Best Car Seat that a child can climb into alone?

New poster here! I've been reading many posts and have learned quite a bit. Great forum! :thumbsup:

My son is 23 months old, weighs 30 lbs and has a long torso (measures 17" from shoulder to crotch). I will be having shoulder surgery next month and will not be able to lift my son for 6 to 8 months afterwards. I need a car seat that my son can climb into unassisted since I won't be able to lift him into it. He is currently in a Britax Roundabout but he has trouble getting in and out of it alone.

I would love to hear any recommendations or opinions on a car seat that would meet the following criteria:
*Great safety ratings (of course)
*Easy for my child to climb in and out of unassisted.
*Comfy for long car trips (we drive to the Grandparents house 14 hours away twice a year). A car seat that my son could sleep in without slumping forward would be a huge plus!
*Fits into our vehicle - GMC Yukon with captain's chairs in the 2nd row.
*Could use it for a few years - I don't mind spending the money on a higher end car seat if we get a few years out of it. With my son's long torso we would need high shoulder strap slots to last his growth spurts.

Thanks so much for any advice!
Kelley

Hi there! I'm glad you've found this forum useful.

It sounds like your child may have already outgrown the Roundabout. Is he rear-facing (RF) or forward-facing (FF)? If his torso really is 17" from butt to shoulder (measured while he is seated against a wall), then he might be too big for his current seat either RF or FF.

With a long torso like that, he might be pushing the limits of most convertible seats both RF and FF. The one with the tallest shell is the First Years True Fit. It's top harness slots are about 18". He might fit in this seat rear-facing yet.

While RF, the harness straps must be at or BELOW the child's shoulders, and while FF, the harness straps must be at or ABOVE the child's shoulders. If he is FF and his shoulders are above the top harness position in the Roundabout he needs a new seat right away.

If he's FF and you wish to keep him that way (or if he's too big to RF in any convertible), you might want to look at the Britax Frontier, Graco Nautilus or Britax Regent. Of these three seats, the Regent has the tallest harness slots. With a 17" torso, I think my top recommendation would be the Regent, assuming he's too big to RF because the Regent is an FF-only seat. The Regent does sit low on the vehicle seat, so he may be able to climb into it by himself.

The Nautilus and Frontier have top harness slots that are around 18", maybe slightly higher, and the Regent has about 20" top slots. The Nautilus harnesses to 65lbs and the Regent and Frontier harness to 80lbs.

For any seat, if he's FF, you can put a little stool on the floor of the car so he can climb up... maybe a foam cooler, or a small plastic foot stool. Of course, projectiles are always a concern in a crash, so the lighter the better, but in your case it sounds like he HAS to be able to climb in so this might be something to consider.

I hope your surgery goes smoothly and that you have a speedy recovery!

EDITED TO ADD: You asked about safety ratings... all seats on the market pass the same federal safety standards. We don't know if seat A passes by a greater margin than Seat B, all we know is that they both passed. Also, are you in Canada or the US? This will affect the weight limits of the above seats.

Based on what I've read here and on other forums, seats that have a lower profile (i.e. don't sit as high up on their base as the Roundabout/Marathon) would be easier for LO's to climb into themselves. Offhand the two I can think of that have high harness height/weight limits are the Sunshine Kids Radian and First Years TrueFit. Both are convertibles that rearface to 35 lbs and forward face to 65 lbs (TrueFit and Radian65) or 80 lbs (Radian80 and XT - bear in mind that most kids, esp. long-torsoed ones, will outgrow the harness by *height* before they reach the weight limit and the Radians all have the same top harness slot height so the 80 would most likely last about the same time as the 65 before being outgrown). If your child is forward facing, the Britax Frontier is another possibility - can't remember if the top harness height is taller than the Radian or TrueFit but someone else here will know - and after the harness is outgrown it can be used as a highback booster.

