Car Seat

pbrown7781 · March 2013

Hey,

Any recommendations for a car seat. We have a Chicco Key Fit, but it is up to 30in. My little guy is 28 inches at 4 months old. He is growing like a weed. What is the next step? My pediatrician says that children should be rear facing until they are 2. That is new to me. If that is the case, my guy will be 4 feet tall still rear facing.:-) Suggestions???

colemangal85 · March 2013

I just got a cosi-maxi pria convertible car seat. It is rear & forward facing.

mben1119 · March 2013

We have a Graco Classic Ride 50 in one car, and a Safety 1st onSide Air Convertible in the other. They both RF to 40 pounds.

laura1 · March 2013

My 2 big kids are in Diono Radians now - we like them because they are narrow. We have 2 of those and the infant seat across the back of our CRV. DS used to have a Britax Marathon. We liked that, too, but it was much wider! GL!

nanabanana06 · March 2013

If your child is tall I would get the Diono Radian (I prefer the RXT model). This should keep a tall kiddo rear facing for more than 2 years. We extended rear face because it is safer. We plan on keeping our kids rear facing until 4 when there spines are fully fused. It's the safest form of travel until then.

Also, the Radians are mostly steel, low profile, can fit 3 across, will last till 100-120 pounds, has a 10 year life span, and turns into a belt positioning booster. It's the one stop shop of car seats. For rear facing in smaller cars I would get there angle adjuster as well. Hope this helps!

SuperCuteBenz · March 2013

Nana_Osaki06:
If your child is tall I would get the Diono Radian (I prefer the RXT model). This should keep a tall kiddo rear facing for more than 2 years. We extended rear face because it is safer. We plan on keeping our kids rear facing until 4 when there spines are fully fused. It's the safest form of travel until then.
Also, the Radians are mostly steel, low profile, can fit 3 across, will last till 100-120 pounds, has a 10 year life span, and turns into a belt positioning booster. It's the one stop shop of car seats. For rear facing in smaller cars I would get there angle adjuster as well. Hope this helps!

I wouldn't says its the one stop shop. It is going to be unlikely that most children will use it as a booster, because it has a 50lb minimum. Plus, it is usually outgrown in booster mode around the same time that the harness is outgrown, so if you are using the harness to full potential then the booster will be useless.

Don't get me wrong, its a great seat, and one that I commonly recommend. I just don't like people thinking that they will buy one seat and never buy another one. Most children will need to be in a booster until 8-12 years old, so it is VERY likely that someone will be another booster down the road anyway.

As far as answering the OP's question, there are 4 seats that are commonly recommended under $100. Those are the Cosco Scenera, Cosco Apt, Evenflo SureRide and Safety 1st Guide 65.

After that, you have the Graco MyRide 65/70, Graco MySize70, Headwise 70 and Size4Me70, the First Years True Fit, the Evenflo Triumph, the Maxi Cosi Pria 70 and the Classic Britax Marathon (only at Target).

Rear-facing til 2 is the minimum. It is highly recommended to go past that if you can. My son is just over 2.5 years old and still rear-facing. He is pretty tall at 36"+ and 34lbs. He rides in a Britax Roundabout 50, a Graco MySize 70 and a Britax Boulevard 70. He will outgrow the Britax seats rear-facing around his 3rd birthday. I haven't decided if I will turn him then, or just keep him in the MySize until winter is over.

I would suggest joining the facebook page Car Seats for the Littles. There are a ton of car seat techs on the page (including myself) that can help you find seats in your budget, help with installation issues, etc.

pbrown7781 · March 2013

SuperCuteBenz:
Nana_Osaki06:
If your child is tall I would get the Diono Radian (I prefer the RXT model). This should keep a tall kiddo rear facing for more than 2 years. We extended rear face because it is safer. We plan on keeping our kids rear facing until 4 when there spines are fully fused. It's the safest form of travel until then.
Also, the Radians are mostly steel, low profile, can fit 3 across, will last till 100-120 pounds, has a 10 year life span, and turns into a belt positioning booster. It's the one stop shop of car seats. For rear facing in smaller cars I would get there angle adjuster as well. Hope this helps!
I wouldn't says its the one stop shop. It is going to be unlikely that most children will use it as a booster, because it has a 50lb minimum. Plus, it is usually outgrown in booster mode around the same time that the harness is outgrown, so if you are using the harness to full potential then the booster will be useless.
Don't get me wrong, its a great seat, and one that I commonly recommend. I just don't like people thinking that they will buy one seat and never buy another one. Most children will need to be in a booster until 8-12 years old, so it is VERY likely that someone will be another booster down the road anyway.

As far as answering the OP's question, there are 4 seats that are commonly recommended under $100. Those are the Cosco Scenera, Cosco Apt, Evenflo SureRide and Safety 1st Guide 65.
After that, you have the Graco MyRide 65/70, Graco MySize70, Headwise 70 and Size4Me70, the First Years True Fit, the Evenflo Triumph, the Maxi Cosi Pria 70 and the Classic Britax Marathon (only at Target).
Rear-facing til 2 is the minimum. It is highly recommended to go past that if you can. My son is just over 2.5 years old and still rear-facing. He is pretty tall at 36"+ and 34lbs. He rides in a Britax Roundabout 50, a Graco MySize 70 and a Britax Boulevard 70. He will outgrow the Britax seats rear-facing around his 3rd birthday. I haven't decided if I will turn him then, or just keep him in the MySize until winter is over.
I would suggest joining the facebook page Car Seats for the Littles. There are a ton of car seat techs on the page (including myself) that can help you find seats in your budget, help with installation issues, etc.

Thanks!!! Very informative!

danabsd · March 2013

STMs will tell you to go with this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005MQRAAK
Diono Radian RXT for various reasons.
When I looked at the options we will likley go with one Britax Advocate. At least one, but likely both Britax Advocates because it offers the most side impact protection you can get on the market today, and Aubrey rides in the outboard seating position in my car.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A2HUF9M/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1360000104sr=81pi=SL75

There's some really good info here:https://www.lucieslist.com/bestconvertiblecarseats/

Do what's best for you, your cars and your buget!

IUIBaby · March 2013

colemangal85:
I just got a cosi-maxi pria convertible car seat. It is rear & forward facing.

We have these.

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