Question Seat for FF 2 year old, on a budget

ktgrok

New member
I am replacing our Evenflo Titan that was in an accident. The insurance company will pay the replacement value, about $99. I am willing to spend a bit more, but can't spend a lot more as we just found out we have another baby on the way, and will need to buy that one a seat soon! So....I read a lot of reviews and bought the Graco Nautilus. I like it but the headrest has limited adjustsments, and at the lowest spot the red belt guides are below her shoulders which is a no no according to the manual. At the next highest setting it is so high that the headrest is just under the top of her head, basically making her head lean forward just a bit, which I do not like at all. I don't think she seems comfortable in it and I want to take it back. I liked the Alpha Omega seat in the store, but am reading now that it is impossible to clean and we are messy people, so that is no good at all.

Can someone give me the name of a seat under 200 that will last her a long time , that is comfortable for the kid (very important) and not impossible to clean? Installation ease is not important, we are willing to work at it to get the right fit and don't plan to move it once it is in. (we only drive her in one vehicle.)

As for the vehicle, it is a Dodge Caravan with bench seats. We've had no problem with other seats in it.

Thanks!
 
ADS

ktgrok

New member
I agree with Wendy I'd continue to rear face. The myride is $110 online right now and that should last until she's ready for a booster.

I had planned to rearface her much longer, but she is an escape artist. seriously, she is the reincarnation of houdini. I switched her to FF after she managed to escape and was standing in her RF seat, looking over the top at me. We have the Houdini Stop buckle to make her seat more secure, but even with that she sometimes will manage to get undone on long trips if I can't keep an eye on her, and if she is bored. It was TERRIFYING to find her standing up in her seat on the highway!!! And yes the straps are adjusted each time to be snug, but she has this ability to suck in her stomach and chest cavity and wiggle her arms ups by her head, and she can push the chest clip down to help accomplish this. We tried using locking diaper pins to keep her from moving the chest clip but she BENT them!!! I was terrified she would get one out and swallow it. Sigh....so on that trip I pulled over, cried, readjusted her seat FF, and between that, the houdini stop strap that slows her down some, and grace she hasn't gotten more than one arm out since, and only once. She knows I can see her better if she is FF, and she can see out which keeps her interested (she is in the center of the bench seat in my minivan so she has a good view of the road). I may try again to RF but there is a good chance that she will end up FF again if we still have problems, so I'm shopping based on the idea of FF.

As for weight she is 28 pounds. On the thin side.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Unfortunately, the Houdini stop is unsafe and must be removed. It helps in NZ where they don't have chest clips. But even so, it's not meant to be used with your seat, and it can potentially hurt your child by not breaking open or moving down in a crash.

Also, you don't want to put pins through the harness. The holes can weaken the webbing so it tears, rather than stretches, in a collision.

Is your child wearing a puffy coat in the car?

I'd rear face again, have a big mirror there so she can see you and you can see her, and I'd look at the Evenflo Triumph 65, Graco My Ride, First Years True Fit, Maxi Cosi Pria, and Diono Radians. I guarantee she won't be able to get the Diono chest clip open. Down, maybe, but not open.

Wendy
 

ktgrok

New member
Unfortunately, the Houdini stop is unsafe and must be removed. It helps in NZ where they don't have chest clips. But even so, it's not meant to be used with your seat, and it can potentially hurt your child by not breaking open or moving down in a crash.

Oh, the website said it was safe to use and crash tested, etc. I don't have it on the nautilus we bought yesterday, and she didn't try to get out. I will leave it off.
Also, you don't want to put pins through the harness. The holes can weaken the webbing so it tears, rather than stretches, in a collision.
good point, and we haven't used them since I got the houdini stop.
Is your child wearing a puffy coat in the car?
NOpe, we live in florida. At first I thought it was the bulky cloth diapers, but I switched to disposable in the car with the same issue. She's just a houdini. She really can contort herself. She can also get out of strollers, highchairs, etc and the shopping car seatbelts are a joke and totally useless. She really does almost invert her stomach, and sucks in her ribcage in an really bizarre way to do this.

I'd rear face again, have a big mirror there so she can see you and you can see her, and I'd look at the Evenflo Triumph 65, Graco My Ride, First Years True Fit, Maxi Cosi Pria, and Diono Radians. I guarantee she won't be able to get the Diono chest clip open. Down, maybe, but not open.

Wendy
We did have a mirror, but every now and then it would fall down, i think the high heat in florida? I can try rearfacing again, maybe she's over her escaspism, but honestly, as much as I know rearfacing is safer, it isn't safer if her arms are out of the straps.
 

CrunchyMaineMama

Senior Community Member
Get some lightweight special "car only" toys and books for her. At 2 years old you could also explain why her car seat is important and that she needs to stay in it. Praise like crazy when you get somewhere and she hasn't tried to escape.

As for seats, Wendy covered what I'd recommend as well :)
 

ktgrok

New member
Get some lightweight special "car only" toys and books for her. At 2 years old you could also explain why her car seat is important and that she needs to stay in it. Praise like crazy when you get somewhere and she hasn't tried to escape.

As for seats, Wendy covered what I'd recommend as well :)

We have a whole container of toys and books i keep in the car. When she would get bored she would throw them, then start working on getting out. I can't imagine she will stay in the seat fully rear facing without the houdini strap. I just don't think it will work. FF without it probably, as she is more distracted by the driving (she likes to say "whee!" when we turn corners...even at 10 mph, lol.). Again, although RF is safer, not being contained, even once, in the event of a crash would be devastating.

Which of these seats works well both RF and FF? I've heard complaints that the my ride is too steeply reclined when FF. Is that really an issue?
 

ktgrok

New member
Oh, and do any in person stores carry the True Fit? It looks great, and I like how easy it is to clean, but it seems like you can only buy it online? I want to see it and feel the padding first.

