New Car Seat shopping! Help please.

[becca011906]

Ok i recived a new car seat for my youngest dd last summer at a car seat drive (check point) when she had just out grown her infant car seat... But i was reviewing the user guide the other day considering when to turn her around forward facing... and don't car seat expire after 5 years??? This seat was made in Nov. 01 so it needs replaced right??? DD will be 2 years old the end of this month, and is about 25lbs. I really don't know how keen dh will be on letting me spend over $100 mainly b/c we just relized that they only last for 5 years and she is most likely going to be our last child LOL . Any tips, ect.
Thanks!!!

 

[all4fun]

Generally it's six years. You should be able to find out exactly what the mfg recommends on their website. You should be able to get another year out of it, as long as she still fits in it height wise. Still she should be in a harness until at least age 4 and 40 lbs (NHTSA recommendations), so you might decide just to get her a new seat now.

This site has a list of recommended car seats:

http://www.carseatsite.com/recommended_car_seats.htm

You might want to consider getting another convertible because she can be r/fing until she reaches the r/fing weight limit (30lbs to 35lbs depending on the mfg). My ds is 3yrs 3mos, 31# and still r/fing in a Britax Boulevard. Another option if you want her to be f/fing is to get her a combo seat that converts to a bpb. Most harness to 40lbs except the Cosco/Safety 1st Apex which harnesses to 65lbs. Since my ds is a lightweight I bought him the Evenflo Bolero (aka Generations) which he uses in MIL's car. Not as nice as our BV but it has nice tall harness slots and will make a really nice booster once he's outgrown the harness.

When comparing seats, you might want to keep your dd's torso length in mind because car seats are outgrown by height in forward-facing mode when the tops of the shoulders are above the top harness slot or when the tops of the ears are past the top of the seat shell.

Hth,
Cheryl

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Britax also makes a seat that if ff to 65lbs. I have 2 of them. They are great seats. I know they are a little pricey but completely worth it. I don't know what the laws are in your state but here they have to be on a carseat until age 7.

 

[becca011906]

Oh they have to be in a seat till 8 here, i have three car seat/booster seats now... but the one that allison is using is from ds when he was little so like i said it's getting sad and need repaced soon, also the date on it was 00 not 01 so it's up now...

 

[all4fun]

Well if you want to keep her harnessed forever (jk) you could get her a Britax Regent, which is a f/fing seat only that harnesses to 80lbs. She actually might outgrow it by height before weight. It has the tallest harness slots 20 or 21" I think. She could even outgrow car/booster seats altogether riding in that one. The Britax MA/DC/BV seats harness to 65lbs and the top harness slots are 17.5-18". Like I said my ds is in the BV now and at 40" has about 1-1.5" left until his shoulders reach the top harness slot. He's a long torso'd guy. The MA/BV/DC's are airline approved as well. The Regent is not. Sometimes you can get these on sale (current year). Check Albeebaby.com out I think they have a few on sale right now.

OR, like I said before, go for the combo seat like the Apex (65lbs harness limit) or the Generations/Bolero (40lbs harness limit) as it will prbly get you to 8yrs or at least 4'9".... that list I linked in my previous post has other options too.

hth!

Cheryl

 

[MyZoeJane]

I bought the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite after doign some research and deciding that I really didn't need to drop the dough on the Britax. It's highly rated and I love it! (And a friend of mine flipped her car and her daughter was in one and cam eout unscathed!)

 

[becca011906]

After doing all the serching online, maybe my 4 y/o needs a differant car seat also, she's in a hi back belt posisitoning boster w/o internal harness... she's only 34lbs but 43 inches tall so she out grew the high on the cosco convertible she recived at the car seat check point so we bough her the booster, maybe she needs something eles as well???
I really like the look of the britax regent but buying two just seem very very out of the question... ???????

