mtnbaby
06-07-2004, 12:23 PM
I know I had read the warnings so many times before but the best car seat for you is the one that FITS in YOUR car! Every car/model/year is slightly different so even though that great Peg Perego or Britax Roundabout works wonderfully for your friend/sister/mom, if you do not have the same exact car, the seat may never be safe in your car. 9 out of 10 car seat are installed improperly to some degree! Scary statistic!
One goods source of info is www.carseatdata.org It lists all the different make/models/years of car and how all car seats fit from actual expereience (parents send in their successes and fialures so you do not have to go through the same thing...). It lists if they were checked by a CPS tech (people trained to install car seats properly) so give those reviews more credibility. Cars can even vary greatly from year to year so that is very important to consider as well.
One note on rear-facing convertible car seats from my expereience--they tend to be more difficult/particular to install so DEFINATELY test them out or check the www.carseatdata.org website to see if anyone had success with your particular situation before buying one. You'd hate to be stuck with one that doesn't fit properly just because you dropped $200!
I know that some storees let you take out a seat to test out if you leave a Driver's license but even though you think it may fit fine, be sure to contact a CPS tech to make assurances. To find a CPS tech in you area, go to www.nhsta.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/cpsfitting/
and just enter your zip code.
I am writing this because there is SO MUCH info out there to weed through when making this important decision and I know I lost track of the most important thing after considering the name brands, fabric color/designs and convinence....KEEPING YOUR BABY THE SAFEST YOU POSSIBLY CAN :)
One goods source of info is www.carseatdata.org It lists all the different make/models/years of car and how all car seats fit from actual expereience (parents send in their successes and fialures so you do not have to go through the same thing...). It lists if they were checked by a CPS tech (people trained to install car seats properly) so give those reviews more credibility. Cars can even vary greatly from year to year so that is very important to consider as well.
One note on rear-facing convertible car seats from my expereience--they tend to be more difficult/particular to install so DEFINATELY test them out or check the www.carseatdata.org website to see if anyone had success with your particular situation before buying one. You'd hate to be stuck with one that doesn't fit properly just because you dropped $200!
I know that some storees let you take out a seat to test out if you leave a Driver's license but even though you think it may fit fine, be sure to contact a CPS tech to make assurances. To find a CPS tech in you area, go to www.nhsta.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/cpsfitting/
and just enter your zip code.
I am writing this because there is SO MUCH info out there to weed through when making this important decision and I know I lost track of the most important thing after considering the name brands, fabric color/designs and convinence....KEEPING YOUR BABY THE SAFEST YOU POSSIBLY CAN :)