When Graco announced their first 4-in-1 car seat, I was parts suspicious and parts intrigued. In general, multi-mode child restraints tend to fall short in at least one mode. It’s no small task to make a restraint suitable for a 4 lb newborn all the way up through an 80 lb 10-year-old.
Ilana has a long torso for her age and doesn’t have much room left in her other boosters. She needed something taller (the third row of the Town and Country doesn’t work for backless boosters and with five kids in seats, moving her isn’t an option). The van has had problems with Safety 1st boosters in the past, but it was a good price and super cool, so decided to give it a shot.
Don’t get too excited! This is just a quick note to tell you that Car Seats for the Littles has had a chance to use and review the new 4-in-1 in all modes and we are very, very, very excited. This picture is just to whet your appetite. Wait for the full review after we have had a chance to use the seat with real, live models for a week. However, at this juncture, we’re comfortable saying that Graco has hit a home run….. to be continued!
One question we see a lot as CSPTs is, “how do I protect my vehicle’s seats when a car seat is installed?” It’s a valid question, especially for expectant parents who wonder what the car seat will do to a vehicle’s interior which was previously untouched by car seats and ground goldfish crackers.
Kiddy USA generously offered us a Kiddy World Plus for review, and I was eager to try one. Unlike any other child restraint in the US, this seat has a protection shield instead of a 5-point harness. This type of restraint is new to the US, but is fairly common in Europe, where restraints similar to this one are seen more frequently.
Maxi-Cosi offers two booster models that received a Best Bet rating in the 2014 IIHS Booster Ratings: the mid-priced, RodiAP and the higher end RodiFix. Both boosters offer a fairly high top belt guide so they’re both long-lasting as the child grows. The RodiFix does not convert to a backless booster, includes ISO-FIX connectors to secure it to the vehicle seat when not in use, and has closed shoulder belt guides that keep the seat belt in place. In this review, we’ll take a close look at the RodiFix.
I’d been a Child Passenger Safety advocate since my oldest daughter was little. At her first birthday, she was 18 lbs — below even the lowest limits for rear-facing. That inspired me to explore the safest options for her. I stumbled onto the facts around extended rear-facing in time to keep her seat backward until around her 4th birthday.
So, you’re scrolling through your local buy-sell-and-trade page, or your local craigslist ads, searching for maybe a new stroller, or some baby clothes for that little one that doesn’’t seem to stop growing. Then, you stumble across an ad for a car seat. “EXCELLENT CONDITION” is what the caption says, along with “Not expired!” It may be a great deal, a bargain, half of what that seat retails for in a store.
Let’s be honest, all day at a dealership trying car seats in all the vehicles would be a dream come true. Ain’t nobody got time and well, the dealership wants to sell those cars without us in them. So, we are just going to make do with a 2007 Chrysler Town and Country and a 2012 Dodge Journey. My CSFTL colleague, Jess, and I both have three kids, in seats, in one row. This is our reality and we know it’s many other’s reality as well for many reasons.
The Safety 1st Advance SE 65 Air + convertible car seat is a recent addition to the Safety 1st roster of child restraints. We were excited to take it and its multiple recline positions, a no re-thread harness and generous weight and height allowances out for a spin!