 

[slduck]

I have had 2 britax car seats and loved them both. They really are worth the extra$$$. Make sure that you get one with a taller back. We had a roundabout (it think), but dh outgrew it due to height.

 

[DisneyMama2H&O]

I've also heard the Britax are wonderful but they were also way out of our price range. Our DS5 has a Graco Ultra CarGo seat that can be a 5 point harness that can be removed for seat belt use and it has a "sleep" bar so that it can be in slightly reclining position. Our DS2 has a Graco Triumph(I think it's the Triumph). It was in the top 5 of Consumer Reports. We really love both seats and they were both well under $100 each.

 

[all4fun]

I bought the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite after doign some research and deciding that I really didn't need to drop the dough on the Britax. It's highly rated and I love it! (And a friend of mine flipped her car and her daughter was in one and cam eout unscathed!)

We had the regular Cosco A/O and the top slots for harnessing were only 15" so ds outgrew it by height at 34mos of age, when he was still only 27lbs. Definitely not the "last car seat you will ever need" as advertised for us anyway. That was my main complain about this seat actually. FYI: This car seat has a bar that you move up and down behind the seat to changed the harness height. The very top position is to move the headrest up for use as a BPB only. Unfortunately, it's not reinforced to resist crash forces, so the 2nd from top slots (4th of 5) is the highest slot you can use. The instructions are kind of vague IMO so I thought I would point that out. hth.

OP. Since your 4-yr old is only 34lbs you might consider putting her in a Cosco Apex. I don't know how tall the harness slots are but you might just try her out in one. They sell them at BRU and recently Walmart had them on sale online for $100. Your car needs to have tall backs/headrests to fully support the seat though, since this car seat also does not have a reinforced headrest. ETA: The car seat data site shows the top harness slots are 17.5" but you should check it out for yourself as I've seen other people report they were taller than that (and I've also heard that even car seat mfg say this can vary, for some reason).

Another option is the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe, which is basically a Britax Marathon that has a few less features. It's made by Britax for FP. It doesn't have r/fing tether or the HUGS straps and only harness to 55lbs but it's less expensive than the MA. Babysupermarket.com has it on sale for $120 but it is currently out of stock. It normally goes for about $180.

hth,
Cheryl

 

[finz2left]

For me, I'm happy to pinch pennies in a million ways -- but my child's safety is NEVER worth a savings of a few bucks. And, a 200.00 car seat over 5 years is a measly 40 bucks a year -- my kids are worth BRITAX. And, for me, no compromise or "close to good as Britax" is good enough. Just my .02. My second grader is still in his 80 lb. harness seat .

 

[PoohHappens]

I have a question about the expiration date thing?? I am very safety minded and have my seats checked etc......we used a britax before the compass booster we are currently using. I find it hard to believe that my britax seat that has been in my possesion since new and never in an accident would suddenly be unsafe at the 5 year mark That just does not make sense to me. I understand wanting people not to use used seats. I totally agree, you do not know how it has been used. I was planning on using my britax again, but our son is 4 and we do not have another child yet. So am I saving this seat for nothing????? I always watch recalls etc. I just don't see how the seat suddenly won't work one day. I would appreciate any imput on this. I guess that means our graco snug ride infant car seat that we used for all of 4 months will be worthless too???

 

[becca011906]

It's actully 6 years not 5 for most car seats... but yep it needs to be replaced after 6 years regardless of use/ownership/ect. As i said we've only been using the car seat allie is in for 13 months but the experation is coming so it will need replaced, it's really sad b/c i see much much older car seats used all the time and to think about all the seats that car seats check points destroy and there are still millions of kids prolly in expired car seats or unsafe recalled seats...

 

[PA Princess]

Okay, now wait...I thought carseats expired after 5 years of "use." Meaning, in the car and used by a child (not 24/7 obviously). My understanding is that over time the plastic and other components break down due to extreme temperatures inside of a car, and this is the reason for replacing an older car seat. This explanation makes sense to me...this was the explanation given to me by a friend who worked for Graco in their carseat division (in marketing and sales to large retailers). Now, if anyone has an incentive to get us to buy new carseats as often as possible, it would be the carseat manufacturers.

