Next Car Seat

I totaled my van this spring and was so very grateful for my 5 point harness carseats for my girls who are ages 4 & 5. I would highly recommend getting a car seat that has a 5 point harness up to a high weight.

D.,
Go to Lone Star Baby in Frisco or Dallas. They are a wealth of info for matching you with the safest seat available.

I am having the same dilemma!! I think I'm going to go with the basic evenflo model and worry about the booster seat later :)

Hi D.,
I'm sure you've gotten plenty responses but I recommend Britax. They are pricey but after much research we decided it was worth trying out. And I absolutely love it. Based on my experience with our infant carrier, there were certain things I wanted in the next car seat and the Britax had all the features. I have the Britax Diplomat because my back seat is not that roomy and it fits perfect in my car.

I like the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite convertible brand. This starts as a backwards infant seat to a frontfacing then a booster. It's has alot of cushion, is roomy, and reclines really well so I don't have to worry about my son's head falling forward. You can search it online. The price is not too expensive and if you can find a sale then you're golden. Good Luck!!

We love our Britax Boulevard. They automatically click when they straps are tight enough. Our twins seem comfortable, and they are highly safety rated. Good luck in your search.

As a mother of 4 sons, I have had my share of car seats. I am a huge consumer reports advocate and I have done my research. My husband and I are also crazy nuts about making sure the carseat when installed is 'immovable'. It is my personal opinion that BRITAX makes the best carseat hands-down. It is very easy to install on most vehicle make/model- and it is a snug fit. I have also had great success buying replacement pieces online at very reasonable costs. Our children are our most precious gift. It makes me NUTS when I find a friend or a stranger putting their kids in a carseat that is not secure! Good luck!

I would definitely keep her rearfacing, assuming she's under 35 pounds. Research has shown that children, even after they've reached the 1 year/20lbs milestone, are still MUCH safer in rear-facing seats. Even when the little ones have reached 1 year/20 lbs, their little necks are still not quite ready to handle the impact of a collision. Youtube has videos of what happens to children facing forward in impacts...scary stuff & definitely more than enough to make you want your baby rearfacing. Have I told you yet that you should keep her rearfacing? ;)

www.car-seat.org is a WONDERFUL resource for carseat information. When we were looking for seats for our little ones, I spent several days reading & asking questions there. I can't recommend it highly enough! And if you have any doubts about extended rearfacing, they'll help you out. :) Lots of carseat safety technicians post there, which I found to be very very helpful. Loads and loads of helpul info!

For our littlest, we got the Britax Boulevard, which allows rearfacing up to 35 pounds. It is also one of only two brands which allows rear-facing tethering. We also like the Recaro Signo, but our girl is a chuck & the Recaros seem best suited to more slender children. The Sunshine Kids Radian 65 or 80 are also awesome seats & ones we considered.

www.elitecarseats.com is where we ordered our seats, after having tried them out in local stores. They also have customer reviews for the seats. Very helpful!

It took several days of lots of reading & discussion, but it was totally worth it.

Good luck! Themost important thing I learned on
car-seat.org that the best carseat is one which fits your car & your child and is used correctly every time.

You've gotten tons of great info! We just bought our convertible car seat for our guy last week. I chose the Recaro Como. Recaro is a European brand that makes race car seats, seats for Porche and Ferrari and for the Air Force. I was going to get a Britax but the Recaro was rated much higher in safety standards. The US doesn't require as many safety standards as Europe does so that's why the ratings are different. We love the Como so far and it has Side Impact Protection which was a big deal to me. I agree with the person who suggested you go to Lone Star Baby. They're a wealth of knowledge and will demonstrate each seat for you. Good luck!

Are you still rear facing your daughter or have you turned her to forward facing? If she's forward facing, I would recommend the Graco Nautilus. We have our 3 (almost 4) year old in one and it's great! It's cheaper then a Britax, but it's still a really great seat that harnesses up to 65 pounds, plus it converts into a highback booster, then a backless booster when the time comes. Whenever our other son is big enough to foward face, we'll buy him one, too.

We bought a brand called Alpha Omega. It is a convertible seat and eventually we will be able to use it as a booster. Our son is 2 now and it has worked out great. We have been using it since he outgrew his infant rear facing seat. I hope this helps!

We love the Britax Marathon. It holds children up to 65 lbs. It is very sturdy, easy to install, and most of all comfortable for my boys. We got the denim cover because it is the only one that is 100% cotton. Makes a huge difference in these Texas summers. I thought my friends were crazy 4-1/2 years ago when they were buying this seat for so much money. After research on my own, I am SO GLAD we got it. I think it is crash tested at a different speed than US made car seats, but I don't remember. Whatever you choose, I would make sure it has the bicycle helmet type foam in it. Good luck!

PS I just read the response about not turning them around at a year. I highly second that. We didn't turn either of our boys around right at a year, and that was before some of the newer data showed how important it is.

If you haven't already bought one, diapers.com has several of the Britax ones for $50 off right now with free 2 day shipping. Plus if you google coupon codes for them, you can get additional $ off. We just purchased the Britax Boulevard Click & Safe from diapers.com - regular $329 - and got it for $250 with online coupon codes. Britax is ranked very high in consumer reports.

www.car-seat.org is a great resource - has lots of people who are certified installation technicians and they have dealt with tons of seats. They have written extensive reviews and compared seats. If you still have a question after researching, post it, you'll get some good feedback.

all seats meet a minimal safety standard - some seats come with more bells and whistles. You don't have to buy a britax to get a good seat - yes - they are popular. BRU (and I've heard other stores) will let you take the seats out to your vehicle to try them out. Put your child in the seat and see how it fits, not all seats fit kids perfectly.

