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View Full Version : The book doesn't review forward facing seats. Any suggestions?



blossom
03-28-2001, 05:24 PM
I need a forward facing seat for my 14 month old who is just getting out of her infant seat. The book only rates the convertable ones. Has anyone tried the Century Next Step? Is there one better than another? Please help.

mom@home
04-27-2001, 02:31 PM
In the booster seat report that the Fields put out, they said the Century Next Step was not a great seat for 1 year-olds because the recline is so minimal, hence, if she falls asleep, she may not be that comfortable. A great forward-facing seat to consider is the Britax Freeway, which is about $170. A bit pricey, but it reclines and is a super high-quality seat. Good luck!

tobymc
04-27-2001, 02:57 PM
You've got two main options that I see.

If your 14 month old just made it to the height or weight limits on her infant seat, she is probably smallish for her age. She is probably right about 20 pounds. The minimum time for her to go forward facing is 20 pounds AND one year. The maximum, however, is to stay rear facing as long as she hasn't outgrown the weight or height limits of a convertible. Rear facing is MUCH safer than forward facing, and many children are able to stay rear facing to 2 years old or more. So you could go ahead and buy a convertible seat and keep her rear facing, then use it forward facing to 40 pounds or the height limit. The Britax Roundabout, and the Fisher Price Safe Embrace are nice choices. There are a number of others that will do the job as well. You'd still have to buy a booster seat in a few years, but some of them are quite inexpensive, depending on your child's height and weight when outgrowing the convertible, and on your car's features.

The second option is to go ahead and turn her. Then you can consider any forward facing harnessed seat. It sounds like you are interested in the forward facing combo seats that turn into belt positioning boosters later on. They do sit rather upright, and don't give all that much sleeping support, but will last you a long time. You'd want to choose one that has a front adjuster and higher harness slots. These include the Evenflo Express, the Fisher Price Grow With Me, the Graco Cherished CarGo, the Century Breverra Ascend, and the Century Next Step. You can try these in your car, and try your child in them, to see how they fit your car and your child.

You may want to take a look at my database (www.carseatdata.org) to see if any of these seats fits especially well or badly in your cars.

Toby, CPS tech

lesliehagan
05-11-2001, 08:36 PM
We recently got the Britax Freeway Plus for our daughter who just turned one. She is very petite, so she was just starting to exceed the height/weight requirements for her infant carrier. I too was frustrated by the lack of information on forward facing seats.

We are very pleased with the Freeway, it fits very tightly into both my '90 Civic Hatchback and my husband's '95 Acura Integra sedan. My daughter looks very comfortable and secure in the seat, even when sleeping in the upright position.

My only complaint about this seat is that in order to switch between upright and reclined positions you need to re-install the seat and buckle it down in the new position. You can't just reach back and recline the seat when you see the baby has fallen asleep.

They are pricey, but after a little looking around we were able to find it for $133.90 after coupon discount from babystyle.com. It is also available at thebabywarehouse.com for $149 with free shipping.