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Monday, January 29, 2007
The Best Car Seat
I wish that it was as simple as just saying to every parent-here is the best car seat, go and buy it.
The reality is that you need to find the car seat that fits in your car safely. Fits your child (are they a long and lean baby or a short and thick baby?) properly and is easy for you to adjust. You often get what you pay for. Some of the less expensive seats are harder to install and adjust. Some of the really expensive "top of the line" seats have frewer features and don't fit well in many vehicles.
I am not familiar with every car seat that is on the market. I know of the car seats that I have researched for my own family and for friend's families. On the other hand, I am not one to make negative comments, so I am often commenting by omission.
I have found that the Alpha Omege Elite (AOE) is a great universal seat. It is the same seat as the Edie Bauer, so unless you have money to waste on a prettier fabric, I wont bother getting into it. It is the same seat. I think that is is worth spending more money on the Elite over the regular Alpha Omega. The shoulder height on the Elite can be adjusted from the front. On the regular, you have to take the seat out of the car to do it. Unless you are confident in your car seat instalation, it is easier to adjust from the front and leave the car seat in the car.
If you have a small car, or tall people in the front of a medium sized car, the AOE is likely going to be too large to install safely when it is rear facing. The key here is that, of course, your child should stay rear facing until they are 30 lbs, and that the car seat and the vehicle seat should not interfere with each other.
If you have tall children (over 30 lbs of course) then you may not be served fully by the generic 3 in 1s on the market. Many of them are built for the 50th percentile child and only go to the 40lb minimum required to be ready for a booster. Some of the seats that I know of in Canada that use the 5 point harness past 40 lbs are the Evenflo Vision ($100 Wal Mart), Graco Cargo ($130 without front adjust at Can Tire, $169 with front adjust at Sears), Sunshine Kids Radian ($200 Can Tire), and the Britax Marathon ($300 pretty much everywhere).
Which car seats do I have? After much searching, and buying, and returning, and trying, and returning...I have a rear facing Britax Roundabout and a forward facing Graco Cargo.
The reality is that you need to find the car seat that fits in your car safely. Fits your child (are they a long and lean baby or a short and thick baby?) properly and is easy for you to adjust. You often get what you pay for. Some of the less expensive seats are harder to install and adjust. Some of the really expensive "top of the line" seats have frewer features and don't fit well in many vehicles.
I am not familiar with every car seat that is on the market. I know of the car seats that I have researched for my own family and for friend's families. On the other hand, I am not one to make negative comments, so I am often commenting by omission.
I have found that the Alpha Omege Elite (AOE) is a great universal seat. It is the same seat as the Edie Bauer, so unless you have money to waste on a prettier fabric, I wont bother getting into it. It is the same seat. I think that is is worth spending more money on the Elite over the regular Alpha Omega. The shoulder height on the Elite can be adjusted from the front. On the regular, you have to take the seat out of the car to do it. Unless you are confident in your car seat instalation, it is easier to adjust from the front and leave the car seat in the car.
If you have a small car, or tall people in the front of a medium sized car, the AOE is likely going to be too large to install safely when it is rear facing. The key here is that, of course, your child should stay rear facing until they are 30 lbs, and that the car seat and the vehicle seat should not interfere with each other.
If you have tall children (over 30 lbs of course) then you may not be served fully by the generic 3 in 1s on the market. Many of them are built for the 50th percentile child and only go to the 40lb minimum required to be ready for a booster. Some of the seats that I know of in Canada that use the 5 point harness past 40 lbs are the Evenflo Vision ($100 Wal Mart), Graco Cargo ($130 without front adjust at Can Tire, $169 with front adjust at Sears), Sunshine Kids Radian ($200 Can Tire), and the Britax Marathon ($300 pretty much everywhere).
Which car seats do I have? After much searching, and buying, and returning, and trying, and returning...I have a rear facing Britax Roundabout and a forward facing Graco Cargo.
Most Common Mistakes
So we've all heard the stats that something like 90% of all car seats are installed incorrectly. Here are the ones that I see most frequntly.
- car seats installed using UAS in the centre position of the vehicle when the vehicle manual says that it is not permitted. Many cars don't allow for car seat installation in the rear centre position using UAS. You must read your manual.
- The back of a forward facing car seat is not tethered to the back of the car.
- Children moved to the forward facing position before they are ready.
- Bunting bags or thick winter clothing used in car seats. Check out this Transport Canada Advisory
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