was happy to be able to donate a Britax Regent in Sahara cover to this family to ensure this adorable one is kept safe. Assisting us with the donation and providing an educational session on installation and usage of this seat was Marcy Howell - CPS Technician.

Can you help us continue to donate seats to the needy families on our waiting list?

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

An Older Generation

2009-07-01T13:09:00.004-04:00

Many of us as adults can look back to a time when car seats were optional; they looked like something hardly safe enough to keep a doll strapped down, and it was OK to ride without them. I remember riding in the back of pick-up trucks and sitting in that seat that faced out the back window of station wagons. The biggest thing that sticks in my mind about this time is the story my mom would tell me about how my grandma held me for 3 hours on her lap while we were on a road trip. Looking back I wonder how I, or anyone else for that matter, survived. In this post I want to help you learn why things have changed, and share with you the things to tell those parents and grandparents in your lives that simply don't understand or want to follow your wishes for your child's safety in their vehicle.

So many things have changed from the time we were children to the time we had children. There are lots of factors that bring about the changes we see now versus then. Often our parents and grandparents simply don't understand. Explaining to them the reasons helps them to realize why their views are outdated.

Firstly, we know much more now than before. As research and testing continues we learn more about how much a child's body is able to handle certain crash forces. This resulted in us raising our safety standards to meet the needs to keep a child safe. Just as those standards changed from 10 and 20 years ago, they will continue to change to a higher standard as time moves forward. Continual crash testing and research is allowing car seat manufactures to make seats that provide better protection for our children, and seats that help take more of the forces off the child to reduce the impact of the crash on them.

Other factors that are sometimes not considered are:

* There are more cars on the road now
* Cars are not as big and durable as they were
* Speed limits are higher
* There are more negligent drivers on the road
* Knowledge now is much higher than before

The factors that have brought about the changes in child passenger safety, are helping lower the statistics of injuries and deaths related to motor vehicle crashes.

I was compelled to post this today because too often I hear the same comments about, 'back in my day', 'when my kids were younger' or 'you survived' and so I just felt this was some good information to help pass on. When people know and understand why you're doing what you are, it's easier for them to understand the reasons and follow your wishes for care of your child when it comes to their transportation.

If you have questions about the changes or need further suggestions to help with someone respecting your wishes for car seats in their vehicle please post them in the comments.

Please also see this follow up to our piece at the Car Seat Poncho Blog.

summer safety tips

2009-06-29T17:17:00.004-04:00

Each season of the year brings new challenges in the child restraint safety arena so we wanted to mention a few for the summer season:

Window Shades:One of the most common mistakes in safely transporting children is the use of suction cup and roller blind shades on the windows of vehicles. In a crash, these can become detached and a projectile that could injure you or your child. The safe recommendation is to use the tinted transfer shades that stick to the windows. An example of this is the Sunshine Kids Cool-Shade.

Cover your child restraint when not in use: When your child restraint is unoccupied and your vehicle will be sitting out in the sun, cover the restraint with a light towel or blanket – this will prevent the metal parts from heating up and potentially causing burns on your child. It will also keep dark colored fabric restraints cooler.

Never leave your child/ren in a vehicle unattended: In addition to the safety aspect of this, every year children die due to hyperthermia from being left in vehicles.

Double check and check again when you are backing up for children: With the better weather and lighter evenings, more children are playing outside. SUVs and Minivans have many blind spots in which a child could be lurking.

Pay attention to the increased number of cyclists and pedestrians out on the streets.

Louya family donation

2009-06-25T17:33:00.007-04:00

Meet the Louya family!

We had the fortunate ability to be able to donate two Britax Marathons recently to the Louya family. This is a departure from our usual donations, but we were thankful to be able to assist the family. Many thanks to Sandra Ramsey, CPST for her time and expertise showing the family how to correctly install and use their new seats.

Pictured below is a 17 month old who is 23lbs. This child has been placed in the rear-facing position as rear-facing is 5 times safer than forward-facing. All children who fit rear-facing should be positioned in this manner. This darling cutie will be able rear-face in this Marathon until 33lbs which is the rear-facing weight limit of the seat the foundation donated to the family. Rear-facing height limit for this seat is until there is one inch between the top of the child's head and the top of the shell of the seat.

Don't worry about children's legs when rear-facing. Children sit very comfortably rear-facing and will either fold their legs or put them on the side of the seat as Miss Louya is demonstrating for us above. The Britax convertibles are some of the only convertible seats on the market that allow for the tether to be used in the rear-facing direction. See the Reid family donation to see pictures of the rear-facing tether and how that is used.

This cutie is 2 years old and 36lbs. As such, he is placed in the forward-facing position as he is over the limits for rear-facing in this seat. The Marathon will harness until 65lbs, or until the child outgrows this seat by height. When forward-facing, the harness should be in slots which are at or above the child's shoulders. When the top of the child's shoulders creep above the top harness slot or the top of the child's ears are level with the top of the shell of the seat, the seat has been outgrown by height.

