my next carseat dilemma continues

Jun 22

Posted by: Rachel in: blog, caleb isaiah, carseats, me myself and i, parenting, ramblings

My poor husband is still scratching his head over why I continually bring up the “next seat” decision, because he still fits in his current seat. Right now he rides in a Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe (He is 2.5 years old and rear facing in these pictures – You can find out more information about extended rear facing and extended harnessing by watching a compilation of videos here). He still fits nicely, but it is somewhat difficult to get him in. He can climb in himself, but when you’re in a hurry, this can be…taxing on ones nerves. When you’re in a hurry, he moves like a slug, when you have plenty of time, he running ahead of you getting into things fast than you can process in your brain. The Safe Voyage Deluxe sits high up on a base, where are the next two seats I’m considering are for bigger kids and sit lower on the vehicle seat.

His current carseat was made by Britax and marketed under the Fisher Price name as a watered down Britax Marathon. Unfortunately (they were sold an an excellent price), they were discontinued and are no longer made. Child Passenger Safety has turned into a bit of a passion of mine. And by passion, I mean obsession. I peak in other people’s cars constantly. I read any and everything I can get my hands on. I look at seats in stores, and I always think about “what’s next.”

For several months now, I have narrowed my choices down to two seats. The Britax Regent or the Frontier. Both seats harness to 80lbs, and the Frontier has a 9 year lifespan (as opposed to the Regent’s 6 year), and it also turns into a belt positioning booster. So theoretically, the Frontier would be the better buy since it has a longer useful life and becomes a booster. But since I don’t care about that (meaning, I don’t mind buying a dedicated booster later), I’m back to square one. Although both seats harness to 80lbs, few children actually make it to 80lbs in the seat. Carseats are usually outgrown by height first. By height, I am referring specifically to torso height, not overall height. The harness slots must be at or above the shoulders when they are forward facing. With that in mind, the harness slots on the Regent are taller, thus it would last longer. And since I’m so obsessed with passionate about his safety, I would have a hard time buying the Frontier knowing that the Regent would keep him harnessed longer. The saying goes, “Each graduation is in carseats is actually a demotion in safety.” Rear face as long as possible, harness as long as possible (most kids are not mature enough to stay seat properly in a booster until at least 5 or 6 years old), use a high back belt positioning booster as long as possible when harnessed are outgrown and be sure that your child passes the 5-step-test before putting them in a seatbelt alone.

I do think I know a good way to resolve my dilemma. Go to a store that carries both seats and install both seats and measure the growing room he has left when they are installed. But this will likely require a 1.5 hour drive. One way. With gas this expensive, I can’t justify a trip. Maybe if I start compiling a list of things I “need” to do, I could justify it ;) We could always take in a children’s museum while we’re there.

Regent or Frontier

Comments

2 Responses to “my next carseat dilemma continues”

    Jen
    June 22nd, 2008 4:15 pm

    Both of my kids were in the Britax Rounabout until recently, when we moved Annabelle into the Sunshine Kids Radian 80. Jack will probably get one soon too. We looked at the Regent and it is HUGE… Annabelle sat in it and she looked so small! We chose the Sunshine Kids because it is narrower and the guy at the store seemed to think the frame was slightly sturdier than the Regent. I love Britax so it was hard for me not to get the Regent but so far we are happy with our choice…

    Rachel says: The Radian also makes a great airplane travel seat (the Regent is not FAA approved) because it is narrow and has the folding feature. I bet both kids would fit well in the Frontier also. It ‘hugs’ smaller kids, but also goes nice and tall. The only time I have put Caleb in a Regent at the store, it swallowed him too. I wish I could combine the side impact of the Frontier with the harness height of the Regent! Cowmooflage would be cute/funny too :)

    Val
    June 23rd, 2008 2:02 pm

    Are you in my head…cause I am debating the same thing.
    J Girl is 4 and finally about to outgrow her Evenflo Triumph. That was rated #2 next to the Britax at the time.

    Now I am looking into, and I think I have it narrowed down, to the Britax Regent. From what I read, it is the only seat that the harness itself is rated to 80 pounds, meaning they can be in a five point harness until this point.

    But, my Mom just sent me the info on the Frontier so I am again undecided. Need to do a little more research.

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