# T-shield and Overhead/tray shield seats...



## MariesMama (Sep 26, 2008)

Are all of these seats expired by now? I have heard that the last T-shield seats were made in 2002, so they should be expiring this year at the very absolute latest, but what about overhead shield seats? If you used to have one or know about them, when were they last made?

Just wondering because I am taking the CPST class this summer - I know they'll probably cover this but it would be so convenient to just rule out all these seats when doing checks!


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## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

T-shields would be expired, but overhead shield seats are still being made and sold in 2009.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

I believe that Cosco recently still made version of the scenera with an overhead bar. Not sure if/when they stopped.


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## MariesMama (Sep 26, 2008)

I did see the OHS Scenera on Amazon after posting that. More expensive, and less safe. Hm.

Thank you! I was just thinking it would be nice to have an obvious method of ruling out seats like that.


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## Equuskia (Dec 16, 2006)

I haven't seen a t-shield in years, but unfortunately, I've seen the ones with trays and overhead shields







, I just want to scream at the parents "Throw that junk away and at least buy a $50 Scenera!" i really wish they would be discontinued.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

I researched the overhead bar seats a while back because I had a friend using one. From what I could read, they are horribly unsafe for younger babies and not known if unsafe or not for bigger babies. I emailed her the info and she bought a new seat.







Personally, I would NEVER use one.


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## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

I found overhead sheild seats (with a manufature date of 2007) for sale near where my IL's live. DH had to drag me out of the store, I wanted to speak to a manager, but he talked me out of it.


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## leighann79 (Aug 4, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DahliaRW* 
I researched the overhead bar seats a while back because I had a friend using one. From what I could read, they are horribly unsafe for younger babies and not known if unsafe or not for bigger babies. I emailed her the info and she bought a new seat.







Personally, I would NEVER use one.

Where could I find that info to pass on? I have some inlaws that need to be informed.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Here is the email I sent. I just included one link, but if you google you can find more.

Quote:

I also wanted to share some car seat information with you. Please don't take it as criticizing or anything, as that's not my intention. I just don't know if you know this safety info and if you don't it might be something to consider. I know we all just want to keep our children safe, so my heart jumped in my throat when I saw xxxxx in a carseat with an overhead shield. I have a few friends who are carseat technicians who have vastly educated me on carseats. They all told me to not buy a seat with an overhead shield because it simply was not as safe as a five point harness and that with some babies, in the case of accidents, it can cause a lot of injury as the child flies into the shield. You can find more info here: http://www.cpsafety.com/PDFfiles/ShieldSeatBrochure.pdf and decide what you feel is safe. He is bigger, so it's not as scary as it would be with a new baby. I'm also not sure if you're passing down carseats (we do!), but it's also good to know that most carseats expire six years after the date of manufacture. The one exception that I know of is the Sunshine Kids Radian which has an 8 year lifespan. This is simply because over time the plastic gets more brittle and will not protect the child as it should in a crash. I'm sure at 6 years most seats are safe, but at some point they won't be so the guideline is there to make sure kids are out of unsafe seats before they truly will not hold up. Somewhere on youtube there is a video of a 10 year old Britax carseat where the straps literally rip out of the shell in the test crash.

If you're interested in a new seat for him, there are a lot of good options that will keep a larger child harnessed until they are old enough and big enough to safely sit in a booster. The one that I would personally recommend since you have him forward facing is the Graco Nautilus. It harnesses to 65lbs, has really high harness height (since a harness is outgrown when the tops of their shoulders go over the top slot), and then converts to a high back and then a low back booster. It runs about 150. If you want one that doesn't convert to a booster, the Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE harnesses to 50 or 55lbs and has a good harness height as well and it's 120-130. There are more expensive carseats out there as well with good harnessing limits, but if you're like me, you want safe but cheap. If you want something that will work for now that is cheap, the Cosco Scenera with a 5 point harness is a great buy at 40-50. Will did outgrow that seat at 2 1/2 though! We now have him in a sunshine kids radian 65. We would have bought the nautilus, but it wasn't out when we needed to hand the other seat down to Lorinc. Most of the other convertible carseats out there, like the alpha omega and such, cost more than the scenera and will not last you any longer since they only harness to 40 lbs, have the same harness height, and make lousy boosters.

Anyways, just something to think about and decide what will work for you and your family. I found that a lot of carseat info just isn't readily available, and if I didn't know techs personally I would have no idea myself about any of this!


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## UptownZoo (May 11, 2003)

I have no idea of the answer to your question, but I remember the first carseat I ever bought all too well - a Fisher Price t-shield for my now 15 year old son. There's nothing nicer than putting a giant piece of HOT black plastic against a baby's belly.







Easy as could be to use, though.


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## Equuskia (Dec 16, 2006)

Actually, my 3.5 yo is still in a Touriva, which is very similar to the Scenera, but she's very skinny, only 33 pounds. It'really depends on the kid. Mine's all legs, so she fits fine. DD2's 10 months old, but her torso is as long as DD1's, but she's really heavy at 22 pounds, so I had to get a Radian 80, since she wouldn't really fit long in any other carseat besides the Marathon.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Yes, when I wrote the email it was to a woman whose child is definitely larger than average. FWIW.


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