Car Seats

[Angie]

I've read a lot on keeping them rear facing as long as possible. That was the main reason I stumbled upon the One4Life. It says its rated for up to 50 lbs rear facing vs the BLVD is rated to 40 lbs.

I haven't read much on Diono, so I'll do that this evening

I should make sure to mention - the One4Life wasn't an option five years ago when we got our last seat. If it does 50 lbs RF, that's really good, and should definitely be looked into. I can see if I can find a site that isn't ads comparing the two and post it - it sounds like a great option. That would be higher than the Diono (last I knew, they went to 45 lbs RF). My children were teeny tiny, so we never had to worry about hitting the weight limit RF (my 6.5 year old is still not 50 lbs), but that is hard to predict when you're first buying!

 

[CycloneErik]

Britax stuff was great for me to forget to put my kids in.

This made the Internet worthwhile today.

 

[Angie]

Good point on the car. Our Sienna has the removable middle seat, so it's not installed often to make access to the rear seats easier. So the car doesn't have a cup holder accessible from the car seat. But yes, it isn't something you worry about until they're older.

Oh man, our rear seats are pretty much useless since we still have that middle seat in there. You have to climb in through the back. We have just kept the middle seat in there because sometimes we'll need it for carpool, but I hate it.

 

[Clonefan32]

I'm more looking forward to our final child being done with daycare/preschool later this year! If anyone has recommendations for best model Lambo/Ferrari to get to spend those savings on TIA!

My MIL does daycare for our kids. I often tell her I don't care what happens in that house between drop off and pick up so long as it continues to be free.

 

[Angie]

I've read a lot on keeping them rear facing as long as possible. That was the main reason I stumbled upon the One4Life. It says its rated for up to 50 lbs rear facing vs the BLVD is rated to 40 lbs.

I haven't read much on Diono, so I'll do that this evening

OK, looking at this - I don't think you can go wrong between the two:

Diono Radian 3QX and 3QXT All-In-One Convertible Car Seat Review - Experienced Mommy

The Diono Radian 3QX and 3QXT car seats are new to the market and ready to impress. Find out all of the features and how they compare to other brands.

www.experiencedmommy.com

 

[cyfan92]

OK, looking at this - I don't think you can go wrong between the two:

Diono Radian 3QX and 3QXT All-In-One Convertible Car Seat Review - Experienced Mommy

The Diono Radian 3QX and 3QXT car seats are new to the market and ready to impress. Find out all of the features and how they compare to other brands.

www.experiencedmommy.com

 

[Angie]

Anytime! I'm (fairly obviously) passionate about car seat safety. Mostly because I am a crap-ass driver, so I want to make sure my kids are as safe as humanly possible. The car is the most likely place for an accident to happen statistically, so I just try to mitigate it as much as I can.

 

[AgronAlum]

We’ve had a combo of Chico and Graco stuff over the years along with an Eddie Bauer I think with my oldest. Watch the size. We have the 3 and ones and a couple boosters. The retractable seatbelt style clips are waaaay easier when swapping them out.

Look ahead at what stroller you like before buying a car seat. The attachments are not interchangeable between brands.

Also, expensive doesn’t mean better and they all meet the same safety standards. People, including myself, tend to buy expensive with the first kid and then realize you don’t need to spend that much when the second or third come along. That goes for car seats, furniture, diapers, formula, etc. The target brand is your friend. We have a lot of useless **** in our house that my wife just had to have.

I had a kid previous to my wife so I kind of knew better but I got nowhere. It seems to be calming down now that the third one is coming.

 

[CloneJD]

Just remember, your children should not ride in the front seat of your vehicle until they are 24.

 

[IcSyU]

There are some brands like Clek that are, like, $500 and even safer, but the Britax and Dionos are (or at least were a few years ago) the best mid-price with highest safety ratings.

Thank you! I could not remember what the hell car seats we had.

that are, like, $500

God damn you. There's a reminder I didn't need.

Whatever my wife tells me we are buying.

This is on point...and how point two was arrived at.


I'm confident after installing multiple different brands that all of them are a PITA and require copious amounts of alcohol and swearing.

