We purchased Diono Radian RXTs for the kids initially for safety reasons. They have high ratings, the manufacturer has never had a recall on a product, and the crash tests are wonderful! Not to mention the steel reinforced frame! I felt so much safer with my kids in these things than in the one I had purchased locally at the store.
All that was great but when I started getting into car seat research I learned a few things.
- Car seats expire. Typically after 5 years.
- Car seats are useless after a crash, even a minor one. Check with your manufacturer but even after a fender bender most car seats need to be replaced.
- Tethering and LATCH is very important. It's EXTREMELY important to make sure your car seat is installed correctly. Check with your manufacturer and local highway patrol to make sure your seat is installed correctly. Local law enforcement should be able to inspect your seat to make sure it's been put in correctly.
- Bigger or taller kids are hard to fit into the correct seat for their age/development group. Try fitting a tall 10 month old into a common rear facing seat.
- It is super important to use the correct seat for each child's development stage! Just because an 8 month old weighs 20lbs does NOT mean they need to forward face. they still have the same muscle development as any other 8 month old. The muscles in their neck cannot withstand the force of a crash if they are forward facing as well as they can rear facing. Check out this flyer from the American Academy of Pediatrics for more info on this topic.
- Rules and regulations change all the time. Now the AAP suggests to keep children rear facing until 2 years old and older children should ride in the back seat also. This is way different from when I was 6 years old! I used to ride in the front all the time! Now, with more research and statistics it's known that that is actually pretty dangerous.
So why the bigger pricier seats?
My kids are tall. It's hard to fit them rear facing in a common seat because they reach the height limit so quickly. We wanted LATCH seats with tether for added support during a collision. Our seats surpass the suggestions of the AAP in that we can keep them rear facing and harnessed longer. The best part is the money saving!
The cheapest infant car seat I could find runs about $90 and only fits infants less than 30lbs. Add another $90 for a forward facing seat or convertible seat (convertible seats are seats that rear face and forward face). Don't forget your booster seat! You're looking at $25 for a backless or $50 for a high back booster (safer). But none of that can be used for heavier or taller kids. Those cheap boosters top out at 100lbs and the height/weight restrictions don't allow for kids in higher percentiles of growth to continue using them as long as their peers.
Lets look just at the money for a moment. We're looking at $205 for the 3 seats a kid needs from infant to about 8-10 years old. Yes, I said 8-10; most kids need a booster at this age to sit comfortably and be semi protected in an accident. We paid $245 for our seats! Less fuss. Less worry. I don't have to constantly check expiration dates, make sure the kids fit, search for a new seat when they outgrow their current one. I'm covered. Our seats also last a whopping 10 years. Here are the specs on our seat:
So, yes we spent an extra $40 but we also bought top of the line. If you buy top of the line infant, convertible, and booster seats you're looking to spend about $200 per seat.
I love our seats. They're safe, versatile, and when you break it down surprisingly affordable!
Stay green,
Yasha
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