Car seats...what kind?

[cinmell]

I have looked at Consumer Reports which gives high ratings to Britax Roundabout but I have heard that seat is very big and some have trouble with not being able to move the front seat back much.

What kind of car seat do you have or which one do you recomend?

Thanks!

 

[cdrn1]

My DD has the Britax Marathon for her little one and she loves it. Very easy to get DGD in and out of it and very comfortable for her.

 

[bumbershoot]

We have a VW Golf, and have used our Roundabout no problem. We even had him rear-facing in it until he was well over 2, once he outgrew rear-facing by weight (33 lbs with our Roundabout), and still had no real issue with the front seats.

Actually, I wish he were still rear-facing, b/c now he KICKS the seats, and he couldn't do that before!

We thought at the time that the Marathon wouldn't work, but I think it would have.

Britax is a good company.


On the other hand, we also have a Cosco Scenera, for travel! It's lighter to lug around, and it's still a pretty good seat. And it's inexpensive.

 

[Aneille]

I have the Britax Roundabout, Marathon and the Boulevard. 1 year old in the Roundabout, 3.5 year in the Marathon and 5.5 year old in the Boulevard.

I love them all. The Roundabout is the smallest of those three and is a great seat. Very easy to install and all of my kids like the Britax seats. But it will fit your child the shortest amount of time.

The Marathon and Boulevard are substantially bigger but my 5 year old fits in each of those seats. She's about 45" and 45 lbs. All three of them are FAA approved.

I don't find the Roundabout to be any bigger than any other convertable seat.

What type of car is the seat going into?

Babies R Us carries the Britax line. Go to the store check them out. They are all displayed and you can take them down and practice installing them and have your kid try them out on a seat they have there. I believe they will also allow you to try any seat in your car to make sure its a good fit.

albeebaby.com is a great place to buy Britax products. They often have sales and free shipping.

 

[cinmell]

Thank you for your replies!

I have a Ford Escape so I hope it will fit. I didn't know Babies R Us would let you test them in your car so I will try that. There are 3 seats I'm thinking of: Britax Roundabout, Marathon and the Evenflo Triumph.

My daughter will be 6 months in 2 weeks and she is long and just over 20 pounds so she's getting big for her snug ride seat. Her doctor said she could go into the bigger seat as long is it functions as a rear facing seat which she has to be in until she is one.

Sometimes I wish there weren't so many seats to choose from!

 

[Nanu57v]

I have a Geo Prism and a Roundabout. It just fit rear-racing, but no problem forward facing at all. I love it!

 

[LilGMom]

http://www.carseatdata.org That is a good website to go to see what other people have in various makes/models of cars.

We have an Alpha Omega (aka Eddie Bauer) and have never had any problems with the seat. It has gone from rear-facing to forward-facing with no problems and has fit in a Honda Odyssey, Ford Escape and a Mustang Cobra. You can buy the top of the line carseat but if it doesn't fit in your car it isn't worth squat.

Good luck.

As a sidenote: It is safest to keep a child rear-facing as long as the rear-facing limits of the seat will allow. The magic number for turning a child around is not necessarily one year, it is also weight. My kids stayed rear-facing way past their first birthdays.

 

[bumbershoot]

As a sidenote: It is safest to keep a child rear-facing as long as the rear-facing limits of the seat will allow. The magic number for turning a child around is not necessarily one year, it is also weight. My kids stayed rear-facing way past their first birthdays.

Ditto. I wish I could sit facing the rear since it would be safer. Unless I were driving.

6 months...DS was out of his Graco infant seat, by height, before 4 months! He's been in that Roundabout a LONG time!

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

We have 2 Marathons for dd 4.5 and we love them.

I would definetly go for the Marathon, since it has a high weight limit for rear facing (33 lbs), and then a high weight limit for forward facing (65 lbs). This means that most kids can reach their 5th birthday and still fit in the carseat using the 5 pt. harness, which is the safest way to ride.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Ditto what pp said. The marathon is a much better deal for your dd than the roundabout. If you purchase the roundabout your dd will very likely outgrow it by height before they hit 40 lbs. Most kids will outgrow by about age 2.5 or 3 years old. It's a very very pricey seat to buy for the amount of time it will last your child.

The marathon is a much better bet for your dd. Your child will fit in it much longer. The top slots are much much higher and most kids fit in it until they are 5 or 6.

