People expect to find expiration dates on food, but a surprising number of non-food items also have expiration dates: sunscreen, running shoes, biking helmets, bug spray, and cosmetics to name a few.

Some people may ask, “Do car seats have expiration dates?” The quick answer is yes. While it may seem difficult to believe, car seat expiration dates are very important for the safety of children. Read on to find out why these expiration dates are essential for the safety of your children.

The laws vary in all 50 states regarding car seats. You will want to check the guidelines for your state to ensure compliance with the law. In general, all states require that car seats be used following the manufacturer's directions. This intentionally vague condition allows the state government and police officers to interpret changing guidelines as they see fit.

Consequently, you could be ticketed for not following the law if you get into an accident with an expired car seat. Police officers will more than likely not stop a car just to check a car seat expiration date.

Another aspect of the law that must be followed has to do with age and height requirements for children that use car seats. Different states have different regulations for front and rear facing car seats and use of boosters for children. For instance, several states require children to be rear facing until they are two years old.

Other states only require rear facing until children are one year old. However, children that pass the height and weight requirements for the car seat may then be turned from rear to front facing, even in states where children are required to be rear facing until the age of two, as some children grow faster and larger than other children. The children may be very uncomfortable in a rear-facing seat if they outgrow it before they turn two.

The purpose of the law is to make parents think about safety and not to turn children around to front facing as soon as they turn one. Again, you will want to check with your local and state government for regulations concerning front and rear-facing child seats along with height and weight requirements beyond the manufacturers recommended guidelines.  

One large and expensive item that has an expiration date is a car seat. Some people pay particular attention to these dates, and other people do not consider them useful. Regardless of which side of the debate you may believe, car seats have expiration dates printed on them which means the seat should not be used after this date.

The expiration date of a car seat is easy to find as it is printed on either the back or side. If you do not see an expiration date, but the seat has a manufacture date, you can assume that it would expire approximately six years later. Some car seats may even be ten years from the manufacture date. An excellent way to find out would be to call the company and give them the model number. With this information, the customer service agent would be able to tell you the exact date of expiration.

Why do car seats have expiration dates? This legality almost seems counter-intuitive. After all, it seems as if plastic lasts forever. Our oceans are covered in plastic waste that has not degraded, and it washes up onshore in massive waves of debris that cover beaches from one end to the other.

Our marine mammals are dying because they ingest plastic waste that they cannot digest nor remove from their systems. We are always told to recycle plastic due to the thousands of years that it takes to break down. So how can car seats be so fragile as to expire in only six to ten short years?

There are several excellent reasons for car seats to have expiration dates.

1. New Technology – Car seat safety is always improving. Since the primary function of a car seat is to keep children safe in the event of a crash, new safety features are continually being developed by manufacturers and included in new model car seats that can have one or more combination of safety features. The more features the seat has, the more it will cost.
   1. impact protection
   2. Seat belt guides
   3. Chest pads
   4. Extra padding
   5. 5-point harness
   6. Childproof clips
   7. Lateral headrest
   8. Multiple harness slots
   9. Larger height and weight capacity
   10. Stain resistant comfort fabrics
   11. Head support for infants
2. Evolving Car Safety Features – Along with the car seats improving, automobile manufacturers are also continually improving car safety. LATCH, or Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, have been included in most newer cars over the last decade. These anchors can also now be found in middle seats and third-row seats.
   
   An additional LATCH hook can be found behind the car seats as well to anchor the back part of the car seat and prevent it from moving forward in the event of a collision. Some manufacturers have even started installing their child safety seats in different models, independent of car seat manufacturers. All this means that child safety seats must keep up with the changing car technology and vice versa.
   
   
3. Manufacturer Recalls – While manufacturers attempt to make car seats as safe as possible, they do occasionally learn of defects after the car seat has entered the market. All current and past recalls can be found by going to the manufacturer's website or by searching the internet. The best way to remain informed about any issues regarding your car seat is to register the seat with the manufacturer. This is quickly done online or by calling the company. By having expiration dates, manufacturers can ensure that old car seats with defects are taken out of circulation.
   
   
4. Manufacturer Replacement Parts – As manufacturers continue to refine and alter their car seat models, they stop making parts for past models. Therefore, replacement parts become more difficult to find for older car seats. Besides, manufacturers would not have to be responsible for continuing to make the part for older model seats.
   
   
5. Accidents – Buying or being given a car seat means that you do not know the history of the seat. It could have been in an accident, which means the safety of the seat has been compromised. Unlike used cars, there are no clearinghouse lists that contain information regarding cars seats that have been in accidents.
   
   
6. Plastic Breakdown – Car seat manufacturers have determined that plastic degradation begins after about ten years. Parents rarely remove car seats each time they exit the car. Once left inside the vehicles,  the plastic and styrofoam are exposed to extremes in temperatures. During the summer, the temperature inside of cars can quickly reach over 120 degrees Fahrenheit. In winter, temperatures can dip below zero. The constant temperature changes can take a toll on the plastic and Styrofoam that make up the parts of the car seat.

Car seats that have reached their expiration must be put in the trash. Thankfully, there are ways to recycle many parts of the car seat. Some retailers have trade-in programs where you can deposit expired car seats and get a discount on a new one. This trade-in is a great option since the retailer will then recycle the car seat, and you can get a safe new one at a discount.