Can you help us continue to donate seats to the needy families on our waiting list?

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

DeBello family donation

2009-06-24T14:27:00.005-04:00

Meet the DeBello family!

This adorable boy 'I' recently received a Britax Regent from the foundation. Many thanks to CPST, Virginia Valente for her time and expertise educating the family about installation and usage of this seat.

'I' looks very happy and comfortable in his new seat, don't you think? He is 2 years old and was at the limits for his previous 5 point harness seat. We are so pleased we were in a position to help his family out with a seat to keep him safer for a good long time.

'I' has an older sister who is currently sitting in a borrowed seat which needs to be returned soon. We will hopefully be able to assist his family soon with another seat to keep her safe. She is 3 years old and previous to borrowing a seat, was riding in a booster seat. She is obviously far too young to be restrained in a booster. Will you help us keep I's sister safe too?

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Reid family donation

2009-06-23T17:55:00.011-04:00

Meet the Reid family!

In a departure from our normal donations, we were thankful to have the ability to donate a Britax Marathon to this charming family for their 7 month old who had reached the limits of his infant seat. Pictured above in the foreground is Cindy Van Neste, CPST who assisted the foundation by providing the installation and education session for the family.

Below in this series of photos, you will see Ms. Reid learning how to secure her son correctly in his seat. Chest clip placed at armpit level, harness tight and passing the pinch test. Harness in slots at or below the child's shoulders as the seat is in the rear-facing position.

The Britax Marathon can be tethered in the rear-facing position using the provided D-ring. This is a great feature of this seat and provides for some extra sturdiness in the installation. Here is an example picture showing a Marathon tethered in the rear-facing configuration:

Here is the rear-facing tether and tethering location in the Reid's vehicle:

I guess this little guy finds his new seat nice and comfortable - look - he is fast asleep!!!

Ms. Reid's daughter is currently seated in a booster seat. She is currently on our waiting list awaiting a high weight capacity harnessing seat to be available for her. At the current rate of donations, it could be as much as 9-12 months before we are able to assist this little girl and get her into a seat to keep her safer! Can you help shorten that waiting list?

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Land family donation

2009-06-19T14:54:00.006-04:00

Meet the Land family!

This seat was installed on Memorial Day by CPST Robyn Atkins whom the foundation greatly thanks for her time and expertise!

Did you know that the every car seat the foundation donates is shipped to a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST)? We do this to ensure that our recipient families receive an education session where they learn how to install their seat in their vehicle and how to correctly use the seat. The national average of seat MISUSE is 85%, so we hope that by making our donations in this manner, we are ensuring that our recipient families are not part of that statistic!

Ms. Land had some kind words for the foundation that we wanted to share with you:

"I cannot begin to thank you enough. B has not been out of the seat while driving at all. In fact he almost falls asleep in the seat every time we go in the car.

Because of you and your foundation my son is safe and in a car seat every time we go in the car."

Here's a short video (a first for us!) of the Regent being installed by Ms. Land!

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like M safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Hughes family donation

2009-06-18T16:42:00.005-04:00

Meet the Hughes family!

This adorable little man M is 4 years old and 38lbs - we caught him just before he would have would have outgrown a traditional harnessing car seat (weight limit 40lbs). He will be able to be safely harnessed in this Britax Regent (Sahara cover) for a long time.

Below you will see child passenger safety technician, Chris Carpenter, fit M to his new seat. Prior to installing the seat in the vehicle, the child is put in the seat to make sure the crotch strap and the harness are in the correct slots. Remember, for forward-facing harnessing, the harness should be in slots which are at or ABOVE the child's shoulders.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the M Huges safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

General Install Tips

2009-06-09T14:39:00.004-04:00

Here is some general information for helping install your seat properly. Keep in mind each seat and vehicle is different and this is just general information. You should still meet with a CPST in your area to help ensure you have a good installation of your car seat and to have all your questions answered. This information is a great reminder if you have met with a tech before, and good to know if you have not so you can help your child ride safe. It will also help you if you make an appointment with a tech, to be a little ahead on the knowledge.

*A car seat should not move more than 1" at the belt path of the seat belt or LATCH belt side-to-side or front-to-back.

*You should only use the vehicle seat belt -OR- LATCH belt, not both together. Always use top tether anchor when it is available.

*When placing a car seat rear-facing, if the seat is not level with the indicator on the seat you can help correct the elevation of the seat by using -EITHER/OR- a tightly rolled towel or swimming pool noodles. The towel should be folded to fit between the belt path, not wider, and rolled up tightly. The swimming pool noodles should be cut to fit between the belt path, not wider, and if using more than one - tape them together. If one is not enough elevation and you need to go to two, use a third one in a triangle arrangement to prevent the two from falling over and dropping the elevation.

