You need to go with is rated safest first. I still have 2 in car seats and we are using britax car seats for both in both cars. Yeah it was $1,000 investment for 4 of them, but totally worth it. They are consistently ranked at the top by consumer reports, baby bargains and other ranking entities. They are also simple to use, install and clean. If you have latch in your car these are as easy as it gets. But regardless of what you have/can afford, i think new is always the way to go. When you buy used or take a hand-me-down you neber know for sure what you are getting. Could it have been in an accident? Even if it is family and you are sure it has not, is an important piece of foam missing? is one of the belts not able to tighten as well as it used to? For piece of mind and your child's safety new is always the way to go for car seats. Also, I think every county in this area has car seat safety inspection locations. DO IT!! We have gone out there many times and the people are nice and most importantly professionals. They get extensive training in just how to install car seats. That should tell you something! Yeah it might be a schlep to get to a seat check location and you may need an appointment, but isn't finding an hour worth it for your kids?

We actually had our friend, who is a post man, install our car seats. He always knew what to do. We had the basic Graco for all our car seats. They seemed to work fine for the infant car seat and the booster. But the mid level car seat was horrible. The straps never seemed to work right. Either too tight or too loose no matter how much you worked on them. I would like to buy a different one for baby number two. But love the Graco infant and booster chair.

We have been struggling with the carseat issue lately. The problem we are having is that there are very few seats that will fit a tall child who is not old enough (or heavy enough) to sit safely in a booster. The only models available are in excess of $200, and neither of them really meets our needs. Not sure why more manufacturers aren't making these.

Also, be aware that almost all of these seats have a "shelf life" of 6 years, because after that the EPS foam starts to break down. The problem with getting a hand-me-down seat (unless you know it was only used with 1 other kid), is that you don't really know how old it is.

I loved our infant seat - Chicco Key Fit. Now our daughter is nearly 2 and we have an Evenflo Triumph in my car (it's okay and was reasonably priced) and a Sunshine Kids Radian 80 in my husband's car (a great seat, very narrow, very good crash ratings, can be folded up for airplane travel - also quite expensive). I've gotten used to the somewhat tricky straps and buckles on the evenflo; the sunshine kids one is SO EASY. The straps on the Chicco were really simple too.

I sometimes feel that the whole carseat thing gets ridiculous. Great, so Britax is top of the line but does it really need to cost $250 dollars? That gets mighty expensive when dealing with multiple cars and multiple children. Also, while it's good that there are these carseat inspection stations, it would be a lot more useful to make the carseats more easily installable. I can't quote the statistic but I've read that a REALLY high percentage of carseats are installed incorrectly (by the parents). It's fine and dandy to say go to the inspection station but that's generally easier said than done, especially when they have such convenient hours like 11 am on a weekday.

Anyway, we currently use a Graco booster/carseat combo, for 20 lbs-100 lbs, with 5 point harness or seatbelt. This is especially a good thing in our car which only has room for two carseats but might have any combination of 2 of our 3 kids. Two still use the 5-pt harness but the other just needs the booster so she can sit in either seat and just use the seatbelt. For normal day to day tightening/loosening, the 5-pt harness is easily adjustable from the front. If you have to adjust the height of the shoulder straps, you have to remove it entirely. Fortunately, now that both of our vehicles have LATCH, it's fairly easy. Installing without LATCH is a nightmare.

Regarding the "shelf life" or carseats... they actually do have an "expiration" date on them now.

Oh carseats -- the bain of the modern parents' existence!

Years ago, when we were conscientious with our first baby, we had the seat installation checked, but then found there were fewer and fewer places (like firestations) that would inspect your seat and installation anymore.

"Also, while it's good that there are these carseat inspection stations, it would be a lot more useful to make the carseats more easily installable"

Isn't that the truth! I always have mine put in at the firestation, but since I'm a SAHM it's a lot easier for me than others. But I wonder, if it takes two 200 lb firemen struggling to get my seat in, how in the world is a regular consumer supposed to do it?

"that you don't really know how old it is."

All (at least in the last 5-6 years) should have a sticker on the plastic stating which year and month it was made.

If it doesn't have a sticker, it's too old.

Go to the Seatcheck.org website for the locations of certified Child Passenger Safety technicians to help install your carseats or make sure they are installed correctly. This site also has each state's laws regarding child seats/boosters. For the rest, I go to Consumer Reports. I'm a moderator of a site for mostly moms, and one of the other moderators is a certified CPS technician. She highly recommends the Graco 5-point harness seats.