If you do not need a new car seat and want to recycle the one you have, you will first need to disassemble it. You can remove any parts that come off, such as harnesses, padding, and hardware. These can be recycled through a local textile and metal recycler. After you have nothing but the plastic bucket seat left, you should write the word "expired" in permanent marker across the front and the back.

This notice will alert anyone that the seat can no longer be used. Then you can check with your local plastic recycler to see if they will recycle the seat. If they do not, you can place it in a trash bag and send it to the landfill.

Many new parents find car sear expiration dates confusing. To compound the issue, many grandparents, who probably had their children before car seats were even required, also balk at the thought of car seat expiration dates. The fact remains that car seat expiration dates must be followed or you can risk getting cited for misuse of safety equipment, or you risk the safety of your children if you get into a car accident.

While it may seem like a waste to dispose of a perfectly good car seat, it is impossible to tell the actual condition of a used car seat. For these and many other reasons, the answer to the question, “Do car seats have expiration dates?” is yes, and you should replace any expired car seats that you might own as soon as possible.

Grocery store shopping is often an effort with picking the freshest food possible and avoiding the expired food that may have been left on the shelf. Many consumers do this without even thinking about the consequences of food waste because they do not want to inadvertently make their families sick by guessing whether food close to an expiration date is still good.

However, many people find the expiration date on a car seat to be much more confusing. This article will help give you a better idea of why car seat expiration dates are important and where to find the expiration date on a car seat.

Plastic is known to require thousands of years to break down, and Styrofoam, a petroleum-based product, must have proper recycling even to have a chance of not being around in 10,000 years.

Most car seat manufacturers will tell you that the seats will not begin to break down for at least 10 years physically. However, most expiration dates start at six years post-production. So why the four-year discrepancy? Understanding this concept requires knowing the life cycle of a car seat.

Now, every new vehicle comes with these anchors as standard issue. Instead of just using seat belts to restrain children, car seats could be attached to the car frame through these anchors, thus making them much safer.

Cars now come equipped with a LATCH anchor behind the seats so that the car seat cannot make any sudden forward movements in the event of an accident. With the constant improvement in car safety, car seat safety needed to improve as well.

For instance, most car seats come with a three-point or five-point harness, compared with just a two-point for a standard seat belt. The seat will have multiple slots to adjust the straps as children grow. The car seat comes with its side impact padding and headrest cushioning to absorb impact. The plastic seat itself is designed to absorb the energy of a crash rather than transfer it to the child passenger. This list continues with every new iteration of a car seat.

As safety features continue to improve, older models seem less safe and will also have two additional problems: lack of parts and recalls. Since manufacturers make new models, they will ultimately discontinue older models and stop making the parts for them. Consumers that own these old seats will no longer be able to purchase pieces that might wear out.

Expiration dates help ensure that manufacturers are no longer responsible for maintaining an adequate supply of replacement parts. If the seat is out of date, it does not need these parts. A similar problem with older models is that defects are found over time with extended use that went noticed before.

Some car sear recalls are simple and may require just a different part, such as a broken clip on the harness. Other recalls can be more difficult and need a complete recall of the seat. Once a seat reaches the expiration date, the manufacturer is no longer responsible for recalls on it since consumers must stop using the seat and dispose of it anyway.

Car seats have no such database of accidents. Therefore, there is no way to know if and when an older model car seat has been in a crash.

As you can see, if we follow the lifecycle of the car seat from manufacture to expiration date, many changes may have occurred, which makes the expiration date a logical step for manufacturers to take.

Car seat expiration dates can be found in three different ways. First, you can see the expiration date embossed or printed directly on the seat itself. You should find this date near where the manufacturer information is on the back or side of the seat. By embossing or molding the number right into the seat, there is less of a chance that the number will be removed or scratched off. Someone would have to work very hard to remove the expiration date found near the model number and production date.

Finally, you can contact the company and provide the model number by phone or by email. A company representative should be able to tell you the exact expiration date for your particular car seat.

Laws in every state require the use of car seats. However, each state has slightly different rules and regulations that determine the height and weight requirements for children to be either front- or rear- facing. The laws, however, are vague on the use of expiration dates.

Most likely, a police officer will not stop to check the expiration date on your car seat. If you are involved in a car accident and have an expired car seat, you may receive a citation.

For instance, the seat has metal and fabric components that can be sent to metal or textile recyclers.

Also, the plastic bucket seat can be recycled. You should check with your plastics recyclers to ensure that the seat can be sent there. If it cannot be recycled, you can simply write the word "expired" on the seat. Be sure to put it on the front and back using a permanent marker. Finally, you can place the seat in the trash once all the parts are removed.

While expiration dates on car seats may seem odd, many other products contain expiration dates besides food. For instance, cosmetics should not be kept for longer than a year since bacteria can grow and cause infections in people that use it.

Sunscreen is another common product with an expiration date. The active ingredients in many medications reduce or become inert after a while, making the product much less effective. Running shoes wear out over time with prolonged use and should be replaced after six months or 300 to 500 miles.

Therefore, car seat expiration dates should always be heeded since the safety of the children that ride in them is the most important part of using a car seat. It makes no logical sense to use an expired product if your key reason for using it is safety. You can be confident that even the lowest-priced new model car seat is safer than an expired car seat.