*CPST's suggest against using rear-facing mirrors, car window shades (unless they cling to the window) or any toys hanging from the car seat. These items can become projectiles in a crash, causing harm to the child or other passengers in the vehicle.

*It's suggested to never use anything that doesn't come with the child seat. E.g. extra head supports, bunting coats designed to fit the harness of the seat, 'handle bar' toys for infant carriers. The reason for this is because these items are not tested with the seat. Anything that is not tested with the seat could cause it to fail in some way or another. Fitted blanket style coats that the harnesses thread through can cause the harness to not sit properly on the child.

*It's suggested to never use a thick or bulky coat or thick clothing under the harnesses. Fleece is about the thickest you want to have on a child when they are in their restraint. When you have thick coats on and you put your child in their restraint, you have to loosen the harnesses to fit around them and their coat, giving you a false feeling of tightness. Coats compress and in a crash and cause the harness to be too loose. Ways to help keep your child(ren) warm are to use their coat outside of the vehicle, and inside the car place them in their seat without the coat, then place the coat over top of them to keep them warm. Use blankets to cover them. Use the 'shower cap' style covers for infant carriers.

*When placing a child in the seat the harnesses should be at or below the shoulders for rear-facing and at or above the shoulders for forward-facing.

*The harness should be tight enough that you cannot pinch any excess belt together at the collarbone. If you can, it's still too loose.

*The retainer or chest clip should be at the arm-pit level.

These are some general tips and information for helping you properly restrain your child. This is not everything you need to know about properly using your seat. Refer to your car seat manual AND vehicle manual to help answer questions. Contact a CPST in your area to have your seat properly fit to your child and to find out how to install your seat in your vehicle. You can locate your nearest CPST through this link at Safe Kids.

The best seat is the one you can install and use correctly EVERY time!

If you have questions please post them in the comments, I will answer back and try to help you out.

Vote for our blog please!

2009-06-04T15:05:00.001-04:00

Would you vote for our blog in the category "blog you've learned the most from" please? It would be great to get some new people acquainted with the foundation and learn how to keep their kids safer in their vehicle.

Thanks so much to everyone for your support!

Guerin family donation

2009-05-29T16:25:00.006-04:00

Meet the Guerin family!

This 3 and 5 year old will be safely riding in style in two Britax Regents. Previously, the 5 year old was in a backless booster. As you can see below, she will have plenty of growing room with another slot on the Regent to go!

Many thanks to Staci Fortunato, CPST for her time and expertise assisting us the the donation of these seats. Staci showed the family how to correctly install and use these restraints.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Guerin children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Winnie family donation

2009-05-28T17:10:00.007-04:00

Meet the Winnie family!

The Winnie family received two Britax Regents from the foundation on May 16, 2009. Many thanks to CPST Kelley Adams-Campos for her time and expertise installing these seats and educating the family about installation and usage of these seats.

Cheryl Winnie had this to say to the foundation:

"I wanted to say thank you to all of you for helping us keep our children safe! Huge thanks to the Kyle David Miller Foundation! We are so grateful to have received these seats! Thank you to the technicians for all the hard work and for educating us on how to properly install the seats. [My children] LOVE their new seats and now their father and I can feel much safer knowing that thanks to the Kyle David Miller Foundation and the safety seat technicians our children will ride safely!"

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Winnie children safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Simons family donation

2009-05-28T16:57:00.014-04:00

Meet the Simons family!

Prior to receiving their new seat for their son, he was riding in an expired convertible seat. With the help of CPST David Buckowski, the family received a brand new Britax Regent that will keep this 4.5 year old safe for a very long time to come.

In the series of pictures below, you will see David installing the seat into the vehicle.

David secures and tightens the top tether anchor. The tether anchor on the Britax Regent is required for use when the child reaches 50lbs, but is always recommended to use a top tether anchor at all times. If your vehicle does not have a tether anchor, you can usually have one retrofitted and often for free by your local vehicle dealership.

Many thanks to David for his time and expertise installing the seat and educating the family about installation and usage. In the picture above, you will notice the chest clip is a tad high - this was positioned correctly at armpit height prior to the end of the appointment.

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Simons' boy safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

Britax Regent & Sunshine Kids Radian80 Seats - a review

2009-05-27T16:46:00.005-04:00

Today I am writing to share some product reviews on two different seats. These are the seats the foundation uses and recommends.

I will start with the Britax Regent. I personally love this seat. It provides a lot of room for a growing child and will hold an older child with ease. It is a larger seat, however, but it is great for your older child that is still not ready to be placed into a booster. Depending on the child's growth pattern, this seat can be used to roughly age 8 or 9 from what I have seen. Some children will outgrow it faster. This is a forward facing, harnessing seat only.

