Toddler car seat for tiny car?

Mydela

My doc just said that my LO's ready for a toddler seat--she's tall and big and thank goodness no more lugging her around in the baby seat! I've been looking into toddler seats, but it's a little confusing to find safe, well-rated ones that fit our criteria. For one thing, we drive an older-model Hyundai Elantra (read: tiny car) and if the seat's too big or too long in the back, it just won't fit. I also read all these glowing reviews of various seats' LATCH system, but our car just has regular old seat belts. All of them are seat-belt compatible, of course, but it seems like a lot of the new ones require a certain amount of jury-rigging to make it secure with a seat belt. One of the ones I looked at actually came with a separate belt that I was supposed to attach to the car seat and then TIE to the passenger front seat! WTF?? Any recommendations on small, safe seats that don't require these gymnastics?

minervacullen

Go to the facebook group car seats for the Littles and post this. The techs and experienced members will help you.

nanabanana06

Remember they should stay RFing until 2-4 years of age. The longer the better. My SO had a Dodge Dart (so tiny car). We love our Diono Radian car seats. The angle adjuster is an extra 15$ and it makes it one of the slimmest seats on the market. We can fit 2 RFing in my SO's car, one of which is behind the drivers seat. I do not use LATCH in any of my cars as I find it a bigger PITA than it's worth.

=Lee=B

carseat.org is also very helpful.  They have a lot of car seat technicians that can tell you what seats do and don't work in your specific car as well as what seats are best for your child based on weight, height and age.

In short, read face as long as possible (at least age 2), the seat belt is just as safe, and sometime much easier than using Latch. The strap to the front seat you mentioned I believe is a tether and is additional safety during a crash.  Some seats allow rear facing tethering (sounds like what you mentioned) all forward facing seats should be tethered for additional safety (legally you have to here in Canada).

Check out some sites online, the one I mention above and the carseats for the littles on facebook they will walk you through everything.

egb+jaf

I just traded my car but I had a tiny two door civic and the diono radian rxt with the angle adjuster was great!

sschwege

I was going to recommend the Diono Radian as well.  And as pp said RFing as long as possible

jsstrothmann

My husband and I both drive MINI Coopers, so we understand the small car challenges that come along with carseats. After a TON of research and testing we both bought the Combi Coccoro and LOVE them.  If you're not picky with colors you can find them cheapest online at Walmart.

nanabanana06

Nicb13 said:

Nana_Osaki06 said:

Remember they should stay RFing until 2-4 years of age. The longer the better. My SO had a Dodge Dart (so tiny car). We love our Diono Radian car seats. The angle adjuster is an extra 15$ and it makes it one of the slimmest seats on the market. We can fit 2 RFing in my SO's car, one of which is behind the drivers seat. I do not use LATCH in any of my cars as I find it a bigger PITA than it's worth.

But this is just a recommendation, not something you HAVE to do

I have a Britax Marathon 70-G3 and it fits in my VW Beetle just fine. I have to move the passenger seat up a little but it still fits and I love the seat.

What are you a firefighter or sumshit?

:P

masonalexandersmama2013

my son has been in a convertible carseat since 5mo! We have the Graco My70! LOVE!! we turned him forward at 9 mo because he met height n weight and would scream n cry and choke himself otherwise... but its recommended to be backwards till 2yr if possible

minervacullen

masonalexandersmama2013 said:

my son has been in a convertible carseat since 5mo! We have the Graco My70! LOVE!! we turned him forward at 9 mo because he met height n weight and would scream n cry and choke himself otherwise... but its recommended to be backwards till 2yr if possible

It isn't legal to ff a 9 month old. And it's very very dangerous.

ASmallWonder

masonalexandersmama2013 said:

my son has been in a convertible carseat since 5mo! We have the Graco My70! LOVE!! we turned him forward at 9 mo because he met height n weight and would scream n cry and choke himself otherwise... but its recommended to be backwards till 2yr if possible

He did not, however, meet the age requirement of the seat and the law.

nanabanana06

masonalexandersmama2013 said:

my son has been in a convertible carseat since 5mo! We have the Graco My70! LOVE!! we turned him forward at 9 mo because he met height n weight and would scream n cry and choke himself otherwise... but its recommended to be backwards till 2yr if possible

Dude, babies cry. Turning your child FF at 9 months is illegal! It's also highly dangerous. Also, there is no "if possible" about RF til AT LEAST 2. 2 is the minimum, waiting until they max the RF limits is best. Please, I urge you to turn your child around. It's for the safety of your child. Until 4 years of age they are 5 times more likely to die in a simple crash being FF.

smileybabyboy

masonalexandersmama2013 said:

my son has been in a convertible carseat since 5mo! We have the Graco My70! LOVE!! we turned him forward at 9 mo because he met height n weight and would scream n cry and choke himself otherwise... but its recommended to be backwards till 2yr if possible

Oh my god 9 months!!??  That is way too early to forward face.  You are supposed to wait til 1 legally.  You might want to look up "internal decapitation."

ASmallWonder

smileybabyboy said:

masonalexandersmama2013 said:

my son has been in a convertible carseat since 5mo! We have the Graco My70! LOVE!! we turned him forward at 9 mo because he met height n weight and would scream n cry and choke himself otherwise... but its recommended to be backwards till 2yr if possible

Oh my god 9 months!!??  That is way too early to forward face.  You are supposed to wait til 1 legally.  You might want to look up "internal decapitation."

You seem to already know what you're talking about so I'm betting you already know this and just simplified above but the law isn't 1.  In states with a specific law, it's a minimum of 1 AND 20 pounds but most states are proper use, meaning you have to use the seat per the manufacturer's instructions.  There are seats on the market that have higher minimums for forward facing so for anyone reading, always make sure to check your manual and understand what your seat allows

nanabanana06

@Elmoali is wise.

aibrean

I have a Cavalier pre-latch and I use the Evenflo Triumph. Fits perfectly and you can pretty much put the front seats all the way back and not touch the carseat.

LittleBlackBug

I have a MINI Copper and can fit two Diono Radians in the back. They are also great for flying.