I would highly recommend you post your car seat request here

http://boards.babycenter.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=bcus9421

The moms on this board are amazing. Lots of car seat techs that everything there is to know about car seats. They can help you decide what seat is right for your baby.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

We have the Evenflo Triumph and like it very much. DS sits up very high in it and really likes it. It gets good safety ratings as well.

 

[cinmell]

Thank you for your very helpful replies! I'm going to check out the links provided above.

 

[October]

I would go for the Marathon as well. We have a Mazda Tribute (basically same car as the Escape) and our Marathon fits in it fine, we have never had issues with the front seat with it rear or forward facing. My friend has the roundabout and her daughter is now growing out of it, she plans to buy the Marathon as a replacement.

 

[JJLJ]

Hi :

We have a Chrysler Pacifica and we have have the Marathon and the Roundabout for our 4 year old daughter and 3 year old son. We like both seats but if I had to choose the Marathon is my favorite
JJLJ

 

[WAHMto5]

We have the Britax Regent and LOVE it! It is a bit larger, but sooo comfy for my girls and I love that it goes from 22 ~ 80 lbs!!

 

[Colinsmom]

We have the Britax Regent and LOVE it! It is a bit larger, but sooo comfy for my girls and I love that it goes from 22 ~ 80 lbs!!

The Regent is a great seat for bigger kids but can't be used rear-facing - and at 6mo, the OP's baby has a lot more rear-facing time ahead of her!

 

[labdogs42]

We have a Britax Marathon for my minivan and evenflo Triumph 5's for Dh's car and my mom's car. Both seats are great and got great safety ratings. The evenflo costs half as much, but he'll grow out of it sooner. We use the Triumph on th plane because it is smaller and easier to carry. I recommend the marathon AND the Triumph.

 

[jodifla]

I'm astonished how much people will shell out for car seats.

I used hand me downs from friends (I knew they'd never been in an accident, and their expiration date hadn't come up yet) and Graco seats. I spent a fraction of what one Britax would cost on all my car seats, and DS was always sitting in seats that met all safety standards.

 

[kris10399]

I've got to vote for the Evenflo Triumph. that was our first seat after the SnugRide.
Here is a thing to think about.....how easy do the seats that you are considering look to clean after a puking episode? the Triumph isn't too bad don't know about the Britax.
Sorry for the point but I've never looked at another carseat without figuring out how easy it would be to clean.

Kris

 

[all4fun]

I have looked at Consumer Reports which gives high ratings to Britax Roundabout but I have heard that seat is very big and some have trouble with not being able to move the front seat back much.

What kind of car seat do you have or which one do you recomend?

Thanks!

I am guessing you need a seat that can be used rear-facing? Keep in mind only newborns need to have a full 45 degree recline. After babies develop good head and neck control, the r/fing convertible can be adjusted more upright - as much as is comfortable for the child. This is not only safer (has to do with ramping up the back of the seat in a crash) but it has the added benefit of giving the front seat passengers more room. I actually had my ds Britax Blvd, which is taller than the Roundabout, r/fing in the back of my Santa Fe r/fing and I could move the front passenger seat it was sitting behind all the way back on the track.

And about CR - please read this article about how they rate seats: http://www.car-safety.org/guide.html#cr

All car seats must pass the same testing standards. All are safe however the caveat is they must be used according to mfg instructions. A VERY basic and inexpensive car seat that is installed and used properly 100% of the time is going to always be safer than the most expensive car seat that is improperly used (remember Brittany Spears with her 9mos old in a fwd facing Marathon anyone? sorry I know I shouldn't even go there!). The more expensive seats cost more because they are made to last longer and many have features that make them easier to use (more "goof proof" if you will). I used Cosco seats until my ds outgrew them by height at 34mos of age. I had to buy him one with taller top slots. I could have bought him a comparibly inexpensive f/fing combo but I wanted him to remain r/fing for as long as possible (and he actually liked it better too). I bought the BV because it was on sale otherwise I would have gotten the MA instead, but I love our Blvd. DS is just about to turn four and still has growing room in it.

From what I've seen the Roundabout is really no different than most of the other 40lb limit convertibles on the market in that it has fairly low shell and top slots (approx 15"). If you want to give your dc in a 5pt harness past age four (or for some long torso'd kids, until age four) then a higher weight limit seat like the MA/DC/BV seats, or the Sunshine Kids Radian is the way to go. The other nice thing about these seats is that they can be tethered in r/fing mode, which other brands are not designed to do.

Just some food for thought. hth.