During day to day activities it’s common for the EPS foam in child safety seats to get damaged at some stage, whether it’s hubby throwing his golf clubs in the back or a passenger leaning against it the wrong way.  Regardless of brand, when these are damaged the best practice is to replace the foam as soon as possible with factory new ones from the manufacturer.  Similar to a vehicle going through a roadworthy, if something on the vehicle is not working as originally intended then it needs to be rectified – and since the seat will now be considered “altered” from their original condition it would be best to get the foam replaced as soon as possible.

Now, does this mean that the seat is suddenly unsafe?  Well the reality is no, it doesn’t.  Have a read of this Britax response to a client below;

Now although it’s not best practice for a client to continue use of a safety seat that is not as originally intended to be used it also doesn’t mean that the seat has suddenly become completely unsafe.  In this particular case Britax have said that it’s ok to continue use while waiting for a replacement foam to arrive – although this isn’t written particularly brilliantly, if you read it carefully you’ll note that Britax are trying to encourage the client to continue use of the “snapped” EPS foam in the headrest as it will still enhance the energy absorption of the headrest while they wait for a replacement.  They are not saying continued use of the seat is fine without the EPS foam, or with it damaged.  Be careful how you approach this topic with a client because sometimes as a consumer we can hear what we want to hear – in this case your greatest asset is to use the “well best practice is to” response.

Overview

• If EPS foam is damaged, best practice is to replace
• The client can continue use while waiting for replacement, in some cases you may need to “tape” the cracked EPS foam temporarily to keep it in place.  Do this neatly.
• EPS foam should be there, it absorbs energy in an impact
• Call the manufacturer for a replacement EPS foam (eg. Britax on 1300 303 330)

What if the child is biting the foam?

Follow the same best practice approach as above and replace it as soon as possible.  The following ideas may help;

• Encourage your client to studiously ensure the covers are on securely
• Perhaps offer wearable, chewables to the child if suitable
• Non chewable toys that can stimulate senses and distract
• Seek to find the root cause of why they are chewing at the seat

And finally, don’t forget to keep your kids well fed and watered 😀

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