What's the best car seat to use after your baby grows too big for the infant ones?
Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at
2:21 pm
My daughter is quickly approaching a size too big for her infant car seat and I just wanted to know what kinds or brands you would recommend for the next size up. Also, does anyone know any tips on how to shop for them? I know Target and Walmart have them, I’m just curious if they can be found cheaper elsewhere. Thanks 
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The convertible carseats are the next bet up because you can face them backwards longer. There are 3 that I tend to look at, and as far as price goes… I’ll go lowest to highest.
Graco 65 My-Ride. I’d like to know what problems the poster above me had… we’ve had no issues with ours. It faces backwards to 40lbs, then forward with a harness to 65lbs, it’s tested to above the current safety standards including side-impact (it’s not just a plastic shell, it has EPS foam… the link the person gave above is from 2005, that’s 5 years outdated.) They have an expiration date of 6 years, but should last that long for most babies. The instructions are printed on the seat, so no losing them. The only issue I’ve read that people have has been if they try it in a newborn it’s hard to get it to lay back at a 45degree angle far enough. I know that Target had a sale this last week where they’re $120, they normally run for $140-150. It should still be going on until Sunday.
Sunshine Radian XTSL. It faces backwards to 45lbs and forwards in a harness to 80lbs! It’s made from steel alloy, so it’s the strongest carseat on the market, yet folds up so it’s easy to take out and carry places. It also uses the LATCH system in newer cars even in the front facing position, and is fairly thin side to side so if your car isn’t very large it’s a good one to consider. They run $260-300 though, but since they are steel alloy I don’t think they have the same expiration dates associated with them, and basically by the time your baby is out of it at 80lbs they should be able to ride in a normal seat so it would be the last seat you’d buy. Add: Some things I’ve found looking. It has an 8 year expiration. The steel frame makes it heavy. It is long, so rear-facing actually is harder if you have a smaller car. And while it’s nice to fit 3 in the backseat, there’s no side-impact foam to help if there was a side-impact. Sort of a trade off there. If all you have is the one baby in the back, then the side-impact of the Graco My-Ride or Britax would make them a safer choice.
Britax seats… though the better ones are the more expensive ones with the "True Impact" and I’m not sure they’re much better than Graco’s side impact testing. Since there’s no way to compare… they both have the EPS and side impact protection. They face backwards to 33-35lbs, forward to 65lbs. I originally was getting a Marathon for $200 (they’re not hard to find cheap because they’re outdated by Britax standards) and they sent me a Decathlon by accident and we DO love it. But when we needed to buy a new seat and I went with the Graco 65 (for the other car, we had a Safety first and the buckle started causing all sorts of problems so when an accident damaged it we chucked it) we have been happier with the Graco 65. The buckles don’t get tangled in the Graco either. They run anywhere from $200 or so to close to $400.
Add: Avoid most 3-in-1 car seats and look over the IIHS booster seat tests done last year. Toddler seats aren’t regulated like car seats are, so when they tested a bunch of them they found a lot of them failed, or failed in some cars and passed in others (like the Nautilus). These are 3-in-1 seats and basically you could buy one now for your baby, and it wouldn’t be safe when your baby is a toddler (you’d need to get a new toddler seat, or hope you don’t get in an accident.)
They really probably are NOT going to get any cheaper than Wal-mart. I suggest Graco, Brtiax & Evenflo.
avoid cheap & focus on safe instead. talk to the pros at the local fire department or ambulance service about their recommendations & tips for installation.
The best carseat is the carseat that fits your vehicle and your baby the best. They’re all certified for safety. So it’s a matter of personal preference, your budget and which one’s fit your vehicle the best. Here’s a website that may help you in your decision:
http://www.carseatdata.org/
Hope this helps!
no thats probably the cheepest you can find them is at walmart… but evenflo is what i use for my daughter an i dont have any bad comments about those… good luck finding one… also i kno theyll be exsprnsive over at toys r us/babies r us but there are some really good carseats over there an lots of choices too.. well where i am ne ways good luck with your search
Well the only seat that is safe to use at this point is a convertible seat. They can stay rear facing for now and until your baby has reached the minimum requirements(1 year and 20+ lbs.) or until they reach the maximum requirements(with most seats this is 35 lbs.). It’s safest to keep your baby rear facing as long as possible. Once they’ve reached the requirements then the seat can be turned to forward face.