Most kids will grow out of car seats by height before weight. Even though your child is 1 yr old, you will need to read the manual for your new car seat to see what the minimum weight is to turn forward facing - sometimes its 22 pounds (or something more than 20). The AAP is now recommending you keep kids RF even longer...Europe has been doing this for some time now. (not a requirement, just a recommendation).

If you buy used (even for backup seats), be sure you know their history and look at the expiration dates.

I used Graco Snugride and then the First Years True Fit. I am currently looking into getting Safety 1st Uptown or Avenue for secondary seats in a small/sport vehicle. You are welcome to message me about them, but they may or may not work for you.

Definitely shop around for prices. BRU seems to constantly have 15% off car seat (with coupon) lately. Amazon runs specials, albeebaby, diapers.com, etc. diapers.com has free return shipping if for some reason it doesn't work. They price match and also have some promo's (but sometimes they exclude certain brands).

Good luck in finding the best seat for your family!

I have a 17 month old son and we purchased the Evenflo Triumph Advance Premier Convertible Car Seat a couple of months ago and I love it! It is easy to install. It goes up to 35 pounds rear facing and 50 pounds forward facing. The straps are really neat because the are on a track so you dont have change slots when your child grows. it tightens on the side which is great when its rear facing. My son loves it!! go check it out on babiesrus.com

I have the Britax marathon and really like it. We have one for each vehicle because moving it is a hassle. It will work for my daughter I think until she weighs 65 lbs.

We have 2 Britax and a cheap costco booster for my oldest. BY FAR our Britaxes are better. Theyre expensive but definitely worth the money :) we kept ours in the baby carrier as long as we could then transfered them to their convertible seat. They seemed to be more comfortably.

Britax Britax Britax!
I would get the Marathon or Boulevard. Most of my friends put their kids in the Marathon. We have a Boulevard for our little one. I have only heard great things about them.
We also have a Roundabout for our spare. The problem with the Roundabout is that it is only good for kids under 40 inches. You will definitely still want little one in a car seat after he or she is 40 inches!

Ditto to what Lauren C said. We also bought the Evenflo Triumph Advance Premier Convertible Car Seat at BRU and have loved it. If you can't use LATCH, it is a bit of a pain to install, but most car seats are. You'll probably want to get some sort of head/neck pillow, though, as this one doesn't recline as much as an infant seat (if you're using it rear-facing). The harness is so easy to adjust, though!

We love our Britax Marathon, we have two and they are wonderful. My daughter is comfortable in it, it is easy to get in and out of the car, and they are easy to clean. Highly recommend the Britax seats. They are a little pricey but they are one of the safest car seats out there.

I love the Britax Roundabout

Both of our kids have the Britax Marathon and we love it. It can be used rear and forward facing for up to 65 pounds. It is supposed to be really safe b/c it meets the safety standards in England. It is a bit expensive but since you won't have to buy another one later it is well worth the money.

Britax is the number 1 rated car seat for safety. My daughter just purchased their new Britax Advocate which came out at the end of June. It has extra support for side impact. My one year old granddaughter loves it. She looks so comfortable in it. The downside is the price of $369, and I think I am going to have to purchase one for my car because it isn't as easy to switch between cars as her infant seat. Keeping our little angel as safe as possible is our number one priority though!

After our daughter turned 1, We bought a Graco Safeseat that reclined and it was awesome for when she fell asleep in it! I don't think they make our model anymore, but this one looks like it has similar features:
http://www.dimplesbaby.com/web/sitefiles/product.asp?sku=...

You definitely want one that has a 5 point harness.
http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/pages/4211/Car_Seat_Safety...

We bought the Evenflo Titan Elite. It's a great seat for a great price, and it's convertible. I bought mine new on Ebay for $65, but the average price is about $99.

Check out www.elitecarseats.com. you can compare different seats side by side or call a customer service person to walk you through your choices. You can order a few seats to try in your car and see what fits your child. Then return the ones don't want for $5 shipping - can't beat the deal! you will love the site and the service!!

I will agree with the not turning the baby around just yet. With my first, we turned him around at 14 months and our second at 18 months. She was ready to see the world at that point. As for carseats, we have the Britax Decathlon for my almost 2 year old and my 3 1/2 year old is in a Graco Nautilus. Both are very easy to install and have the 5 point harness until 65 lbs. which I think is VERY important. The Nautilus is then belt positioning booster and then a backless booster until 100lbs. My little guy looks very comfortable in it and it has a cupholder and two "cubbies" for him to stash toys in. The Britax keeps my little girl's head from drooping when she falls asleep, so she looks very comfy in it too. Loved how it is ranked high on consumer reports.

Happy hunting.

Spend the money for a good one. Your child will be in this the next 4 years. I wish I had bought a nicer one that reclines. It would have been nice for road trips or even everyday around the town. I hate the head bob.

We got my son the Britax Regent. He loves it!!! It's rated 22-80 lbs, and it's forward facing. It's a seat he will grow with, and still be super comfy (and safe!)