Comments on: Baby Gear: Car Seats

By: justplainbeckyw

justplainbeckyw — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:02:40 +0000

Smitheroni, please visit http://www.safekids.com and find a CPST (Certified Passenger Safety Technician) in your area, or find an event in your area. We have a Regent for our 7yr old, and I haven’t had that problem, which leads me to think the harness may be routed through the seat wrong. It shouldn’t be under her at all, the harness should be behind the seat, and under the seat, not between the fabric and the seat, kwim?

Find a CPST. Firemen/policement are NOT certified, they are simply trained for 2hrs one time to install seats. a CPST will have knowledge of the Regent and can fully inspect and install it for you.

By: Smitheroni

Smitheroni — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:29:40 +0000

We loved the Britax Roundabout that we used when our daughter was younger but when our son joined us we decided to move him into the Roundabout and purchased Britax Regents for our daughter. I have not been nearly as happy with them. For some reason the placement of the straps on the bottom of the seat makes it very difficult to install the seat correctly. The seat seems to be fine but then when our daughter sits in it, her weight pushes against the strap and makes it very difficult to tighten the strap down against her ocrrectly. We brought our vehicles in to three different firestations for installation with no avail. I even spoke with Britax over the phone to try to get some advice on the issue. Ultimately I had several parents from another listserv chime in with similar issues with the Regent and after some fussing about, we managed to install the seats so that the straps can be moved. They are still a bit of a pain though and I would not recommend this particular carseat to anyone. Has anyone else found this to be a problem?

Joanie
Mom to Shaeleigh (5, Foshan Nanhai) &
Chance (2, Ho Chi Minh City)
http://www.xanga.com/smitheroni

By: PIJill

PIJill — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:47:31 +0000

I don’t mean to just pick on Britax, but their seats pass Britax safety tests, and handpicked independent testers, just like every other car seat out there. however, those tests are conducted on sleds that do not mimic the actual force of a crash, just the speed.

Again, what is being quoted here about Britax and their ‘voluntary recalls’ is Britax advertising. What is true is that, when the Marathon was recalled, Britax fought the ruling, stating that problems with their tether hooks, which resulted in the seat being insecure in the car, was not a real safety concern, and the Marathon seats were only recalled at the insistence of the NHTSA. Britax fought to keep the recall from happening, and it is not the only instance they did so.

We could pick apart all car seats and car seat manufacturers, but Britax sells seats that are easily 2-3 times more expensive than the rest, and they do it by fear mongering and by convincing parents that it is possible to buy more and more safety with more and more dollars.

By: sarah123

sarah123 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:49:17 +0000

We have 2 Britax Marathons for Lily. We love them and she must too because she has never once objected to sitting in them, not even on the way home from the airport when we first got her. She sat right down, got strapped in and had herself a nap. This is pretty much what she does now. :-) I couldn’t live with myself if I bought a cheaper seat and God forbid something happened. Even if it had nothing to do with the cheap seat I would always wonder what if. Ugh. Don’t even want to think about it. Anyway, we’re big Britax fans. Attractive, easy to install, comfortable and SAFE.

By: hopingfor08

hopingfor08 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:12:36 +0000

I should clarify: both our boys, 7 and 10, sit in boosters but they are the sit-on kind and they use them w/ belts. I know this is all but useless in the event of major crash. Our state requires to age 8 and 80 lbs. So that is where I don’t know what to do about 10-year-old. At the rate he is gaining weight, he’ll be 18 before he reaches 80 lbs. :))) Cars are not made for the short and lightweight. I know that all too well. I have seriously considered having my air bag disabled b/c it would hit me squarely where it could do more harm than good, but it is a big legal pain to have this done in our state. Our boys get their short, lean frames from me … anyone have any ideas for our 10-year-old. I’m all ears.

By: ratgirl

ratgirl — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:32:48 +0000

We have a Marathon and a Roundabout. My 3 year old still fits in the Roundabout just fine. She isn’t anywhere close to the 40 pound limit. She uses the Roundabout when in one car, and the Marathon in the other. I wish my 7 year old would still use the Marathon in fact – he still fits it easilly too. His head is still way below the top. Just this year, though, he became too vain to use it and now has a booster like his brother’s.
In our state, kids have to be in boosters until 7. That seems way too young to give up boosters. Even my 9 year old isn’t quite tall enough to go without one.

By: hopingfor08

hopingfor08 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:50:13 +0000

I just wanted to thank justplainbecky especially for her wonderful posts. I have just ordered a Britax Marathon from the site to which she linked. To my surprise and delight, they had a couple of models on major sale ($100 off) depending on the fabric and those being overstocked. I have owned too many car seats to count with DD being our 3rd and our oldest almost 11. The one I have now and purchased right before we brought DD home (fall 08) has been a big disappointment b/c it throws her head forward when she falls asleep. I know this cannot be safe. It is going to be relegated to being the back-up for short trips w/ Grandma who lives just across town and won’t buy a new seat (the one she wants to use WE purchased when my oldest was about a year old). DH is going to get rid of it next time he is at their house. :)

Anyway, thank you all for an informative discussion and especially jpb for sharing all of those links.

Oh and I’m looking into the Sunshine Kids boosters for my almost 7-year-old. Anyone out there w/ an almost-11-year-old who is about 50″ but only 50 lbs. What do I do???

By: momofnlc

momofnlc — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:32:55 +0000

RQ – I knew you knew that, just was pointing it out in case others did not, sorry for pointing it at you. Many people do not realize that seats can be outgrown before that weight limit.

By: RumorQueen

RumorQueen — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:36:23 +0000

justplainbeckyw – you are exactly right, Britax tests and does their own voluntary recalls without children having to die first.

Many of the other seat manufacturers only do recalls once the government pretty much forces them to, and that is after kids have died due to a defect.

By: RumorQueen

RumorQueen — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:33:02 +0000

Right momofnic… look at what I said:

“The marathon goes to 65 pounds, unless they are getting too tall for it, you’ve got a long time until you have to look for boosters.”

GG is a good bit older than akindofmagic’s kids and GG is still fine in her Boulevard, has several inches and many pounds before she outgrows it, in fact.