-Sarah

1. Can you tell us a bit about yourselves?

Jen:  Chris and I have been married for just over nine years, business partners for three and are parents to two amazing kids, Cooper (7) and Paige (4).  We both grew up in Ontario – I was raised in Oakville and Chris grew up in Cornwall, and we now live in Toronto.  When we aren’t working, which rarely happens these days, we are typically shuffling our kids around to their various activities, or spending time with family and friends.

 2. Can you tell us a bit about the background of the company?

Chris: I was part of a small group at Magna International, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers that were tasked with building a non-automotive business. I became aware of an early-stage R&D project that Magna’s seating group was collaborating on with a national research initiative (Auto21) and, over the course of 2006, championed the commercialization of this project … and Clek was born.

Our automotive background resulted in a very different approach to child seat design. Using automotive best practices, we build child seats to look, feel and function like real vehicle seats.

After launching three successful booster seats, I was given the opportunity in early 2010 to purchase the entity that I had been running for the past 3 years. So, Jenny and I took our savings (and whatever debt we could muster from banks, friends and family) and purchased Clek. For the first six months, it was just Bryan (an original employee) and I operating out of a small office. Jenny helped out where she could, but at that time was still working as a commercial real estate agent (she quit and joined Clek full-time a few months later).  We have since grown to 10 full-time employees and nearly as many contract/part-time personnel operating out of an office and warehouse space in Toronto. With the recent introduction of Foonf, our product portfolio has grown from booster seats to include child seats; we have moved our manufacturing (Foonf) to Canada to be the only child seat made in Canada. And, we are now exporting to over 10 countries worldwide.

 3. Let us in on what makes you so passionate about child passenger safety…

 Jen: Cooper sits in Oobr and Olli; and Paige sits in Foonf. Knowing that our loved ones (children, nieces/ nephews, and our friend’s children) are riding safely is everything. Hearing our customer testimonials thanking us for making a product that saved their child’s life is such an amazing feeling.

 4. What unique safety features does the Foonf have?

 Chris: There are 2 critical areas of safety that Foonf offers. First, it features several industry leading safety systems, like:

• A steel anti-rebound bar, which improves stability by limiting the rotation of the child seat in a collision, helping protect the child’s head from impact.
• A rigid substructure, adjustable headrest and inner and outer layers of EPP foam for maximum side impact protection.
• The revolutionary REACT safety system, which mimics the crumple zone technology found in the cars we drive, absorbing energy in a collision that would otherwise be transferred to the child significantly reducing the forces on the forward-facing child.

Second, Foonf is also very easy to install, which is half the battle when it comes to car seat safety.

• In rear-facing mode, the cushion pops up to provide easy access to the belt path. Also, its narrow base and anti-rebound bar help parents achieve a secure installation (narrow flat areas fit snugly into vehicle seating surface).
• In forward-facing mode, Foonf has a rigid UAS system, which means you can install (and remove) Foonf in seconds.  It is also currently the only rigid LATCHing convertible seat available in North America.

 5. What unique non-safety features does the Foonf have?

 Jen: Foonf is:

• Less than 17” wide making it the narrowest convertible seat on the market, allowing for 3-across seating in most vehicles.
• Made with GREENGUARD select certified Crypton Super Fabric, which are stain, moisture and bacteria resistant (excludes the Drift and Phantom models which are an automotive performance fabric).
• Recyclable through Clek’s recycling program.
• Most importantly is proudly manufactured in Canada

And there you have it, the history of Clek and the story of the owners behind it. Thanks for joining us on the blog, Jen and Chris!

Before I became a parent, I was a nurse. I was a pediatric nurse, actually…but I still didn’t know all there was to know car seat safety for infants and children. One of the most important lessons that I did learn as a pediatric operating room nurse, was to never put your infant or child in any kind of car seat with a winter jacket on – I’ve seen what can happen if you do that when a collision occurs, and it’s best not to risk it. When I became pregnant with my first son in 2010, I knew that I would do anything and everything to ensure his safety so I immediately began researching car seat safety regulations in Canada. A lot of people in our social media lives tend to easily criticize parents who don’t follow all the safety rules regarding car seats, but there’s a lot of things that the average person just doesn’t know about car seat safety!

