Built in carseats

[DeeEast]

My nephew and his wife were here and they had a Dodge Caravan with built in carseats. I thought they looked like the greatest thing since sliced bread. You could easily fold up the car seat part and it became a regular seat for an adult.

What I'm wondering is if anybody knows about the safety record of these things? How do they hold up in comparison with a Marathon or Wizard?

[DeeEast]

Bump

[Joolsplus2]

Sorry this got missed....
Well...they are *ok*... they tend not to fit littler kids too well, and aren't really that comfortable (you want to not recline them too far for comfort, as it puts stress on the pelvis in a crash, rather than spreading forces evenly across the body). You'd be in a bind if you only had built-ins and didn't have another seat, say, if your car broke down (not likely anyway, I'm just throwing out the whole list...) If you get the built in, then there is no LATCH in that position.
I think most people are happy with them as spares. I'm sure I'd not mind having one, but I'd use it mostly for other kids riding with us. They certainly can't be installed wrong, so that's a plus, but if the harness doesn't fit properly, then it's maybe not as safe a choice as a regular car seat.
If it costs the same as a car seat, it might be worth it. I looked at built-in boosters as an option for another car I bought a few years ago, and they were like $350....Might as well buy a couple of Huskies for that price!
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[cpstechmom]

My opinion: I don't like them.. When compared to the Marathon (or even a roundabout), there is no comparison. Britax is much better.
My 2.5 yr. old niece is 25-26 pounds and about 34-35 inches tall and I cannot, for the life of me, get those straps tight enough. She has no head support when sleeping and her head kept falling forward. Apparently they usually recline the seat a little bit when she is sleeping, but I don't think that is as safe, plus my ds' roundabout is in the seat next to her, so the seat can't be reclined.

They are nice b/c they are already there, but they are terrible for smaller kids. I tried my ds in one and he loved sitting in it, but didn't fit at all. I could not get those straps snug..

Anyway, that's my opinion after using them fro 2.5 days...

Actually, Jools, there is LATCH in the built in seat position. I installed Cias' RA using LATCH in a position where there is a built in seat. The lower and upper anchors are there.


Janice M. Mom to Cias-born 4/13/02 and forever rear-facing in his Britax Marathon.

[Joolsplus2]

Thanks for the input Janice. I don't remember where I read the thing about no latch in the built-in spot, but I'll be sure to say, "check to see" rather than "there isn't" from now on, lol.

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx