Car Seat Advice

Britax. They are more expensive, but stand the test of time. I love them. My kids, 5 and 7, are still in the 5 point harness.

I did a lot of research when we switched from the infant seat to a regular seat and everything I found points to the Britax brand. Just about any seat they make is a good choice. We got the Britax Marathon. Britax tends to be more expensive than other brands but when I bought mine, they got much higher safety rating than other seats so it was worth the extra money to me.
Good luck!

We went with the Alpha Omega Elite. I check the consumer report testing, and it rated one point below one of the Britax models (I believe it was the Roundabout). And the reason it ranked below was due to way it went in the car with the seatbelt. We use the latch system in our car, so we weren't concerned with that. And by the way, the Britax Marathon, ranked way lower than the Alpha Omega Elite according to consumer reports. The Alpha Omega Elite will go rear facing, front facing, and will become a booster seat, with a weight of up to 100lbs and height of 52". And it's about $160, about $100 less than the Britax. I will say that my only complaint is that it is difficult to adjust the straps rear facing, but the time the child is rear facing is a very short time compared to front facing. If you want to check out consumer reports, they do have a month to month membership for $6 a month.

Most any seat is safe as long as it is installed properly. It is a good idea to read the owners manual for your car (the child restraint section, of course!) before you purchase a seat. Many cars do not allow for a car seat to be installed in the middle of the seat with the LATCH system because of spacing. Before I go on anymore...what kind of car do you have, where are you thinking of placing his car seat and what price range are you wanting to stay in? I know a ton about car seats but I need some more information before I give ya more!!

Okay...adding more now that I know a bit more...

You probably know that putting a child restraint in the middle of a seat is best option but if you cannot do so then do NOT feel bad or like your child is less safe sitting outboard. Many car seats offer the true side impact foam like the previous poster stated. It is safest to keep your child rear facing for as long as the car seat allows even if the child is three and still rear facing, just as long as they are not over they weight limit and their head still has about an inch to grow to the shell of the seat at the top.

Again, like the previous poster stated, the Britax seats are amazing and offer lots of bells and whistles that many other seats do not. They also offer a rear facing tether that keeps the seat from bouncing around during a crash...can be good or bad, the true benifit of this has not been completely tested for comparison. I do not have a Britax so my seat does not allow for me to use the tether that is on there (that tether is there for forward facing only). We have the Evenflo Triumph Advance LX and that allows my son to rear face till his is 35 lbs and he will remain rear facing till he reaches that point. Many of the seats sold at wal mart or similar do not have the high weight limit, the tall top slots to allow room for growth and the nice safety extras. They do have the Graco ComfortSport and the Cosco Scenera that are great seats for the price. I had the Cosco to start with but it did not fit well in our car and I wanted something a little different. That seat is now in my moms van and I still feel just as safe with him in that one as I do the newer Evenflo.

You also have to make sure that you either use ONLY the LATCH system or ONLY the seatbelt...the two have not been crash tested to work together so just for saftey sake....don't do it. There are several ways to get a nice tight fit without using both. Second, use the locking clip that comes with the seat as a last resort as many people use them wrong and if you are in an accident they can pop off and become a dangerous flying object.
Sometimes a pool noodle is needed to tilt the seat to the required recling if the seat does not have a reclining base. You also need to know what kind of seatbelts your car is equipped with in order to get the best install...your owners manual will help you out with that and the manual to the car seat will help you figure out which way to install to get the fit you need.

Gosh, you are probably overwhelmed with all this...so...
Are you in the Mayfield area? I am NOT a certified tech but I do know what I am doing and if you need help getting a good install I can help out with that.

I used the Britax Roundabout for two of my children and will use it for my third. I have been very satisfied! I do suggest looking to purchase one online. I found mine much cheaper (even with shipping costs) than in a store.

The Britax Marathon is great! I used it from the time that my daughter was about 5 months old until she was a little more than 3. The only reason I took her out of it then was because I had another baby and I was ready to move him into the Britax and her into a booster. The Marathon is excellent! My mom also bought one for her car!

I have the Britax Regent for my 6yr old and the Sunshine Radian for my 4 yr old. The Britax is awesome for him because he is solidly built and needs a bit more room, the Radian is awesome for her because she has a slender build. When I was shopping for mine, I spent weeks researching all the carseats, reading anything I could get access to. I chose these because they will keep your little one in a 5pt harness well into the recommended ages and they both have the LATCH system. You can find great reviews on Amazon and on elitecarseats.com Just a heads up on the Britax, they tend to be large so you may want to find a place that will let you "try it on" in your car. I've heard people say Toys R Us will do that. So you may want to check them out. happy shopping :)

Hi, R.. I am a first-time mom with a five-month old daughter, but I researched this a lot before we chose one. Britax is hands-down the most highly rated carseat on any site. Their Marathon ismost popular. They are also the most expensive, but every review felt it was worth it. They are easy to use, clean, etc., they are safe, and they are apparently very comfortable. Many parents noted that their child used to cry whenever they put them in other carseats, but as soon as they got the Britax, they stopped. Also, the Marathon can be used until your child is up to 60 lbs, so it is a long-term investment.

i love britax car seats. both of my kids are in them. my five year old is in a regant, foreword facing from 22-85lbs. my 10 month old son is in a marathon, rear facing from 5-35lbs. after his first birthday sometime he will be in the same seat foreword facing up to 65 lbs. they are more expensive than many others, but offer the highest safety ratings and true side impact protection, which many do not. hop this helped.