If you are looking for a seat that he could climb into or out of on his own, look at those that have lower bases. The ones that I have that fit my kids well with low bases are the Graco Nautilus and the Radian 65. Both have very high harness slots. If your little guy is still RF, then just the Radian as the Nautilus does not RF. My kids both have head slump in the Nautilus but neither of them seem to in the Radian (and the new Radian XT has head wings that I think may help even more with this issue...but I'm sure that someone here will correct me if I'm wrong!)

The Britax seats are great, but slightly lower top slots than either of the other two and they have a higher base, so they are a bit harder to climb into/out of.

just this weekend, my 20-month old son started climbing into his Marathon -- which sits up high on a minivan (Pontiac Montana) captain's seat. I was so surprised, I just froze, not sure what to do at first!

So to some extent, I think it depends on the capability (and want-to) of the child!

Easiest to climb into would probably be a radian, since it has no real deep sides to speak of and sits very low. My DD2 loves it and can get in easily. But she had little problem climbing into her Como either.

And as far as torso goes, can you measure him sitting against the wall? While it is entirely possible his torso its that long I have a hard time imagining a not yet two year old having a torso almost as long as my 5.5 yo

Wow. Thanks for the quick responses.

I measured DS just now sitting up against a wall and he measured at 14.5" for the torso length (I had no idea how to measure him before!). DH has a long torso so DS comes by it honestly.

We do live in the US. DS is forward facing in the Roundabout and we plan on keeping him FF. I like the step stool suggestion - I believe we have a lightweight plastic one around here somewhere that I could put in the car. DH may be able to find a way to anchor it so it isn't "loose".

I'll check into the seats mentioned. We don't have a store here other than Target or Wal-mart that carries seats in their stores where we could check them out in person so the recommendations and experiences with different seats from all of you really help.

atsuydam said:

Easiest to climb into would probably be a radian, since it has no real deep sides to speak of and sits very low. My DD2 loves it and can get in easily.

Click to expand...

I have to say that I IMMEDIATELY thought of the Radian for your situation. Whether RFing or FFing, it's one of the lowest seats I've seen--it has basically no sides or base. I think that's key for you. If he's still RFing, experiment to see if he can get in RFing. If not, you may (out of necessity) need to turn him FFing (even if we prefer to keep a kiddo his age RFing!) All my kids suddenly had huge leaps in their ability to get in/out of their own car seats when they were turned FFing....although I'm sure there are moms here who have had a different experience.

but your health--and ability to follow Drs. orders are paramount here. if you're not able to care for your son, his overall safety will be compromised on many levels beyond whether you get to ERF him

ETA: sorry to the OP, with whom I corss-posted! I see your DS is already FFing, so that's not a hurdle for ya! I think with a nice, low seat, you should be able to make it work well! Another, cheaper seat that doesn't have a big base is the Avenue. That might be worth researching too. You can get it at Kmart. But after re-reading your original post, he may be too tall for it...

The radian is a great seat. Has a low profile so it's easy to climb in and out of, has high harness slots (for your long torso'd little guy), and it makes a really nice Rfing (and FFing) seat.

the radian is very easy for a young child to climb in. If he can climb onto the seat of the car, he can climb into a radian.

If you plan to stay ffing, the Nautilus or the Frontier would probably also be easy to climb into.

I don't think my kid would have been able to easily climb into the Radian -- she needed something to grip & the bars on the side of Britax seats were just right for her to grab & pull with. As long as she had something to hold onto she could easily enough climb over the edge. I don't see anything but harness for kids to grab onto with the Radian. I would not want my kid yanking on the harness straps. Maybe this comes down to the difference between a car & SUV, though (we had a Blazer)

My daughters climb into their Radians, and they just grab the tops or edges of the seats to get in.

DD has been climbing into her RF True Fit since she was 18 months old. And we have an SUV (with side steps that she climbs onto first, then onto lower door frame, then into the TF). We just stand behind her in case she should slip since we have a taller vehicle. She can also get in no prob if she goes through the opposite door and gets into her TF directly from the vehicle seat.

A Radian is going to be the absolute lowest seat, and should last you a while. My 5.5 your old rides in hers daily and I'm getting anothe rone for my 2 yr old DS to RF in very soon.

I think a a Nautilus (you may be able to find this in a store), Frontier, or Truefit would probably work too. The Avenue is low, but won't last very long for you at all.

Although they won't last as long as the other seats the Evenflo Chase ($50 ish) or Graco Cargo ($60ish, or less) would work too- but if you can spend the money on one of the above seats I think you will be happier and they will last a lot longer. They only harness to 40#s and don't make good booster seats at all. The harness slots are also lower.

My 3yo ds has both a Regent and a Nautilus and I think the Regent is easier for him to get into...but the Nautilus isn't impossible.

The Nautilus has arm rests which make it a bit more of a challenge for him to get around them so he can climb in from the front of the seat. The Regent doesn't have the arm rests so he just climbs in from the side.

I should share that he rides outboard in two different Jettas (1995 & 2007) and they have significantly less room than a Yukon to move around in...and that may make a difference!

You've gotten great suggestions. Too bad there isn't a store nearby you could try some of these seats out. Is there a fancy schmancy baby boutique or something that might carry a couple seats? I'd make a few calls just for the heck of it.

As far as the step stool goes...(great idea BTW) while I would wholeheartedly agree to restrain it so it doesn't become a projectile, I was just thinking that it might be very useful for helping your DS climb into the car as well. Maybe just keep it on the floor and then you can reach in and grab it so he can climb in and then you can put it on the car floor and he can climb again. I just thought of some of those jumbo sized blocks (really jumbo sized that are used to make baby obstacle courses) might be great. It would be soft, yet sturdy enough to stand on. Something like that would be great.

We have a Radian 65 in my mother's car and my DD was able to climb into it before she was able to climb into her Marathon. I am pretty sure even my 20 mo can climb into it when she's playing with Grandma in her car. My DD1 is TALL with a long torso and she's still fitting into her Radian quite nicely. She's on the top slots so she doesn't have much more time in it, but it will last for a bit more. This is also a fantastic seat for traveling since it folds up. It also has a very slim width so it's great if you have to fit multiple seats in a row.

Good luck with your decision and good luck with your surgery.

I think you should head over to Babysrus and try some seats in your car. See which one your son can climb in and out of.

I just got an Evenflo Triumph Advance. It sits really high and I was worried my 4 1/2 year old stepdaughter would have trouble climbing in. As it turns out, she can climb in very easily! Much easier than her old carseat that was much lower. I also tried the Truefit in my car. Even though it sits lower, she had more trouble getting in her seat on her own. Her old seat and the Truefit both stuck out further in my car. The EFTA does not stick out as far, making it easier to squeeze in between the front seat and her car seat.

So, just because one seat might be lower, it might not be easier for your son to climb in and out. You'll just need to try some out in your car and see what works best.

My son can climb into all his seats. He has the easiest time with the TrueFit though. He can climg into it while it is FF in my DH's 2 door car. He can also climb into his Evenflo Triumph Advance(EFTA). He has a harder time when it is FF, but can do it. It does take a little longer when they climb into their own seats though, so be prepared to be a little more patient & it to take a little more to get somewhere & to leave somewhere.

My DH & I both have 2 door cars, so we taught our son to climb into his seat early on when he was around 18 months old when he was still RF in both our cars.

Also where is the Roundabout installed? Is there a way you can let him in through the opposite door that the seat is installed? I found that it is easier for m DS to climb into a taller seat with a taller base from the seat beside it. When he was FF in the EFTA in my car, I would let him into the car on the drivers side while the seat was installed passenger side. This made it alot easier to climb into his seat b/c he could then just climb over the side versus climbing into the seat from the front.

