Need Advice About Rear and Forward Facing Car Seat

My kids love their Britax Marathon carseats. They are convertable and go from a 5 lb kid to a 65 lb kid. They are low profile on the sides and high up so the kids have a very nice view out the windows. They sleep, eat and play in their seats and hardly ever complain. They are expensive but out of all the things I buy for my kids the carseat is the highest priority for us. They were number one with Consumer Reports even with the 70 mile an hour test mistake. You won't find a better constructed or easier to use carseat.

I've found the Cosco and Evenflo have flimsy buckles and twisty straps. You get what you pay for here.

1 mom found this helpful

I did much research, I didn’t feel that I needed to spend over $200 for a car seat. I looked up car seat safety/reviews. They also have a website out there that consumers can report which seats fits better with a certain car( I can try to find this if you cant find it). During my research I came to the conclusion that all car seats are pretty much the same and NONE of them are going to completely prevent a child from serious harm/death. Britax's marketing strategies are excellent. The reviews for those, and the Evenflo Triumph(my purchase) are on the same level and over $100 difference. I choose the Trimph because of the color and style, there are many other choices to choose from that dont cost and arm and a leg, but just make sure you do some research on reviews.
I think everyone keeps buying the Britax or the other more expensive ones(I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS THE ONLY REASON!), for the same reasons teenagers choose to wear the name brand clothing: Status.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi R., i am actually also in the process of looking for a new car seat my son is seven and half months and is about the same height and around nineteen pounds little chunk... anyway alot of the research and consumer reports all suggest the Britax Roundabout which is a convertable seat rear facing up to i believe thirty three pounds and forward to forty. the recommendation and i beleive ohio law is rear facing til twenty pounds and at least one year of age. my ob recommended a book called baby bargains when we first found out we were pregnant and it does alot of ratings and comparisons, i think this car seat was the only one with an A rating in the convertable category. most places sell it for around 220 i believe and i think it is what i am going to get. it is so hard to know if it is worth the extra money but it has gotten quite a few good reviews. best wishes, let me know what you end up with....

E.

If your primary goal is safety, then the studies show that the best thing to go is let her stay rear-facing (RF) for as long as possible. The sites below explain why in great detail (last 3 links), but what absolutely sold me was a mom's video (1st link):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=9316
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

Many of the Britax seats have a RF weight limit of 35 lbs, and I'd recommend just that: buy a car seat w/ a 5-pt harness that will go to 35 lbs RF, and then to 65 lbs FF **w/ the 5-pt harness & tether**. I know that Britax (Boulevard, Decathalon) and Sunshine Kids (Radian) both have seats that convert from RF to FF w/ harness for kids up to 65 lbs FF. This is NOT about status -- I just haven't seen other carseats that allow you to use the 5-pt harness with a child over 40 lbs. The Sunshine Kids and Britax brands offer this ability in a convertible seat (one that can RF and FF). There are other brands that allow for harness over 40 lbs but these can go forward facing only (Safeguard, Recaro, Britax, Radian). I didn't buy my carseat because it was a Britax - I bought it because it was easy to install correctly in my car, easy to get my kids in and out, very easy to adjust to the right fit for my kids without having to disassemble the whole carseat, and was one of the only ones with great side-impact protection and a 5-pt harness & tether that held kids 40-65 lbs.

Also, don't let the prices scare you -- you will use this seat for MANY years to come. It cracks me up that people aren't willing to spend more than $50 or $100 on a carseat but those same people will think nothing of dropping that much or more on a cute holiday outfit or a winter coat that will barely last a year. A harnessed seat that goes up to 65 lbs will last for YEARS, and protect your child every time they're in the car.

My DD is 4.5 yrs old (42 lbs & tall for her age - people think she's 6 yrs old), and she's FF in a Britax Boulevard after outgrowing her Britax Advantage which only went to 40 lbs harnessed. The Boulevard will easily last us 2-3 more years (probably more), and it is SUCH a user-friendly seat (harness straps don't tangle, shoulder straps that are infinitely adjustable w/ knob, side-impact head protection, easy to route seatbelt or use LATCH). Plus, if you divide the price by the number of years you'll be using this seat, it's VERY reasonably priced considering the greatly increased safety a 5pt harness provides.

