Looking for a New Car Seat

K.

Attach you can find the 2008 child safety seat ease of use ratings

http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/nhtsa_eou/info.jsp?type=all

I have the deluxe highback booster from Eddie Bauer, is for babies from 22 pounds up to kids of 100 pounds! and the height is up to 52 inches...so i guess will be the last one you need to buy.

I hope the information is usefull.

H.
PS: i have a 10 month old boy.

Hi K. - I'm a Britax owner of 2 car seats and am having my second child in March. While I realize the expense of Britax, there's nothing out there that compares from a safety perspective so it's worth the money to me......so I'm going Britax again for my next baby. I cannot help but suggest go that route! Good luck!

Hi K.,
We really liked the Graco Comfortsport. It lasted us a long time and is very comfortable.
We also had a Britax Marathon convertable car seat. It is also very comfortable. Worth the money. There is a great choice of fabrics for this one as well.
Good luck hunting.
W.

I purchased a Recaro Signo for my 13-month-old from hipmonkey.com and we love it! He can stay rear-facing (safer than forward facing) until he weighs 35 pounds and the seat will last until he weighs 70 pounds. Check out the site and good luck!

I have 3 kids (11,7,& 2) and have bought several car seats over the years. The absolute best one I found was Britax. It high safety ratings, is easy to install, easy to buckle and easy to clean. It is a little more expensive than some of the others but well worth it.

Hi K., I know that you have several responses but thought I would put my 2cents in anyway. I went with the Eddie Bauer High Back Booster Seat. It is a car seat that changes into a booster when the time is right. They are available at Target and are a decent price. This is my 3rd child, and last, so I wanted something that would last for a while w/o having to purchase another seat. A friend of mine had this same seat and just loved it so I decided to purchase one and I also fell in love with it. You can go to target.com and check out the different seats by Eddie Bauer, there is even a 3 in 1 booster that they have. Hope this is helpful!!

I am in the same boat as you, my little girl just turned one last week. We are going to purchase the Britax Marathon, as it has a five point harness and will work for her up to 65 lbs. Let us know what you decide.

Britax Marathon is a great seat and well worth the money. My youngest son has been in it since he was 1 and he still has plenty of room to grow in to it. I have several friends with 4 year olds still in the seat. I am not interested in moving him to a booster yet as he pulls the belt behind his head and he is not ready.

We just bought the Britax and we love it.

K. -

I know you have already received several responses but I felt compelled to respond as I have just purchased two new convertible seats for our son who turned one last Friday. I went to Consumer Reports and they had the Britax Roundabout ranked as number 1 but following in a very close second was the Evenflo Triumph Advance. The Evenflo seat runs about half the price of the Britax and the only major difference I could find was the ease of use of the latch system. The Evenflo Triumph goes up to 50 lbs. (comparable to a Britax). We decided to purchase two Evenflo seats and it ended up costing less than just the one Britax seat. Just thought I would pass along my two cents worth....

A.

Britax Decathalon for sure! I agree with the other post that the push button makes it harder for older curious kids to try to tighten or loosen the harness. Britax seats cost more, but they're always at the top of the list for safety, so to me that plus the fact that the Roundabout can be used up to 65 lbs make it well worth the extra $$$. I'm not one who goes for many high-cost kid items, either. Many of my 3 yr old daughter's clothes come from resale shops, ebay & clearance racks. Safety is one of the few things that I consider important enough to spend more on, though. Hope this helps!

If you are looking to buy only one more seat, you need one that converts into a booster. I had the Evenflo Triumph, but still had to buy a booster seat a few weeks ago when my daughter was 40 inches tall. The Britax Roundabout and Marathon are also not booster seats. If you want a Britax booster, the Regent has a harness and converts into a booster. I just bought the Evenflo Chase for my daughter. It's a good seat. If you have tons of money, the Britax seats are the most user-friendly, but we couldn't pay that much. The Triumph's safety ratings are just as good as the Britax, but the Britax is easier to use. I felt good about the Chase because my other Evenflo was very safe. Honestly, if money were unlimited, I'd probably get the Britax!

