Which car seat for 1 year old?

[mmclay]

My daughter just turned 1 and weighs a little over 20 lbs. She is currently uses a Peg Perego Viaggio rear facing seat but has just about outgrown it. What would you recommend for a new seat? I would like something inexpensive because we will have to buy 3 of them, so we don't have to change them between cars. I would also like to get her a seat that she will be able to use for a while. Finally, I don't want anything too big because we have another baby on the way and it will be going in her old seat. The seats will need to fit in a four door Acura TL and an MDX. I really appreciate your help because I don't even know where to begin. THank you!

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Peg Perego - Click for more info Founded by Italian designer Guiseppe Pérego all the way back in 1949, Peg Pérego quickly branched out from traditional prams to strollers, high chairs, car seats, toys and accessories. Internationally renowned for innovative products and a supreme sense of style, Peg Pérego creates some of the most enjoyable and eye-catching transportation and safety options for children all over the world. With factories and offices in Italy, Germany, Canada, and the U.S., Peg Pérego is a truly international entity, blending technology and history to create lines that are reputable and safe. Peg Pérego professes a "dedication to original and innovative products designed for discriminating consumers who demand fashion, individuality, quality and safety in the products they purchase for their babies and young."

[Papooses]

1st please make sure there is at least 1" of space between the top of baby's head & the inside edge of the shell/frame -- if not, then she has already outgrown her seat....

I'm not sure about the TL, but the MDX is great for installing seats: even really big ones What is your highest budget amount & is one car used more often than the other

[mmclay]

Thank you for replying. I will check on the measurment to make sure it is not already to small. I was hoping to find something for around $100. The MDX is the car that is used the most often.

[Papooses]

The Safety 1st Uptown is a nice cost effective option for about $100 & the Cosco Scenera is a good spare seat option based on the Uptown, but without the frills for only $35-50.... Options over $100 include:

• The new Evenflo Triumph Advance
• Sunshine Kids Radian65
• Britax Marathon/Boulevard/Decathalon
• Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe
• Recaro Signo/Como

I personally would try for the Recaro Signo (or Britax Boulevard, Radian65, Triumph Advance) for the primary vehicle + an Uptown and/or Scenera as spare seats. These seats keep kids harnessed longer & have other safety features that help enhance Ride Down to reduce crash forces upon the body. Not all of these seats are up on the manufacturer's websites, but you will find them via Google & many Babies-R-Us stores

What's most important is that each seat can be used correctly by each adult. Child correct buckled + carseat correctly installed. Your local CPST should be able to help you achieve correct installation (make sure you request to see their current SafeKids certification card & ask when they last attended an annual national or regional NHTSA safety conference)

	Britax - Click for more info Britax International has been producing reliable child safety products for over 30 years. Not only does Britax have decades of experience creating car seats and other children's safety equipment, Britax has a long standing reputation as an industry leader and innovator. Britax International is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but Britax car seats are designed and manufactured at facilities in Germany, Austria, and the United States. In the summer of 2002, Britax strengthened their commitment to creating the safest car seats with the opening of a brand new, state-of-the-art crash testing facility in North Carolina. Britax car seats have a reputation around the world for being some of the safest, most reliable, and best designed child safety seats ever made.

	Britax Boulevard - Click for more info It is all about the wings with the Britax Boulevard convertible car seat - head and torso safety wings help keep your child from harm in a side-impact crash. And this matters - side-impact crashes are the leading cause of death for 6 - 14 year-old children. Of course, the safety wings are only one of the many safety features that the Britax Boulevard offers: built-in lock-offs, 5-point harness with front adjuster, tangle-free webbing, a push button release LATCH system with Versa-Tether®, and a sculpted base, ensuring an easy installation with a secure fit.

	RECARO - Click for more info With over 100 years of company history and long standing experience in vehicle seat construction RECARO knows how to make long journeys a pleasure for the whole family. Materials, design and technical highlights ensure a pleasant journey for adults and children alike. RECARO uses its strength as the premier mobile seat manufacturer to engineer an innovative line of products for your children. No other manufacturer can apply experience from production vehicles, commercial vehicles, and race cars to design toward the comfort and safety of children.

	RECARO Signo - Click for more info The RECARO Signo car seat is the premier convertible child seat RECARO produces. With its 5-70 lbs weight capacity, adjustable harness, and forward or rear-facing convertibility, the deluxe RECARO Signo may be the only car seat you will ever need. The Signo offers the same basic features and specifications as the RECARO Como convertible, but adds a few features - such as double wall head support and infinite harness adjustment settings.

