Mirrors to use with Infant Car Seats

[LoveBeingMrs]

I recently read that mirrors are not safe to use with infant car seats. It said that if you ever get into a fender bender, the mirror/plastic could crack and the pieces could land on your precious LO. =(

What did you end up doing? Mirror or no mirror? I think it'd be reassuring to have one, but the mirror/plastic possibly cracking sounds pretty scary!

[Joolsplus2]

Sounds a little bit like a scare tactic, to me. These things *may* come flying off and hit your kid in the head, yes. But 'crack'? No. They are pretty soft, and nowadays attach pretty well with straps or tether hooks. I could never angle mine right to actually SEE my kid, though, lol, what a waste of $25 (it was also the one that makes music that was so quiet you could never have heard it in the car :P).

In general, just try to think of *everything* loose in your car as 'would I let a baseball pitcher throw this at my kid's head?', because that what happens in a crash, everything in the car keeps moving at it's original speed, and yes, it can hurt you in a crash (but the documented cases of deaths and injuries are from metal toolboxes and axes or extremely heavy luggage in the trunk that breaks through the seatbacks, not from tissue boxes and soft mirrors).

[codex57]

Babys R Us has an exclusive one that's HUGE. DS kicks it all the time, but no matter how it gets angled, it's so big and bubble shaped, I can still see him. Blocks more rear view tho so I gotta rely on side mirrors more (but that's cuz he's in the middle).

I also have the Eddie Bauer one from Target. Much smaller and works fine, but it has to be angled just right. It stays if you don't touch it, but DS' legs are long enough to reach it when he gets excited.

Frankly, I have no problems with the mirrors nowadays (most shouldn't be able to crack cuz they're just flexible plastic) or thin seat protectors/towels.

[Jennifer626]

I have never had a mirror and haven't missed it at all. Waste of money, in my opinion, and I don't feel comfortable having something that close to her that could break or hit her somehow, just my opinion though.

[MoJo]

So glad to read Jools say that! I heard that before I bought them, too, and decided to get them anyway.

I have the Eddie Bauer one from Target in our main car, and another kind from Kmart in DH's car. I LOVE them. I don't have any trouble with the EB one. DH's car doesn't have an adjustable headrest, so that one is harder to keep in place. Both are soft and flexible, and I can't imagine either cracking even with a big impact.

As long as you can keep your eyes on the road while driving, I'd highly recommend them. It's comforting to see what DC is doing, and our DD quickly learned to look into the mirror to see us. Having the mirrors is a big factor in our ability to keep our DD rear-facing even though she's past her 1st birthday, and that's a much greater concern.

HTH!

[ckso]

We decided not to use the mirror because of it's potential safety issues. When we got our infant carseats, we went to a CHP carseat inspection locations and it was actually the CHP officer who talked me out of using them. I said the same thing about how it's soft, etc. But the CHP said he can't claim whatever material the mirror is made of but they've seen too many accidents where the mirror "shatter" and cause some pretty nasty injuries to the baby.

I just changed to a convertible carseat and did a carseat inspection at a different CHP office and that officer told me the same thing about the mirror. So, we just decided that we really don't need a mirror. She's almost 1 now and we've been fine all along.

[chays]

I like them because, if for no other reason, when you can see the baby in the rear view mirror then you are MUCH less likely to forget and leave them in the car by mistake. We have all read the horror stories about that happening to even the best, most attentive parents.

[arivecchi]

Do these mirrors detach in an accident even if they are buckled in around the headrest of the backseat?

[slworld]

DH has the eddie bauer one in his car and it is a pain to adjust. 90% of the time he can't see DS in his seat. I got that at Marshalls for < $10. So for my car we got a big Fisher Price one with lights & music. If I angle it to be able to see perfectly in my rearview then it blocks my view of the road completely. So I have it lower than the perfect position and then I have to look down into the rearview mirror to be able to see him, IYKWIM (I prefer it this way since I find it difficult to just rely on the sideview mirrors). DS' face lights up as soon as he hears that music (but the music is not that awesome to tell you the truth).

[LoveBeingMrs]

DH has the eddie bauer one in his car and it is a pain to adjust. 90% of the time he can't see DS in his seat. I got that at Marshalls for < $10. So for my car we got a big Fisher Price one with lights & music. If I angle it to be able to see perfectly in my rearview then it blocks my view of the road completely. So I have it lower than the perfect position and then I have to look down into the rearview mirror to be able to see him, IYKWIM (I prefer it this way since I find it difficult to just rely on the sideview mirrors). DS' face lights up as soon as he hears that music (but the music is not that awesome to tell you the truth).

Wow, what a coincidence.. I think I got the same exact FP mirror! It's discontinued, but I managed to find one at BBB (yay). The new FP mirrors only play music- no lights. I was debating between the FP mirror and the Mega Mirror at BRU (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2402035).. I'm glad I went with the FP! :)

[the2bobs]

I have the FP mirror for DS and glad I do. He's constantly eating the plastic covers (HUGS?) on his Blvd straps, no matter how we try to cover them. Sometimes he wiggles out of the harness. He's almost 2 but still puts everything in his mouth--socks, shoes, etc. If we give him a snack trap, he'll take the top off and dump it everywhere. He requires constant supervision.

[slworld]

Wow, what a coincidence.. I think I got the same exact FP mirror! It's discontinued, but I managed to find one at BBB (yay). The new FP mirrors only play music- no lights. I was debating between the FP mirror and the Mega Mirror at BRU (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2402035).. I'm glad I went with the FP! :)

Hmm ... I got ours from Amazon. I checked Amazon again but don't see that model anymore.