Traveling back from the CABoom show on Monday, I was faced with a moral dilemma as we waited for our bags to arrive. There was a dad standing there with his adorable little girl asleep in her infant car seat carrier. Handsome dad, adorable sleeping baby, what could be wrong? Well, the problem is that her legs were dangling way over the car seat edge. I see this all the time, and it drives me a little nuts that parents just don't seem to note the height and weight limits of their car seat carriers, which usually don't go much beyond six months.

The dilemma  do I avoid playing the part of 'nosey lady' or do I step in and say something out of concern for the child? I decided to say something and luckily the dad was very nice about it. I simply said that I work with children's products and suggest that he check the label on his carrier to double check the size restrictions. To my shock the child was a full year old  which is well-past when it should normally be in use for most older carriers (some of the new carriers do go up to a full year, but they are very few).

As we gathered our bags and headed out the door, I thanked him for being so understanding about my suggestion. He said 'I guess after four children, you just think you have it all figured out.' Classic mistake!

Which leads to the point I did not make to him ... I am sure that car seat was at least eight years old, which is way longer than it should be used. I have been told that the warranty and usefulness of car seats expires after about six years* due to ordinary wear and tear. Also, technology improves all the time, so newer models should have better features.

To any and all parents out there, PLEASE check the size limits on your car seat carriers. They often have a length and a weight specification, but it is usually whichever comes first. For Kelly, she hit the height requirement around six months. For Anton, it was the weight requirement at about four months. We had an older carrier, so newer carriers probably last longer.

You also can find information on the National Transportation Safety Board Web site .

Thanks for listening to 'Ms. Nosey'!

*The NHTSA has some great information including these parts of a brochure on child safety and car seats.

Tip #2 gives specific use information.

www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/newtips/pages/Tip2.htm

Tip #5 gives specifications for reuse and length of use:

www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/newtips/pages/Tip5.htm