Major Help Required

[StarrNanny]

Ok, I need some help here guys. I'm a nanny and I am currently in a bit of a "war" with one of my boss cause her son needs a new seat in my car and I don't think she wants to spend the money on it. In my car he's in a graco comfort sport which i hated from day one but it was all she had and he still fit in it. My other charge (different parents) rides in a Marathon and has tons of room to go. Anyway, the one in the GCS is too tall for it now and she's not getting that it has to do with the top slots and NOT the strap she keeps saying well it he's too tall just loosen the straps, I tried explaining why that won't work and she doesn't get it. Then she says to me well I'll see if my husband can "modify" it. I about fainted. I told her not to bother that I refused to use a seat her husband had cut up. Not only is it not safe, it's not legal. I told her if that's what she wanted to do I'd buy the damn seat myself... but her child wasn't riding in my car like that. The other family I work for gave me a Marathon for thier son in my car and he's still got tons of room to go, cause he's not even in the top slots yet, and thier daughter who's a big kid in in a booster. I'm going to get a new car soon I think, but until that happens I have 3 across in a PT Cruiser... so whatever seat I get it can't be wider than a comfort sport cause the three of them fit all the way across with NO extra room. meaning NO I can't fit a Regent or a Triumph Advance in there.

SO.... I'll be buying a new seat and I need some input from you all. here's the lowdown, 5 pt harness, high top slots, narrow (and certainly not wider than Comfort Sport). I'm trying to avoid a Radian here, cause frankly I can't afford it and since it looks like i am on my own here price is a big deal, plus it's not exactly the easiest seat to install and since I take the seats out alot when I get off on Fridays cause Nannies have lives too I'd like a seat that I'm not fighting with come Monday morning.

[UlrikeDG]

How old and how much does he weigh?

He can continue to use the Comfort Sport until his shoulders are above the top harness slots, so if you've got a little time you may be able to find a better deal on a seat. I think the annual fall baby sales are coming up, but I don't remember which month (i.e., 1-2 months or 3-4 months from now).

[Patriot201]

What is the child's age, weight, and height?

Is he RF or FF?

[Connor's Mom]

Knowing your budget might help as well in helping us make suggestions.
Wow, sound like you are a great nanny too. :)

[cdncasper]

Do you watch all 3 children at once?
Great job making sure your charges are safe. I am a nanny too and I don't even bother asking the parents for carseats, I just buy them myself so I know they are safe and I can use them when I have children of my own.

[oxeye]

Yeah, do you watch all the kids at once? If not, could you use the Marathon for the other child? I'd probably ask the parent who bought the Marathon, but if I were that parent I would say okay if it meant the other child would be safe.

[skaterbabscpst]

The CS is so short that any child just now outgrowing it by height would have tons of room in pretty much any other seat. For now I'd say go for a Scenera or an Uptown. Either would give you plenty of time to save up for a higher-weight seat. :twocents:

[lynsgirl]

The CS is so short that any child just now outgrowing it by height would have tons of room in pretty much any other seat. For now I'd say go for a Scenera or an Uptown. Either would give you plenty of time to save up for a higher-weight seat. :twocents:

:yeahthat:

And if by some chance he is too tall for either of those (probably not, but you never know), the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe is based on the MA shell and retails for approximately $129.99. I realize that's not exactly cheap, but it's less than the MA or the Radian. It RF to 33 lbs/FF to 55 lbs. It does not have the ability to be tethered RF and does not have lockoffs. I am having a major brain meltdown at the moment and can't for the life of me remember if it does or doesn't have EPS/EPP foam, but I know there are those here who will remember :p.

:thumbsup: Kudos to you for caring enough to buy this boy a new seat and :soapbox: to his parents for either not getting it or simply choosing not to.

[UlrikeDG]

Don't know about the Uptown, but the top slots on the Scenera are about the same as the top slots on the ComfortSport.

However, if the child is front facing anyway (I assume so, but wanted to wait for the OP to confirm before making too many suggestions), a $60 Evenflo Chase would probably work quite well.

[skaterbabscpst]

Don't know about the Uptown, but the top slots on the Scenera are about the same as the top slots on the ComfortSport.


Are you sure? Granted, I'm basing it off Joyjoy, but she fit in the Scenera until around her 3rd bday but had outgrown the CS by her 2nd.

She still fit the Uptown in January of this year.

[UlrikeDG]

The ComfortSport seems to have "haunted" slots, like the Titan did back in the day (that one drove us NUTS, trying to figure out why some people thought the slots were so low while others found them to be fine). Anyway, according to the measurements here (http://carseatdata.org/measurements.php?tun=home), they're identical. Of course, I'll be the first to admit that the same kid can fit different seats differently, and that's why its SO important to try seats before you buy them, but I still wouldn't recommend the Scenera for a kid who has outgrown the ComfortSport.

