> "The manufacturer's built-in carseats are free with the vehicle; it is 
> unwise and risky to remove them and replace them with unproven 
> aftermarket versions, which are not tested or certified by any agency, 
> and which are costly as well."


I'm a bit of a "carseat-a-holic" ;-) and I thought I'd comment on this...

Built-in seats by manufacturors of vehicles are safe when used correctly 
but are generally not preferred by many people in the CPS field because 
they are easy to mis-use in some situations and are not as comfortable 
for the child.  They have their place, like any carseat on the market, 
but are no safer in theory than a carseat you buy from a store and 
install properly in your vehicle.  HOWEVER a good analogy would perhaps 
be on aftermarket ACCESSORIES for carseats.  All carseats are tested to 
pass the same certification standards.  In the USA that is FMVSS213.  In 
Canada it's CMVSS213.x and in Europe and Australia it's entirely 
different certification standards.  But unless your carseat manufacturor 
specifically puts pads on the harness (comfort pads) to keep the harness 
from rubbing the infant's neck, or sells their OWN brand of crash-tested 
pads (only Graco sells these separately I believe) then it is considered 
unsafe practice to buy aftermarket harness pads or other accessories and 
use them with a carseat.  It is also not recommended to use your comfort 
pads from (for example) a Cosco seat to use on an Evenflo seat.  In 
general, if you want harness pads on your seat, buy a seat that comes 
with them.  Otherwise, do without or cut the toes off a very thin pair 
of baby socks to slid on the harness.  Baby socks create very little 
bulk compared to puffy harness pads that can interfere with the 
harness's tightness.

Hope that helps with the analogy.  :-)

Fio

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