The quality of child safety cushions is worrying, please look for the qualification mark when purchasing child seats.
The "wild growth" of child safety cushions has invaded the safety seat market, how can the safety of children be guaranteed?
Recently, CCTV News reported that the China Toys and Juvenile Products Association conducted a special investigation and tested 20 "child safety cushions". The results of the sampling inspection showed that none of the above 20 child safety cushions were qualified, which attracted widespread consumer attention.
At present, the market supervision department has taken measures to remove the 20 problematic products involved, investigate and deal with violations of laws and regulations, etc.
However, there are still many stores on online e-commerce platforms that sell similar problematic products. The reporter randomly selected 6 portable child safety seats/cushions with a price of hundreds of yuan for comparison, and the results showed that only 1 product had a 3C certification certificate and met the sales standards.
In addition, the 3C certificate number provided by some online store pages cannot find any information in the China Quality Certification Center, and there are even products associated with the 3C certification certificate for children's strollers, which is suspected of being counterfeited and forged by the merchant.
The child safety seat is not "fragrant"?
Seat belts in cars are designed for adults, and children are not only unable to protect themselves during use, but may also be strangled by the neck due to the inertia of the brakes, causing safety hazards.
It is reported that the United States, Japan, Australia and other countries have special laws and regulations to mandate the installation of child safety seats, and there are also relevant domestic policies and measures.
According to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors (hereinafter referred to as the "Protection Law"), as amended for the second time in 2020, parents or other guardians of minors shall equip minors with child safety seats to prevent minors from being harmed by traffic accidents.
For the first time, the Protection Law included child safety seats in the mandatory use of the law, which promoted the rapid development of the domestic child safety seat market.
Although the current Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China does not mandate the use of child safety seats for child passengers, local levels such as Shenzhen clearly stipulate that children under the age of 12 are not allowed to sit in the passenger seat, and children under the age of 4 must use child safety seats that meet national standards, and violators will be fined 300 yuan.
Therefore, many parents choose to equip their children with child safety seats.
Mr. Ye from Guangzhou told the consumer report reporter that his baby is currently about 6 months old, and he usually drives back to his parents' house on weekends to let the baby accompany his grandparents. In order to travel safely, the car is equipped with a child safety seat, mainly because of the fear that when the brake is urgent, the adult will not be able to hold the baby and will fall and be injured.
Open Taobao Tmall, the top 20 brands in the hot sales list of car seats include Chuyingbei, DWARFOO, Beibitu, Heekin, HBR, Osann, Welldon, innokids, bebebus, etc. The price of the above safety seats ranges from 208 yuan ~ 3700 yuan.
However, Mr. Ye also pointed out that most of the time, the baby is not happy to sit in the safety seat obediently, and needs to be held by the mother, so he can only avoid the highway section as much as possible and control the speed to avoid sudden braking.
He also said that the safety seats that he bought after spending thousands of dollars were basically idle in the back seat, which not only felt like a waste of money, but also encroached on the back seat space.
So, is there a lightweight car seat that can replace the traditional child car seat?
Consumer reports reporters search for "portable child safety seats" on Taobao, and you can see products similar to the picture below. Compared to regular child safety seats, they take up less space and are less expensive.
As can be seen from the page overview chart, the sales volume of this type of portable child safety seat is not lower than that of conventional child safety seats, and the sales of some products even exceed 10,000, exceeding the sales of conventional child safety seats.
Consumer report reporters found that on the Taobao platform, the above-mentioned portable child safety seats have other nicknames, such as "portable car child assistance cushion", "simple infant car cushion", "portable cushion carrier" and so on. Although the product names are varied, the overall advertised function is roughly the same, with sales ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands.
Substitute child safety cushions are not safe
For safety reasons, parents have equipped their children with child safety seats. So, can the above-mentioned child safety cushions really replace traditional child safety seats?
Recently, the China Toy and Infant Association conducted a special survey and purchased 20 samples on three e-commerce platforms. The results of the investigation showed that most of the above samples were three-no products, and in the safety test, none of the above samples passed the dynamic test.
