What to do about car seat for 4yo while visiting WDW?

[tinapops]

We went twice last year with a 3.5yrd old and 1.5yr old. We used car seats for both on the plane. The kids, while they didn't say, preferred their own seats. They slept for most of the flight in the comfy confines as seats they are used to. A bit of an additional hassle but we used the stroller to wheel the car seats around the terminal, boarded the plane first to get the seats in and everything was great. We have an Eddie Bauer car seats and a Britax roundabout.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Nation wide SafeKids cars eat installation experts do not like these seats. They say they are not safe in an accident and are impossible to install correctly even by experts.
-Sarah

I'm not sure why they have any trouble installing the seat. It's a booster seat. The Compass booster was listed on the study done recently stating that it did not always position the seat belt correctly. However, the most important thing to look at is if the seat fits your child correctly. Lap belt low across the hips, shoulder portion of the belt across the middle of the chest and positioned between the neck and shoulder.

I'm a CPST and would not say I don't like the Compass boosters. However, I don't think it's an appropriate seat for a tiny 4 year old.

 

[Erica09M]

That's interesting.
Car-seat.org and consumer reports both gave it acceptable ratings.

And it's a belt positioning booster, so I'm not sure why "installation" would be an issue?

Sorry, I meant to state I wouldn't recommend a seat that wouldn't be used properly. This is because it often doesn't fit the child correctly. If a child is tiny, it's going to be too big for the kid (tall and wide), and if the child is tall... it's going to be too short for the kid. The belt isn't positioned properly across the child most of the time, therefore it isn't being used correctly.

For a child that's only 34 pounds, she definitely should not be in a booster and should be in a 5 point harness.

Sorry about the confusion

Oh-- and consumer reports mean absolutely NOTHING in the car seat world! For cars- ok! For car seats- no way!

 

[LauralF22]

Call your car rental company- we've gone with 2 different ones (twice with Hertz in Orlando) and each time received a brand new car seat. We even had to open the factory sealed box and install it ourselves. Which we would want to do anyway!
Friends of ours went to FL and rented through Avis. They also received a brand new car seat for their child.
They were your standard cheap car seats- but met safety guidelines. I think they are the ones that Walmart sells for about $40.00. 5-Pt harness. My DH was satisfied with the way they installed.
Perfectly fine for a week's vacation.
Don't ask me what they do with the seats afterwards- but again- we've always had brand new seats!
-Sarah

Ditto that. We used Hertz last year and got two brand new car seats. Cost $80 combined for both of them, but the cost was well worth not having the hassle of lugging them thru the airport (along with all our other carryon stuff).

I can't vouch for any other car rental company.

 

[mom2aredhead]

For a child that's only 34 pounds, she definitely should not be in a booster and should be in a 5 point harness.

I missed the post where the OP said the 4 year old is only 34 pounds... stay with a 5 point harness, absolutely! Much too little for any booster.

I officially take back my recommendation, although I do still like the seat for a bigger kid.

 

[loracekim]

The seats we have now are a Britax Roundabout (2yo) and a Graco Nautilus (4yo). Like I said earlier, we'll just bring the Britax for the little one, but it's the Graco Nautilus I don't want to lug around. But if it's, in fact, free to check it as baggage, I suppose it's a possibility. I'll have to see if it fits in the car seat travel bag we have used for the Britax in the past.

We have not made our car rental arrangements yet, so I will definitely take that into consideration when I do and maybe try Hertz first! (I suppose I should get on that...).

And yes, I'm all about 5 point harnesses for as long as necessary and possible!! I'll probably still keep my eye out for a Safeguard GO seat for cheap because I really like its portability (combined with its 5-pt harness and safety).

It seems I have a number of options now!! Thanks again, everybody for such great discussion and suggestions. I truly appreciate it. My 'tiny' 4yo does too! (She'll probably have one good growth spurt before we leave - if nowhere else, in her FEET! They haven't grown in almost a year! Her last growth spurts were in March of this year and August of last year - so she does grow!!)