Should I Buy a Car Seat?

E.- There are second-hand stores where you may find a car seat. You definitely want to get a new one if your son has outgrown the recommended sizes, but you will have to weigh whether you will need one if you don't have a car. Do you ever go anywhere with friends or family who have a car? Or what if you had an emergency and needed to take him in a vehicle? As for the air travel- you only need a car seat if you are paying for a seat for him- he is young enough that you could have him on your lap and save that expense. If it's a long flight and you want him to sleep and he would do that better in the seat, then I say get one. You can always check your stroller plane-side so you have it in the airports. I am thinking if you take the old infant seat on the plane he will be uncomfortable becuase his feet will be hitting the seat- that's why the height/length recommendation is there- the seat has to be rear-facing and the child's feet will hit the seat and it would be very dangerous in an accident because there legs would be jammed against the back seat on impact. My ped. also told me in the past that a taller child in an infant could possibly push with their legs hard enough to flip the seat! Yikes!

Not sure where you live- but you can look for a Children's Orchard (there are many in MA) at www.childrensorchard.com
There are also a few other places I know of- I love "Kid to Kid" on Rt 9 in Natick and just found "BeanSprouts" in Stoughton. I believe there is a place called "Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles" in either Randolph or Brockton but I have not been there yet.

Good luck!

You have a funny dilemma, given that you don't have a car. You can hold your child on the plane. And if you rent a car, rental car companies have car seats for rent available. I never liked traveling on planes with car seats because they are so bulky. I know it makes for easier travel because you have a seat for your child, but I believe at his age you are not required to purchase a seat for him. If you do decide on purchasing a car seat, I might try online on craigslist.org and see if you can purchase a not too old car seat.

Sounds like you don't NEED a car seat. You're not required to have one for flying. Car rental companies do have rentals, but I hear they tend to be icky and rather expensive (as in you may as well buy a cheap one).

If you would like to have one "just in case", there are decent cheap ones. The Cosco Serena is less than 50 dollars at Target and meets all safety regulations. I know several families that have this model in their second car, although I haven't used one myself. If you are going to get a second-hand one, I would only do this if you know the previous owner. The seat could be damaged in non-visible ways if it has been in an accident and there is no way you'd ever know.

If you rarely drive and rent a car when you do, I believe most car rentals will also rent you a carseat. That would seem the least expensive way to go, and you can be sure they'd have good quality, up to date seats because they'd fear for a lawsuit if they rented you an inferior seat.