[singingpond]

I have 3 across in a PT Cruiser... so whatever seat I get it can't be wider than a comfort sport cause the three of them fit all the way across with NO extra room. meaning NO I can't fit a Regent or a Triumph Advance in there.


I just looked up the width of the Comfort Sport, and it says 17", so you probably do need something quite narrow. Scenera is 17.5" at widest point, Uptown is 18.25" (someone here was kind enough to measure one for me when I was considering these two seats a few weeks ago). Of course, it also matters where on the seat the widest point is, when determining if a particular seat might puzzle together well with your existing seats. As far as the harness, I think the Uptown's top slots are about an inch higher than the Scenera.

If the child is forward facing, maybe a FF-only seat, like the Evenflo Chase, or Graco Ultra/Platinum Cargo? I've never used a combination seat (FF harness, then becoming a booster for larger child) myself, so I don't know how easy to install these two are, but they are both quite narrow, and I believe I've seen both recommended.

I know you said a Radian is out of the price range right now, but just wanted to point out that it fits perfectly next to a Marathon when both seats are facing the same way -- it sort of tucks under the edge of the Marathon, so the combined width of the two seats is about 3" less than you would expect by adding up their separate maximum widths. Just something to keep in mind when trying to fit 3 seats across....

Amazing, that your employer suggested modifying the seat to raise the top harness slot position :eek: . I guess some people just have no concept of the forces involved in an accident; it's just unreasonable (to put it mildly) to assume that an uncalculated and untested modification to the seat is going to be safe. You'd think that would be common sense, but apparently not... Good for you, for putting your foot down on this issue.

Katrin

[StarrNanny]

sorry for forgetting all the important details. He's about 38" tall, aprox. 30 Lbs., and 2 years old. He is now FF mostly becuase a. he has long legs and kept trying to propel himself off the back of the seat b. he can undo his chest clip and crotch clip and does, especially when he knew i couldn't see what he was doing c. florida plus hot car plus no rear ac vents for rf kids equals red faced little ones.

I DO watch all 3 at the same time on Monday, Weds, and Friday. the other two days I have the two from the other family only.

[Defrost]

Amazing, that your employer suggested modifying the seat to raise the top harness slot position :eek: . I guess some people just have no concept of the forces involved in an accident; it's just unreasonable (to put it mildly) to assume that an uncalculated and untested modification to the seat is going to be safe.

Just wanted to point out for the record that it's not just a theoretical "because-it's-untested" risk. We do know what happens when kids that are too heavy use seats they've outgrown, or when they are FF and using lower, non-reinforced slots. Any slots he could "create" on that seat would NOT be reinforced, and chances are good that in a crash the harness would tear right through the shell. :thumbsdown:

For the OP, keep in mind that this is more than about keeping this child safer than his parents do - having him buckled safely will protect YOU as well. If he were injured in a crash in your vehicle, you would be liable, not the parents who supplied his seat. The laws on this may vary from state-to-state, but aside from the emotional impact of such an event on you, it could have long-term legal consequences as well. What those parents are asking you to do by using his seat improperly is possibly illegal, depending on the laws in your state, and definitely puts you at risk of a lawsuit no matter what the laws state.

That may seem a minor consideration when compared to keeping this child safe, but it may help with the overall argument. While most parents will be offended by someone else putting more effort into their child's safety than they themselves do, it's not quite as inflammatory to point out the legal details. You can just skip the safety argument and go straight to "*shrug* Sorry, I have to cover-my-rear for legal reasons."

[trailrunnermom]

The chart here:
http://www.carseatdata.org/measurements.php?tun=home

says that the Graco Cargo and Evenflo Chase are both 17" wide. These may work in your situation, if you don't mind working around a few things:

PRO: (1) Narrow design; (2) tall (~17") top harness slots; (3) relatively inexpensive (for example, Chase is $59.99 @ BRU, $49.99 after $10 off carseats thru 8/19/07; Graco Ultra Cargo is $79.99 at albeebaby.com). Baby Depot just had the Chase on clearance, if there's one near you to check (in our store, the clearance carseats were up by the registers, not back with the baby stuff.)

CON: (1) The Chase does not have a front harness adjuster (although Evenflo said they were going to make it easier to adjust from the back); (2) If Graco is used as a belt-positioning booster, you have to make sure the shoulder belt fits properly (it can get too loose because the belt guide doesn't allow it slide through freely)--but it doesn't sound like you'll be using it this way, at least not for a long while!; (3) Can only be used FF.

I wouldn't buy these to use full-time for my kids, because of the difficulty to adjust and they're not comfortable for sleeping. But for use for part-time kids, as in your case, they may work well.

