“It’s not as effective,” said Fennell. “It’s just an alert because you opened the backseat door.” She explained that if you stop and get gas on your journey, and don’t open the backseat again, the reminder won’t go off, even though there’s still someone in your backseat. It also confuses parents. “They think it will detect the presence of your child, and it doesn’t,” she continued.
By comparison, the Doona is an aftermarket accessory that parents can add themselves. But child passenger safety technicians, such as Michelle Pratt from Safe in the Seat, recommends against using products like these. “When it comes to accessories, if it didn’t come in the box with your seat or is not approved by your car seat’s manufacturer to use, then don’t use it,” she said.
Doona has crash-tested the SensAlert with its own car seat and other car seats from “leading brands” per an email from Doona’s public relations team, but Pratt says to still skip it if you aren’t using Doona’s car seat. “Crash testing for aftermarket products is not federally regulated, nor are there any set standards to make or sell these products,” she said.
Fennell also cautioned me against another common mistake. A lot of parents try to solve this problem by throwing accessories into the back seat, whether that’s by tucking their phone into the child’s car seat or attaching mirrors or hanging reminders. Even though they’re separate from the car seat itself, these are still dangerous if they shatter or fall in a crash.
But if you’re using the SensAlert with a Doona car seat, then you’re in the clear. “This add-on is great for caregivers who already have or plan to purchase a Doona,” said Pratt.
A Safer Solution
There’s a different aftermarket solution besides Doona’s cushion: certain car seats that have similar technology built into the car seat, and are therefore guaranteed to be crash-tested with the car seat in question.
Cybex and Evenflo, for example, have car seats with SensorSafe built in, which uses the chest clip of a car seat to detect if a child is in the car. The SensorSafe app then alerts you if your child is left in the seat. It also checks the temperature of the car, if your child unbuckles themselves, and if they’re seated for too long. We tested a car seat that included SensorSafe, and found it pinged us constantly—that’s preferable to it not pinging you at all, though.
The built-in aspect of the Cybex and Evenflo car seats is ideal from an aftermarket perspective. However, none of these car seats are cheap. Evenflo’s seats start at $230 and Cybex’s seats range from $300 to over $500. Doona doesn’t sell SensAlert as a bundle. You’d have to purchase the (admittedly excellent) $550 car seat and stroller combo and buy the $100 SensAlert separately.
For now, the Doona is out of my Graco car seat, and unless you’re using Doona’s seat, it shouldn’t be in yours, either. But I haven’t moved my mirror yet.
