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baby travel systems recall image
mj infinit
We want to make sure our grandchild is safe and are buying him/her the essentials. We need to know what the safest ca rseat is.
Answer
You want the one that will fit the best, will recline to 45 degrees (at least) safely (is designed for it) and is easy to make sure that the baby will fit right in it. You do not want one that you have to put an insert in for it to work for a newborn (like a convertible. They're my favorite once the baby is older than 6 months, but not as good for under 6 months.) You also want one that has a good weight facing backwards in case he/she tips 20lbs too quickly. Because of last year's reports about how dangerous it is for a baby to be left to sleep in a car seat and the number of handle recalls, you also want to see if the manufacturers are addressing that. For the sleeping issue, the car seats need to go back to 45degrees but you may see designs where the back of the seat lays back just a bit more to tip the head back so that the chin doesn't go into the chest. I'd watch new car seats to see if they do that.
So there are a few that seem to be top rated in the accident scores. These are the ones I've been looking at and why.
Baby Trend FlexLoc. This has one of the highest rated safety scores and has 2 angle bars (to tell you if the angle of the car seat is at that safe 45degree angle.) One is for the new born babies, one is for the older baby. This makes it easy to make sure that you are using the right angle for your baby. :) It also is very easy to adjust the harness to make sure it fits the baby. You don't have to rethread. It also faces back to 30lbs, and it's a rare baby who is going to weigh more than 30lbs in the first year. :) The only problem is that the seat-belt hooks are ANNOYING. Go to a store and try it out and it's a pain in the neck. Also, some were recently recalled because of their base not being safe. :/ That usually means the new bases are even safer though, so it may be a positive.
Graco-32 Snugride. This ALSO tested very high in crash tests done by independents. It's slightly more expensive than the babytrend, but it goes to 32lbs, and the angler in the base of the seat is neat. Plus the belt hook up is easy (Graco usually is.) Still, if I was to get a Graco Snugride, I'd just get the Graco-35 since it's basically the same price, but a bit newer and so might be a bit safer with newer updates. I'd also watch the SnugRides closely since there's a good chance they'll introduce some innovation that will address the sleeping car seat baby problem, at least in my opinion.
Chicco infant seats have also rated very high in collision tests consistently. They run about $180. They go to 30lbs, but also as low as 4lbs, which is nice. Also their strollers do a full recline, which is much MUCH better than any of the other strollers since newborns should be laying as flat as possible until they're older (that breathing issue again.) So a travel system by Chicco is about the only one I would recommend to people looking for a travel system. :)
Britax Chaperone is more expensive, but from my experience Britax is one of the highest safety rated car seats out there. :) I like them. A lot. They go to 30lbs, which should last at least the first year. But, it's over $220 depending on where you look.
You want the one that will fit the best, will recline to 45 degrees (at least) safely (is designed for it) and is easy to make sure that the baby will fit right in it. You do not want one that you have to put an insert in for it to work for a newborn (like a convertible. They're my favorite once the baby is older than 6 months, but not as good for under 6 months.) You also want one that has a good weight facing backwards in case he/she tips 20lbs too quickly. Because of last year's reports about how dangerous it is for a baby to be left to sleep in a car seat and the number of handle recalls, you also want to see if the manufacturers are addressing that. For the sleeping issue, the car seats need to go back to 45degrees but you may see designs where the back of the seat lays back just a bit more to tip the head back so that the chin doesn't go into the chest. I'd watch new car seats to see if they do that.
So there are a few that seem to be top rated in the accident scores. These are the ones I've been looking at and why.
Baby Trend FlexLoc. This has one of the highest rated safety scores and has 2 angle bars (to tell you if the angle of the car seat is at that safe 45degree angle.) One is for the new born babies, one is for the older baby. This makes it easy to make sure that you are using the right angle for your baby. :) It also is very easy to adjust the harness to make sure it fits the baby. You don't have to rethread. It also faces back to 30lbs, and it's a rare baby who is going to weigh more than 30lbs in the first year. :) The only problem is that the seat-belt hooks are ANNOYING. Go to a store and try it out and it's a pain in the neck. Also, some were recently recalled because of their base not being safe. :/ That usually means the new bases are even safer though, so it may be a positive.
Graco-32 Snugride. This ALSO tested very high in crash tests done by independents. It's slightly more expensive than the babytrend, but it goes to 32lbs, and the angler in the base of the seat is neat. Plus the belt hook up is easy (Graco usually is.) Still, if I was to get a Graco Snugride, I'd just get the Graco-35 since it's basically the same price, but a bit newer and so might be a bit safer with newer updates. I'd also watch the SnugRides closely since there's a good chance they'll introduce some innovation that will address the sleeping car seat baby problem, at least in my opinion.
Chicco infant seats have also rated very high in collision tests consistently. They run about $180. They go to 30lbs, but also as low as 4lbs, which is nice. Also their strollers do a full recline, which is much MUCH better than any of the other strollers since newborns should be laying as flat as possible until they're older (that breathing issue again.) So a travel system by Chicco is about the only one I would recommend to people looking for a travel system. :)
Britax Chaperone is more expensive, but from my experience Britax is one of the highest safety rated car seats out there. :) I like them. A lot. They go to 30lbs, which should last at least the first year. But, it's over $220 depending on where you look.
What is the best car seat and stroller combination?
New Mommy!
