Keller family donation

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. "

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!

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!

rear-facing - it's not just for babies

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

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!