The seat has a 20" harness height and holds a child up to 80lbs. I have had great luck installing this seat in a variety of vehicles and have never had any problems getting a proper and tight installation. This seat is forward facing only and requires the use of a top tether when the child reaches 50lbs (though top tether use is ALWAYS recommended at any stage). From my personal experience with the seat for my children, I have noticed they seem very comfortable and have lots of room to relax and move about. The harness adjusts with ease and my kids really enjoy riding in their Regents. My middle son who is 7, still naps often in the car and he never seems uncomfortable when he leans his head slightly to the side as he sleeps. Seats manufactured after June 18 2007 require the use of a recline bar for proper installation, and with this recline it gives the seat just enough lean to it that a sleeping child doesn't lean forward into the harnesses as they nap.

This seat will help you keep your child in a 5 point harness much longer than most seats with its high harness height and high harness weight limit.

Now lets talk about the Sunshine Kids Radian80. I love this seat also. Like the Regent, it has a 80lb weight limit on the harnesses. This seat has a lot of neat features and, unlike the Regent, rear faces and then forward faces.

The Radian80 is a more narrow seat, making it very easy to fit three across the back seat of nearly any vehicle. I have noticed in personal use in our van, that it is not compatible with all seat belt systems in all vehicles. It has a low, back belt path. In my van, for example, the middle row has stiff buckle stalks that lean forward, that forward leaning doesn't allow the belt to come back far enough to get a tight install of these seats in the middle row. It does fit most vehicles that I have tried the seat in. This seat can be used without a top tether, so if you have an older vehicle or your vehicle cannot be retrofitted with a top tether anchor, this seat is a good choice to allow you to still harness your child. The top harness slot height is 18" on this seat, however, with this seat, the shoulders can go past the top harness slot as long as the tops of the child's ears are not past the shell of the seat. Some other points about this seat include the folding seat and the carry strap to transport it easily. It is a bit heavier than most seats though. It is also FAA approved. This seat rear faces from 5-35lbs and forward to 80lbs. This seat, from what I have seen personally, will hold a child in general to about age 7-8. Of course this varies depending on the child's height and weight.

My views as a mom, not a tech, are that these seats are both fantastic. They have provided me a great deal of extra security in keeping my children in 5 point harnesses for a much longer time than I ever thought I would be able to. I do ride much easier knowing that they have this extra added safety. It was really quite ironic, the day we had our first 80lb. harnessing seats installed I left with something that I didn't even know I was missing. The comfort that my kids were as safe as they could be.

Extended harnessing is truly the safest way your children can ride. A harness will provide better protection for them and increase their chances for less injury if you are in a crash. I hope that these reviews about the seats help you understand why the the foundation uses these seats, why techs love them so much and we suggest them to parents.

The day my angel got his wings...

2009-05-24T12:32:00.006-04:00

The actual date might not be the same but the Sunday before Memorial Day will always be the day we lost Kyle. I was thinking about it all day yesterday, watching Kobe and thinking that Saturday was the last full day we had with Kyle. Did I stop and appreciate it? Did I hug him and kiss him and tell him I loved him? In hindsight it seems impossible to just be living normal life and have no idea such a huge horrible thing was about to happen to us.

The anniversary of his death this year is especially difficult because this is the year that Kobe is the exact same age Kyle was when he died. Kyle's birthday is 3/13 and Kobe's is 3/31 - their birthdays are 2 weeks apart and Kobe's date is the reverse of Kyle's. So in just a couple weeks, Kobe will be older than Kyle ever got to be. There is an odd sort of healing in that though. In a way, I will get to experience part of what we missed with Kyle (and continue to miss) through Kobe. I have a 7 year old son, but I don't know what it's like to raise a 4,5,6,7 year old boy. At least I will get to experience that through Kobe, or at least I pray that I will. Of all people I know that you can never "expect" a tomorrow. So I'm just trying to cherish each day with the children I am blessed to have here with me and continuing to miss my sweet Kyle more than words could ever say.

This is one of the first blog posts I wrote, 2 years ago on the anniversary of the accident. The words are still just as true today as they were then. I've changed a few things to reflect the time difference.

Today is a difficult day. It is the 4 year anniversary of the accident that took Kyle's life. I've felt it approaching like a dark cloud. There is a heaviness to it that hangs over me and permeates every moment. I don't like to think back about that day, the things that I experienced that day are memories I would gladly have erased from my brain. I never want to forget a moment of my time with Kyle but the memories of that day are like a poison in my brain. They sneak up on me at the most unexpected moments, driving in the car, watching Katie, Kobe or Kaleb sleep, hearing a song on the radio will bring it all back, the flood of horrific images and memories I try to keep locked away in a dark corner of my mind. If I let myself walk around every day remembering those things, I couldn't function, I'd have to be locked away in a loony bin. How can you live and be happy while having images of your child bleeding to death in your mind? Once you have felt the coldness of death on your child's skin and watched his casket lowered into the ground, how do you ever laugh at a silly joke again? It's something I have struggled with for 4 years now. I feel like I have gotten better at it, I've learned how to contain the bad memories and lock them away and try to only remember the good. They do sneak up on me from time to time like a sucker punch to the ribs and knock the breath out of me and leave me reeling, but I have learned how to manage it and put the demons back in their cage so that I can carry on with the life that I have to keep living.

One thing that hasn't changed is how damn much I miss that boy. My eyes water just typing that sentence. I never knew that missing someone could actually be physically painful, that there is a longing so deep it feels like your stomach is being ripped out. I miss so much about him, his big brown eyes that looked into a soul so much older than his 3 years, his sweet hugs and kisses, the way he danced when he had to go pee, his bed head hair in the morning, the way he adored Katie, the sound of their voices laughing and yelling and playing and fighting, his hammer punch, his love of Ninja Turtles, animals and especially sharks, how shy and quiet he was around people he didn't know, his light-up-a-room smile, the feel of his little fingers squeezing my arm like he so often did. I was the only "security blanket" he ever needed. He was so different than both Katie and Kobe, he had such a unique personality that was all his own and I loved - love - him so much. There aren't words to describe how much I miss him and the void his absence has left in my life. How I would love to see what he would look like now, 7 years old, no longer a baby at all, taller, older...what would his voice sound like now? What would he be into now?

As the years pass sometimes I feel like I am losing him all over again, year after year. I didn't just lose my 3 year old, I lost him at every age I won't get to see him grow into. His birthday and this day always remind me of that.

I think people sometimes are afraid to bring him up, like I'm not thinking about him and by saying his name they will "remind" me of him and hurt me somehow. That couldn't be further from the truth. I don't really know how to describe it but the best way I can explain is like this... If you have kids, do you forget about them if you are away from them for a couple hours? Of course not right? Your children are a part of you, even when you aren't with them. You are always thinking of them and even when you are distracted with something else, they never leave your subconscious - you are always aware of them, even in your sleep or busiest moment. That's how it is with Kyle, he is in my realm of awareness just as much as my living children He is always in my thoughts, when I think of "my kids" there are always 4 names, 4 faces. Just because he isn't physically with me, he is still "with" me just as much as his brothers and sister.

As the years pass by without him, my love for him remains as strong as ever. The only thing that changes is that I just miss him more and more.

A love for child passenger safety - in honor of Kyle

2009-05-23T20:00:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone! My name is Kris Abbink. I am a mom to 4 wonderful children, a wife, and a dedicated CPST (Child Passenger Safety Technician). My oldest, Steven, just turned 10. My middle son, Joey, is 7, and my youngest two, Alex & Ashley (twins), are 4 1/2 years old. I would like to tell you a little about me, how I became interested in child passenger safety, and why I became a tech.

I love my children and am a full time mother, always on the go with the kids. They are my world, and I wouldn't have it any other way either! I always do everything I can to give them the very best and make sure that they are safe.

I put my children in boosters when they were much too young for them. Something that, looking back on, makes me shudder. My mind goes to the 'what if's' and I am very thankful that nothing happened. One night I was sitting at my desk, the kids were in bed and I came across the video of Kyle. I read what people were saying, to have tissues ready. I was ready to see a sad story, what I wasn't ready for, was that my life would change from that moment on. As I sat and watched this little boys life unfold up to the tragic day he was taken from this world, I learned that my children were not safe in our vehicle. I was thankful that the Millers found this information to share with everyone. Taking something so bad and doing what they could to make it have some good outcome. At that point I started researching the prices of these higher weight harness car seats. To my disappointment, these seats were way out of my budget. I tried and looked, thought and wondered. A few days later I went to the foundation website that I found from the video. I read about this wonderful foundation and how they wanted to help families get these seats when they couldn't otherwise get them on their own. I sat there, reading this and wishing so badly I could get these seats for my children. The day I watched Kyles video I lost all security I had in my kids being in those boosters. I turned to the foundation for help and we were blessed with assistance for our children with seats. This was just the beginning for me.

I was so inspired and moved by the kind act of the foundation helping our family as we struggled through our hardships that I wanted to be a tech. I started checking into when the class was and I was lucky enough to get into the class to become a tech. As I recall I was the only person in that class that was not there for work. Everyone else was there because their work asked it of them. I am not saying they didn't want to be there, but they were there for their job. I volunteer my time in the community as much as I can. I became a tech for the passion that was found within me upon learning about Kyle. I became a tech in the honor and memory of Kyle and for not only myself, but for the foundation also. Their message is so wonderful and strong, I wanted to be able to help further the knowledge to parents about keeping their children safe. Now I am an advisory CPST to the foundation, there to help anytime I can and loving every minute of it!

My hopes and wishes in my work as a CPST, both with the foundation and in the communtity, is that more children are safe and parents get the information that they need to keep their children protected. My passion and dedication for what I do grows stronger every day. I am forever greatful to the Miller family for sharing their sons story to help ensure the safety of others children, mine included. I am forever greatful to the foundation for helping my family to keep my children safe.

Losing Kyle

2009-05-22T16:59:00.009-04:00

My name is Marie Parker and I am the VP of the Kyle David Miller Foundation. I’ve known Christine since she was pregnant with Kyle. My current role with the Foundation is taking care of the merchandise. I helped design and order the shirts, bracelets, magnets and Kyle’s Kindness Card. I’m also the one who mails out any new orders that come in.

We have been friends with the Miller Family for a very long time and our daughters are still, to this day, the best of friends. My husband Adam and I have Tanner (a girl) who is 9, Matthew is 7, and Morgan is 3.

Memorial weekend is always hard for me. I hate to travel on this weekend and for the last few years, we haven’t. But today, for the first time in years, my husband left this morning for a bachelor party in Rockport, TX. It’s an 11 hour drive across the state of Texas. I’m terrified he won’t make it back. I pray and pray and pray that he makes it back. It’s natural for me to be this way, especially this weekend. I’m aware of reality. I don’t have the attitude “Oh that won’t happen to us.” At least, not anymore.

I remember the day of the accident like it was yesterday. We were living in College Station, Texas. My husband had just graduated from A&M and we were packing up our apartment, loading it into the U-Haul and getting ready to say goodbye to Aggieland. It was a Friday morning when I called Christine. Our conversation went like this:

“Hey there, what are you guys up to?”
“Oh not much, we just got through having a late breakfast. We are about to go to the new rent house to show my dad where we’ll be living next year and then we are heading to San Antonio. How about you guys?”
“We are packing the last of our things now and will be heading out soon too.”
“Well call me when you get to San Antonio, we are going to go out on the lake on my dad’s boat, and you guys should join us.”
“Ok sound great. Christine, guess what? I’m pregnant.”
“WHAT! No way! Oh my gosh! Congratulations, when did you find out?”
Then I hear Kevin in the background say “What? What happened?” Then Christine turns to him and says “Marie’s pregnant.” Kevin goes “Nu uh!”
“I just found out, crazy huh?”
“How do you guys feel?”
“Well it was definitely a surprise, but we are happy.”
“Oh my gosh! I still can’t believe it! I’m so happy for you! Well make sure you call me when you get into San Antonio, we want to hang out with you guys.”
“OK will do, talk to you later.”

Little did I know that just an hour or two later, the unthinkable would happen.

We must have just missed the accident. We made it all the way to San Antonio with our U-Haul and it wasn’t until the next morning that we found out. The Principle from Katie and Tanner’s school called me really early Saturday morning. She said she was watching the news the night before when she learned that a 3 year old Kyle Miller died in a car accident. She wanted to call and see if it was Kevin and Christine’s Kyle. I told her I hadn’t heard from them but that I would call them and find out and give her a call back. I was hoping that they would answer and say no, it must have been another Kyle Miller.

We didn’t get a hold of the Millers at first. Adam went online to read the College Station newspaper and came out of the bedroom in tears. He said it was true. The paper listed all their names, Kevin, Christine, Katie and Kyle. It was them. I was still hoping to get a phone call saying no, it wasn’t true. It must have been another Miller Family with the same names. It couldn’t have been them.

Christine called back a few minutes later. I couldn’t talk to her. I had Adam answer. He was in tears instantly. We wanted to go back to College Station to be with them, Adam told her we’d be there in 3 hours. Christine said “No, we are on our way down.”

I sometimes think “What if I wouldn’t have called her to tell her I’m pregnant? Would Kyle still be here?” I know that sounds silly but I felt like a new life was created and another was taken away. It just wasn’t fair.

We saw them a few days later at Kyle’s funeral. It was there that I learned that Christine’s Dad was right behind them following them in his car. He saw the whole thing right in front of him. It was there that I learned how the van rolled and rolled and rolled and how, when they came to a stop, they immediately flipped their heads around to see the kids. Christine saw Katie and she was fine. She thought “Oh thank God, they are OK.” But then turned back around more and didn’t see Kyle. “Where’s Kyle? Kyle’s gone!”

Losing Kyle was the hardest thing I’ve had to go through. Watching my best friend lose her child is unbearable. Watching Matthew grow up without his buddy is hard. Seeing him off to school and buying bigger clothes for him each year is tough. When we all get together and the kids are running around, there’s always a space where Kyle should be. Always a chair, a car seat, a pair of flip flops, a drink, a toy, that’s not there for Kyle and it’s unfair.

In College Station, we lived in the same apartment complex with the Millers. We saw them often, almost every day of the week. Matthew and Kyle used to like to play with Ninja Turtles. Birthdays, Christmas, Halloween, Easter egg hunts, park play dates, dinner and school; we were with them everywhere for everything. Christine is the sister I never had; Kevin and Adam are like brothers.

I had no idea that our kids were in booster seat prematurely. My kids were in the same car seats as Katie and Kyle. We thought that was good enough. It wasn’t until Christine lost Kyle, did more research, and found extended harnessing car seats that we realized that there is something out there that’s safer. Tanner, my 9 year old, just outgrew her Britax Regent and is now in a booster seat again. I think of how I used to have Tanner, at such a tiny age of 4, in a booster seat and I shudder. I thank God each and every day for the knowledge he gave Christine and the strength he gave her to pass this information along to others.

I ask that you think of Kyle and the Miller Family during this tough time of year. I ask that you think of how much has come out of this little boy’s short 3 years. Think of how many kids are being saved everyday from his story. Think of your child and make sure you are educated on car seat safety. Please don’t think it can never happen to you, because it can.

Here is a letter I wrote to Kevin and Christine shortly after the accident. This sums up the life we had in College Station, Texas:

Kevin and Christine,

I miss all the times you guys would come over on weekends and we'd eat dinner and watch movies. We would send the kids upstairs and put on one of their favorite movies. Kyle and Matthew would always come downstairs for re-assurance that we were still there. We'd pause the movie we were watching and walk them back up. Sometimes we'd get frustrated, but now I would walk them back up 1,000 times if it meant that they could play again.

They loved to dress up and one of them would always end up naked, needing help with a costume. Tanner and Katie would of course laugh because little naked boys are just too funny! After finally getting them situated, we'd finish our movie and our popcorn.

By the end of the night, Kyle would sometimes fall asleep. Kevin would carry him to the car while you searched for socks and shoes and sippy cups. Katie and Tanner would whine because they didn't want to see each other go. And then the following night, we'd do it all over again.

I miss those times so much, when it was just the eight of us; four adults and four kids. Those weekends were such a great part of our lives and Adam and I will never forget them. Life will go on and we will have our movie nights again someday. This time with new little kids and new sippy cups and new pairs of shoes we'll have to search for. But until then, please know that every night we got to share with the four of you, was one of the best nights of our lives that we will never forget. We love you. -Parker Family

Marie Parker
VP Kyle David Miller Foundation

Katie, Kyle, Tanner and Matthew

Matthew and Kyle playing dress up

Katie, Kyle, Tanner and Matthew Halloween

Miller Family and Parker Family 2009:
Tanner, Morgan, Katie, Kobe, Matthew, and Kaleb

in memory of Kyle

2009-05-22T16:21:00.003-04:00

4 years ago this weekend, this world lost an angel and earthly hearts were broken. Through his parents' love for their son, and their determination to prevent another family from the same loss and heartache, countless lives have been saved.

Kyle - this is for you, sweet little man. May we all have the opportunity one day to give you an enormous hug.

foundation merchandise

2009-05-22T11:34:00.008-04:00

Spread awareness! Show your support with pride! We have the goods to help you do so!

On the foundation website we have all kinds of goodies for you to proclaim your support. T-shirts for adults and youths (smaller kid items are available from infant sizes upwards on our Cafepress site along with caps, mugs, buttons etc.),

kindness cards for Kyle's Kindness Project, Wristbands, extended harnessing and extended rear-facing vehicle magnets

Use these to get a conversation started and help other parents to keep their children safe!

survivors - Neal family

2009-05-21T12:19:00.007-04:00

We'd like to introduce you to the Neal family - aren't they adorable?.

The foundation was contacted in March 2009 by Mrs. Neal who, following learning about Kyle and the foundation's message, was able to keep her children safely restrained in a vehicle which was subsequently involved in a crash. Thankfully, the children were unharmed; the parents believe this was due to the actions they took when they learned about Kyle's message. Mrs. Neal tells a little of her story:

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I watched your video, and then I made my husband watch it. We both cried. That weekend, I bought a 5 point harness - a Graco Nautilus 3 in 1- for both of my three and four year old children. Three weeks later, the nanny was driving them to the local library. A truck hit our van head on. The nanny was hurt and is still in physical therapy 6 weeks later. My kids didn't even feel the crash and their only complaint was that the DVD player shut off.

I am so very sorry about what happened to your darling son Kyle, but you have been very brave in trying to save other children. You saved mine - I'm sure of it. I have told at least 20 parents about you since this happened. I am so grateful and I will continue to tell others about you and your website in honor of Kyle.

Sincerely,
Alison Neal"

And we are so thankful that you did view Kyle's video and take action! Your children are adorable Mrs. Neal. We are so relieved they were unharmed in your crash. Our thoughts are with your Nanny and we hope that she makes a full recovery from her injuries.

Grider family donation

2009-05-20T10:46:00.014-04:00

Meet the Grider family!

These adorable boys will be safely harnessed in two Britax Regents that the foundation donated in May of 2009. Above you can see the boys just after they have been fitted to their seats - this is the stage that the slot to route the harness through the seat is determined. The harness should be in slots at or above the child's shoulders.

The foundation sought assistance from a local Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) to install and educate the family about correct installation and usage of these seats. We wish to heartily thank Casey Sanders for her time and expertise.