I want to buy a car seat and stroller that can easily be interchangeable. I hate the big heavy strollers so I was looking for something that is lightweight and not a pain to carry around.
Any suggestions?
Answer
If lightweight and small is one of your most important qualities, and you'd also like to save a little money, definitely just buy an infant seat and a universal car seat stroller separately. There is the Baby Trend Snap 'n Go, Combi Flash EX, Kolcraft makes one, and Graco makes a car seat carrier for the Graco SnugRide.
A universal car seat carrier stroller is as small and lightweight as it gets, fitting in the smallest trunks. And then once you're done with the infant seat in 4-6 months, you can get a high quality stroller that will be lightweight. The strollers that come with travel systems tend to be of lower quality anyways, so when moms buy them, they then end up having to buy another stroller before they're done with the stroller years, so you won't miss out on anything by not getting one.
Steer clear of Evenflo Infant seats - too many recalls and crappy recall fixes.
Also, thought I'd mention a few important things about infant carrier seats:
Carriers should NEVER be placed on grocery carts. It makes the carts unstable and they can tip over, seriously injuring the baby. Also, not all car seats fit all carts, and they don't lock on, they're just sitting there, posing an obvious threat. And some of the carts are shaped or sized in a way that it puts the carrier at an unsafe/uncomfortable angle for the baby. I've seen babies laying in carriers on carts with their head lower than their feet - not a good idea for digestion or spit up.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says Parents and caregivers should never Place an infant carrier on top of the shopping cart. "Many infant-only car safety seats lock into shopping carts, and many stores have shopping carts with built-in infant seats. This may seem safe, but thousands of children are hurt every year from falling out of shopping carts or from the carts tipping over. Instead of placing your baby's car safety seat on the cart, consider using a stroller or front pack while shopping with your baby. "
Also, we are seeing rampant developmental delays becuase babies are in these carriers (and swings, and bouncy seats...) so much. Look around everywhere you go and instead of holding their babies, people have them in these carriers. When on their back and harnessed (and any time a child is in a carrier, he needs to be harnessed, even though its not in a car!) they can not work the muscles they need to develop to crawl, sit up, and walk. In the manuals for these carriers, it even says specifically 'for use in cars and strollers only'! But we all seem to miss that part.
DANGEROUS ON SHOPPING CARTS:
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/aug06shoppingcart.htm
http://www.medem.com/search/article_display.cfm?path=n:&mstr=/ZZZT24LYQMC.html&soc=AAP&srch_typ=NAV_SERCH
SLINGS:
http://www.thebabywearer.com
TOO MUCH TIME IN SEATS:
http://www.oandp.org/jpo/library/2003_03_102.asp
http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/child_health/car-seats.html
http://stonyfield.typepad.com/babybabble/2008/02/bouncy-chairs-a.html
If lightweight and small is one of your most important qualities, and you'd also like to save a little money, definitely just buy an infant seat and a universal car seat stroller separately. There is the Baby Trend Snap 'n Go, Combi Flash EX, Kolcraft makes one, and Graco makes a car seat carrier for the Graco SnugRide.
A universal car seat carrier stroller is as small and lightweight as it gets, fitting in the smallest trunks. And then once you're done with the infant seat in 4-6 months, you can get a high quality stroller that will be lightweight. The strollers that come with travel systems tend to be of lower quality anyways, so when moms buy them, they then end up having to buy another stroller before they're done with the stroller years, so you won't miss out on anything by not getting one.
Steer clear of Evenflo Infant seats - too many recalls and crappy recall fixes.
Also, thought I'd mention a few important things about infant carrier seats:
Carriers should NEVER be placed on grocery carts. It makes the carts unstable and they can tip over, seriously injuring the baby. Also, not all car seats fit all carts, and they don't lock on, they're just sitting there, posing an obvious threat. And some of the carts are shaped or sized in a way that it puts the carrier at an unsafe/uncomfortable angle for the baby. I've seen babies laying in carriers on carts with their head lower than their feet - not a good idea for digestion or spit up.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says Parents and caregivers should never Place an infant carrier on top of the shopping cart. "Many infant-only car safety seats lock into shopping carts, and many stores have shopping carts with built-in infant seats. This may seem safe, but thousands of children are hurt every year from falling out of shopping carts or from the carts tipping over. Instead of placing your baby's car safety seat on the cart, consider using a stroller or front pack while shopping with your baby. "
Also, we are seeing rampant developmental delays becuase babies are in these carriers (and swings, and bouncy seats...) so much. Look around everywhere you go and instead of holding their babies, people have them in these carriers. When on their back and harnessed (and any time a child is in a carrier, he needs to be harnessed, even though its not in a car!) they can not work the muscles they need to develop to crawl, sit up, and walk. In the manuals for these carriers, it even says specifically 'for use in cars and strollers only'! But we all seem to miss that part.
DANGEROUS ON SHOPPING CARTS:
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/aug06shoppingcart.htm
http://www.medem.com/search/article_display.cfm?path=n:&mstr=/ZZZT24LYQMC.html&soc=AAP&srch_typ=NAV_SERCH
SLINGS:
http://www.thebabywearer.com
TOO MUCH TIME IN SEATS:
http://www.oandp.org/jpo/library/2003_03_102.asp
http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/child_health/car-seats.html
http://stonyfield.typepad.com/babybabble/2008/02/bouncy-chairs-a.html
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