How would the Triumph and the My Ride compare, if I can't find the True Fit?
 

ktgrok

New member
I should explain that we drive 3 hours round trip an average of once a week, on top of about 30 minutes to get anywhere in our town, so she is in it for long periods of time, which may be why she gets so good at getting out, she has time to practice!!!
 

AliTN

New member
We bought a Nautilus Elite when our ds was 2. I RF until then and thought I was doing well to make it that long! LOL Anyway, we had no problems with the fit at that age. Because he was harnessed, I did not worry about the location of the red shoulder belt guides because they were not being used. They did fall below his shoulders, but the headrest was in the correct position. The red belt guides were on the outsides of his shoulders so they were not even touching him. The headrest being lowered down to his correct level did not impede the shoulder straps of the harness, so there was no problem. You should not have to raise the headrest to worry about the shoulder belt guides until they are using it as a booster. Once they are using it as a booster, the red shoulder belt guides should not fall below their shoulders. That is for seat belt mode only - NOT harnessed mode. Use the harness and fix the headrest to her correct position. I hope that makes sense.

I am not sure which nautilus you got, but we had to go ahead and take out all of the extra padding it came with. It's only made to be used on the lowest harness slot and my ds was already on the second shoulder slot when we started using the seat.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The True Fit is at BRU.

Here's the thing about the Houdini Stop crash testing:

Methodology and Test Protocol: No New Zealand or Australian federal regulations exist that govern the Houdini Stop.

Same with US testing. They can say it's crash tested all they like. There are no standards by which it's held. They offer no numbers. They show no pictures, only simulations. And it was designed to be used on carseats that don't already have a chest clip. The straps may be very different because of that (our chest clips are designed to break open or move down in a crash, so as not to hurt the child. Will this? Do the straps allow it to move? Will it open?). I would never use it. Considering my child's throat is likely to end up at that spot on the harness at some point during the initial crash if forward facing, it could cause a LOT of damage.

What kind of mirror did you have, and what car do you have? My mirror can't go anywhere. It's looped completely around the headrest and hooked back onto itself. This is the one I have. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Brica-Baby-In-Sight-Mirror-Gray/dp/B004L2JJAK/ref=dp_cp_ob_ba_title_1"]Amazon.com: Brica Baby In-Sight Mirror, Gray: Baby[/ame]

The My Ride is shorter than the Triumph. The weight limits are the same.

Wendy
 

MommyShannon

New member
There are mirrors that are pretty soft and strap to the headrest if there is on in that spot. I'm sorry you are in such a tough spot. I hope something works for you. I'm not a tech, but I've heard of putting a button up shirt on over their clothes and leaving it unbuttoned until they are in the seat, then button it over the harness. Even FF my kids have tried escaping but now understand how important it is and don't anymore. Thank goodness my 22 month old hasn't tried but she has DD and DS to keep her entertained and to let me know what she is doing. If she likes to keep her hands busy, I wonder if lacing cards would help.
 

jess71903

Ambassador
The True Fit at BRU is branded Lamaze. The padding on the TF is pretty awesome. We love our TFs. With a child as light as what you have, I'd probably go with the True Fit over the MyRide, because I do like it better as a foward facing seat. The novelty of a new seats might keep her in it for a while, too.

We have about the same driving habits as you do. We live 30 minutes from everything and have to go to town at least 5 times a week, but usually more. The trying car seat times were really trying for us!
 

ktgrok

New member
The True Fit is at BRU.

Here's the thing about the Houdini Stop crash testing:



Same with US testing. They can say it's crash tested all they like. There are no standards by which it's held. They offer no numbers. They show no pictures, only simulations. And it was designed to be used on carseats that don't already have a chest clip. The straps may be very different because of that (our chest clips are designed to break open or move down in a crash, so as not to hurt the child. Will this? Do the straps allow it to move? Will it open?). I would never use it. Considering my child's throat is likely to end up at that spot on the harness at some point during the initial crash if forward facing, it could cause a LOT of damage.

What kind of mirror did you have, and what car do you have? My mirror can't go anywhere. It's looped completely around the headrest and hooked back onto itself. This is the one I have. Amazon.com: Brica Baby In-Sight Mirror, Gray: Baby

The My Ride is shorter than the Triumph. The weight limits are the same.

Wendy
ok, I get that. You say you would never use it. What would you do then if your barely verbal child was escaping their seat? Honestly, when we got it, the choice was use it and risk whatever happens, or have her arms out of the seat on the highway going 70mph, so she was only restrained by the lap part. That seems more dangerous. A mirror is not going to entertain her enough, although it might let me catch her more quickly, pull over, tell her no, and put it back properly. I think when she is older she may listen better but right now she is not able to understand why it is dangerous, and I can't be back there to catch her.

I think we can do without the strap if we FF. We just took a ride in the nautilus again and she hasn't tried to get out at all, so that is good. I may just try lowering the headrest as someone else mentioned. I guess it is ok if you are not using the shoulder things for the belt, and still harnessing?
 

hrice

New member
I find the Evenflo crotch buckle and chest clip much harder to undo than most brands. The Evenflo Triumph 65 might be another good option to rear face her in.
 

MommyShannon

New member
What does anyone think about the massive radian harness covers? They look like they'd prevent the clip from being pushed down which is how she is escaping.
 

Jillybeans5

Active member
hrice said:
I find the Evenflo crotch buckle and chest clip much harder to undo than most brands. The Evenflo Triumph 65 might be another good option to rear face her in.

I'll second that, the evenflo buckle and clips are extremely difficult for little hands and not all that easy for bigger ones. I can't imagine any 2yr old being able to escape from the triumph 65.
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,656
Messages
2,196,896
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top