As far as what brand is the best it’s whichever fits in your car the best and safest. Britax seats are highly rated but are also relatively expensive. We have an Evenflo seat that we haven’t had any issues with and it’s a little nicer on the wallet(around $100). I’ve also heard good things about the Sunshine Radian.
i would say get a convertable car seat so this way it’ll be the last time you replace it. Go with safety rather then cheapest in price. Target and Walmart are probably going to be the cheapest BUT Babies ‘r’ is having a sale on their Graco products and some of those convertables I think may actually be cheaper there right now…So I would say check them out too.
i bought 4 Graco toddler car seats for my quads, i spent about 200 dollars total and i went to wal mart, about $50 each.
I’d get a Britax Marathon–it’ll last her to 65 lbs, it’s durable, and they don’t get much safer unless you want to spend 300 bucks on a Recaro. If so, then go for a Recaro.
http://www.elitecarseats.com/Britax-Marathon-CS.pro?source=pricegrabber&kw=103182EMMA00000&zmam=24772477&zmas=8&zmac=60&zmap=103182EMMA00000
You can’t put a price on safety.
Britax and Recaro seats have steel frames covered in plastic, and are crash tested at 40 mph in a frontal, side, and rear impact. That’s above the industry standard. The straps are sturdy and do not twist. This makes them safer and helps spread out the force of a crash across your child’s body, making it safer in the event of a crash.
Other brands (Graco, Evenflo, Cosco/Eddie Bauer, Safety 1st) are plastic shell frames. They crash test at the industry’s minimum–30 mph at a frontal impact only. Studies have shown that these seats shatter on impact at crash tests at just 5 mph over the industry’s minimum requirement. Not exactly what I’d put my kid in.
http://www.hsinjurylaw.com/library/keeping-our-kids-safe-child-car-seat-safetyamazingly-little-federalstate-regulation-leaves-kids.cfm
So, you get what you pay for. Dish out a little extra cash–you will never hear a parent saying after an accident, "Man, I wish I bought a cheaper seat." But, you will hear them say, "I wish there was something I could have done."
I would buy a convertible carseat. I have a Britax and LOVE mine. I would check out diapers.com, and albeebaby.com. They both have good sales usually on carseats. Also, you sometimes get a percentage off your first purchase. I agree with the answerer that said to avoid cheap and focus on safety. You don’t want to regret not buying a safe one.
I recommend Britax! I just bought a Britax Marathon for my daughter after having problems with the Graco MyRide 65. I’ve always used Graco, but after using a Britax car seat i don’t think i can use anything else, the safety of these seats is unbeatable! I absolutely love mine!
I bought mine from diapers.com for $179 even, no tax and free shipping! That’s an awesome deal for a Britax Marathon, since they normally run close to $300. I highly recommend ordering from there, they deliver in about 2 days!!
If you can’t afford a Britax, then the next brand i recommend is Graco. I always say to stay away from Safety First, Eddie Bauer and Costco car seats, they are all made by the same company, and in my opinion they are the worst brand out there.
Courage – I like Graco in general but the MyRide was giving me problems with installation, i could not get it tight enough and at the right angle, etc. I needed to have the fire dept. install and they needed a pool noodle. On top of that, the straps were insanely hard to tighten on mine, it was rediculous. So i decided to trade it in. In my opinion the Marathon in so much better, i can install the car seat rock solid all on my own without the use of a pool noodle, and it has belt locks which is better for me since i have to use the vehicle seat belt. It’s a breeze to get my daughter buckled in. I really like the HUGS chest pads. My daughter used to scream and cry in the MyRide and now she happily sits in her car seat…a plus for me
So in general i like Graco but that car seat didn’t work for me, but i’ve heard it does work for alot of other people.