[mmclay]

Thank you so much for all your help. I have decided to go with the Sunshine Kids Radian 65 for all three cars. I found it for $179 so that isn't too bad. And I would rather be safe than sorry. I really appreciate your assistance.

Also, my daughter is just over 20 lbs. so would you recommend keeping the new seat rear facing?

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Sunshine Kids - Click for more info Makers of a number of accessories geared towards making parents lives easier, Sunshine Kids has recently embarked in a new direction. In 2005 they unveiled their first car seat, the Radian. Their years of experience working in children's products focusued on child comfort and parent convenience shine through in this unique convertible car seat. The Radian is packed with safety features and is the first ever folding convertible car seat appealing to parents who car pool or travel often.

	Sunshine Kids Radian 80 or 65 - Click for more info If "the Sunshine Kid's Radian 80 convertible car seat is (probably) the only car seat you will ever need," the "probably" part of this statement comes into play when you directly compare the Radian 80 with the Britax Regent. While the Radian 80 has a very high weight capacity, the seat width is only 10" vs. the Regent's 14" seat. The Britax Regent may be a bit wider, but it is very bulky, is only forward facing, and does not fold like the Radian 80. Because the Radian 80 is so narrow, you can potentially put three of them side by side in the back seat. Three Regents side by side? Impossible.

[Papooses]

Ideally kids should be RF until at least 30# since that is the lowest RF limit on all current convertibles -- the longer the better so long as you're within the manufacturer's stated limits

Do make sure the retailer has a good return/exchange policy JIC, though, because the Radian is known to be more difficult (even impossible) in more vehicles than other seats.... And remember to have a CPST check it for you

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Convertible Car Seats Convertible seats are for infants and toddlers. The seat can be used as a rear-facing seats for younger children, and switched to a forward-facing seat on the child's first birthday if the child weighs at least 20 pounds. However, experts recommend keeping the child in a rear-facing position until he or she outgrows the weight or height allowed by the safety seat.

	Sunshine Kids Radian 80 or 65 - Click for more info If "the Sunshine Kid's Radian 80 convertible car seat is (probably) the only car seat you will ever need," the "probably" part of this statement comes into play when you directly compare the Radian 80 with the Britax Regent. While the Radian 80 has a very high weight capacity, the seat width is only 10" vs. the Regent's 14" seat. The Britax Regent may be a bit wider, but it is very bulky, is only forward facing, and does not fold like the Radian 80. Because the Radian 80 is so narrow, you can potentially put three of them side by side in the back seat. Three Regents side by side? Impossible.

[angiej936]

Rear facing until 30 pounds?? I always heard that they can be forward facing once the child has reached 20 pounds AND is over 1 year. Since my 9-month-old daughter is already 20 pounds, I was going to put her in forward facing when she turns one. Is that not safe?

	Forward Facing Car Seats A forward-facing car seat is one in which the child sits facing the front of the car. The seat should be installed in the back seat of your vehicle. Most forward-facing only seats are for children above 20 pounds.

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

[Papooses]

It is not *as* safe Safest Practice based on autopsy reports & data collected from Scandinavia (where kids RF until about 50# in appropriately designed seats) reveal that kids are dramatically safer RF until at least 2 years and/or 30#

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration + American Academy of Pediatrics both urge parents to keep kids RF until the maximum limits of the convertible carseat

12 months AND (not or) 20# is the absolute bare minimum to turn kids FF: crashes are the leading cause of death for all kids, especially after their 1st year & remains a leading cause of paralysis, brain damage, seizures, amputation, etc. for kids, too Our kids deserve more than the bare minimum....

My website explains this all in more detail & includes printable information to share with families, friends + medical professionals (Too many Pediatricians are sadly unaware of the 6 year old AAP updated policy statement *SIGH*)

	Forward Facing Car Seats A forward-facing car seat is one in which the child sits facing the front of the car. The seat should be installed in the back seat of your vehicle. Most forward-facing only seats are for children above 20 pounds.

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Convertible Car Seats Convertible seats are for infants and toddlers. The seat can be used as a rear-facing seats for younger children, and switched to a forward-facing seat on the child's first birthday if the child weighs at least 20 pounds. However, experts recommend keeping the child in a rear-facing position until he or she outgrows the weight or height allowed by the safety seat.