However if you go with a seat with a lower profile he should have an easier time with climbing into it from the front! It also helps if your child climbs everything else as well!

I hope this information helps! Good Luck!

At that age my kids could climb up into anything IF they wanted to. Otherwise, I'd say a Radian or Regent, they both sit a lot lower, and are tall seats.

The Bjorns said:

You've gotten great suggestions. Too bad there isn't a store nearby you could try some of these seats out. Is there a fancy schmancy baby boutique or something that might carry a couple seats? I'd make a few calls just for the heck of it.

As far as the step stool goes...(great idea BTW) while I would wholeheartedly agree to restrain it so it doesn't become a projectile, I was just thinking that it might be very useful for helping your DS climb into the car as well. Maybe just keep it on the floor and then you can reach in and grab it so he can climb in and then you can put it on the car floor and he can climb again. I just thought of some of those jumbo sized blocks (really jumbo sized that are used to make baby obstacle courses) might be great. It would be soft, yet sturdy enough to stand on. Something like that would be great.

We have a Radian 65 in my mother's car and my DD was able to climb into it before she was able to climb into her Marathon. I am pretty sure even my 20 mo can climb into it when she's playing with Grandma in her car. My DD1 is TALL with a long torso and she's still fitting into her Radian quite nicely. She's on the top slots so she doesn't have much more time in it, but it will last for a bit more. This is also a fantastic seat for traveling since it folds up. It also has a very slim width so it's great if you have to fit multiple seats in a row.

Good luck with your decision and good luck with your surgery.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I did just look up on the Britax site and one of the local boutiques carries their products. I will give them a call to see which seats they have. Our local Target only carries the Roundabout and Marathon in the store.

I'm dreading the surgery but the worst part is going to be not being able to pick up DS. Hoping for a quick recovery!

lpperry said:

I think you should head over to Babysrus and try some seats in your car. See which one your son can climb in and out of.

I just got an Evenflo Triumph Advance. It sits really high and I was worried my 4 1/2 year old stepdaughter would have trouble climbing in. As it turns out, she can climb in very easily! Much easier than her old carseat that was much lower. I also tried the Truefit in my car. Even though it sits lower, she had more trouble getting in her seat on her own. Her old seat and the Truefit both stuck out further in my car. The EFTA does not stick out as far, making it easier to squeeze in between the front seat and her car seat.

So, just because one seat might be lower, it might not be easier for your son to climb in and out. You'll just need to try some out in your car and see what works best.

Click to expand...

Closest Babies R Us is almost an hour away. We have a Toys R Us not too far away but they only carry a couple of car seats and none of the ones listed are in their store.

Mommy2Marcus said:

My son can climb into all his seats. He has the easiest time with the TrueFit though. He can climg into it while it is FF in my DH's 2 door car. He can also climb into his Evenflo Triumph Advance(EFTA). He has a harder time when it is FF, but can do it. It does take a little longer when they climb into their own seats though, so be prepared to be a little more patient & it to take a little more to get somewhere & to leave somewhere.

My DH & I both have 2 door cars, so we taught our son to climb into his seat early on when he was around 18 months old when he was still RF in both our cars.

Also where is the Roundabout installed? Is there a way you can let him in through the opposite door that the seat is installed? I found that it is easier for m DS to climb into a taller seat with a taller base from the seat beside it. When he was FF in the EFTA in my car, I would let him into the car on the drivers side while the seat was installed passenger side. This made it alot easier to climb into his seat b/c he could then just climb over the side versus climbing into the seat from the front.

However if you go with a seat with a lower profile he should have an easier time with climbing into it from the front! It also helps if your child climbs everything else as well!

I hope this information helps! Good Luck!

Click to expand...

We have captain's chairs in the 2nd row of the Yukon and DS's Roundabout is in the one on the passenger's side. I will try to have him get in the other side and see if he can climb into his seat on his own.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and replies. You guys are a WEALTH of information!!

Kelley