And yes - I'm one of those parents who will be letting my 6 or 7 yr old ride safely & comfortably in car seat w/ a 5-pt harness (not "stuffing them into" one, thank you very much!). :)

We just bought a Britax Roundabout and LOVE it. It is super easy to install and will accommodate up to 40 pounds I believe. We made the decision because it was highly recommended by so many people and was also the top pick in the book 'Baby Bargains', which analyzes all the various baby products out there and makes recommendations based on their safety and value.

The Britax has a decathlon and a marathon version that go up to higher weight limits, but seriously, will you be stuffing a 65 pound 7 year old into a 5-point harness? I doubt it! The Roundabout is a great model to use until your child is in a booster, in my opinion.

I loved the 5 point harness ones! No making the kid "duck" under a bar coming down or anything. If you get one that lackes instead of the ones that you kind of slide the strape in to, it prevents the child from getting out...as easily. The 5 point harness is also prove to be more safe than the other seats. I had a middle of the road price one, I don't know/remember the exact price because it was a gift. It lasted the whole time he was in that particular stage (until he was about 3 1/2 and I moved him into a more boaster type car seat with a full back & seat belt as strap). And really the only reason we switched a little early was because the car seat, with child on board unfortunately, had been in two minor car accidents and it's suggested to destroy them in the instance of a car accident. It didn't have any signs of weakness or damage, and was still in perfect shape. My parents and in laws also had a 5 point harness car seat for him, both of those were different brands and are now being used by my sons half brother and cousin. His grandmothers each had him multiple days of week so they got their use. Basically saying, I LOVE the 5 point harness type seat. (Its like the same as the infant seat type strapes) and the brande does not REALLY matter. I was exposed to 3 different brands and loved all three.

We are getting ready to purchase the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite, it does rear facing, forward facing, and booster seat, I believe it goes up to 40 pounds. My friend got it for her daughter at 9 months, as she was too long for her infant carrier as well, and her daughter loves it. Word of advice is to be very specific in reading the directions when installing it, otherwise it is very difficult!

go on and look up the car seat find out about it. then go and view it try it out make sure it easy for you to use and fits them well. i got one for $40 for my husband car and it is great i actually like it more than the one we spent $150 on for my car. that is my suggestion hope it is helpful

Try looking online for a Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe. It is made by Britax for Fisher Price so you get the quality and safety features without the high Britax price tag. You can find them at several places online with no tax/free shipping. We have them for both of our cars and have been really happy with it.

The NEW (not recalled) Consumer Reports recommends the Britax Roundabout at $220 as the best, but the Evenflo Triumph 5 came in second and at $100 LESS ($120) seems a better buy. We bought the older model Triumph 5 (first in class last year) as a display model from Babies-R-Them for $90 after tax. The Triumph is way over engineered, but exceedingly safe and has gotten so many compliments from all my girlfriends. Everyone I know, including us, that has one HATES the strap design when the seat is rear-facing tho as it's difficult to maneuver. However, if your daughter is going to be fwd facing soon, that's not something I would worry about.

Btw, the Britax Marathon came in WORST in class.

The Alpha Omega Elite works great. It's very easy to adjust the straps (you don't have to take the whole thing apart, you can just slide the straps up and down according to the child's height). If you have a Costco membership they have this brand there for only $112 or so. This same car seat is $298 at Eddie Bauer and Babies R Us. Hope this helps!

my sister in law used an evenflow triumph and it fell apart when she washed it. very unsafe. i recommend a britax marathon. it will accommodate 65 lbs. and a 16 inch shoulder to bottom hight. it is heavy, but easy to install and adjust, and always rated very safe. i have had one for almost 4 years and now use it for my second child. i would recommend any britax.

