DENVER — The Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children (RMHC) has reported an uptick in knock-off newborn car seats — because these types of car seats don't meet safety standards, the hospital is unable to discharge the infants until the parents get a replacement.
"These can be found through Amazon with third party sellers — on Walmart, with Ebay and Temu — those are the four most common places that we see these seats," said Kirsten Dehmlow, the parent education coordinator for RMHC.
"I think, sadly, there’s people out there trying to make money and they see this as a place to get parents. They know this is something parents have to buy, so they’ll look as that as a way to get to them," Dehmlow said. "I think parents are also looking for ways to save money and I think to those third-party sellers its become more popular, and we’re seeing it more. And a lot of people don’t realize, when they buy from Amazon, they’re not necessarily buying from Amazon — that it’s a third-party that’s sending them that product."
Dehmlow said the most recent counterfeit car seat spotting was this past weekend. That specific seat did not have a chest clip.
The hospital cannot discharge an infant until a proper car seat is installed.
"We hate going in and telling them, 'We’re so sorry, but you spent all this money, and maybe can’t even get your money back, but the seat is not safe for your little one,'" Dehmlow said. "We do work hard and help them find a safe seat — if the family is [financially] able, they go out and get new one, but we have some other resources that we can use to help them get a seat that was safe for their child."
RMHC said, often, the fake car seats look very similar to a real one. The hospital created a need-to-know document for expecting parents looking to bring their infant home. It shares what parents should look out for.
Lynette Fankhauser is a new mom. Her son is currently at RMHC. She was surprised to see how similar counterfeit care seats are to legitimate ones.
"Admittedly, mine is from Amazon so, yes, now I need to check it out," she said. "I think more people should obviously know what to look for and how to know if it is going to be safe or it’s going to be appropriate."
Fankhauser said her car seat was gifted to her, so she's unsure if it meets the standard requirements — she didn't even think there was a counterfeit market for car seats.
"I’m under the impression that car seats have very strict regulations too, so that idea that one being sold that doesn’t meet that requirements is something that I’ve never even considered," she explained. "If I’m going to be spending $300 on something that’s been highly recommended and I find out it’s a knock off, then it’s not safe. Some people get those months in advance of having their child and now you’re past the date of returning it, like, what are you supposed to do?"
Dehmlow and Fankhauser both hope parents pay extra attention when they're purchasing car seats this year to make sure babies are getting home safely.
"With a fake car seat, they have not gone through the safety standards. You have no way of knowing that if you’re in a crash," Dehmlow said. "It's definitely lifesaving."
Dehmlow advised parents to make sure their name brand seat is not expired. Experts said they expire for a number of reasons, including changes to safety standards and the plastic. Additionally, the belts don't hold up after a while, especially if they've been sitting around in an attic or basement. Dehmlow said most car seats expire after six years.
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