What Is the Best Toddler Car Seat for Safety

I have the EvenFlo Triumph DLX-- and it is too wide. It does not have steep enough edges to hold my baby's head when he sleep and it is uncomfortable to sit back there with him because it takes up so much space. It looks like a huge easy-chair and it is comphy for him when he is away-- but look for something with steep edges to rest a sleeping head against.

There's a fantastic book called Baby Bargains that gives detailed reviews of everything you need for your baby based on feedback from parents. You could go to your local bookstore and read the relevant section or you can buy individual chapters online for $2.99. Here's a link to the Car Seat Chapter:

https://store3.esellerate.net/store/checkout/CustomLayout...

They also have an online blog where you can read other parents' reviews for yourself. Here's a link to that:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/reviews/items/Car-Seats/index.htm

Good luck!

H.

Hi there....I just bought my daughter a new car seat for my little 13 month old grandaughter...She grew out of her Graco infant car seat (the base with the removable seat) I bought her a Britax Boulevard...Awsome seat!! I like the side impact feature and just the overall good quality...It was the Megan pattern...Very pretty!! It is rear facing to 30 pounds then forward to 60....Also you should get the seat installed by a child safety seat technician. I work for a law enforcement agency and some of my fellow officers are certified to install them... There is quite a rigorus training these officers went through...It is a whole week of installing seats and a lengthy test...They are serious about the certification...You can call CHP or the fire department or your local police dept and they can direct you to a certified safety seat tech if they don't have any available. Oh and once you get the seat installed...DO NOT REMOVE IT!! If you both need a seat in your vehicle then buy one for each car...Thats what I have done..Thats what they recommend...Hope this helps....Good Luck....

we love the Recaro car seat, it changes into a booster seat when needed and follows European safety regulations which are better than US- we bought 2 for our other car

I felt safest keeping my boys in 5 point harnesses as long as possible and found the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 to be perfect for us. They are easy for them to climb into and out of, are cozy and plenty comfortable, even if they fall asleep, go to 80 lbs and are still plenty tall for my tall 4 year old. I think he still has about 2.5 inches before his shoulders are at the top of the straps. The added bonus for me is that in my small car, I can fit two side by side and then have some space for an additional adult or another child. They also fold and are easy to take on trips/planes/etc.

consumer reports is fine for things like appliances and cars but IMO they don't really have enough relevant expertise to be useful for car seat reviews. Your best resource is a Certified Child passenger safety technician, and fortunately a lot of them frequent online communities like the forums at http://www.car-seat.org/ and http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a7645/car_seat_que...

This link from the babycenter car seat board has some useful info on what features to look for in a convertible seat (harnessed seat that can be used rear-facing or forward-facing)
http://community.babycenter.com/post/a13026565/faq_links
and this link has some specifics on various commonly available seats
http://community.babycenter.com/post/a13106735/faq_-_reco...
and FWIW, most techs recommend that you invest in a good convertible seat with high height and weight limits that last your child until he/she has the size and maturity to be safely restrained in a belt-positioning booster seat. The "all in one" seats that can be used rear facing, forward facing with harness, and as a booster are not generally recommended because they are mediocre boosters and many kids outgrow the harness by height before they're ready to use the seat as a booster. There are no convertible seats that can be used with harness all the way up to 100 lbs. - most max out at 40, 50, or 65 lbs - some of the Radians max out at 80 lbs. but all the high weight-limit seats would be outgrown by *height* for a typical child somewhere between 50-60 lbs.
Feel free to email me if you have any questions - I spend far too much time studying car seats!

Have you tried looking at the Sunshine Kids line? They are what I am going to get my daughter when she outgrows her Britax Marathon. The Sunshine kids are lower to the seat, have a steel frame, and are a lot narrower, so you can put them three across. A little bit pricier, but all of the reviews are amazing!

we use a graco nautilus but this new company has the best safety results.

http://firstseat.com/

they will start selling to babies r us soon.

We registered and got the EvenFlo Triumph DLX and was really happy with that but it only goes up to 50lbs. We needed another one for my husband's car so we bought EvenFlo Symphony featuring SureLatch All-In-One Car Seat, Liberty, which goes up to 100lbs (converts to booster seat). We love it and the car seat rank high in safety. My brother got one too for his son. We never looked into Britex since it's out of our range financially but I heard they are great brand too. If you're looking to save, I would suggest EvenFlo.

Hands down the best is Britax - go with either the Britax Boulevard (the larger size)or the Britax Diplomat (a little smaller one, but still the same in terms of safety). They are more expensive than other ones, but Britax is considered the gold-standard for car seats. We bought ours at a discount from a local store and from albeebaby.com. You can also check diapers.com.

consumerreports.org is worth the membership fee I use it for every purchase we make over $50 that has electronics or saftey involoved.

I've read and heard REALLY good things about the Graco Nautilus. It's fairly new on the market, but my best friend likes it so much (for her almost 3 yo) that she's going to get one for her 18mo old as well!! I like the idea that you can harness up to 65 lbs and that it's the last seat I will EVER have to buy for my 3yo!! We'll be getting him a Nautilus as soon as his baby sister outgrows her Snugride!!! Can't wait!

i own a britax boulvard ($325+), Britax marathon (300+) and a sunshine kids XT(325+). bought the sushine kids for my son when we passed down the britax to baby bro and he begged me for his britax back because it is more comfy. love the streamlined profile of the sunshine kids, but if your kid sleeps in the car much (we do b/c we live far from town, so errand days the nap is incorporated) be warned that the sunshine kids is very upright, so if you have bucket seat to recline it will be fine, otherwise the head will flop a lot. bought the XT for extra side protection to alleviate problem, but it just doesnt work. got a marathon used and my kid is so happy. britax is the lazy boy of carseats. i get it now, after having another brand. they are so safe and so big and heavy, but the kid is comfy, which is important as we stick them in these things for years and years. also, had to put my 65lb. niece in my boulevard in a pinch and she was comfy as could be. my choice is clear. i will stick with big, bulky britax till my kid approaches 60 lbs, then switch to a very simple booster.