Infant Car seats

codamelis

I am trying to find out if anyone makes a car seat with somewhat easier to use buttons. I am about to be a first time mom at the age of 37, and my thumbs have never been good.  I have had many issues in the past trying to get nieces and nephews out of car seats.  My thumbs just cant put out enough pressure for the release sometimes and I am a bit worried that in an emergency (car accident) I won't be able to get my child out of the car seat fast enough.

 

Any recommendations?

 

Angel002

Our Chico didn't seem difficult.  Have you gone to the stores and tried them out?  That's what I would do. 

codamelis

Not yet.  We are planning to register in the next few weeks.  Just looking for a few recommendations before I go.. Babies R Us might not have everything, and i want to have a few "proven" ones to try.

katcarls

I really liked our Chicco Keyfit 30.  The buttons seemed pretty easy to use to me.  I would think that for some emergencies you would be able to just pop the whole infant seat out too, you wouldn't necessarily have to worry about taking the baby out.  That's probably the fastest thing to do if it's an option at the time.

NeverLostHope

I would suggest you just go try them out. They are all pretty difficult to push because they don't want the babies/ kids to be able to unbuckle their own seats. If you can find a Graco seat with an older style buckle (the button pushes down instead of IN) it might be a little easier, but then the seat is likely to have an older date of manufacture (so it will expire sooner)

justmeardle

katcarls:

I really liked our Chicco Keyfit 30.  The buttons seemed pretty easy to use to me.  I would think that for some emergencies you would be able to just pop the whole infant seat out too, you wouldn't necessarily have to worry about taking the baby out.  That's probably the fastest thing to do if it's an option at the time.

Taking the whole seat out would definitely be fastest.  With that, you usually pull something in the back (not using thumb strength) 

JENandJEH

Like a PP said, a button that pushes down instead of in may be a better option.  I know that our Chicco Keyfit 30 was like that with my son and we loved that seat!

lawright

The Chicco keyfit has a separate base and seat.  (As do many infant seats these days.)  The keyfit specifically is designed to have an easy release between the seat and the base, and I know it's located such that you'd use your fingers instead of your thumb.  In the event of an emergency where you needed to evacuate immediately, you'd grab the entire seat with the baby in it, detaching it from the base, and getting to a safe distance.  Only once you're at a safe distance (preferably also only after the baby has been checked out by a medical professional) will you release the harness and remove the baby from the seat.

As for the easier to use buttons on the harness strap, the danger is that if it's too easy, the kid will remove the harness himself/herself as you're driving around.  Go to a store like buy buy baby and try out all of the harness releases.  Play around with using both thumbs, using your index and middle fingers, jabbing at the button from a short distance (be careful you don't jab the harness into the baby), etc.  I suspect that with some practice, you'll have a lot less trouble with the harness buttons. 

If all else fails, contact your preferred car seat company(ies) and ask them if they have any sort of modification available that could help you out.