my 2 year old has a Graco – ComfortSport Convertible Car Seat she is getting to tall for it?
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at
8:05 pm
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I had the comfortsport as well and realized the same things as you are describing so I went to ToysRUs and got a new one. I’m not sure of the name but I belive it may be just like the Safety 1st one just a different color and a little more expensive. But I would definetely upgrade if I were you.
Forward facing carseats are outgrown when a child reaches the weight limit or, more commonly, when their shoulders go over the top harness slots.
If your child has met either of these, then she needs a different seat. She is far too young for a booster with vehicle seat belt, so there are many seats that harness to 55-80lbs. Some are the Britax Marathon, Decathalon, Boulevard, Regent and Frontier; the Sunshine Kids Radian; the Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE; the Graco Nautilus and the Cosco/Safety First Apex.
A forward facing car seat is outgrown either:
1)the shoulders are over the highest slots
OR
2)the weight limit (40lbs on Comfortsport) is reached
OR
3)the ears are at the top of the shell of the seat
If her shoulders are under and she’s under 40lbs and her ears are not at the top of the seat (yes her head can go over the top of the seat – its when the ears get there that matters) then she still fits in the seat.
IF she still fits in the Comfortsport, odds are she won’t for much longer, With its low 40lbs weight limit and short (14.5 inch) top harness slots the average sized child outgrows the comfortsport at 2-3 years old. When she does outgrow it, if she hasn’t already the most cost effective option is a Graco Nautilus. $150, harnesses to 65lbs with 19" top slots, steel reinforced and becomes a booster when the harness is outgrown so its likely to be the last seat you need to buy. Easy to install and easy to use.
More expensive, but also more comfy and will keep kids harnessed as long as possible is the Britax Regent – $279 or less online, 20" top slots harnesses to 80lbs but does not become a booster seat. Very roomy and padded seat. But – if you travel by plane much – it is NOT FAA approved for plane use b/c of its weight/size.
The Britax Frontier is a new option $279 also, harnesses to 80lbs, 18" top slots or so, and becomes a great booster afterwards.
Definitely skip the All in one, 3-in-1 seats. They have the same harness height and weight as the Comfort sport, so if she’s outgrown the comfortsport she’s outgrown them as well. the Safety1st 3-in-1/Cosco Alpha Omega/Eddie Bauer 3-in1 seats. These are all the same company – same seat, just different covers. They stink. Hard to install, b/c of narrow belt paths. Ever tried to wash a skinny cup by hand? Now imagine that skinny cup with pointy edges. That’s what putting your hand through these to install them is like. AND they have too short a shell to really go to 40lbs. And that’s another misleading thing the box says – 5-100lbs. What the box fails to mention (you don’t find out until reading the manual!) is that the harness only goes to 40lbs, NOT 100lbs! After 40lbs it must be used as a booster.And they do not make good boosters. Also, most kids have to use boosters until they’re at least 8 years old. Car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture, so no matter what they say it is NOT the last seat you’ll ever need to buy.
When shopping Remember these rules:
1)the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its easy to use, you’re more likely to use it correctly.
2)children need to stay rear facing as long as possible.
Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child’s life!
A)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.
B)A child’s vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.
C)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.
D)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)
3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can’t sit upright for an entire trip, they need the harness of a car seat still. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is important to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs. My son just turned 3, and is in the 95th% for height and weight – 40" tall and weighs 41lbs. He outgrew the 40lbs seats shortly after his 2nd birthday. It was a total waste of money. He now has a Britax Marathon, which goes to 65lbs, and will be able to fit it for some time yet. If I’d have bought it when he was born, I could have had one car seat this whole time instead of the 3 I wasted money on. They are more expensive for many reasons, this is one.
Thats one of the draw backs with the Graco Comfortsport Convertible Car Seat. i would look into getting a new car seat maybe such as the Cosco Scenera, they are a lot more affordable