We have a Britax Regent and we love it. My brother and his wife have the Frontier and they love it, as well. I think someone mentioned the Britax Roundabout in an earlier post, but be aware that model only goes up to 40 pounds and 40 inches or less in height. Britax has a great website that allows you to put in your childs measurements and they will calculate what car seat models are appropriate for your child.

http://www.britaxusa.com/products/default.aspx

Hope this helps!

I would recommend the Britax 5 point harness seat. I have one for my six year old and one for my five year old. They are little more expensive, but way safer than the traditional booster seats that just sit on the seat. They have the latch system on them, and use can use them until your child is ready to sit in the without anything.

As others have already said, Britax. I would get the Regent for the longest use. It goes to 80 lbs in harness. The Frontiere goes to 80 lbs harness and 100 lbs booster but it's for age 2 and up. I also have the Boulevard but it only goes to 65 lbs in harness and I think it's really not made for a larger child as the belt at the crotch doesn't move down.

We were using boosters and I felt that my girls (ages 4 and 5) were not safe in them. They would slump down and move the belt...I was concerned that in an accident they would be injured. I had also read that sometimes seatbelts fail (and I've had it happen to me a few times) and the child is thrown from the seat and sometimes from the vehicle. So, we bought the Britax Regent. Three months later we were in a rollover. I do believe that my girls would have very possibly died, hung by the seatbelt or thrown from their seats, if they were in boosters. They didn't even have bruises from their harnesses, they were completely fine.

Stay safe,
S., mom to 5, all using Britax

Hi K.,
I personally love my Britax Decathlon (supports form 5lbs to 65lbs). I like it better than other Britax carseats because you have push a button to release the belt compared to some others where it's a tab you pull or push. I know some kids who can pull on the tab and lean forward and get themselves loose. So that depends on how "curious" your child is.

What I love about Britax carseats in general are it's very easy to adjust so if your kid wears a jacket one day and t-shirt the next day, it's easy to get him in and out. Also if you ever have to move the carseat from one car to another it's super easy to install.

If you could keep your child rear facing as long as possible it's best. I know they say 1 year old and at least 21lbs to face him forward but I kept my son facing backwards until he was 25lbs and 18 months, at which point he didn't want to face backwards.

One last recommendation is to buy is locally and install it in your car. Make sure that you could still out of your rearview mirror. Birtax carseats tend to be large and I have read some peopl complaining that they can't see because the carseat gets in the way.

You will use this carseat for at least 4 to 5 years so it's good to get the one you like and that's rated safe for the child. Every carseat has an expiration date as well (but I think it's long like 7 years) due to plastic degradation.

Good luck finding one!

Britax...its worth every penny!!!

Margaret :)

You can't go wrong with the britax marathon! Comfy and awesome! Great safety ratings and I think you can sit your little one in it up to 50 pounds. www.britax.com should have the answers you seek! Good luck!

I like the Nautilus. I bought it as an upgrade for my 4 year old but wanted a 5pt harness, this one is rated to 60 or 65 lbs. then it can be used as a booster until 100lbs. It's nice with wipeable fabric (light grey Matrix or Bravo) great cupholder and some cool storage space. I can't wait to upgrade my daughter to this same seat! It gets great reviews and is on Amazon for $129 with free shipping http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Nautilus-Car-Seat-Matrix/dp/B...

Graco makes a new carseat called the Nautilus 3 in 1. It allows your child to wear the 5 point harness up to 65 pounds, then converts to a booster and converts to a backless booster as well. I bought this carseat a couple of months ago and love it and my four year old loves it as well. It has a cup holder and little cubbies on each side that they can store things in. A much cheaper option than the Britax and has excellent reviews.

I love our Britax Roundabout. You can sometimes get them used on Craigslist. I got mine on Clearance at Target-- keep your eye open for sales :)

I would recommed the "Graco Nautilus". We have a 15 month old and have been very happy with this carseat. It goes from 20lbs forward facing to 100lbs booster seat. We bought it at Babies R Us.

We have a Britax marathon for my daughter. It goes all the way to 60 pounds. There is also the Sunshine Radian that I have heard many good things for smaller cars.

If you need a bit cheaper option we have a safety first convertible and have been using them for the past three years. I absolutley love it.

We have the Britax carseat and absolutely love it! It's a little more expensive than others; but it offers great safety ratings and our DD will be able to use it until she's out of carseats / boosters!