1. Extended Rear-Facing (ERF) is Recommended

Just because your baby is now 1 year old and 22 lbs, you don’t have to forward face them. In fact, it is now recommended to keep toddlers rear facing to two years and beyond, as long as your car seat and your child’s weight & height fall into the safety guidelines for your specific brand of car seat – just check the user guide that came with your car seat. A lot of car seats can have toddlers rear-facing up to 45 lbs!

A lot of people worry that their child will be uncomfortable as their legs cannot stretch out, but the child doesn’t know any different and it is truly the safest practice.

2. It Is Called a Chest-Clip For a Reason

I cannot (unfortunately) tell you how many times I’ve seen on my social media feeds pictures of children not correctly fastened into their car seats. Asides from seeing bulky clothing, which is a no-no, the most obvious fault is having the chest clip too low. The chest clip needs to be at armpit level on your child, not any lower than that. While we’re talking about proper fastening of the car seat harness, you can tell if the harness is tight by performing the “pinch” test on the shoulder straps (try and pinch the fabric vertically) or, alternatively, if you can only slip one finger under the harness at your child’s collarbone.

3. All Car Seats Expire

Crazy, right? This one I did not know until I owned a car seat. I happened to purchase my infant bucket seat from a close friend (you can no longer second-hand sell car seats manufactured in Canada before January 1, 2012), and she pointed out that it didn’t expire until December of 2013, so I could probably be able to use it for both of my babies – which I have! All car seats have a label, usually on the side/bottom that give a date that it was manufactured. Car seats expire anywhere from 5-10 years depending on the brand, so please make sure you aren’t using an expired seat! Plastic becomes brittle over time, especially with our climate of being in -30C (or below) weather in the winter to +30C (or above) in the summer. The cushions and styrofoam can also wear down over time and the most important – safety regulations and testing also change over time.

4. If a Vehicle is in a Collision- The Car Seat Needs to be Replaced

Even if there’s no visible damage to the car seat, or if your child wasn’t even in the car seat, it is best practice to replace it. There can be damage done to the car seat without us being able to see it, so why take that risk?

5. Don’t Rush Your Child Into the Next Car Seat Phase

As I stated in the ERF point, there is no need to rush your child out of their current car seat, as long as their weight and height fall in the safety guidelines for your car seat. Here are some of the safety regulations in Canada:

• Child (convertible) seats are often able to accommodate a 66 lb child – just because your child reaches the minimum weight requirement for a booster seat, doesn’t mean you have to immediately switch
• Minimum weight for a booster seat is 40 lbs
• Minimum weight for a seat belt only (no booster seat) depends on the individual seat and provincial/territorial law – but it is safest practice to stay in a booster seat as long as possible

It might be helpful for you to download this checklist from the Transport Canada website and there are lots of car seat clinics available across Canada. I referenced the Government of Canada – Transport Canada’s website for this article.

Sarah is a nurse, wife to a farmer, mommy to two adorable young boys Braden (3) and Ethan (6 months), and she blogs at Nurse Loves Farmer. When she’s not knee deep in trains, trucks, and tractors she has her camera in her hand playing the role of mamarazzi. She is passionate about her faith, cloth diapers, breastfeeding, and embracing her role as farm wife on the Alberta prairies.

Then I went through a two-day car seat training course, where my mouth hung open for nearly 48 hours straight. Of course by that time I had learned a few things, hanging out with the car seat fanatics who work at Snuggle Bugz, but I still learned a number of new things. And now I’ve been ruined. Like when I watch a TV show and their tiny little kid is in the wrong seat I have to fight not to call them out on it to my husband, who would remind me it’s a TV show and they probably are against a green screen and, in fact, aren’t even in a real car. Some strange things that I learned are about seat belts. I didn’t realize that all seat belt fabric was the same… and that it made any difference at all how your buckle was affixed to the belt!  Below you’ll find my AHA! points from the training – one is for you adults!

1. No Winter Coats. We’ve blogged and blogged again about this, but I learned a bit more about the reasoning behind this. First, I’m from the prairies. I know how cold it is there sometimes, oh do I ever. Get your children a car Snuggie to go over them after they’re strapped in and warm up the car before you get in. But the point behind not putting children in their seat in winter coats is because winter coats are squishy and compressible. In the event of a crash, the coat is going to compress, meaning that the harness is no longer as tight as you thought it was, and now there’s room for your child to move forward before meeting their harness. The resulting slack in the harness can create a lot of room for your child to be partially or fully ejected from their seat in the event of a crash. Here is a picture we used previously. When Baby V is in a car crash, the force of the crash compresses her coat to the point that she may as well not even be wearing it – meaning there is that much slack in her harness. You would never do their harness up like that ordinarily, right? Right.

