Product Review: Britax Frontier 85 SICT

The BRITAX FRONTIER 85 SICT Combination Harness-2-Booster Seat offers excellent safety features, multifunction capability, and an adaptable design to keep your child safe and comfortable for years to come. The seat serves as a forward-facing harnessed seat for children up to 85 pounds, and as a belt-positioning booster seat for children up to 120 pounds.  The Frontier 85 SICT is designed to provide the ultimate in safety for high capacity car seats. Loaded with comfort and convenience features, such as an easy-remove cover, comfort foam, integrated cup holders and fixed armrests, the Frontier 85 SICT is the ideal seat for your child graduating from their convertible car seat without compromising safety.

In my opinion: the Cadillac of booster seats!  This seat has all the safety features of a convertible seat but can hold a child of just about any size after 25 lbs.  In fact, this seat can hold ME!  So it’s PERFECT for car pool, sharing rides with kids of varying ages and sizes.

The features I always recommend people look for when shopping for a car seat, whether infant, convertible, or booster, are 1) safety, 2) ease of installation and use and 3) car compatibility. The safest car seats are not the most expensive, they are the seats that are installed correctly in your car. However, not all car seats are made the same, and Britax has been making car seats for over 70 years and is the leader in safety.  A trusted name for sure!

You may ask, “When do I move my child to a Booster seat?”  Good question!  A booster seat is a type of child restraint that does not typically have a five-point harness system, but rather rely on the vehicle seat belt system to keep your child restrained. The booster seat elevates your child so that the vehicle seat belt is positioned properly over your child. Booster seats should be used in the rear vehicle seat with a lap and shoulder seat belt system, never a lap belt-only.


However, the Frontier 85 and Frontier 85 SICT  are a combination seat that starts out as a forward facing seat with a 5-point harness, and then transforms into a belt-positioning seat.  You should keep your child in a 5-point harness as long as possible, as it is much safer than a lap belt alone.

Designed with advanced technology to keep children protected and in a five-point harness for as long as possible, the FRONTIER 85 SICT Combination Harness-2-Booster Seat helps safely graduate children who are at least two years old and weigh at least 25 pounds from their convertible car seats. By removing the harness, the FRONTIER 85 SICT is easily converted to a booster seat for older children who are at least 4 years old and 40 pounds.

Some other features of the Frontier 85 sict:

• Side Impact Cushion Technology features energy-absorbing cushions on the exterior of the child seat to reduce side impact crash energy by 45 percent
• True Side Impact Protection distributes crash forces, shields from vehicle intrusion, and keeps the head, neck, and spine aligned to limit injury
• Versa-Tether features a staged-release tether webbing that minimizes forward movement in a crash by anchoring the top of the child seat at two points
• Adjustable five-point harness ensures a safe, snug fit for children up to 85 pounds
• Tangle Free, Five-Point Harness with 10 harness height positions (up to 20") and three buckle positions for a snug and secure fit as your child grows
• Compatible with SecureGuard which works with the vehicle safety belt in booster mode to prevent the child from sliding under the lap-belt portion of the safety belt during impact, thus minimizing the risk of abdominal injury (accessory sold separately)
• Quick-Adjust, No-Rethread Harness repositions the harness shoulder height without disassembling the harness straps

Age/Weight Requirements:
Two years and 25 to 85 pounds in harness mode; 40 to 120 pounds in booster mode

I received the Frontier 85 sict for review and I can tell you that my almost four year old son likes riding in it as much as I love the safety features of it!  It’s a big seat, no doubt, but sometimes bigger does mean better (when safety is concerned).

Beyond BPA – The 5 Toxics You Might Be Missing

from Stroller Traffic

As the former CEO of Healthy Child Healthy World and co-founder (with Jessica Alba) of The Honest Company, Christopher Gavigan knows a thing or two about hidden toxics. In honor of Earth Day, we've asked him to shed some light on the potential dangers new parents might be missing—right in our own homes.


"I’ve spent my entire career educating and inspiring people to question and research the products they bring into their homes," says Gavigan. "It’s especially important for parents of young children because babies are SO much more vulnerable to toxic chemicals. And, while BPA and phthalates have been on the media radar for the past five years, there are other exposures that are just as serious. Here are five important ones, along with simple ways to reduce your family's exposure.


1. Tris and Penta-BDE. In a recent study of 101 commonly used baby products, researchers found that 80 contained flame retardant additives—chemicals linked to cancer, loss of fertility, and other deleterious health effects in animal studies. Flame retardants like the ones found in this study can migrate out of products, latch on to household dust, and then end up in our bodies.


What you can do: Try to avoid cushions, couch pillows, and anything with foam labeled as meeting California TB 117 (the regulation requiring the addition of flame retardants). Instead, look for foam and cushions made with polyester, down, wool, or cotton as they are unlikely to contain these toxic flame retardants. Also, dust regularly with a damp cloth since these chemicals typically end up in dust around your home and on floors.


2. Cell phone radiation. There is growing biological evidence that microwave radiation from cell phones has deleterious impacts, and epidemiologic studies are finding increased risks of brain cancer after a decade of heavy use. Because children's skulls, brains, and bodies are thinner and more vulnerable, we should take steps to protect them from the potential impact of microwave radiation from cell phones.


What you can do: It’s simple: keep cell phones away from children. If your child likes to play with your smart phone, put it on airplane mode (reception turned OFF).


3. Lead. Many parents think they don’t have to worry about lead unless they live in an old house and their child eats paint chips. Not true. Lead poisoning is still a serious issue; children can suffer lifelong impacts from extremely minute exposures.


What you can do: Have your home tested (especially if your home has paint in poor condition and was built before 1978). You can also test your water for lead, and even test your child’s blood level for lead (ask your pediatrician). Beyond testing, be sure your family and guests remove their shoes before entering your home, to avoid tracking in lead from soil outside; 80 percent of lead in the home can be reduced by simply taking off your shoes. And of course be sure to wash your children's hands often, especially before they eat, and before nap time and bed time, as well.


4. BHA, Acesulfame-K, Dextrose, and other food contaminants. Whether it’s something leaching from packaging (like BPA), or  arsenic in rice, or pink slime in beef, it’s becoming abundantly clear that we need to know more about our food.


What you can do: Opt for organic whenever possible and choose whole, fresh foods instead of processed, packaged ones. Shop more at your farmers' market, and do your best to avoid the following five additives (as recommended by pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene): artificial colors (anything that begins with FD&C—e.g., FD&C Blue #1); chemical preservatives (Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Sodium Nitrate ); artificial sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame-K, Saccharin); added sugar (High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Dextrose, etc.); added salt (look at the sodium content and choose foods with the lowest amounts).


5. VOCs. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are fumes and gases released from sources like paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials, and furnishings. Unfortunately, not much is currently known about what health effects result from the levels of VOCs usually found in homes, but the US Environmental Protection Agency does know that indoor levels are typically much higher than outdoor levels.


What you can do: Open your windows for at least a few minutes every day; opt for non-toxic floor finishes, formaldehyde-free plywood and dry-wall, and carpeting without stain-treatments."
For more tips, visit The Honest Company for some non-toxic and safer product choices and pick up a copy of Gavigan's book, Healthy Child Healthy World.