 

[motorcy90]

Should have no problems in our Odyssey. Probably should look to see if it will fit in my '16 Accord

we are both on the tall side myself 6'5" and her 5'11" my previous truck was just an extended cab so having the car seat on the passenger side there was no room up front. then she had a Sonata that was doable for trips in town but nothing else. so Truck got traded for a new SUV, even though I wanted a minivan..

 

[CycloneErik]

Thank you! I could not remember what the hell car seats we had.

God damn you. There's a reminder I didn't need.

This is on point...and how point two was arrived at.


I'm confident after installing multiple different brands that all of them are a PITA and require copious amounts of alcohol and swearing.

I'm not very handy, but our Boulevard was really easy.

Our original rear-facing seat was not. A neighbor of mine, really smart ME guy that I had as a student years before, tried to help me. It went badly for both of us at the time, but I suspect that he and his girlfriend (now wife) waited a little longer, so maybe it worked out.

 

[motorcy90]

so the monster car seat is a Safety 1st Advance EX 65. and I mean it is huge for a seat.

 

[cowgirl836]

Evenflo, Maker of the “Big Kid” Booster Seat, Put Profits Over Child Safety

Internal video of side-impact tests shows that children could be injured or killed in Evenflo's “Big Kid” booster seats. But the company continued to market them as “side-impact tested.”

www.propublica.org

Congressional Investigation Finds Many Booster Seat Makers “Endangered” Children’s Lives After Review of “Meaningless Safety Testing”

The congressional subcommittee launched its inquiry in response to a ProPublica investigation, finding several companies created tests that were “nearly impossible to fail.” Now it’s asking state and federal regulators to investigate too.

www.propublica.org

It was side testing that some companies (like Evenflo and Graco) were not doing well in. This was primarily around boosters but may want to check that what you pick has passed testing outside of the US.

 

[Angie]

Evenflo, Maker of the “Big Kid” Booster Seat, Put Profits Over Child Safety

Internal video of side-impact tests shows that children could be injured or killed in Evenflo's “Big Kid” booster seats. But the company continued to market them as “side-impact tested.”

www.propublica.org

Congressional Investigation Finds Many Booster Seat Makers “Endangered” Children’s Lives After Review of “Meaningless Safety Testing”

The congressional subcommittee launched its inquiry in response to a ProPublica investigation, finding several companies created tests that were “nearly impossible to fail.” Now it’s asking state and federal regulators to investigate too.

www.propublica.org

It was side testing that some companies (like Evenflo and Graco) were not doing well in. This was primarily around boosters but may want to check that what you pick has passed testing outside of the US.

Britax, Diono, and Clek all have those metal frames, which do SO much better in that testing!

 

[cowgirl836]

Britax, Diono, and Clek all have those metal frames, which do SO much better in that testing!

Britax got nailed in there too, further down but the rep claims it was for a 10 yr old booster style. Made it seem like it wasn't representative of current.

 

[Angie]

Britax got nailed in there too, further down but the rep claims it was for a 10 yr old booster style. Made it seem like it wasn't representative of current.

Oh man, I hadn't seen that (scrolling on phone) - that's too bad.

 

[cowgirl836]

Oh man, I hadn't seen that (scrolling on phone) - that's too bad.

I had felt pretty smug about my choices until I saw that! It was for the booster though and we aren't quite to that point so I'll look again when we need to pick. I'll reiterate your point to pick based on weight because kids usually hit that first. I think our Britax goes to 40....maybe 45? Weight had been the con on those for me. Our 2.5 yr old is just at 30lbs though so he should be able to stay RF til 3 easy. If you have bigger kids, that gets harder.

 

[CycloneErik]

I had felt pretty smug about my choices until I saw that! It was for the booster though and we aren't quite to that point so I'll look again when we need to pick. I'll reiterate your point to pick based on weight because kids usually hit that first. I think our Britax goes to 40....maybe 45? Weight had been the con on those for me. Our 2.5 yr old is just at 30lbs though so he should be able to stay RF til 3 easy. If you have bigger kids, that gets harder.

Car seats make me glad to have a petite kid.

 

[jsb]

After taking into account safety, I’d consider ease of cleaning before cup holders.