2. Rear Facing. Rear facing is not something for ‘babies’ (like when parents move their kids to a bed and say the crib is for babies. Rear facing isn’t like that). The fact is: your child is safer in a rear-facing seat. Always. I don’t know how I need to say any more on this. The minimum (emphasis on that word) weight to move them forward facing is 22lbs (varies by province). Something else that’s interesting is that front impact crashes are the most common kind of collision. Below is a screenshot of a crash test of what happens to your child’s forward facing body in a front impact collision. Commence tears.

Now in that same collision, rear facing, the force of the impact is spread out over the entire back of their body and their limbs remain inside the seat. You paid good money for these seats – don’t rush your children out of them if they are still meeting the weight requirement. One common question is what about their legs? Well, take their shoes off if you don’t want footprints all over your seat (and really, who does?) and have them cross their legs or put them up the seat. They’re more flexible than you are and won’t mind. And in a collision, parents are concerned about their children breaking their legs. Don’t be worried about that. The risk of leg injury is minimal compared to the benefits of rear facing (greatly reduced risk of neck injury). To put it simply: broken legs or a broken neck?

3. Projectiles

Have you ever slammed on your brakes and things from the back of the car come sliding to the front, things slide off your seat or you have to reach your arm over to hold your purse onto your passenger seat? Well that. Imagine that happening with all the things in your hatchback and back seat in a high speed accident. Invest in some tie-down straps for your stroller or a cargo net to keep items down, and always put heavy items as low as you can get them (meaning put them on the floor). If you’re setting something on a seat, use the seat belt to buckle it in (I buckle my purse in so it doesn’t fall off the seat). And always make sure your booster (if not secured to the UAS/LATCH system in your car) is secured by the seat belt when unoccupied. Good heavens the last thing you need is that thing slamming into the back of your seat in a collision.

4. Boosters. By [Canadian] law, your child has to be 40 lbs before they can be in a booster.

According to WeightandThings.com, other things that weigh 40lbs:

• 181 blueberry muffins
• 26 iPads
• 6,719 table tennis balls
• 13,954 balloons

That was just for fun. Now seriously, again 40lbs is the minimum weight. If your child still meets the weight and height requirements for their previous seat, why move them out of it? A 5-point harness is safer for their small bodies than the 3-point seat belt that adults wear. Just like rear-facing, this is not a “boosters are for big kids” situation.

And how do you know when they’re finally done with car/booster seats and can sit in a seat belt? The below graphic should help you out!

Which brings me to the last aha moment, which is about adults in cars.

5. Seat Belts.

The seat belt should fit you, the adult reading this, like it fits the little figure in the picture. It should go over your hip-bones and collar bone. For. A. Reason. I’ve been obviously paying a lot more attention to my seat belt in the last couple months and after I’ve been driving for a second and am all settled in, I pull on the lap belt to tighten it a bit. I was also in a car the other day and we had to slam on the brakes and everyone’s seat belts locked. If you’re leaning forward or to the side, the seat belt is either not going to hold you back or it’s going to hurt you. Be smart about the way you’re wearing it!

Thanks for reading! Did you learn anything?

As a car seat technician, I will do my best to get the child seat installed into the vehicle, but there are many factors that can make this difficult.

Some of these  factors include:

• UAS anchor placement (called LATCH in the US)
• Angle of rear passenger seats
• Position of tether anchor in the vehicle
• width of the base/bottom of the child car seat

These can be an issue individually or combined.

The first thing you need to do before installing a car seat in the vehicle is read the owners manual and the car seat manual.  These two documents will tell you where in the car the UAS and tether anchors are and how to install the seat.

Design of the vehicle’s seat

Sometimes seats are “bucket” shaped, allowing a more comfy fit for the passenger but not always for a car seat.  If the base of the car seat is wide, it might not fit into the narrow bucket seat.

The angle of the bottom cushion of the seat can make access to the UAS anchors difficult.

A thick seat back and bottom cushions can also limit the access.

This image shows how deep the anchor is in cushions of the seat.

Tether anchor placement

Sometimes tether anchors are on the back passenger deck and sometimes they are over the back of the seat near the floor. If the tether anchors on the back passenger deck are close to the passenger seat, getting the tether tight enough is tricky.