Can someone supply where the info is coming that seats have an exact expiration date that means do not use after this date, and if so - why? More curious than anything since we will not be impacted by this in all probablility.

 

[becca011906]

Most of the car seat companies have a contact info on the web site that you can email and ask them for the info. I had to email them to get more detailed info.

 

[kathi29]

Okay, now wait...I thought carseats expired after 5 years of "use." Meaning, in the car and used by a child (not 24/7 obviously). My understanding is that over time the plastic and other components break down due to extreme temperatures inside of a car, and this is the reason for replacing an older car seat. This explanation makes sense to me...this was the explanation given to me by a friend who worked for Graco in their carseat division (in marketing and sales to large retailers). Now, if anyone has an incentive to get us to buy new carseats as often as possible, it would be the carseat manufacturers.

Can someone supply where the info is coming that seats have an exact expiration date that means do not use after this date, and if so - why? More curious than anything since we will not be impacted by this in all probablility.

Graco actually says their seats expire 6 years from the date of manufacture
http://www.gracobaby.com/assets/pdfs/instructions/The_Dangers_of_Second_Hand_Children's_Products.pdf

 

[kathi29]

Ok i recived a new car seat for my youngest dd last summer at a car seat drive (check point) when she had just out grown her infant car seat... But i was reviewing the user guide the other day considering when to turn her around forward facing... and don't car seat expire after 5 years??? This seat was made in Nov. 01 so it needs replaced right??? DD will be 2 years old the end of this month, and is about 25lbs. I really don't know how keen dh will be on letting me spend over $100 mainly b/c we just relized that they only last for 5 years and she is most likely going to be our last child LOL . Any tips, ect.
Thanks!!!

The current recommendation is to keep the child rear facing to the limit of the seat - most are 30 - 35 pounds now.

I would honestly suggest a Britax Marathon if you follow the extended rear facing recommendation. It would allow you to keep her RF for quite a while longer, and harnesses to 65 pounds once she is FF. I realize they run about $250 but this is the safety of your child, not a mere accessory. If you plan to turn her forward facing, I agree the Evenflo Bolero/Generations is a great choice.

 

[kaw1218]

I bought the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite after doign some research and deciding that I really didn't need to drop the dough on the Britax. It's highly rated and I love it! (And a friend of mine flipped her car and her daughter was in one and cam eout unscathed!)

I had this one for my DD and loved it.....My best friend also had these for her 2 dd's....sadly, they too were in a car accident(they got broadsided) My best friend did not make it out of the car, but BOTH of her daughters-age 6 weeks and 19 months- came out with a few scratches and one fractured leg(the 19month old was sitting on the side of impact)..
I strongly reccommend this one(for obvious reasons)

 

[MyZoeJane]

I had this one for my DD and loved it.....My best friend also had these for her 2 dd's....sadly, they too were in a car accident(they got broadsided) My best friend did not make it out of the car, but BOTH of her daughters-age 6 weeks and 19 months- came out with a few scratches and one fractured leg(the 19month old was sitting on the side of impact)..
I strongly reccommend this one(for obvious reasons)

{{{{{Kelly}}}}}} I am terribly sorry to hear about your friend.

Bravo for the Alpha Omega! If yoru child fits within the weight/height limits of this seat I think it's the best thing you can buy....

 

[smschex]

These are the current recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. This is the "gold standard" for information. There is even a comparison chart at the bottom of the page.

http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

Just because a seat is the most expensive does not mean it is more safe than a less costly model. There are good seats in all price ranges. Sometimes you are paying for a "status name" or features that don't add to safety. Don't let anyone make you feel like a less than adequate parent for not blowing your budget on the most trendy seat. Do your research and make a decision based on your family.