Vklip -- wow! The Seatcheck.org has so many more locations than National Safe Kids Campaign (which has 0 options in VA and DC and two one-day appointment only checkpoints in MD).

Of course, National Safe Kids Campaign in the organization touting the ridiculous statistic of 4 out of 5 carseats are installing improperly. What does "improperly" even mean? Why bother installing a seat if it's a foregone conclusion you'll do it wrong? NSKC rant over.

The problem with Britax car seats is that most of their ratings come from comfortableness and ease of use - if you look at the actual data on consumer reports, the Evenflo triumph seats come out far ahead in terms of safety, and they are $100 less. Having used both, i actually think the evenflo triumphs are easier to use than the britax - the wheel and lever system makes it easy to get the kids in and tightened, not matter how squirmy.

But really, the issue here, no matter what the NHTSA says about their new system, is that we do not have adequate safety testing for child seats here and that our seats, in the US, are remarkably less safe than seats sold in Europe. What's ironic is that we cannot use the safer European seats here because they won't be covered by insurance. Why? Because the NHTSA and other testing agencies do not have the right equipment to test the seats. European seats include an additional part, a foot that rests on the floor. The testing chairs that the US uses are not capable of supporting this foot, so we cannot use these seats. Rather than provide new testing equipment, the NHTSA is willing to let our children suffer. They also cannot test the chairs adequately at high speeds because their equipment is not equipped to do so. If you read through the lines of the Consumer Reports hullaballoo of last year - that was the major issue - CR tested seats at rates of speed more likely to be experienced in a crash (40 to 60mph), whereas the federal safety standards generally test at 25 - 30 mph. Personally, I want to know what happens at both higher and lower rates of speed and, until the Federal standards reflect that, will not be convinced of any of these standards. Do some research - compare our seats to European seats, our standards to theirs. It is truly frightening.

does anyone have experience with the Eddie Bauer portable car seat. We will be traveling to a place where car seats are not required, and few people use them. Children travel while sitting in adults' laps. I am considering getting the portable car seats for my kids to stick closer to what we are used to. Any thoughts/observations?

This is your CHILD we are talking about. Safety comes first. Actually Britax car seats are tested often (I believe every 5,000 seats are tested), so if there is a problem, it's found before 1 million are being recalled. It's also side and front impacted tested, unlike American car seats. Money is NOT an issue when it comes to my child's safety, and I will go without dining out or extra coffees before I put their safety in second place.

My pediatrician tells me that a child must be 4'9" before they are out of a booster. In VA, the law is 8 years old. My girls were in boosters until they were 10 years old (they're shrinky-dinks) and my son will be until he is 4'9". None will be 80lbs before they're 14, I think! My children don't complain and I am stunned at parents who cater to children who do.

To answer the booster seat question, my kids are 6 and 8, and both under 80 pounds. My six-year-old uses a booster with a back and my 8-year-old uses a booster without a back. These are to make them sit higher so the shoulder belt hits them in the right place.

We

Here are the top 2 rated car seats (convertible) from Consumer Reports.
Britax Roundabout
Evenflo Triumph 5

We have the Britax in our cars and the Evenflo in my inlaws. Having used both, I do find the Britax to be esier to use and much easier to install. I have installed both myself and taken to car seat inspections in Mont. County MD and received the seal of approval. The britax when installed with latch is very easy. The Evenflo was a bit harder and the straps seem to get tangled a lot easier. However, once in, they both do what they are supposed to do...restrain both of my kids in the car in a safe manner. That is what this all about. it is a shame how often I see a kid aged 3-4 being put in a car without even a booster seat. That is just a tragedy waiting to happen. The real goal here is to make sure everyone at all levels of education and income hav them and use them properly.

We have a booster seat for our 3 year old but not for our almost 6 year old. We bought it brand new because that seemed easier than tracking down a used one. I have to admit we were happy that we just had to buy a booster seat because infant seats are darned expensive. It boggles the mind. I think it was the EvenFlo brand but I am not sure. We didn't do a lot of research but I don't think we were aware that you needed to for a booster seat. Most of the seats basically looked the same so we went for one that seemed to be reasonably comfortable.

I don't want to compromise safety for my kids either, but a $250 car seat is simply not an option for most people. It isn't a matter of giving up dinner out or expensivve lattes either. We'd be without groceries or heat!

We have had mostly Graco car seats and boosters. We did have one Eddie Bauer seat (can't remember the model) and my girls have loved it. It seemed to keep them comfortable, even when they fell asleep.

