Seeking Recommendation on Forward Facing Toodler Seat

I've always gone to comsumerreports.com. You can access the car seat reviews without paying to sign up. I've always followed those.

Good luck, J.

The Britax Roundabout has one of the best safety ratings and is amongst the lightest and smallest of the Britax carseats. I've found ir pretty simple to move around and highly recommend it.

I love my SUNSHINE KIDS RADIAN 80 car seat. We have two of them. It fits kids from 5-80 lbs. with a 5 point harness and it's made out of steel.

It's really easy to put in the car and it's narrow but it is heavy which makes it feel much safer. THe bottom seat folds up and straps down and has a carrying strap so that you can take it for traveling.

I've only seen it online. It's much smaller than the Britax Regent and it is a very high quality seat. Definitely worth the money.

M.

Sit'n'Stroll is great for travel. It is a car seat/stroller. I have lost track of the people who have looked longingly at ours, and I don't know how we could have done without it while traveling.

Having said that, you might want to get one of the ones below for every day use because the Sit'n'Stroll you have to strap in with the seat belt each time you use it. This isn't bad when traveling because you want to easily move from car to car (hard to do with most car seats that can take a bit of time to install) and to use the seat as a stroller at the airport (gate check it in a bag you can get from their website) and while out and about on vacation. We tried to use it for everyday at home but the constant restrapping got annoying.

I am cheap as they get and I am happy I bought it, in addition to the regular car seats.

Hi D.,
Consumer reports and the Baby Bargain book will both give you an idea of which are the best seats for your needs. We had the Britax Roundabout - which we loved. But there are also good less expensive models listed on Consumer Reports. We had the Britax for everyday and we bought a less expensive model (but equally safe) for my mother's car. (Target has a good selection).

We have been flying to New York twice a year since my son was 6 months old (he's almost 6 now and has been on over 20 plane rides) and we have never taken the car seat with us on the plane. We either rented one with our rental car or my mother in law borrowed one from her friends who have grandchildren. Once my son hit 40 pounds my mother in law bought her own booster seat (for about $30) so we use that when we go home. Buying or renting a seat on the other end may be easier for you than trying to travel with a bulky seat. Your daughter is going to be using this seat for at least the next 3 years and if you are traveling home to family a lot, it may be worth the investment to have a seat at home with your parents.

Hope this helps! Good luck with your search!

Hi,

We travel quite a bit from the west coast to the east coast as well as shorter flights (~3-4x yr). I always travel with my Britax Decathalon (which is heavy and big) but we got the carry-bag with wheels which makes transporting it through the airport easy. It fits in the plane (737, 757, 767, and 777s) in my Dad's full size pickup, my sisters little VW and my mother-in-laws SUV. I find it best to check luggage at the curb and then I am just left with the stroller, my son's (he is 23 months) diaper bag (which is a backpack), his stroller and a wheeled bag carrying his car seat which is do-able for 1 person although easier with 2 (I have flown with him alone on many occasions).