Car Seat Comfort Footrest: No More Dangling Legs

We like the Car Seat Comfort Footrest ($30), available exclusively from One Step Ahead, because it turns your car seat into an ottoman — supporting little legs that usually dangle from car seats. It improves blood circulation by reducing pressure on children’s legs. And yes, it may divert them from kicking the back of the seat! There are several positions for the footrest, pick the one that’s the best for your child.

It will support up to 60 pounds and will fit any convertible car seat used forward-facing or booster seat. And importantly, children should not use any part of the footrest to get into their car seat. Also, it should not be used with infant car seats.

It’s simple to install: Undo your car seat’s buckles,  slide it under your carseat or booster seat, re-buckle the car seat, and then adjust the height and angle of the footrest.

– Nancy

CBB Deal: Use code: CBB10 at One Step Ahead to get $10 off a purchase of $75 (expires 6/30/09).

Comments

I’m sorry, but that child looks a little young to even be in a booster seat. He definitely does not look 5 or 40 lbs. He should definitely be 5 pt harnessed still. Neat “gadget”, but it’s hard to get over the fact that that small boy is too young/small for that seat to even pay attention to the foot “gadget”.

- Xandi Atkinson on May 31st, 2009

It looks like he has a harness on to me.

- Shannon on May 31st, 2009

Any device that slides under your car seat should not be used. No car seat crash tests have been conducted using extraneous devices like this, and it often voids the warranty on the seat.

- Lisa on May 31st, 2009

This looks like in the event of an accident, it would cause a child’s legs to break. Has any safety testing been done on this seat? Part of the point of using a booster seat is to have a child’s legs hang properly over the edge of the seat, like an adult’s do. I believe that like another poster has stated, when you use “add-ons” with a carseat, you void the warranty and alter the safety of the carseat. IMHO, it is not wise of CBB to advertise a product like this one without showing us some safety statistics.

- Colleen on May 31st, 2009

And if he IS in a 5 point harness….shouldn’t there NOT be a seat belt across him at the same time?

- Emily on May 31st, 2009

That kid is WAYYYYYYY too small to be in a HBB. If he was the right size for a booster he would have no need to the warranty voiding garbage under his seat.

- Dee on May 31st, 2009

Aftermarket products void your warranty.

- Lorus on May 31st, 2009

The child featured in the ad DOES have on a five-point harness. It’s just hard to see with the color of clothing he is wearing. Having said that, I am not comfortable with this device as it calls into question several safety issues (IMHO) and its addition DOES void the safety seat warranty.

- SouthernBelle on May 31st, 2009

Safety issues aside, this thing just looks silly. What a waste of $30!

- Anna on May 31st, 2009

My concern is safety. Car seats are tested as is, not with all the fluff people add after the fact. I agree with the one commenter, it looks like a potential hazard for breaking legs in a wreck. No way would I use it.

- Kara on May 31st, 2009

After-market products should not be used with car seats! They are not crash tested with each individual seat.

- Julie on May 31st, 2009

The reason the child looks so oddly placed and buckled is because it’s a photoshop job where a company that makes a product takes a pic of a child using it in one seat and photoshops it to show it used with another seat….

But either way, yes, this product is not safe or recommended by child passenger safety technicians.

It would be fine for use on a plane to make a child less likely to kick passengers in front of him/her, but never in a car.

- Kat on May 31st, 2009

What we’ve done to keep legs from dangling is go to the grocery store/hardware store and buy a $2 Styrofoam cooler. We put turn the cooler upside down and put it on the floor of the vehicle in front of our 4yo son’s 5-point harness carseat. That way our kid is able to prop his feet on the cooler for comfort. My thinking is that if we are in an accident, he’ll only be getting hit with Styrofoam.

- Aryn on May 31st, 2009

How is a child any more likely to break their legs on that in an accident than they are when they’re rear facing until 1+ and their legs are pressed up against the back of the regular seat? That’s an honest question, I swear. I don’t see the difference between their feet resting on something like that and their feet pressed against the back of the actual car seat.

And before someone says something about kids curling their legs up in their carseats, not all of them do. Most of my cousins kept their legs straight and rested them on the back seat of the car.

- Caitie on May 31st, 2009

To answer your question about rear facing children, statistically there have been few to no injuries to childrens legs when rear facing in an accident. The consensus by experts is that if an accident is bad enough to damage legs on a child that is rear facing, they would likely have been killed if they were forward facing. Also, there are far, FAR more injuries to legs on children that are forward facing. Extended rear facing a child is 500% safer than forward facing. I urge anyone with young children to please please research Extended Rear Facing and Extended harnessing (NO BOOSTERS!). It really can save your childs life.

- Callie on May 31st, 2009

this is a laugh. Seriously? if there were a crash, his legs could ram up into his hips? and how much of his legs will ‘dangle’? I mean if you take away the footrest are his feet REALLY dangingly? please!! this IS a waste of money.

- momto3 on May 31st, 2009

Hi most of the posters have hit it correctly, good to know that common sense prevails here…
..the child in pic certainly is too young to be in a booster.
..this dangling legs theory is just not enough evidence to say this is an issue with children who are old enough /weigh enough to be seated forward facing.
.. This product seems to offer more harm than good.

- Robert on June 10th, 2009

I agree with you all about the concern of having a hard object attached with your child in the case of a wreck, but to say that a child that is big enough and old enough for a booster seat wouldn’t need a footrest is ridiculous. My daughter is almost five, almost 4 feet tall, and 45 pounds, and complains all the time when we are in the car about her bottom hurting, getting tingly, and always wanting her feet either on her seat or on the back of the seat in front of her. Reduced blood/nerve supply for extended periods of time can’t be great for a child either!

- Marie on March 3rd, 2010