We just got a Graco Turbo booster for my 6 year old and she adores it. She claims that it is the best car seat she has ever sat in. I will have to take her word for it.

We used a Graco SnugRide with our first and then moved her to a Britax (which we adore). The SnugRide has been used by about 4 different kids since my daughter so for #2 we bought the Britax infant seat (when I saw my sister-in-law hurl the seat down the stairs to the basement I decided "yeah, I'll get another seat"). My husband is PARANOID about safety and we have the financial wherewithal to spend $200 on a seat that will be used for a few months. Also, our kid outgrew the SnugRide in length (26") at 3 months, and the Britax baby seat (I think probably most infant seats now) are for use until 30", so it was worth it for us to get another couple months out of the infant seat - with the older kid, we had to carry around the infant seat to use in the stroller because at 3 months she couldn't sit upright.

We actually have some seat installers near us that won't take us because we live in the wrong town. We are lucky that we own a VW, because our local VW dealer has a certified technician on staff who will check all your seats for you -- even if you bring in a non-VW car (so he installed the seats in my husband's VW and my Honda).

For travel we bought a cheapie Cosco one at Target - I think we spend $40. It's fine for what it is, but it doesn't quite sit "right" in the cars and the straps don't get a tight fit to our kid. We may end up asking my parents (whom we travel to see most frequently) to buy a nicer car seat (evenflo, graco) so that we can be assured of having a decent fit when we go visit.

I think the Britax frenzy is mostly due to trendiness. There is a seat called the Fisher Price SafeVoyage: Britax shell, ugly cover, $129, no Britax label. It was discontinued because of lack of sales. I have a $40 Cosco Scenera. It's a piece of cake to use, and, most importantly, my child won't outgrow it in height quickly, so I can keep her in it and rear-facing until she's at least 2. It was suggested by the carseat board at BabyCenter, and those women are CRAZY about carseat safety. I was scared by the cheap price, but it's a great seat. Proper installation, extended rear-facing, and LATCH use make a MUCH bigger difference than Britax vs. Cosco.

Did anyone read the news article last week about the developmental delays that occur due to infants staying in their carseats too much. It was fascinating. They say that many young babies are carried in portable carriers that are then just attached to the carseat frame or the stroller frame, not allowing them sufficient time to be out stretching and allowing the head to form properly.

Cosco Scenara! That's our travel car seat. It's very lightweight and makes traveling via plane and schlepping through the airport a breeze. But for some reason it doesn't sit right in our backseats. What sort of car do you have atb?

Here in the midwest most people I know have Graco car seats. And most people with Britax car seats are of the yuppie-with-disposable-income persuasion.

Did anyone read the news article last week about the developmental delays that occur due to infants staying in their carseats too much.

Posted by: educated mom | February 4, 2008 03:29 PM

"Infants who sleep on their backs are more likely to develop a somewhat flattened skull, which also may throw off neck development. That, combined with the modern affinity for products that keep infants on their backs, can result in developmental delays that take thousands of dollars in therapy to correct."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-tummytime_bd27jan27,0,1540875.story?page=1

anny- The Scenera's in a Hyundai Elantra hatchback. So far, no problems.

My husband is a PT. One of his coworkers was doing a rotation in a pediatric PT clinic when a mother came in with a 1 year old who couldn't even roll over because she had been strapped in a carseat most of her life. Apparently the pediatrician has suggested the carseat for reflux, and the parents just kept her in it all the time. Some people are just that stupid.

I don't remember what brand our booster seats are, but they make her butt uncomfortable as she gains weight. I've been wondering about the advisability of cutting out foam padding to put under the slip cover (it's really just a cover over the hard plastic).

As for sleeping, I swear that child could sleep in the Chokey from Matilda.

I don't remember what brand our booster seats are, but they make her butt uncomfortable as she gains weight. I've been wondering about the advisability of cutting out foam padding to put under the slip cover (it's really just a cover over the hard plastic).

As for sleeping, I swear that child could sleep in the Chokey from Matilda.

For infant seats, we always used Britax. It has nothing to do with not being a Mid-Westerner or a being a yuppie, it has to to with the safety of my child.

I know a lot of women who spend scads more money on handbags and shoes than we ever spent on car seats!!

For infant seats, we always used Britax. It has nothing to do with not being a Mid-Westerner or a being a yuppie, it has to to with the safety of my child.

I know a lot of women who spend scads more money on handbags and shoes than we ever spent on car seats!!

Posted by: DadofTwo | February 5, 2008 02:02 PM

Hey, don't forget the scads of men who spend scads more on videogame systems, golf clubs, and football.