Another issue that is commonly seen is that parents have used tie-down hooks for the tether instead of the proper tether anchor. Please read the manual to make sure you’re securing your seat properly.

UAS Anchor Placement

The UAS anchors are 11 inches apart but the widths of the car seat can vary.  Some car seats can be wider that the UAS anchors.

Also the vehicle seat belts can crowd the UAS anchors -

Here is an example of how seat design and UAS anchor placement combined could be an issue.  The UAS anchor sits very high above the bottom seat cushion.

I wish that I could give you all of the possible challenges that could happen, but there are so many combinations that it’s nearly impossible.

This is one of the reasons that visiting a car seat clinic is so important.  Car Seat Technicians are trained to know what to do and have installed so many seats that they know the little tricks and adjustments that can be made to get the seat installed.

Be aware, however, that I have had a child seat and a vehicle be incompatible.  We tried installing with the UAS and the seat belt, and neither way was able to get the seat tight enough.

Unlike some of the big box stores, Snuggle Bugz allows you to see if a seat is compatible with your vehicle before you purchase it.

Click here for information about Snuggle Bugz’ car seat checks or clinics that are happening this week, or call either store during the year.

For more car seat tips and safety information, you can see Wendy’s blog — http://www.mapsgirl.ca

Also, Wendy is giving away 2 Cool Shades to help keep the sun off your little ones! Go here to check it out!

______________________________________
Wendy is a mom to two daughters, Rachel (8) and Lauren (6). Child passenger safety is a passion of Wendy’s. Since 2008, Wendy has had the opportunity to work with several Ontario police services and EMS teams, as a car seat technician.

It’s back! For the last few years we’ve been focusing on car seat safety (more so than usual) for one week out of the year. And that’s this week! Let me tell you we didn’t plan for it to coincide with Mother’s Day! We encourage you to visit us this week, either at our online events or at our in-store car seat clinics! And we’ll have blog posts for you all week (not too many though!) so check in regularly for all your car seat safety learnin’!

 Car Seat Checks
A recent car seat spot check showed that 78% of seats checked were installed incorrectly. If you are a local customer and you have a seat in your car and you want to know if it’s installed correctly, stop by our stores to have your car seat checked by a Car Seat Technician. Checks are complimentary; if your seat needs to be reinstalled, the fee is $20 (that’s half price!).

 Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Burlington Store: 10am-1pm FULL
Milton Store: 4pm – 6pm FULL
Click here for our store addresses

 Car Seat Clinic
If you are a local customer with a brand new, not-yet-installed seat, perhaps your baby hasn’t made its way into the world yet, or you want to move up to the next stage and have a new seat for that, we’re running a car seat clinic at each store this week as well. Installations are $40 per seat. Please email us to book a spot and include your name, preferred clinic location and time and a way for us to contact you. Click here to email us.

 Thursday, May 16, 2013
Burlington Store: 4pm-7pm
Milton Store: 5pm-8pm
Click here for our store addresses

Facebook Party
Click “attending” on our event here and participate in the Facebook Party to be entered to win a Clek Foonf!

Ask the Experts
Sponsored by Clek
Thursday, May 16, 2013
2PM EDT

Twitter Party
Twitter Party sponsored by Diono. We are giving away a Radian GTX and an R100 to participants of this chat! Join us to chat car seat safety with Diono from 9-10pm EDT on May 15, 2013 using the hashtag #carseatsafety. Sign up below and participate in the Twitter party to be entered to win prizes!

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

Other Events

And, through our sleuthing, we’ve come across some other events happening around the country this week. If you’re in any of these areas, check them out!

Nanaimo, BC
Free Car Seat Clinic, May 16, 2013. More information here.

Langford, BC
May 13-20, 11-3pm each day, appointment necessary. More information here.

1. Skip Hop Zoo Bib | 2. Aden and Anais Dream Blanket | 3. Zutano Elephants Lamp | 4. Ringley Organic Elephant Teether | 5. 3Sprouts Hooded Towel | 6. Crane Humidifier | 7. 3Sprouts Photo Frame | 8. Mally Designs Elephant Bib | 9. Zutano Elephants Rug | 10. Skip Hop Zoo Pack | 11. Skip Hop Elephant Parade Blanket | 12. Infantino ZooZoo Shakers | 13. WubbaNub Soothie Pacifier

Want more elephants?

When creating your little one’s nursery the ideas are limitless – this is the time to get creative, use colour and create some whimsy!

