Car seat suggestions

[UK4X4]

Another issue to consider is that not all child seats are aircraft approved

so I'f you intend to fly you'd be best checking the lables !

and the physical width of the seat, as many, although "approved" won't fit between the rails of a standard aircraft seat.

trust me an infant on your lap for 9 hrs is no fun for anyone.

Issue two ! ref flying

the "basinets" will only hold a baby up to about 1 years old by weight.......

so you then have a gap year were squirmy is now a crawly walker with no basinet and no seat.

At this point you have to lie to the airline and says your little babe is 2 years old so that you can buy a seat.

Right now my wife is 28 hrs and 4 planes from her parents,,,,,,

I have lied through my teeth to every airline

swore at hostesses and carried printed evidence of aircraft and airline rules when they refuse to let you board with the car seat or use the basinet.

Mines 2 and 1/2 now and is on her third type of car seat .......

and Aug first see's us on a Doh-BAH-LHR-DFW-DEN set of nightmare flights

all especially selected for free booze:costumed-smiley-007

 

[Bill Beers]

...At this point you have to lie to the airline and says your little babe is 2 years old so that you can buy a seat...

I don't understand this part.

I've flown PDX to Dulles with a 13-month old and my wife. We just bought three seats. No problems, no questions.

I feel like I'm missing some piece of information here.

-Bill

 

[Honu]

good link to a PDF worth checking out for some ?

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/testing/comply/fmvss213/Jan2010ed.pdf

gives the HIC or Head Injury Criterion on quite a few seats and its interesting to see which ones did better or worse and also age of kid in seat

 

[brn24whl]

Since my Daughter was born just 11 weeks ago we have been using Maxi-Cosi Mico and it has worked out great. It also fits the stroller we have so it makes life very easy.

Eric

 

[OutsideFamily]

Whichever car seat you choose, buy two when you first get it... They do "expire" but it is quite a long time. I have 3 kids now, and 3 vehicles... I have a couple car seats that are identical, but that model has been discontinued. I like having them the same so you only have to learn to use one. It may not seem like a big deal at first, but moving from vehicle to vehicle is a pain, and we take ours apart every so often to give them a good cleaning. Commonality is good in these cases. (we have 3 kids, 5 car seats, and 6 strollers).

 

[azxplorer]

We're partial to the Snugride for the infant seat and Britax models for a larger convertible. The NHTSA (Nat'l Highway Traffic Safety Administration) website is a good resource to show which companies lead in recalls. Safekids.org is also a resource.

Whatever car seat one chooses, the thing to remember is to ABSOLUTELY follow the manufacturer's instructions for installation, along with the vehicle manufacturer's Owner's Manual.

It is estimated that NINETY PERCENT of car seats in the US are incorrectly installed and/or used!!! In short, it doesn't matter whether its a $100 seat or a $500 seat if it is not installed, and then used, as designed.

The sudden change in velocity is what kills and maims. The whole purpose of ANY restraint system is to decrease the rate of decleration on the human body.

Common errors:
1. Using the LATCH system is best, but if you must use the vehicle's lap/shoulder belt system, make ABSOLUTELY sure you switch the belt retractor to "locking" by pulling the shoulder belt completely out and then feed it back in as much as you can to get all slack out.

2. Don't simply place the seat in the car and strap it in!!! Get in, put a knee in the seat or on the base and and use your body weight to push it into the vehicle seat cushion. Maintain that pressure as you cinch the LATCH straps or feed the lap/shoulder belt into the retractor. You are trying to immobilize that car seat as much as possible. When you get out, you should not be able to move the car seat more than an inch or two side to side in the vehicle seat with moderate pressure.

3. Read and follow the instructions on how to strap your kid in. Snug the harness straps so that you can't easily pinch or fold the harness straps between your fingers.

