Steer clear of unsafe baby car seats sold online

Counterfeit infant car seats being sold on social media sites like TikTok may have a tempting price tag, but they can put babies at risk.

Many of these look like real infant car seats, but they aren’t designed or tested to safely transport babies. Some are actually made for dolls, and many lack the safety clips and sturdy harnesses needed to protect delicate infants in the event of a crash.

"It is critical that every infant travel in a regulation-approved car seat with required safety features,” says Cyndia Callahan, nurse manager for PeaceHealth’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Vancouver.

PeaceHealth nurses catch a fake car seat

One of these knockoffs was caught by alert birth nurses at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash.  

As a night-shift nurse in the Family Birth Center was preparing to discharge a patient, she noticed something unusual about the car seat the dad had brought. She asked NICU charge nurse Tess Mowers and registered nurse Meg Hutton to do a thorough inspection.

“The parents had mentioned that it was purchased from TikTok,” Mowers says. “The straps were very narrow. There was no chest clip. The seat was very light. It just felt cheap."

The seat straps didn’t fit the baby snugly, which raised further alarm bells. A quick online search revealed that similar counterfeit car seats have been discovered by hospitals around the country.

How to spot a fake baby car seat

The counterfeit carrier came with a heavy base and had realistic-looking markings, such as a model number and manufacturing date. But it didn’t have the required U.S. safety labels.

All car seats sold in the United States are regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Approved models will display safety warning labels that include:

1. NHTSA certification of conformation to all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS213)
2. Weight and height guidelines for the specific seat; 
3. Basic outline of the installation procedures; 
4. Manufacturing data, including date of manufacture, the manufacture’s name and address, and model number; 
5. Air bag warning; 
6. FAA certification for use in an aircraft; 
7. Weight limits for when lower anchors must be replaced with the vehicle seat belt.

Children under age 2 are required to ride in rear-facing car seats to protect their fragile necks and heads.

Where to find car seat resources near you

If you’re unsure whether a seat is safe, you can compare it to approved models on Safe Kids Washington’s Ultimate Car Seat Guide.

Safe Kids Washington is part of a nonprofit network working to prevent unintentional childhood injuries. They coordinate free car seat checks across the state with the help of local fire departments. You can find a car inspection location near you at Car Seat & Booster Seat Safety, Ratings, Guidelines  

At PeaceHealth, the nurses advised the unknowing father not to use the knockoff. He returned later with an approved carrier, and the family was safely on its way.

“This situation could have had a very different outcome,” PeaceHealth’s Nurse Callahan says. “Thanks to our alert Family Birth Center and NICU nurses, a counterfeit car seat was identified before a baby went home.”