According to Gao Guobin, a senior engineer at the Nanjing Customs Textile Industry Products Testing Center, in the dynamic test, the product was completely separated from the entire seat, and the whole dummy flew out directly and hit the net in front of the protective dummy, and in a real car accident, the child would fly out and hit the windshield of the car, resulting in disability and death.
At the same time, most of the online store pages of the above samples claim that the buckle is stable, safe and reliable, but in the actual strength test, the webbing strength of the above samples is only about 700 Newtons, which is far lower than the 7200 Newtons required by the national standard; The strength of the buckle is about 400 Newtons, which is also far lower than the 10,000 Newtons stipulated in the national standard.
According to the national compulsory product certification management, the above products must obtain the 3C certification certificate before they can be put on sale, and the 20 samples surveyed did not have the 3C certification mark on the packaging. Among them, there are also some samples that display 3C certification numbers on their online store pages, but the 3C certification certificates displayed in some stores are eventually confirmed to be forged certificates.
In response to the results of the investigation, the China Toy and Infant Association has submitted the corresponding report to the relevant government regulatory authorities. According to the latest news reports, at present, the market supervision department has taken measures such as removing the 20 problematic products involved and investigating and dealing with violations of laws and regulations.
Beware of counterfeit and counterfeit 3C certificate goods
The samples purchased in this special survey are all below 50 yuan, and the price range of similar goods on sale on Taobao is about 20 yuan ~ 300 yuan, but the price of most of the goods is about a few tens of yuan.
At present, there are still many commodities similar to the special survey samples circulating on Taobao. So, does the higher-priced portable child safety seat have a 3C certification? Is the safety of these products relatively up to standard?
Consumer report reporters randomly selected several products with a price of more than 100 yuan for comparison. In the process of comparison, it can be found that some stores are under the banner of foreign brands, but they are actually produced by domestic OEMs. In addition, 4 out of the 6 products have 3C certification. However, among the above 4 products, only 1 product has the same 3C certification certificate applicant, manufacturer, and manufacturer as the store brand.
Among the other 3 products, 1 3C certification certificate can not find any information; 1 product corresponding to the 3C certification certificate is a stroller, and it is currently in a state of revocation; 1 certification certificate applicant, manufacturer, manufacturer and store brand are inconsistent, the reporter listed this type of goods as non-3C certification goods.
The comparison results are shown in the figure below. As can be seen from the chart, the structure of the first and third child safety seats/cushions is basically the same as that of traditional child safety seats, and there is a safety buckle (ISOFIX interface) under the seat cushion, which can be embedded in the car seat, so as to effectively prevent children from accidents during driving. Other versions of the child safety seat cushion have a non-snap design, and the seat cushion that is laid flat on the car seat may be displaced by the child's movement.
It should be pointed out that the applicant, manufacturer and production plant of 3C certification can be different entities, and in the market, these certificates are all recognized. This means that even if the applicant (who may be the brand owner or importer) is not the same as the product brand (manufacturer), such a 3C certificate is still valid as long as there is a legal cooperative relationship between the parties involved in the certification process and the provisions and requirements of the 3C certification are followed.
At the same time, the consumer report reporter visited the larger offline mother and child stores in Guangzhou, such as Kid King, Abbie Baby, and IKEA, and found no similar child safety seats/cushions on sale.
Among them, the clerk of Abbie Baby revealed to reporters that the child safety seats sold in the store are safer, and each product has a certification certificate, both the structural design and the materials are very rigorous. At the same time, considering the safety issue, babies within 1 year old need to sit in reverse, and the corresponding safety seat will not be too simple. The portable child safety seat/cushion mentioned by the reporter has not been certified, and the safety is not guaranteed, which is more like an IQ tax.
Therefore, Consumer Reports recommends that consumers choose a well-known brand or Flagship Store when choosing a child safety seat. In addition, do not buy goods without 3C certification, and you can also report and complain through 12315. Even if the product has 3C certification, it is best to check the relevant information of the certificate at the China Quality Certification Center, verify the authenticity of the certificate, and verify whether the seller of the product is the relevant party on the certificate, or verify whether the seller has been authorized to avoid buying fake and inferior products.