"I want to thank the Kyle David Miller Foundation for contacting me and giving me the opportunity to work with the foundation in helping a family in need. Mrs. Grider was very thankful for the car seats. Mrs. Grider was very concerned about the safety of her children. In my experience there are a lot of people out there that are just looking for a hand out. I don't believe that is true in this case. I believe this was a great choice that the foundation made. Mrs. Grider has two sets of twins. I also inspected the other two car seats and they were installed correctly. Mrs. Grider said she has been on the waiting list for approximately one year but the wait was worth it. If there is anything I can do in the future to assist the foundation please let me know. I would be glad to help out.

Thank you,

Casey Sanders
Firefighter/Paramedic"

Each seat the foundation donates costs approximately $200. We have a waiting list of ~100 families at any given time - all consisting of children who are at risk whilst they await our ability to assist. Please consider a donation to the foundation of any size you can afford, to help keep more children like the Grider boys safe. You can donate using PayPal to the right of our blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit/Check. Details are here. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to keeping children safe!

about us

2009-05-19T17:51:00.009-04:00

The Kyle David Miller Foundation was started in December 2006 after the Miller family lost their 3 year old son Kyle in a motor vehicle crash on May 29th 2005. Kyle was sitting in a booster seat but his seat belt failed which caused him to be ejected from the vehicle and killed. At the time the family did not know there were 5-point harness car seats available for older/larger children. They believed that a booster seat was their only choice.

After his death, the Miller family researched car seats extensively and found that rarely known about car seats existed that could hold a child in a 5-point harness up to 80 pounds. They believe that if Kyle had been in one of these seats, he would have survived their crash.

In an effort to inform other parents about the importance of these larger 5-point harness car seats, the family created a public video and put it on YouTube.com. The video received over 1 million views in the first month (over 2 million views to date) and the family received many emails from concerned parents who wanted to purchase a 5-point harness car seat for their child but could not afford one. It was obvious there was a real need for a charitable program that could provide these larger 5-point harness car seats to these families in need. After realizing that there were no programs in existence that provided help for these children and families, the Miller family decided to take it upon themselves to begin one.

The Kyle David Miller Foundation was begun to serve 2 primary purposes as follows:

1. To educate the public about motor vehicle and car seat safety –primarily the importance of the use of extended harnessing 5-point harness car seats for older toddlers and children.

2. To provide safe 5-point harness car seats to families who otherwise could not afford them.

If you would like to learn more about Kyle, please read our page on the foundation website dedicated to him.

To meet our Board Members and Volunteers, please go to this page on the foundation website.

You can read some of the testimonials from thankful parents and caregivers here.

frequently asked questions

2009-05-19T17:31:00.006-04:00

Who is eligible for assistance from the foundation?

Any family who has a child who is outgrowing, or has outgrown a traditional convertible child restraint which harnesses to 40lbs, is eligible to apply for assistance. The family MUST be in receipt of government financial assistance. Examples of this are WIC, Food Stamps, Medicaid, SSI etc.

How do I apply for assistance from the foundation?

Please complete an application form at the foundation's website - here.

What documentation do I need to send to prove my receipt of financial assistance?

Scans of WIC folders, Medicaid cards, Food Stamp vouchers etc. may be emailed to the foundation at info@kyledavidmiller.org. Photocopies may be mailed to:

Laura Bower
Executive Director
Kyle David Miller Foundation
4 Marks Court
Londonderry, NH 03053

Where can I get assistance with an Infant seat or a Convertible Seat?

The foundation does not provide these types of seats. Please contact your local Safe Kids Coalition to find out information about car seat donation programs in your local area. You can find the contact details for your State or local coalition from this website - http://www.usa.safekids.org/.

When does a child outgrow a harnessing seat?

A 5 point harness seat can be outgrown in one of three ways (whichever comes first):

The child reaches the maximum weight for the harness rating.
The top of the child's shoulders creep above the top harness slot in the child restraint.
The top of the child's ears are level with the top of the shell of the seat.

I would like to help the foundation - how can I do that?

The foundation is solely funded through monetary donations. You can donate to the foundation using PayPal through the button on this blog, or you can donate using Debit/Credit card at the foundation website here. If you would like to send a check, please make it out to the Kyle David Miller Foundation and mail it to:

Laura Bower
Executive Director
Kyle David Miller Foundation
4 Marks Court
Londonderry, NH 03053

If you are in the market for a car seat or baby products, please consider shopping at Hip Monkey - the proceeds from ALL purchases at this site go to the foundation, and in turn directly to providing car seats to families in need.

How long is the current waiting list?

Our waiting time is currently ~ 9 months until we are able to assist families.

What happens once we are approved and our name comes to the top of the list?

When we are in a position to assist you, you will be contacted by the foundation requesting updated information on your child's height and weight and any vehicle or contact detail changes that may have occurred during the waiting period. The foundation requests a small donation to help cover our shipping costs, and then a car seat(s) will be shipped to a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) in your local area. Once the seat arrives with the CPST, you should call to schedule an installation/education appointment to receive your seat.