Recommendations for Car Seat for 20-Month-old

After doing a ton of research on safety and price, we went with the Evenflo Triumph Advance. It is a convertible carseat that sits rear-facing from 5 to 35 lbs, and forward-facing from 20 to 50 lbs. It's cover can come off to wash, and it has a cup-holder on the side for the child.
Most importantly, it received the same exact safety ratings (tying for 1st place with Britax), but is $60 cheaper!!
Hope this helps!

Sunshine kids makes a Radian 60 and I think 80 (holds 60 and 80lbs respectively) that folds up and will fit in your trunk. We have twins, and it's great for flying and if we have to take the kids out of the van. The downsides are that it doesn't have a bar across or have any fancy cupholders. It seems comfortable enough for my 18 mo olds. They are not big and bulky, unlike other carseats. They also have good safety ratings. I believe Babies' R Us carries them, if not, you can find them at www.onestepahead.com.

go to the local supply store (target, or whatever you shop at) and try them out. They usually have several out to see. Whichever one you are happiest/most comfortable with will work the best for you.

Hi, I work at the local Health Dept. and we have car-seat classes for parents and the trainer is certified to recommend car seats according to age and size. The information and training is free to anyone and car-seats are sometimes free according to qualifications is some counties. The information is state required and recommended.

I would recommend the Alpha Omega, as it functions as a carseat with 5 point harness for children between 22 and 40 pounds, and then is a belt positioning booster seat from 40 pounds to 100 pounds. This would get you through until your 20 monnth old no longer needs a booster, unless of course he/she gets too tall for it. Some of the other features it has are a cup holder on the side, fold down arm rests, and good head support in case they fall asleep on long trips as you stated. Good luck!

Britax, hands down!

We have one in each car for my 3 1/2 year old. We've done up to 1000 mile trips in ours. My friend has boy/girl twins (Norwegian size:-)) and I believe they're still in theirs (just turned 5). I forget which is which, but I think the Marathon is the largest of the line and can be used up to 65(?) pounds. Well worth the money for the time you can use it and the comfort. Many websites offer free shipping (Baby bungalow, Albee(sp?), etc.)

I have an Alpha Omega by Cosco and love it. I would certainly recommend it. The best feature is that it reclines easily. When my little guy falls asleep, I can reach back and recline him so his head doesn't loll to the side. It's one of the more expensive ones, but I think it's totally worth it, particularly with the traffic around here. We are sometimes out longer than I expect, and both of my guys fall asleep in the car regularly, even when it's nowhere near naptime. :)

basically look for something that has eps foam in it. if you dont want to spend alot of money get a cosco alpha omega it works rear facing forward facing you can change the straps without rethreding and then it works as a belt positioner. it also goes to 100lbs so as long as your child isnt tall it will work for many years. another option is the fisher price voyage which is a cheaper version of a britax then if you want to spend alot and get the best get a britax. basically when you are shopping you want to check the weight and high requirements and mke sure they can be used for awhile. my daughter is 3 and we have the alpha omega i like it and i thik she will be able to use it until she is 5 which is how long you want to have your child in a 5 point harness for. after that it is best to keep them inthe 5 point until they are too big for it but then put them into a belt positioner til they are about 58 inches tall.

Hi S.,

Depending on how much your child weighs right now and how tall the child is will help you decide on carseats. I recommend going to BabiesRUs and asking an associate to help you choose the best carseat for your child. They are trained to know the about the different carseats and what would work best for your little one. You can also check out their website babiesrus.com as they have a guide on there to help you decide. Good Luck and hope this helps.

I think you've already gotten this recommendation, but I'll stress again the importance of a 5-pt harness. All car seats except 3 models that I know of, have a ~40# weight limit for the 5-pt harness. So, even if the seat converts to a booster, you're left with relying on the seat belt to hold your child in. (see the link about a child lost in an accident due to seatbelt failure: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ&feature=re...)

The 3 seats that have a higher weight 5-pt harness are the Britax Regent and The Sunshine Kids Radian 65 or Radian 80.

I love Britax, but am having issues with how big they are. So, I think I am going with the foldable Radian. The Radian 65 has a max weight of 65#, but it has the same harness height as the Radian 80. I making bets that my child will outgrow the height before the weight, so I am saving money and buying the Radian 65, rather than the 80.

Hope this helps.

my son has a car seat that is two in one. Right now it has the high back and once he is over a certian lbs limit it converts into just a booster by removing the back part. I got mine at walmart and it was only about 50 bucks. Good luck

I would check out the Britax Regent. I bought it when my son was 3 and it has a 5 point harness that you can use up to 80 pounds (I believe it's the only seat that does that). Without pulling out the manual, I'm not sure what the minimum weight is, but if you're looking for a seat that will last until no seat is needed, this is the best one! I also have an Alpha Omega and don't like it as much and I don't think the Britax Marathon or Roundabout go up to 80 pounds. The only thing with the Regent is, it's best to have it professionally installed because it's a really big seat!