4. If you're unfortunate enough to be involved in a crash, get a new seat and destroy the old one. Save your receipt for insurance reimbursement. Car seats are a one shot deal. Don't pass it on to some unknowing parent because they need a car seat and they are down on their luck. You do them, and their little one, no favor at all.

Remember Newton: A body in motion tends to stay in motion. In a car crash there are three impacts: The car with whatever it hits; it's occupants with whatever they hit (hopefully a restraint); and, the human organs with the walls of the body cavity (think brain vs skull, amongst others). Car seats, if used as they are designed, are meant ultimately to minimize the third impact.

Obviously, our little one's don't understand this and may fuss about being strapped in snugly. Therefore it is incumbant on us, as parents, to understand the importance and be proactive. Our kids trust us to do this in every aspect of their lives for there very existence so don't scrimp here.

You'll have to face the fact that you have to buy more than one seat in your child's younger years. Be realistic in your selection. For instance, most kids at 40 pounds are going to be pretty uncomfortable in a rear facing seat after more than a few minutes.

Need more help with installation or use? Contact your police and fire departments. Most have knowledgeable and certified folks that can help.

ET

 

[gotmud]

X whatever on the Recarros. All four of my kids have had them. My two oldest daughters started out in a Britax infant seat and then went to the Recarro.

So far they have been in every vehicle we have owned over the last 14 years from a Samurai and Corolla, to our 4Runner and 80 Series LC.

Even though they use a 3-point LATCH system, getting them snuggly secured with a standard seat belt is quite easy.

We have a couple of "spare" car seats for when we have extra kids going with us or need to wash the Recarros. In both cases our two youngest kids are happy to get back in to the Recarros.

Not the best picture, but you can see some of the seat.

 

[m007gunit]

I have 2 recaros and the wife and I agree they are great.

 

[Pedro]

Add another Recaro owner in. Signo G2 in Raspberry for my daughter. She was initially too small for it (tiny thing when she was born) so we used a dedicated infant seat (given to us) but the Recaro is far better in every way.

 

[sbwrench]

My first child is due end of April and I am researching car seats. I want one that we can use in both my Jeep and my wifes car. What is the best car seat to fit in a 2006 Unlimited Jeep Wrangler?

 

[Honu]

lots of places like buy buy baby etc.. let you try them out in your car might be a way to find what fits best
also their is a car seat forum that is huge forgot the name but sure you can google and find it pretty easy

trying them out in the car is the best also if you want a model they do not have make sure you can order from amazon or something and return it

 

[Patman]

I have a Recaro young sport and a Safety 1st air65. My 3 YO loves them both, but I prefer the Safety 1st. The head restraint pads are airbags vs. the Recaro's styrofoam. When offroad it makes a huge difference for her comfort. Its also a little wider allowing her to shift around during longer stints, and has a cup holder to keep spills to a min.

 

[Pskhaat]

Kid seats are like religion in asking folks. I've tried many, we ended-up and prefer the Britax line, for many reasons. They are very wide however so you will DEFINITELY want to check to see if they fit.

 

[Pedro]

I actually won a second Recaro, this time it is the newest ProRIDE model. This thing is great, they made a bunch of user improvements over the Signo that we already have. The head restraints and the belt height are adjusted with a knob instead of rethreading the belts. Our daughter still loves the thing over the other brands that my parents and inlaws have purchased.

I did notice that the whole Recaro line received "Best Bet" ratings by the IIHS, and that they are assembled in the US.

 

[psykokid]

My wife is one of those safety nazis and had done tons of research when our oldest was born. The only car seats we ever used until recently were the britax line. We had the carrier with the spare bases in the each car. When the girl out grew that she went into the then current roundabout, and then finally into the marathon where she stayed until first grade when she got a booster which by no coincidence was a britax as well. My son followed the same routine up until I was driving home from work a couple of months ago and was rear ended with his booster in the car which was consequently written off as a total loss. When we went to pick up another booster i looked at the then current britax model and the comparable recaro and went with the recaro due to better side protection, and more comfortable fabric and padding..