Immigrating and needing help

DanielNathan

New member
We are immigrating with a family of 3 kids.

We will be leaving our carseats here in South Africa and looking to buy new seats. We will inherit my mother in laws Ford Windstar mini.

Kids - Oldest is 41 pounds and will be 7 years old
Middle child is 30 pounds and will be 6 years old
and youngest is 24 pounds and will be 2 years old.

I would like to do the baby rearfacing for at least another 2-3 years if possible.

We will be relocating to Texas, so not sure about the laws.

Hubby will be going ahead of us to set up things and work a few months, so he will be getting the seats so I need to tell him exactly what to get.

Thanks in advance.
 
ADS

lgenne

New member
Welcome to car-seat.org!

Do you have a budget in mind? What year is the Windstar?

Based on your children's ages and weights, you should be looking for:

1) A booster for the 7 year old. Backless may be fine, if (s)he can sit appropriately the whole drive, and the seating position in the minivan has a head rest. If no head rest, look for a high back booster that doesn't require a head rest.

2) A combination seat for the 6 year old. 30 pounds is the bare minimum for booster riding, so a booster is technically an option for this child, too, but there's some evidence that kids under 40 pounds really are safer in a harness, at least up to a certain age. I would be comfortable putting a kid that size in a booster around 7-8. Look for a combination seat that allows use of booster mode under 40 pounds, since it seems unlikely that (s)he'll gain 10 pounds in the next year or 2.

3) A rear facing convertible for the 2 year old. At this child's size, just about any convertible on the market today will get you to your rear facing goal, so it's really about what you want in a car seat. Price, ease of installation, leg room, harness pads, breathable cover (Texas is hot!), no-rethread harness...tell us what you care about and we'll help you narrow it down.

Here's a good place to start: http://carseatblog.com/carseatblogcoms-recommended-car-seats/
 

DanielNathan

New member
Thank you for your response.

Would it be ok to buy second hand? I see on Craigslist the good carseats go for cheaper? I am not sure what is our budget yet.

I think the car is a 2000 model. I really like the Britax Advocate click tight for baby and the Diano radions for the boys. I see they are on the recommended list.

Thoughts?
 

jjordan

Moderator
It is generally not recommended to buy car seats secondhand, with exceptions if you are buying from a close friend or relative that you can trust to be honest about the seat's history. A seat that has been in a crash is usually not considered safe to use, and with a used seat from Craigslist, you don't know if it has been in a crash (and the seller could easily lie about it to make a sale). There are many inexpensive (new) seats that are long-lasting and safe, so if money is a big consideration, you could still do pretty well with new seats.
 

lgenne

New member
Don't plan to use Radians as boosters. (ETA: because they are really awful boosters.) They're great as harnessed seats, but unless you're planning to rear face them, you'd be paying for their rear facing capabilities unnecessarily.

Do you plan to harness or booster the older two? Or one of each?

The Advocate CT is a really nice seat.
 

DanielNathan

New member
Thank you for the recommendations. I am looking at the following seats.

For my 2 year old daugther the Evenflow Tribute LX convertable carseat

For my 5 year old son the RECARO Performance SPORT Combination Harness to Booster

And maybe the same for my son or the RECARO Performance BOOSTER High Back Booster Car Seat

Thoughts?
 

Brianna

New member
The Recaro combination seat and booster should work for the older 2. If you want to rear face to 4 years old, you want to skip the Evenflo Tribute. Have you looked at the Graco clones? MySize, Size4Me, Fit4Me, Contender. They're all essentially the same seat sold under different names by different retailers to prevent price matching, the biggest difference I think is the Contender has a flip recline foot instead of a recline mechanism.

The Evenflo SureRide would also rear face her until 4 years old, along with the Diono convertibles and Clek Foonf or Fllo, and the newer Britax convertibles.
 

jjordan

Moderator
We have both of the Recaro seats you mentioned and love them. I agree with Brianna that the Evenflo Tribute is not the best choice of convertible for your 2 year old, simply because it will be outgrown sooner. The other seats she mentioned will last longer. :)
 

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