I'm kind of a stickler about carseats. Those of you who know me at all, know that I like rules and I like them to be followed. One of my hugest pet peeves is seeing kids bouncing around the back of automobiles while they are moving. You wouldn't think things like this would happen in this day and age, but they do. Could be because I live in Oklahoma, I mean, people here still ride around in the back of pickup trucks occasionally. But I digress...
I really think people start putting their kids in just a seat belt with a booster far too early, and I really hope to keep mine in 5-point harnesses as long as I can. It's a personal decision, sure, but my kids are far too wiggly to be trusted to stay in precisely the right position so that the seat belt would work properly in case of an accident. And don't get me started on people who let their kids out of their carseats on long trips because it's "safer" driving on the highway. Or those who do not have their carseats properly installed and whose seats lean when they turn a corner. Holy moly. Not much gets me going, but just THINKING about that is getting me hot under the collar.
Syd and Brenna have Britax Marathons, which I have absolutely no complaints about. They are highly rated for safety, easy to install correctly, comfortable, and cute! Okay, maybe I do have one complaint... they are heavy! And I'm not dragging 2 Marathons to Minnesota when we head up North for Thanksgiving. I don't want to haul them through security and gate check them and I have seen what the luggage handlers do to my luggage, much less my $200-plus carseats.
We have one extra carseat, which we actually bought in Hawaii for the specific purpose of travelling. It's a Safety 1st brand, harnesses to 40 lbs. and can be used as a booster after that with a seat belt. I now need another (under $100) carseat for Brenna. Any suggestions?
What kind of carseat do you use and do you like it? And are you as anal about carseats as I am?
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Thankful
"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried."
G.K. Chesterton
About Me
- Jill
- I'm 35. An Air Force wife. Mother of two little turkeys. Forever in search of ways to keep us all entertained. Thought I'd blog about it, since we're all in this together.
My Fave Tees
Things I"m especially thankful for (in no particular order)
- grace
- babysitters
- children's laughter
- clorox wipes
- Dr. Pepper
- friends
- our family
- People Magazine
- SLEEP
- TARGET
Blog Archive
-
▼
2008
(219)
-
▼
September
(17)
- Carseats
- Fun with Cory's helmet
- SCARY!
- Syd's picture schedule
- Meet up at the Cracker Barrel
- Bring on the cool weather!
- Airplane's Birthday Party
- Syd at school
- On my mind
- Listening Therapy
- Afternoon in the backyard
- Why a Mom would make a good VP
- OKC zoo
- Oh dear!
- Cattle Drive
- Get to work!
- New blog readers
-
▼
September
(17)
Thankfulness
I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
- Gilbert Keith Chesterton
10 comments:
I know you don't like boosters... but, we actually found one at Wal-Mart that can be used on kids over 30# -- which Grayson is and I'm guessing that Syd is too. We bought it solely to take with us on our Disneyworld trip, because we also didn't want to haul a big, heavy seat through 3 airports and 2 plane changes. He's still in his 5 point harness seat when we're driving around, but that booster was a lifesaver. And, we checked it like our baggage and didn't have to worry about it until we got to Orlando. I'd suggest giving Brenna the Safety 1st seat and getting Syd a booster...
No, I'm not that anal, and I do allow Henry to sit in a regular seat to church just down the street (sorry). But, we have a car seat from Target that is SO light and easy to travel with. Plus, it goes from 20-80 pounds, so it will last forever!
Here's the link...
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=/qid=/ref=br_1_br_1_1/602-0130740-5542258?ie=UTF8&node=3579951&frombrowse=1&pricerange=&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=3579951&rank=pmrank&asin=B000FJQL8Q&rh=&page=2
I'm on the same page as you Jill. I plan on checking both the boys' Britax carseats (well padded inside their travel bags to keep them from getting too smashed up) when we go back to Hawaii. They are heavy but since we'll be there for a few months it'll be great piece of mind to know that they'll be safe in the rental car in their own clean seats they are already used to. My feeling is that Syd is still too small for a booster, but I haven't seen her in forever but I doubt she is bigger than Alex and I feel he is too small for a booster as well. We tried the carseat on the airplane for Alex a few flights ago and that was a horrible experience since he kept kicking the seat in front of him no matter what we did. I'm sure your loving in-laws will be more than willing to help you drag them to the car for you! Have a great trip!
-Laura Roy/Wong
When we went to NY this sumer I brought all three carseats with us because I am a bit of a stickler also. Next time I will just rent them from the car rental place. The airline ended up breaking one of the carseats and we didn't even know it until two months after the trip. They broke the foam protection under the cover - it was completely missing!! I never thought to check under there to make sure it was still there.
:)Lisa
I am all about the Britax Diplomat for real life, we love it...but I agree that I would hate to have to carry that heavy thing. My mother-in-law has a neighbor that had a carseat for when her grand daughter comes to visit so we just borrowed that..do you think there is anyone in the family that has a car seat you can borrow? Have you seen those new car seat that turn into a stroller?
I don't have any good suggestions since we haven't traveled much without our car lately. So sorry that I'm not much help, but I did want to chime that we keep Gabi in her car seat at all times!
Jill,
I was just reading this safety test article this morning " http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_on_go_ot/booster_seats " Hope this helps.
I am ANAL about carseats. VERY VERY anal. Why would people put their kids lives at risk because carseats are too expensive? Or because "my kid hates to be facing the back?" Seems silly huh? You may drive safely but you NEVER know when someone else is going to hit your car.
I'm not sure what to tell you for a cheaper seat. Why not just take them and install them on the plane instead of gate check them? Unless you are going by yourself then that might be a bit difficult. We're taking both of ours on the plane when we go to Disney.
This is my hot issue. I really thought no one else still had their 3 year old in a harness but me! I refuse to take Ryan out despite all the "but the booster is soooo easy" comments I get from other moms. I don't carpool to school because I refuse to have him in anything but his Britax Boulevard. Don't even get me started on how my sister-in-law put her daughter in a booster when she was 2! Being an engineer with schooling on how physics work, it's much safer to have an impact spread across 5 points than the 2 of a regular seatbelt. As you can see I have had to defend myself several times on this. :)
On our trip to Boston we took both seats. We checked Ryan's (I know, they don't handle things gently, but so far no damage that we know of) and put Paige's in her seat on the plane. We bought this thing called a Pac Back (made by Cheeky Monkey) that allows you to put the car seat on your back and carry it through the airport. Chris was skeptical, but he loved it. Said it worked great. If you want to take both seats you could get 2 of those ($40 each). There is also that GoGoBabyz thing that attaches to the seat to make a little stroller that is supposed to be fabulous.
In my opinion Syd is too small for a booster. She seems smaller than Ryan and Ryan is way too small for one, too. I drag my Boulevard (goes to 65 lbs. like your Marathon) everywhere!
We take our marathon with us....we either use it on the plane or gate check it. We have been doing it since Riley was an infant and would not have it any other way. We just got a Radian65 for Teagan and we may end up bring that one the next time we travel because it folds flat! We are just as anal as you! I would just bring the marathons....we use this that turns the marathon into a stroller and that makes it easier. GL!!
Liz and Sarah
http://www.gogobabyz.com/products/gogo_kids.html
Post a Comment