3-point SnugRide no good anymore?

I called our local tech today to ask about:

1) the relative safety of 3-point harness SnugRide bought last year vs. Roundabout (2003) for a newborn (due next month); and

2) the best placement for an infant seat and a Recaro Young Sport harnessed in a Camry.

The tech said she would recommend tossing the SnugRide because three-point harnesses aren't safe, and to put the baby in the RA behind the passenger, and the 3-yr-old behind the driver. Or to buy a new bucket seat for the baby and use the same configuration. She totally threw me off, however, by saying immediately that she didn't know what a Britax Roundabout was (!), despite recommending our using it for a newborn. I found the rest of what she said hard to trust based on that. So, here I am asking you, whom I trust a great deal after having read and posted here a few months ago obsessively.

The SnugRide is from a friend (no accidents), and has no LATCH straps. We are willing to buy a new seat for the baby, though I'm wondering whether it might be okay to use the old SnugRide for a few months, and then switch to the RA RF. We won't be in the car a great deal with the baby, though there is highway driving no matter where we go.

Any thoughts? Thanks for any help you can offer.

warmly,
Kam

I would feel fine about using the 3-point SnugRide for a few months and then switching to the Roundabout. It's especially important with a 3-point that the straps are at or below the shoulders to prevent the baby from ramping up. A 5-point may be slightly safer, but a 3-point is not a big issue like OHS seats. I think the tech was way off base saying it wasn't safe.

I thought her positioning advice made sense. I'm not sure how big a Camry is, but I never wanted my three-year old in touching (or kicking) distance of the baby. It usually makes sense to put the rear-facing seat behind the passenger if it doesn't fit without moving the front seats up. If you can fit it in with the front seats all the way back, then whatever is more convenient is fine. I liked the older child on the driver side for street parking. I would open the door, unbuckle him, close the door, go around and grab the infant seat and then have him crawl out. Later when the baby was in the convertible I had him crawl under, and he loved that.

Sorry I'm rambling, my sil is having a c-section and I am up late worrying that I haven't heard anything.

5 point harnesses are generally considered much safer than three point. I didn't realize anyone made three points anymore. If it were *me* I would use the Roundabout over a three point harness, or I'd buy a new infant carrier with the 5 point harness.

Brooke

I'm not saying I would buy a 3-point infant seat, but if I had one to use I would not go out and buy a 5-point infant seat.

The most important thing is that you get a good fit. Cpsafety.org explains why a 5-point can be better in an infant seat--basically it makes it more difficult for an infant to squirm out. But if you have a good fit with a 3-point harness I would just tuck some rolled up receiving blankets on either side (not interfering with the harness, of course).

As far as using the Roundabout goes, I would rather use the 3-point infant seat for a month or two. The Roundabout harness tends to be a bit too big for a newborn. See the pictures of a newborn in the Britax Roundabout at
http://www.kids-in-the-car.org/seatsframe.html Of course, if I only had the Roundabout and couldn't afford an infant seat I would be fine with using the Roundabout for an infant.

My baby daughter was a wiggler and could escape both 3-point and 5-point seats at 3 months. The only thing that helped was getting a Britax Advantage which had an adjustable harness height like the Boulevard. The shoulder straps had to be right at her shoulders or she could get out. Ironically at 3 she is very calm and still.

Babies using car seats properly are safe.

Now if you are the type of person that just can't resist a new car seat then go for it. But if not, I really think you are fine with what you have.

The SnugRide is from a friend (no accidents), and has no LATCH straps.


Kam,

I am wondering about the above statement you made. You said that the seat was bought in 2005. If it was really manufactured then, it would be LATCH equipped. You may want to take a good look at the seat for an manufacture date. It should be on the bottom of the seat or base. It may have been sitting around in a store for several years before it was purchased.

Good luck!
Brooke

They do still have 3point(evenflo and a few snugrides still on the shelves).

Personally I would use it, but only if the baby's shoulders were already above the bottom most slot. On a newborn they are so hard to fit that if the shoulders arent already past the bottom most slot she will slide up because she has no straps over her legs to catch on them.

Id use it the first few month, but only if shoulders were past, and make sure she is very snug and the clip is where it should be.

5point is of course safer, but I think if the 3point fits properly it can be safe as well.

j4m4d8 said:

I'm not saying I would buy a 3-point infant seat, but if I had one to use I would not go out and buy a 5-point infant seat.

Click to expand...

That's exactly what I came up with when I was in the same decisionmaking place 2 years ago.

I had a very good, barely used 3-point harness infant seat. (Barely used because my DS outgrew it in a matter of 4 months). There were way more 5-point options on the market when I was expecting #2, but we had this perfectly fine seat.

The description I found in one of the sources - it might have been the Weber "Best Practices" article? was that for a rearfacing child, the main restraint system is the back of the carseat itself, and the job of the straps is to hold the child against it. Since my babies come out big (#2 was 10# at birth) and are long-torsoed, the straps fit well from Day 1, I knew my DH and I would both make sure the straps were tight and the chest clip was in the right place with each use... etc... so we kept the 3-pt infant seat.

And used the money we saved towards the dratted Husky, because #2 is just VERY tall. She outgrew the infant seat at 3mos....

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. It has helped me put the tech's words into perspective without totally disregarding them.

I think we'll see if the Latch Loc really does become available at ChinaRUs and other places late this month, and if we have time, we'll consider buying it. I think the rigid LATCH will be about $90, so no different than the regular SnugRide. Otherwise, I think we'll just make sure the straps are below the shoulders in the infant seat we have and move into the Roundabout when it seems okay.

That's my next question: how to judge when a 5-pt harness convertible is safer than a 3-pt harness infant seat? Always more questions!

warmly,
Kam

well there is no proof that one is safer than the other, but in an infant seat they are more confined and have more barrier than in a covertible where they barely fill up half the seat. In an infant carrier you can usually get a better fit than in a convertible for the first few weeks/months.
In britax the lowest harness slot should not be more than 1" above the baby's shoulders. Its best for them to be below though, so if the slots on the snugride are shorter and below her shoulders I would use that until the slots on the roundabout were at or below her shoulders.

According to this site the snugride's lowest slots are at 8" and the roundabouts are at 10" (Broken link removed, website no longer exists)
the latchloc are at 7"

That's right! I'd forgotten carseatdata has harness slot heights. Thanks for the reminder. Two inches is quite a lot for a little one, probably at least a few months as you say. Makes the decision about whether to buy a better infant seat easier to make. I think you just pushed me toward buying a better one.