We have 2 carseats, a Britax and a Graco. Our son and I definitely like the Britax better. The Graco is OK, but the Britax is the caddy of carseats I think. We take long car trips too and it's much cozier than the Graco. Just looking at the 2 side by side you can tell it's a more substanial seat. At 20 months old though, you may be looking for a booster seat?

When we were ready to move to a bigger seat, we went to Babies 'R Us like a previous poster recommended..they were absolutely no help whatsoever. No product knowledge, they definitely were not thrilled when we asked them to take down one of the models and when we didn't make our decision in less than 15 minutes, the associate sighed and basically said she didn't know what else to tell us. That was in Catonsville, Towson was a little better, but not much. Just our experience.

I LOVE that you have 9 children. I will remind myself everyday that my life is a cake walk!

we just had to get a 2nd car seat for our 2nd car (other one was a hand-me-down that was now beyond it's expiration date which is stamped on the back) we looked at the britax as that is what our other car seat is, but decided on the Graco Nautilus - they are a bit hard to find, but everything I read about them online was 5 stars - we actually ordered it through walmart (the only place we could find to actually buy it) and then had it shipped to the store for pick up - the nautilus has a 5 point harness for 20-65 lbs, a high-back booster for 30-100 lbs, and can be a backless booster for 40-100 lbs - we literally just picked it up yesterday so I can't tell youtoo much more, but what we read (even from baby bargains book) was that it was comfortable and easy to install - i can let you know more when I get it out of the box :)

Check out the Cosco Gotham High-Back Booster. It has a 5-point harness, until they're big enough to use the seat belt, then it has the seat belt holder, to use as a booster. It also wipes clean, which I really like. I got it at target, I think it's around $50 and my son loves it more than his Britax!

http://www.target.com/Cosco-Gotham-High-Back-Booster/dp/B...

My son has the Britix and we love it. It is easy to switch between our cars and you can get them for kids up to 65 lbs. Hope this helps.

You don't mention how big your child is. If he or she is on the large side, I recommend the Britax. My daughter is very tall and I wish someone had suggested this to me. It would have saved me from buying the Graco that she grew out of before she was ready for a booster. It appears to be a comfrotable seat and the straps never get tangled!!!

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet but look at the Graco Nautilus. It harnesses to 65 lbs. I think with the same top harness slot heights and the britax seats and then when the harness is outgrown it converts to a high back and then a no back booster. It is brand new. Just came out in December or January. Right now you can only find it at Walmart. It is about $150.

I would also look at the Britax Marathon. We have one and love it. Our 26 lb. 35 inch almost 20 month old is still rearfacing in it with plenty of growing room. We drive a smaller four door car and we can fit it in there fine rearfacing and it will fit perfectly forward facing, too.

I saw someone recommended the Radian. The Radian is a great seat. It is narrower but taller than the Britax seats. But it has install issues with some cars, namely a lot of Toyotas. You would want to try it in your car before you purchased it.

The Regent is also a good seat but at 20 months if your daughter is on the average to small side she won't fit it well until closer to 2.5 years. It is a huge seat.

We love the Britax Boulevard®! We love Britax and own 4 of their car seats!
http://www.britaxusa.com/products/product_detail.aspx?ID=1
"The Britax Boulevard® car seat features True Side Impact Protection™ with deep side walls and head support to provide advanced protection in side impact collisions. The easy-turn knob quickly adjusts the headrest and harness height without having to uninstall the seat. Higher forward-facing weight capacity allows children to remain harnessed up to 65 pounds. The tangle-free, five-point harness ensures a snug and secure fit. Premium push-button LATCH connectors provide a quick, simple and tight installation. Unique features include the patented Versa-Tether® for energy management, and rear- and forward-facing recline for child comfort and a body pillow for positioning. The Boulevard fits children rear facing from five to 33 or 35 pounds and children forward facing from at least one year old and 20 pounds, up to 65 pounds. The Boulevard is made in the USA with U.S. and global components."

I have a Britax Marathon for my 17 month old and I love it. They are a pricey carseat, but definitly are worth it. They come with several covers and are for children up until they are out of the carseat, for the average sized child. I researched several. There are great websites out there and other great seats too. I also have had the Alpha Omega and really liked it as well.

The Britax Marathon will last until he/she is ready for a booster and even beyond! Our 4 yr old just moved into a booster from it but had plenty of room and could have stayed in it. We only moved him to play musical car seats for the others.

There is one called Alpha/Omega that even converts to a booster, but we didn't find it comfortable for our children, they complained. But the Britax is comfy for long rides and we even have it set up so it is slightly reclined for more comfort.

Good luck!