I wouldn’t get a ‘cheap’ car seat… its your child’s life… spend the bucks to get the best… BRITAX
The best car seat is the one that fits in YOUR car and the one that anybody regularly using can use properly. A 5 point harness isn’t safer than something else if grandma is unable to properly snap it in every time.
Lots of people go on about Britax, but crash tests have not shown them to be safer. They are actually middle-of-the-pack. They are more comfortable if your child regularly goes on long car trips (such as a day care located close to where you work).
Also, find a car seat check place. They will help you correctly place your seat and/or give you tips.
It occasionally gets cheaper than what you see at Walmart – shop online. Once you figure out the seat you want, go online and see who has it cheapest. There are coupons out there for diapers.com (and they usually let you stack the coupons) elitecarseats.com babyuniverse.com tinyride.com and albeebaby.com are all great sites to check out. OH! And hipmonkey.com – all their proceeds go to a charity that provides seats for families who can not afford them (they once gave my son a seat!).
Here’s the best of the bunch, pick whichever fits your car, your child, and that you will use correctly 100% of the time. That last bit is important – did you know over 80% of car seats in the USA are installed/used WRONG?
But they’re not the best there is out there anymore. As for safety, ALL seats in the US only receive a pass/fail on crash tests. So if its on the market – it passed. That’s all we’re told.
1)Graco MyRide – awesome seat, especially for the great price. Rear faces to 40lbs keeping kids rear facing to 2-4 years old. Yes – that long. Rear facing is safest, and kids should stay that way as long as possible. See links for more info. And forward faces to 65lbs. Its easy to install. One drawback: as a forward facing seat it can be VERY reclined, something older kids don’t often like.
2)Evenflo Triumph Advance – another awesome seat for a great price. Easy to install, easy to adjust harness height (you never have to rethread the harness, and its always the perfect height for your child). It even fits newborns well. Rear faces to 35lbs forward faces to 50lbs forward facing. Works very well in compact cars b/c of the bowl shape.
3)Learn Curve True Fit – little higher price, but with it you get built-in lockoffs (so you never again have to use a locking clip, yay!). Rear faces to 35lbs, forward facing 65lbs. Easy install, lots of leg room, last kids a very long time.
4)Safety 1st Complete Air convertible seat – rear faces to 40lbs, forward faces to 50bs, no rethread harness, and air filled pillows around the child’s head for side impact protection.
5)This last one isn’t in the same league as the other seats, it won’t last as long. BUT – at only $50, its a great deal. Cosco Scenera. Rear to 35lbs, forward to 40lbs, most kids outgrow it at 2-3 years old and will then need a forward facing seat with a harness (a combination seat will do forward facing harness & then become a booster) later, but at only $50, its a steal.
Those are the big ones right now. And no, I didn’t mention Britax. Here’s why: they USED to be the end-all be-all in car seats. They still make quality seats. However – despite always being the first to come out with big stuff, right now, they’re kind of last in the convertible car seat arena. They don’t have a 40lbs rear facing seat yet, and their seats don’t give rear facing kids as much legroom as the ones mentioned above. For the price they are, I’d much rather get the seats above, personally. The Britax Marathon is still the easiest seat I’ve ever installed. And it has lots of pretty covers.
WHY REAR FACING:
http://www.carseat.org/Resources/633.pdf
In the foreground is a forward facing seat, in the background a rear facing seat. You can see how much trauma the forward facing dummy has to endure. The rear facing child simply rides it out.
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/videos/test2002/frontcrash/maxicosipriori.mpg
Here’s another video. You can see how there is NO trauma to the baby, it simply sits there waiting for it to end.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v163/jen_nah/carseats/?action=view¤t=video06A_MGA_213_RearFace-Convertib.flv
The story of a child who suffered severe injuries from being forward facing when he could’ve been rear facing:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=59783