[Melizerd]

I know you're trying to avoid the Radian but I thought it's worth pointing out that amazon has it on sale right now. Just in case.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Kids-Radian65-Car-Seat/dp/B000G7YM06/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4844334-9833552?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1186161861&sr=1-1

[UlrikeDG]

Just FYI, the Chase DOES have a front harness adjuster. It always has; even the cheapest versions (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2743346) of the seat do! It's a different style of harness adjuster (on the harness itself, rather than on the bottom of the seat), but it is a front adjuster.

The cheapest versions of the Graco CarGo (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-5545729-4772621?asin=B000E0E8JK&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000E0E8JK|Graco_Treasured_Cargo_Booster_Seat_ _Plaid_Ross&nAID=14110944&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001) do not have a front harness adjuster. You should look carefully to make sure you're getting the correct version (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1186161993/ref=sr_1_1/602-5545729-4772621?ie=UTF8&asin=B000E0GCL2).

[trailrunnermom]

Just FYI, the Chase DOES have a front harness adjuster. It always has; even the cheapest versions (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2743346) of the seat do! It's a different style of harness adjuster (on the harness itself, rather than on the bottom of the seat), but it is a front adjuster.

The cheapest versions of the Graco CarGo (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-5545729-4772621?asin=B000E0E8JK&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000E0E8JK|Graco_Treasured_Cargo_Booster_Seat_ _Plaid_Ross&nAID=14110944&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001) do not have a front harness adjuster. You should look carefully to make sure you're getting the correct version (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1186161993/ref=sr_1_1/602-5545729-4772621?ie=UTF8&asin=B000E0GCL2).

Thank you for noting this ... from looking at the pictures I couldn't see one! There's a family I've been wanting to buy a 2nd seat for so they don't have to move the child's one carseat from his mom's car to grandma's car all the time...now I can consider getting them a Chase--the slots are probably tall enough to allow him to stay harnessed up to the full 40 lbs.! :)

[StarrNanny]

For the OP, keep in mind that this is more than about keeping this child safer than his parents do - having him buckled safely will protect YOU as well.

I know. The thing I guess that bugs me the most is that he's in Marathons in both their cars so it's not like they can't afford good seats. Well, that and i know these people have the money and it's not a matter of not being able to afford a new seat. Iv'e basically given up to the fact that I'm going to get any money out of them. I figure I'm just going to buy a new seat and then ask if they would like to go half on it, and if they say no cut my losses and be glad J is safe.

[StarrNanny]

I know you're trying to avoid the Radian but I thought it's worth pointing out that amazon has it on sale right now. Just in case.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Kids-Radian65-Car-Seat/dp/B000G7YM06/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4844334-9833552?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1186161861&sr=1-1

I saw that... and actually they have the black and gray on sale even cheaper for 161 with free shipping. I might have to accept the fact that this is probably the best fit and just get one.

The other issue is that someone (not sure who) said that that other seats aren't seats they would get for everyday seats. it is worth pointing out that I probably transport these kids more than their parents do... I pick them up and drop them off at school, i take them to gymboree and on outings all over the area. so really they are in my car every single day, so really my car is primary transportation for them and mom and dad's car is secondary.

[Melizerd]

I know there are lots of users here that use the Radian every day. You might start a new thread and ask or search older threads :D

[Brilliantmama]

I know. The thing I guess that bugs me the most is that he's in Marathons in both their cars so it's not like they can't afford good seats. Well, that and i know these people have the money and it's not a matter of not being able to afford a new seat. Iv'e basically given up to the fact that I'm going to get any money out of them. I figure I'm just going to buy a new seat and then ask if they would like to go half on it, and if they say no cut my losses and be glad J is safe.

Yeah, that sucks.

When I was a nanny at 17 yr, I was horrified that the parents buckled the 2.5 yr old in my middle back seat with only a lap belt. I went out and bought the best seat I could afford because I didn't want her chopped in half on my watch.

And what would those parents say if something happened to their precious baby while he was in your car after putting him in a chop-shopped CS or too small seat?

[CDNTech]

I know there are lots of users here that use the Radian every day. You might start a new thread and ask or search older threads :D

We use the Radian every single day... in fact, Aiden switched from a Marathon to the Radian (due to height issues) and actually prefers the Radian over the Marathon (more shoulder room in the Radian).

Now both boys have one and it is *much* easier to buckle Mikkel into the Radian... there is more room for his legs RFing and he can easily hang them over the sides of the seat if he chooses. He seems much more comfortable in the Radian.

The one thing I defintely recommend doing is e-mailing Russ and asking for new wider buckle tongues for the Radian (if you go that route). They are fantastic and make the seat perfect for us.

Just my :twocents: