New Research from Chicco USA Finds Many Children Spend Four or More Hours in their Car Seats Weekly, Underscoring the Importance of Car Seat Safety as Advocates Prepare to Mark Child Passenger Safety Week

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Sep 01, 2021, 10:05 ET

LANCASTER, Pa., Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Any parent knows toddlers don't sit still for long. But a new survey of U.S. parents finds that a significant number of young children, 42 percent in fact, spend four or more hours in their car seats in a typical week. The new research, commissioned by Chicco^®, comes as car seat safety advocates prepare to mark Child Passenger Safety Week (September 19-25) and Baby Safety Month this month.

According to the survey, which polled 1,004 U.S. parents of kids aged 8 and under, car seats rank among the top-3 purchases parents spend time researching, with the other two being buying a home and solving the daily household conundrum – what to eat for dinner. But new parents, especially, don't always know what to look for when researching car seats and may not be aware of the newest materials available to keep children comfortable and eliminate chemicals of concern in car seat fabrics.

To provide parents with helpful resources when it comes to proper car seat installation and safety, Josh Dilts, Child Passenger Safety Technician at Chicco, shares the following tips:

Look for these elements when researching a car seat. When parents ranked baby products they spend the most time researching, car seats (49%) topped the list, underscoring the importance parents place on choosing the right car seat. Almost half of parents (47%) registered or purchased baby gear online in the past year, with car seats ranking as the #1 registry item. Many parents may not know where to start when it comes to car seats and Dilts advises parents to prioritize three features: ease of installation, child comfort, and child fit.
Use easy at-home tests to ensure your child's car seat is installed correctly. While parents may think they are taking all the right steps when it comes to car seat installation, 55% of parents do not know or are not sure what the 'inch test' is, a crucial check to insuring a child's car seat is installed securely. To make sure the car seat is secured correctly within the vehicle, place both hands at the car seat installation belt path and pull side to side and front to back. If the car seat moves more than one inch in any direction, uninstall and start the process over. Always check your instruction manual or instruction videos for installation.
Avoid hand-me-down car seats when you can. A surprising third (34%) of parents use an older sibling's car seat, hand-me-down from a friend or family member, or purchase a used seat via sites such as Facebook Marketplace. And 26% of parents didn't know or were unsure if car seats expire. While it's not necessarily unsafe to re-use a car seat from a family member or friend, it is extremely important that you know the car seat's history and check both the expiration date and outstanding recalls.

"At Chicco, it's our mission to develop new car seats that feature top-of-the-line safety features and innovative comfort, along with providing the resources needed for an easy and secure install," said William Hasse, Vice President of Marketing, Chicco USA. "With both Baby Safety Month and Child Passenger Safety Week in September, we wanted to shed light on the top factors parents should be taking into consideration when choosing a car seat to ensure children are staying comfortable and safe while on the road."

This year, Chicco released two new fabric innovations, ClearTex^® and Adapt, to give parents greater options when it comes to choosing a car seat. Made without added fire-retardant chemicals, the ClearTex^®line employs an innovative construction of polyester fibers to produce fabrics that are inherently fire-resistant and gentle on baby. To help keep a comfortable microclimate, the Adapt line is fully outfitted with fabrics using patented 37.5^® Technology, which employs natural volcanic minerals to help keep children at the ideal relative humidity of 37.5%.

For more information about Chicco products, visit www.chiccousa.com.

About the Survey
Conducted in August 2021, Engine Insights collected data via a CARAVAN Parents Omnibus to obtain a national and statistically projectable sample, surveying 1,004 U.S. parents of children ages 0 to 8 living at home.

About Chicco^® Products and Artsana, USA
Artsana Group, maker of Chicco Products, is a leading European company with global headquarters in Como, Italy and worldwide expertise in everything for baby. The Chicco brand was founded over 60 years ago and is now in 120 countries. Chicco has become a household name for parents across the United States thanks to products like our #1-rated KeyFit^®Infant Car Seat as well as our many product lines in gear, baby feeding and care, all designed for safety, function, style and performance.

SOURCE Chicco