I had the same problem. My daughter is tall and thin. We just bought her an Evenflo Triumph. It's $129. at Babies R Us and everywhere else you look. She seems to love it. She'll even sleep in the car, something she wouldn't do before. It pivots on the base to allow for more room for the driver when rear facing. It's super comfortable, safe and has lots of padding. Really easy to use. It's convertible up to 50 lbs, 10 lbs more than most.

I didn't read all the replies but if you want to check out Consumer Reports and do not have a subscription, just go to your library, they carry about 2 years worth of back issues.

Check out consumer report's website. They test carseats--I trust them, we bought ours (evenflo triump) because it tested the best when our son needed a convertable carseat.
Good luck!

I have 2 Graco car seats that go from 5lbs to 40 lbs. I believe one was about $85 and the other $95. My mother also has one for my oldest daughter (2.5 yrs)and paid about $90. They are all Graco but different models and colors. I think for safety purposes they are the best. They have the styrofoam under the child's behind and also on the side head rest to protect against side collisions. You might look on Consumer Reports. I used to have a baby products consumer reports but it would be almost 3 years old. I think once you get over $100 you are just buying the name. Also, I have used these seats forward and rear facing and both seem to be comfortable for the child, easy to install correctly and are easy to get the child in and out of the car. They are all 5-point restraints. Hope this helps. It helped me to make the decision to go to a child specialty store like Babies R Us and talk to a worker. They are trained to know the seats, which ones are good and how to use them. You can practice using them there too.

I had the same problem with my daughter and after a ton of research I bought the Evenflo Triumph Advance DLX Convertible Car Seat. It was $150 at Babies R Us. I highly recommend it!

Hi R. I'm not sure where you live. At the Toledo hospital there's a program called K.I.S.S. They have different carseats that aren't to expensive and they put the carseat in your car for you and make sure it's the correct one for your daughter. It just takes some of your time to have it done. Here's the number ###-###-#### just let them know you would like to purchase a carseat.

i have this one and love it. i have tried others but so far this is my favorite.

Evenflo Triumph Advance Premier Convertible Car Seat - Hampton Park
by: Evenflo
With state-of-the-art FitRight technology to easily adjust the seat harness for the growing child, this Evenflo Triumph Advance Premier Convertible Car Seat in Hampton Park print includes a removable body pillow that provides a custom...(read more)

Manufacturer's Age: Birth and up

Our Recommended Age: Birth and up (details)

R.,

Take a look at seatcheck.org as well as www.nhtsa.gov.

Seatcheck has a one stop shopping list of recalled seats as well as a listing of places you can go to have your seat installed properly. nhtsa is the national highway transportation safety association. They have a rather useful listing of car seats based on the ease of use.
I am a big researcher, and when it comes to my kids you can never be too safe. Good luck finding the right seat for you and that growing baby.

I LOVE my Britax Roundabout! It is so easy to install and use. It is worth the money! I did not buy it for the status, just for the ease of use, the staps don't get twisted and it is so easy to install. I also liked the idea that it has the styrofoam in it. I am sure that other companies do the same now, but not when I had to buy mine a few years ago.

I have read all the responses and I think that they are all very good. BUT, I have a different suggestion and it's something that I did with my 3rd child. I went to Babies R Us and talked to a sales associate. She suggested that I take a look at the car seats they had and PUT MY SON IN THEM. At Babies R Us the products aren't tied down so you can look at them more closely. So, that's exactly what I did. I put him in several to see how they "fit" him and how comfortable he seemed in them. I chose my seat based on that and by what would fit my needs. There isn't a carseat anywhere on the market that will 100% insure complete safety of your child in an accident. But, according to the sales associate I spoke with, all carseats are tested and re-tested for safety. If it isn't safe, they don't sell it. I would advise against buying a seat for the name only. If you spend big bucks on a carseat that your daughter isn't comfortable in or is difficult for you to maneuver, what's the point? I hope this helps.

I have a Graco 3 in 1! I love it! It's a regular carseat (not the carrier). It fits the newborn, infant and turns itself into a toddler booster (which is what I"m using it for now). It's the most convenient carseat I know of. I believe my friends got it for me from Walmart. I'm sure the prices have gone up and it looks slightly different, but that is what I'd recommend!!