When creating this Modern Woodland Nursery I was inspired by Dwell Studio’s Woodland Tumble crib bedding set  because of its playful yet modern graphic print, and its cool neutrals.

The bedding (including the Dwell Chevron Chocolate Crib Sheet) paired with a modern crib (the Dutailier Pomelo crib and dresser, not shown) and glider that have clean lines give the nursery a calming, unfussy vibe.

The adorable raccoon caddy, funky bird mobile (Peep Mobile by Boon), owl pull toy and sweet deer artwork add some fun youthful characters without going overboard with a theme.

Some decorative elements that give the room texture and sophistication are the woven grass shades on the windows, green shag carpet, barn board wall and the industrial lighting.

When approaching the colours on the walls, floor and ceiling, keep it light and airy on the walls with Benjamin Moore’s Gray Lake and a slightly darker shade on the ceiling like Benjamin Moore’s Night Mist.

Have fun with the area rug by pulling in an acid green or teal blue.  Toss a cushion on the glider that has vibrant colour and a dynamic print, such as an Ikat for a finishing touch.

Building a nursery around well-designed baby decor items and furniture and then adding a layer of texture and colour will give your child’s nursery a cohesive and cozy feel.

What do you think? Leave me a comment and let me know! Would you want this nursery in your home?

- By Joanna Venditti, Nesting Story for Snuggle Bugz

Nesting Story provides Interior Design and Mural services.  Please visit Nesting Story for more information.

If you are anything like me, once the warmer temps arrive I get in spring cleaning-mode. The purging and de-cluttering has finally started after the longest winter ever (sigh! I have never been more ready for warm, sunny days)!

I have a couple corners that I like to ignore – Kellan’s craft supplies is one of them – he has paint, crayons, markers all over the house that get shoved into a drawer or random bucket.

I saw Stash by Boon and thought it would be perfect to organize all of his things plus it is pretty stylish. It has many uses, organize your bathroom supplies or make-up but I thought it was perfect for kid items since it slanted so they can see all their items easily.

Kellan was excited to see ‘his things’ organized and wanted to start crafting immediately. I on the other hand, liked being able to grab one thing on the table and it was filled with everything he needed!

today is your lucky day – this guy is on sale!

I found one too many broken crayons while organizing – I knew I was hanging on to them for a reason – after some time on Pinterest we recycled them!

There you go! A good excuse to get organized and get your craft on! I thought they would make super cute party favors if you did them in fun shapes!

Happy Spring Cleaning!

1. Lambs and Ivy Papagayo Plush Monkey | 2. 3Sprouts Hooded Towel | 3.  Bobux Chocolate Monkey Shoes | 4.  Lambs and Ivy Papagayo Wall Appliques | 5. Skip Hop Zoo Bib | 6. 3 Sprouts Storage Bin | 7. Mally Designs Leather Bib | 8. WubbaNub Pacifier | 9. Skip Hop Zoo Pack

Anyway if you’re heading down (today until Sunday at the International Centre, Mississauga) you’ll want to DEFINITELY stop by the Snuggle Bugz booth for great deals on your purchases. Seriously if you’re one of those peeps who watch the [insert product here] FOREVER before buying it to see if it goes on sale, COME BY THE BOOTH! I’m serious.  And, because we know the last thing you want to do is carry around a car seat or a stroller all day, we’ll ship those big items to your home next week – free of charge.

We are also giving away a Clek Foonf in the solid colour of your choice. Those babies retail for $449-$499! You’ll want to look for this sign:

Or it’s cousin, this similar one:

But wait a minute, what does that say? Print free address labels? Well why in tarnation would I want to do that? Well, first you’ll want to stop by the Snuggle Bugz booth FIRST BEFORE ANYWHERE ELSE. Serious. Then you can get 5 address labels to use to enter other contests! So instead of writing out your information on 50 different ballots, you can grab some address labels and save your wrist. Not to mention that printing your labels will enter you to win a Foonf. Boom. One step. That’s how we roll.

Anyway I’d better go and get started on my video making and filming. It’s the first of three intense days of seeing the most pregnant/new parents that you’ll ever see all in one place, and I hope to bring as much of it to you as I can! Now, I don’t want to over-promise and tell you all the beautifully innovative products I’ll show you and all of the best brands I’ll chat with – because things here are crazy. Sometimes much sought-after interviews simply don’t happen because customers come first!

Ciao for now!

Sarah