When were car seats invented?

Hey, newsflash!
All of us are curious about ancient times, whether it is statue of liberty or the pyramids built by the pharaohs. Curiosity increases after watching their reels for even hours. It is human nature to be curious about history.I eagerly prepared the nursery room for my three children. While decorating the Jack’s nursery, I check out new models of car seats, boosters, and strollers online and from the market. Viewing the market and seeing so many secure and cute car seats for babies, the chances of danger in the event of an accident are reduced by up to 82%.And every time I searched about the car seat, I wondered who would have made it for the first time and what was the thought behind it.
When my mother visited me during the last months of Jack’s pregnancy, about seven to eight months ago, I asked her the same question about how your mother used to put you in a car seat and whether there were car seats in your day. This news shocked me when Mom said she used to sit in the car seat and said that she would bring an old photo of the car seat when she came next time. After all this, I braced myself and decided to stay informed about the car seat’s history. So, let me tell you everything that I have learned and researched.
I often wonder what kind of car seat would have been in our mother’s era. These thoughts come to mind while I handle my little one’s in car seats. and who made the car seat for the first time. What would be thought in his mind when they made a car seat? what was their shape, and how did those car seats protect babies?
So, I decided to search about this, and when something comes to my mind, how will it come out until I complete it?
Does your mind also think such questions? Let me know in the comments, so I’ll be glad I’m not the only one who thinks so. 🙃
In this article. I will tell you the history of the car seat, when the car seat was made, and how it developed and reached us today in this modern state.
So now let’s start this fascinating article, which I am also very excited to discuss.

The history of car seats

I will tell you here with years and pictures so that you can understand easily. so that you don’t get bored. Apart from searching on Google, I also went to car seat manufacturers and asked them about the history of car seats and there was a shop owner who had been selling car seats for a long time, Mr. Thomas seeing my interest told me about car seats. He  is 75 years old and born in 1949.and has sharp memory, active and very jolly nature. He ran a car seat shop for past 25 years. I wonder how he remember everything about his childhood, news and those times inventions. We enjoy car seat’s history with cup of coffee’s in their shop.

Mr. Thomas said car seat makers in the 40s produced canvas seats on a metal frame for the front seat of a car, on which a steering wheel was attached, so that children could look out the windshield while being busy with the steering wheel.

Pre-1930 and 40s car seat history

After researching, I discovered that the first car seats made around 1930 were not designed to protect children but to allow children to be level with the car window and see out of the car.
From the picture, it can be inferred that the wooden chair was raised above the car seat attached to the iron rod and spring so the children could see outside. And will not be tired on the journey.
But Bunny Bear Company first invented the car seat in 1933; it looks like today’s booster seat.
The booster of 1940 was more comfortable and less space-consuming than before. Its purpose was also to see through the glass. It was made of a metal version. And it was similar to a swing in a playground today.

According to Mr. Thomas, his parents started wearing seat belts in 1959 when he was ten. He also had a sister whose car seat his parents used to sit in, which was invented then. At that time, the rate of accidents was very high. Every day, he used to hear the news of some car accident. He said the practice of wearing the car seat belt was the best, which reduced the death rate in accidents to a great extent.
He said that people did not like the car seat in its early days. People have always been slow to accept new inventions. It took thirty years for people to fully accept the car seat.

1950 and 1960’s car seat history

In the 1950’s era, physicians advised some people to wear seat belts to avoid serious injury in an accident. And people started using homemade or motor mechanic seat belts.

In 1960’s

And finally, our ancestors created the first car seat for safety in 1962—a safety car seat designed by Leonard Rivkin and Jane Eames. Jane Eames was a British journalist who founded an industry out of journalism.

Jane Helen Ames, a British mother and journalist, is the unsung hero behind the first car seat. Her love for her son Richard James led her to create this safety device, aiming to protect him from all kinds of car accidents.
According to Mr. Thomas, Jane Helen Ames’s car seat was ingeniously designed with safety in mind. In case of an accident, the child would remain at the back of the car, reassured and prevented from coming forward.
Mr. Thomas explains that Jane Helen Ames’s car seat was not just a simple safety measure. It was a revolutionary design that kept the child at the back of the car in case of an accident, preventing them from moving forward. Jane Helen filed two patents for this innovative 5-strap design, similar to today’s models, a British nylon stop, and a parachute buckle with a quick release.

Lance Conrad in written in his book The Price of Creation

“I can imagine no heroism greater than motherhood”

Isn’t it amazing?
The same seat belt, which was started in 1950, was also used in these car seats.
After some time, Jane Eames introduced an updated version of her car seat. This car seat was similar to our present-day car seat, which was rear-facing and had a harness system. It was more comfortable than before. It was like a high chair with a foam pad as a selling point.

In 1963’s
Necessity is the mother of invention. And some accidents shake a person and inspire him to do something new. Similarly, in 1963, the owner of the “Guys and Dolls Furniture” company, Leonard Rivkin, had an accident. In the accident, his child was unharmed as he jumped from the back seat and fell at the feet of his mother in the front seat.
The fear of this incident must have affected his intelligence, so he encouraged Rivkin to research the safety measures of the car seat and make his own carseat. In the car seats made now, four times more harness systems were used than before. The Jeenay car seat has yet to be integrated into this system. This car seat was made of steel and painted to enhance its beauty.

In 1964’s
A Swedish professor, Beril Aldmaan, noticed in a documentary that all the astronauts were traveling backward in the spaceship.
They designed their rear seat to keep children rear-facing for at least four years as a guideline. These types of car seats are also used in Swedish.

1970’s car seat history

In the 1970s, the car seat was modernized to keep the child comfortable; it could be forward or backward, and the seat belt crossed the shell to keep the child safe.
When car seats began to be used, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States in 1971 required that seat belts be installed with car seats.

look at the designs and changings in the 80’s , 70’s and 60’s car seats.

1980’s car seat history

In the 80s, people started to use car seats, but people were slow to adopt new technology. It was the same then. Mr. Thomas said it may be used as a trend, but it is about child safety. But in 1980, the state implemented some rules about cars that crash, which every manufacturer had to follow.

In 1997, many different methods were used for car seat crash testing. Considering the safety of children, the state introduced its child safety technician program. Now, people have an authentic course to learn, which can be followed in every way.

2000’s car seat history

California enacted a law in 2002 that required children under 40 lbs to remain in child safety systems. This was a huge step forward for child safety. So guys, these are the factors when were car seats invented.

Conclusion

The car seat, born out of a mother’s determination to protect her child, has evolved over time, each iteration improving on the last. After a productive conversation with Mr. Thomas, I took my leave. The history of car seats is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the safety and survival of our children.