I'm looking for some advice... My son is 13 months has outgrown his infant seat. I drive a 96 Ford tauras and 87 Mazda 323. I need to buy two carseats. What do you recommend. I know Britax is highly recommended.
Thanks
We have the graco myride 65 and like it a lot. For most kids they can stay rear facing until they are at least 3.
I love my Britax Roundabout 50! They're not cheap, but they're also not the most expensive Britax makes. I really like the fact that my daughter can remain rear-facing to 35 lbs. and forward-facing in the 5 point harness to 50 lbs. Since neither of your cars have the LATCH system in them, I would also recommend getting a Mighty Tite car seat belt tightener. It's basically a cranking device that hooks onto your seat belt and makes it tighter than you ever could. It's the only thing, including the LATCH system, that I've found that gets the belt tight enough that the carseat doesn't wiggle. Babies R Us usually has them in stock. Good luck!
http://www.skjp.com/en-US/product/124834/10001/_/Mighty-T...
Yep something that will keep him rear facing till age 2 and even beyond. My 28 month old is still rear-facing, perfectly comfy and in the 95th percentile for height.
Go to the Britax site-they have a cool feature where you can plug in your son's info and it will give you the seats that will work for him so you can figure which seats will give you the most bang for your buck!
Two great websites that analyze the various convertible carseats on the market:
http://carseatnanny.blogspot.com/
http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/tp/topconvcarse...
My husband and I have the Graco MyRide 65, and we love it. However, before you buy any car seat, make sure it will fit in your cars! Some of the taller car seats (like the MyRide 65) don't always fit comfortably in smaller cars, or if they do, they only fit in the center which complicates things for future kids. Good luck.
You will want to keep him rear facing for at least another year, so look for a car seat with a higher rear facing weight limit, like Britax Roundabout 50, Sunshine Kids Radian, Graco MyRide65, Evenflo Triumph Advance, Evenflo Symphony65.
These seats not only will allow your son to remain rear facing for quite some time, but will also keep him in a forward facing harness beyond the bare minimums, therefore keeping him safer.
For more information on extended rear facing, please google JOELS JOURNEY and EXTENDED REAR FACING.
Britax all the way! They are amazing and grow with the child, holding up to a 60/65 lb child. We love ours! We have 3!! One for my car, my husbands car and our in-laws car since they watch him during the day. They are a bit pricey ($300+) but totally worth it...
I have a Britax boulevard. I Love it! The best feature I love about it is how easy and quick it is to adjust the straps and head rest. My daughter has been using hers for two years now and I have no complaints. I'd recommend this car seat.
I really like the Britax seats, but I can't see how a child can make it to 35 pounds rear facing in one. My daughter outgrew it by height at 28 pounds. She's now in a True Fit, which gives her 4-6 inches or so by height. I think she's going to outgrow it rear facing by weight. And it's a great seat! Easy to adjust the harness and wash the cover. I love it! And if you get it on sale it's WAY cheaper than a Britax.
The only issue I had with the True Fit is that it has a WIDE harness. My daughter couldn't fit in it until she was nearly two years old because the harness kept falling off her shoulders.
I've heard really good things about the Complete Air
If you have a place near you that will let you try out carseats, I would recommend doing that. The best car seat is one that fits your car, fits your child, and can be used properly every time you use it. So you'll want to check those things out before buying seat.
what BeckyW said, also the Compass/First Years TrueFit is often recommended by certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians for ease of use and high harnessed height and weight limits. And since your cars are pre-LATCH, the built-in seat belt lockoffs ( Britax seats have these also) can be very handy for installing car seats with the vehicle seat belts
Britax are amazing, I've had two and loved both of them, however with your low ceilings, make sure you pick one that has a lower base (I have the boulevard and it's a fairly "tall" seat)...but yes, I have LOVED LOVED both of my seats and they've gone thru 4 years of kinds and I still love them and they look new.
-K.
We have Sunshine Kids Radian on both our cards.
Works great.
check out carseat.org