I always liked the Eddie Bower car seats that you could turn around and do rear facing or foward facing. They will accommodate up to 80 lbs. Plus, you can tild it back for when they are smaller and tilt it upright when they get older. Eddie Bower always worked well for my two children.

My advice is to shop around. But make sure it fits your car before you buy; or ask about the stores car seat return policy. I bought a car seat that is both rear and forward facing, only to find it barely fit in my car. We made do until we bought a minivan. My youngest HATED the carrier car seat; screamed the most awful sound whenever we put him in it. That is when we bought the convertable seat, which he seemed to like better, but he still cried when we put him in it.
Good luck!

Check with your car insurance co. I have Farm Bureau and they have a program where all you pay for infant car seat strait for the factory is 20 dollars and then you also can purchase buster seats for like 10 dollars... they are great to have. Casco is the make of car seat they are tops in my book.

After doing a lot of research, I chose to get the Alpha Omega Elite the other day. It was on sale at Wal-Mart for $130. It practically takes a technical degree to figure out how to install the thing, but my 5 month old seems comfortable in it so far.

I'm sure you're going to get loads of feedback on this. Everyone's child is different and everyone has different needs. Do your research, do your research, do your research! My family looked at many different, high-end carseats after our 3 mo. daughter out grew her infant seat. She hated the seat as it just wasn't comfortable for her. We narrowed our choice to the top picks on Consumer Reports (at the time) and went with the one that our daughter was the happiest in. We ended up with the Britax Boulevard.

It is a larger seat and doesn't fit in my husband's car, but fits just fine in my van. We've had it for almost 3 years now and love it. It is easy to install and remove, the straps don't twist and have velcro to keep them out of the way when putting child in/out of the seat. The straps adjust very easily. The only hard part is cleaning the covers - getting them off/on is a serious challenge.

Good luck with your search!

We have a Britax Marathon and a Britax Roundabout and we LOVE THEM! They have received wonderful safety ratings and are the easiest to use. They are also,unfortunately, among the most expensive. But after doing the research and checking them out, it was well worth it. We will never buy anything else. However, if you have a small vehicle you should definitely go to Babies R Us and try installing it in the vehicle it will be in to be sure it fits.

My husband works in the car business and services polices cars. We asked on of the officers who does car seat saftey events and he said he would recommend the Alpha Omega. Thats been 3 years ago. Not sure if there is something better out know or not.

A. M.

Hi, I have a great car seat for my daughter that is now two. We got it for when she was still in the infant car seat. She just got to big for the baby seat that she was in. This car seat goes from a rear facing to a front facing to a booster seat all in one. It is very padded and looks and feels to be very comfortable. My daughter loves it. She never complains. It is an Eddie Bauer brand. It was about 189.99 at the time at Babies r us. We looked around for a while for a for the right one. This one has the best overall safety rating. I know that almost two hundred dollars is alot to pay but it is pretty much three car seats in one. I hope this helps.

i have the britax roundabout and i would reccommend it or any of the other britax seats. they have several to choose from. the are a little pricey but get the best ratings and are easy to use and seem comfortable. a feature i love is the 5 strap harness that has each side closing separately. it seemed a lot easier than the infant seat where you had to line both sides up and click it shut at the same time. hope this helps. M.

Hi Racheal, Both of my kids have ridden in the Evenflo Triumph. It goes great from rear facing to forward and very easy to use. It has a great crash test rating and is very plush with lots of styrofoam shock absorbing around the seat. It has several reclining positions for comfortable car naps. I've bough 2 of them. It is comparable to Britax in the testing and under 150.00.

I have the Britax Marathon convertable so it will last till my daughter is 65 pds. It is big, so depending on what you drive and how tall you are and how far back your front seats go, you may want to try one out in your car first. It is very safe and gives me peace of mind and my daughter is quite happy in it. Good luck!

Hey R., I am a member of Caldwell County Safe Kids and a CPST (Child Passenger Safety Technition). The right seat for your little one is the seat that fits your child, fits your vehicle and one that you will use properly everytime. So I recommend going to Babies R Us and trying them all out. Pick out a few you like then have them to help you carry them out to your car. They will be glad to help. That's what they are for. Just remember that he has to stay rear facing until he's at least 1 year old AND 20 pounds. They also recommend that he stays rear facing as long as possible because it is safest way to ride. Make sure he is in the rear, middle. That his seat doesn't move in any direction more than 1 inch (or at all) at the belt path. Make sure his buckles are snug be only to put two fingers under the chest plate. Make sure the chest plate is at nipple level and that the buckle at the crotch area is in the correct slot being close to the body, not under or to far away. If you'd like one of the CPST to check it after you install it we'd be glad to help. Just call Safe Kids of Caldwell County at ###-###-####. I also work at American Auto and will glad to help anytime. ###-###-#### hrs are 10-6) I'm available on Saturdays, when the office is closed. Also some of the Fire Dept. and some of the Police stations also has techs. Be safe and make sure everyone buckles up! If your not in Caldwell go online to http://www.usa.safekids.org/