Hello Mothers
I was wondering if any of you could recommend a car seat for my 2 year old. We had a great infant seat but the booster we bought is too low and not comfortable enough
Thank you Mamas for your fabulous advice and sharing your experiences. After everything I read, I had to go for Britax. I went back and forth for a week and finally decided on the Boulevard which has side impact protection. I was also able to get it a great price online. I can't wait to see my munchkin enjoy his plush ride!!
A.,
I have Britax Marathons for both of my children (3-year-old boy, 1-year-old girl). I like the Marathon for its stellar safety rating and because it seems very comfortable. Also, I think it is safe for kids up to 60 pounds (or maybe it was 50?) so we will get a lot of use out of these seats. Another thing to note about the Marathon, it is very easy to properly install.
M.
HI A.,
Here is the carseat I have for my 2.5yo. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2401317
He outgrew his sungride Graco infant carseat at 6 months as he was very long for it anymore rear facing position. I put him in this carseat still rear facing and he is still in it forward facing of course. We ended up buying another one just like it the newer model for our second car. He is super happy in it. I think its jsut as good the expensive ones.
Hi A.,
Eddie Bauer convertible carseat is great- it is from newborn up to 80 pounds. My son is in the 97% percentile and fits just fine and he is two. Very comfortable- We paid around 200 or so for it. Good luck!
Molly
We used a Britax marathon for our first child (6) and are now using it for our 2nd (2 yr old). We love it. It's a bit pricey but regarded super safe and is very comfortable.
Graco Nautilus!!!! The base is small enough it fits in any back seat - except for maybe a Mini Cooper. My son says it's comfy and loves the built-in cup holder and hidden compartments for his HotWheels cars. It is about $150 and converts to a booster that is rated for up to 100lbs. We have an Eddie Bauer in our other car - Hate it! It's huge, awkward to install, hard to remove the cover when kiddo threw up all over it, and the latches are too easy and my son can unbuckle himself, also the side head supports are positioned wrong for comfort.
I had to order the Graco from Babies 'R Us - it's always sold out, so save yourself a trip and order it online.
We have both a Britax Marathon and an Evenflo Titan (for grandpa's car) and really like both. DD seems happy in each, as well, and both allow extended rear facing.
However - DD is long and thin, so I believe the Marathon will fit her a lot longer, and since we are definitely doing extended rear-facing, I think we'll get more use out of the Marathon. We intend to keep her rear-facing until she outgrows it (35 lbs).
I wholeheartedly encourage you to look into extended rear-facing. It is just so much safer.
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
http://www.freewebs.com/sacredjourneys/newbornpreschool.htm
We have used the Evenflo Triumph Advance since DS decided he was over the infant seat (about 7 months). It is a great convertible carseat. It ranked very high in safety, is a breeze to install/adjust, and DS enjoys riding in it. We bought one for each of our vehicles, one for my mom's suv, and one for MIL's suv.
what is your 2YO's height and weight? If your child is under 35 lbs, please consider the safety benefits of extended rear-facing
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
There are now many great convertible seats (seats that can be used rear-facing to about 33-35 lbs depending on make/model, then forward facing to 40-80 lbs depending on make/model) that have high height and weight limits that will allow you to keep your child in a 5 pt harness until the child is old enough and mature enough for a booster - the Evenflo Triumph Advance (retail ~$129), First Years/Compass TrueFit (retail ~$169), Sunshine Kids Radian (retail ~$199 for 65-lb limit, ~$279 for 80 lb limit), and the Britax Marathon, Decathlon, and Boulevard.
The Cosco/Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 (e.g. Alpha Omega) seats and combo seats (harness to 40 lbs then can be used as booster) are not generally recommended by safety techs because the top harness *height* setting is lower than many other brands and most kids outgrow the harness by height before they're ready to use the seat as a booster.
If your child is already forward facing, the Graco Nautilus (retail $150) and Britax Frontier (retail ~$279) are excellent forward-facing only seats that can be used as a 5-pt harness seat up to 65 lbs (Graco) or 80 lbs (Britax) and/or about 19" torso height, then can be used as an excellent belt-positioning booster seat.
This link has a lot of good info and recommendations for seats in a variety of budget ranges:
http://boards.babycenter.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&n...
hope that helps!
A two year old is way too young to be in a booster seat - the recommendation is 4 years and 40 lbs. We love our Britax convertible carseats - we have the Roundabout and the Marathon. I'd stick with anything that has a 5 point harness.
I have a Britax Boulevard and love it. My daughter is 3 years old and about 30 pounds, and I think it will fit her for at least another year to year and a half. It seems to be very comfortable for her, and I like that it has side impact protection for her head (also, this feature makes it so her head doesn't bobble around when she sleeps in her car seat). Also, as your child gets taller, all you have to do to adjust the straps is to turn a little dial (rather than remove it from the car and dismantle the whole thing like you do with some car seats). I would highly recommend it!
As a car seat technician, I would recommend one that fits well into your vehicle and is user friendly. I personally like the Britax (Marathon, Boulevard, Decathalon....). The Sunshine Kids Radian 65 also is a very popular seat!
http://www.evenflo.com/Homepage/ProductList/tabid/203/nav...
This one is by far the most comfortable one I have ever had... it reclines and it is like a cocoon..Soft and snug... and 5 point harness that is safe and efective!!!
I love it because it helps when they fall asleep you can recline and it keeps their neck from hurting!!!Specially on long rides!!!
Love, G.. :0)
http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/
We also love the Britax products. We have a Regent for our son, and depending on your son's size I would recommend this. It is not convertible, only forward facing. But it will be the last car seat you have to buy. It will keep him in the 5-pt. harness for a LONG time, which is what you want for safety. If he is not big enough for the Regent I would go with the Marathon, which is what our daughter uses.
A.,
We have a Britax Roundabout and a Britax Marathon, and both seem really good. The Baby Bargains and Toddler Bargains books have a website with user reviews of car seats: http://www.windsorpeak.com/reviews/items/ I found that site helpful when I needed to buy a stroller, so hopefully it'll help for car seats, too.
Good luck,
C.
hi A.,
I just bought a Britax for my three year old. It works great, is very safe and she is super comfortable in it. It's supposed to hold a child up to 60lbs but from looking at it, I don't think that is possible. Only time will tell for us. I hope this is helpful!
