Car Seat Fitting

Mind posting pics? We're expecting our first this summer.

 

I have a Britax Marathon 70 in behind the driver (forward facing) with the latch anchors and the tether. I also uses a Prince Lionheart seat saver so my leather doesn't get dented over time. It's a challenge to keep his feet off my seat, so I always have to take off his shoes. Anyway, there's not a lot of room - as in his knees are bent some with his feet on my seat. I'd hate to think about putting a rear-facing Britax in there (the safest car seats!). You'd probably have to move whichever front seat all the way forward (and the back seat all the way back) as it's not save to have it touching the front seat.

FYI, my wife is a certified car seat safety technician/installer. Believe it or not, 90% of do-it-yourself car seat installers have them installed incorrectly (even after reading the car seat & car manuals). Please do your child a favor and have it inspected at your local fire station for free. One of the biggest problems (and not the only one, mind you) is that there should be no more than 1" of freeplay side-to-side and front-to-back in the seat once it is secured (without a child in it).

--Russ

 

In our test-drive (I'm still waiting on delivery) we found plenty of room for our Chicco Keyfit 30 infant seat and Graco MyRide 65 (rear-facing). I was pleasantly surprised.

Russ - All seats sold have to pass the same government standards. There is no single safest child safety seat for all children and vehicles. The safest seat is one that fits your child, fits your vehicle and one you will use correctly each and every time. (car-seat.org). I'm surprised your wife sanctions your use of a seat saver, I thought they weren't safe since they can affect your installation?

 

My wife likes Britax because of the type of foam they use (EPP vs. EPS - whichever is the newer stuff) because of how much safer it is during a crash. Britax is European and they have more stringent safety standards than the USA. That's why she likes them. As for the seat saver, I'm sure she wouldn't use them if they were not safe. After all, she does have to take many classes to be a certified installer. The ones we use are very thin. I've seen her install other seats without them and there does not appear to be any interference.

As an aside, a lot of people also think that the age/weight ratings of the seat are what you should go by (including when to switch from rear facing to forward facing). However, this is not true and does not meet the law in many cases. All-in-all, just be sure to get it checked by a professional (fire station personnel are certified too) and they can educate you much more than any manual or website.

--Russ

 

I intend to keep my son RF until he reaches the RF height limit on the MyRide. He's tall and skinny so the weight limits are useless for us. I'd love to keep him RF until he's 4, but that probably won't happen.

 

I hear ya! Do it for as long as possible

--Russ