Amy just wanted me to say, Hook This!

Gig Em, Wildcats.

I've noticed a lot of people coming to my journal for car seat help and I *love* that. I thought I'd put some "articles" out there, if you will, to maybe help people find the information they need more easily. Feel free to ask if you have any other questions. I love carseat questions!

Most children will outgrow their infant seats between 6 and 12 months. Children need to be kept rear facing as long as possible, and the next step after the infant seat is a convertible seat. These are my favorite seats in order of my love for them, and a list of duds and why I think they're duds. :)

Of course I should insert a disclaimer that as a child passenger safety technician, I'm not supposed to give out seat recommendations. All seats meet the same federal testing standards, all seats are safe. I believe that and would have no problem putting my kiddoes into any of the approved seats on the market. But as a parent, I know that time, money and trouble are worth a lot, and some of these seats are more hassle free than others.

Britax Marathon/Decathalon/Boulevard These three seats are built on the same shell. I really think the Marathon gives you all the bang for the least buck, but I have no problems with the Decathalon or Boulevard. These seats will rear face to 33lbs and then forward face to 65lbs. Most children will fit in these seats both height and weight wise til they're about 6. I have an average sized 5.5 year old (at the time of this posting) and he's got several more months, quite possibly a year to eighteen months, of grow room in his seat. When he outgrows his Marathon he will still need a booster seat, but I get to choose when that is, rather than a 40lb weight limit.

The Marathon is the base seat. The Decathlon offers an infant insert and toddler pillow. The DC also has a push button harness adjuster which is harder for little hands to manipulate. The DC doesn't have a LATCH bar like the MA. This makes LATCH harder to do but a seat belt installation easier. The Boulevard has LATCH and harness adjusters like the MA but also offers more side impact protection for the head.

Pros Britax seats tether while rear facing. No other seats on the market offer a rear facing tether. Injuries are caused by movement. Tethering a seat while it's rear facing limits the movement it will make in a crash. Britax tests seats in several ways. US testing inolves a bench seat and a 30mph crash at a brick wall. How will other seats perform in a roll over? Side impact? Rear impact? Most of them will do okay, but Britax knows. Britax also collects crashed restraints. If you are in a crash and your crash meets certain standards, they will buy your seat back from you to further test it. Britax harnesses do not twist. Britax seats are lined with EPS foam to absorb energy in a crash. Britax seats come with lock offs for older cars with non-locking seatbelts these are a real plus. Britax has some ease of use and comfort plusses not found on other seats. There are velcro spots on the harness and seat cover, when you take the child out of the harness, you drap the straps over the velcro and they're held out of the way for when you put the child back in. Britax offers belly covers and strap covers that are crash tested with the seat. And one superficial thing to consider is the huge selection of covers available. The covers are very soft and cushy and you can find one to match almost any car interior or theme. Cows, flowers, animal prints, sports themes, even college alumni covers! Totally not safety related, but very fun.

Cons Price. Let's face it $270 for a Marathon is steep, and each level up is even more money. I have a friend who sells them for $240. You won't be able to get one as fast as you would from Babies R Us, but if you're planning ahead and have the time, it might be a good option for you. Another con is Britax's sucky customer service. There's really no other way to put it than "it sucks." They're rude, not open very long, and can give answers that vary largely to the same question. Example: I had a 2 year old Evenflo seat that broke. Evenflo sent me an entirely new seat. The rubber HUGS on my Britax broke at about the 2 year mark. I paid $12 for new HUGS and $8 to ship them. They're little pieces of rubber about the size of a remote control (only lots thinner) and I paid $8 to ship them! Free HUGS would have been nice, but I was okay with paying for them, but COME ON, $8 shipping for what could have been shoved in an envelope and mailed USPS for <$2 is a bit much. Even so I really think they are worth it.

Britax Roundabout This seat is the little sister to the MA/DC/BV. It will only harness up to 40lbs, but it has the same great Britax quality as the bigger seats.

Fisher Price Safe Voyage This is a new seat on the market. It is made by Britax for Fisher Price. It is mainly available at Baby Depot in Burlington Coat Factory. It rear faces to 33lbs and forward faces to 55lbs. It does NOT tether rear facing and it does not have lock offs. If your child is forward facing, I would choose this seat over a Roundabout. It's a bit taller than the MA/DC/BV and has the same non twist harness. It is a bit ugly, but at $159 it's a great bargain.

Evenflo Triumph This is a less expensive convertible seat at around $120. It's Evenflo's top of the line convertible seat, and is nice and comfy feeling and features EPS foam. The seat is pretty tall, and most average sized kids will fit into the harness until they're close to the 40lb weight limit. The harness adjusts via a knob system, so try it out before buying. Some people *hate* the knobs.

Cosco Scerena This is probably one of the cheapest seats on the market, (roughly $40) but I like it. Make sure to get a 5pt harness and not the big bar that comes down, also called an Overhead Sheild. It's easy to install and very basic. The straps will twist, fold and bend, so make an effort from the beginning to keep them straight and you should be okay. Great seat for Grandma's/Dad's/babysitter's car.

Amy's Duds Remember these all pass the same federal safety standards. You can note that I had my youngest one in a "dud" and I'd never put her safety in jeopardy, it's just I find these seats are harder to work with and outgrown quickly.

Anything else Evenflo The harnesses are super short, we're talking average sized kids outgrowing them before they're 3. The harnesses are incredibly dinky feeling, like grosgrain ribbon and tangle if you look at them funny. The harness adjusters are impossible to use. We had one for my youngest as a spare seat and I resorted to sending her to school in the same outfit every week (the one day she rode with her daddy) because it was easier to do than adjust the harness.

Graco Comfort Sport At one point this was one of my favorite convertible seats. It's not moved to dud because of safety reasons, but because of the super short harness. Again kids are too tall for the seat before they're anywhere near 40lbs.

The Alpha Omega/Eddie Bauer 3 in 1 Monstrocity If there's a seat I loathe, this one is it. It's a jack of all trades and a master of none. You wouldn't expect your baby to wear the same shirt from birth through age 8ish, but that's basically what this seat does. As a rear facing seat, it's hard to install and very large. You must remove the base to get it into most cars. The straps twist and bend and tangle. As a forward facing seat, it's VERY short. The top height can't be used with the harness and most kids have to be moved to booster mode at around age 3. Most 3 year olds are not mature enough to sit in a booster, and most of them are under 40lbs and should be harnessed. As a booster seat, the belt is held very far away from the body. Consumer Reports refuses to rank it as a booster. And it's expensive to be a sucky seat. It is advertised as the last seat you'll ever need, but most kids need to be in a carseat of some sort through age 8. Carseats expire after 6 years. You'll still need something, why not buy a better seat to begin with?