Do I really need spare car seats?

christineka

New member
We had 3 spares in dh's car back when we had our old van. I hated driving the van and drove dh's car as much as possible. Now we have a nice, new van. I drive it even if I'm by myself. We only need to put kids in dh's car when either we both need to go somewhere at the same time (and the kids have to come too) or when I can't find the van keys. Back in the olden days, when we had 1 seat per kid I just moved car seats when needed. Half my kids are in boosters now and those are easy to move. I think I'm a pro with the locking clip now, so it isn't a big deal. I the past 6 months a boostered kid has been in the car a bunch. A harnessed kid has been in it not more than 5 times. (Not including the two times baby dd was in the car because I actually had to move her seat.)

Is it worth it for me to have those two spare seats in dh's car or should I just let the spares go when they are needed in the van?

(Well, the booster won't since I don't like the turbo for all the time use. I plan to put the baby in the avenue though and that will leave nothing harnessed in the car.) My dh isn't in the buying kid gear club, especially when it is expensive. ($40 or more)
 
ADS
I would. You never know when an emergency could happen. I have had it happen twice in emergencies and I was so glad I had 2 seats at the inlaws(even if one was a booster for logan) and dh has 2 no backs in his car for emergencies only(not the ideal, but it works just in case).

I guess I should mention we have spares in our garage(that I use for daycare kiddos, but that people could just go in my garage and get if they wanted in an emergency).

Michael:
Graco No back booster x 2
Fisher price High back booster

Logan
Graco High back booster
Fisher price High back booster
Radian65
Evenflo chase(kept at grandparents)
FPSVD
 
Last edited:

Mama Jo

New member
Maybe I'm having a dumb moment, but I'm confused about your question. :p

Are you asking if you should own/keep spares?

Or are you asking if you should make sure to leave the spares in DH's car?

It's always a good idea to own a spare if you can. I have a backless booster and right now an SS1 as spares in case of an emergency. I keep them in my closet in the basement, but they're not in anyone's car. Oh, and I have a spare Vivo too that thepeach borrowed. I suppose I could always borrow that back too if need be. :p

In case of an emergency, anyone could swing by my house and pick up the seats if they needed to.
 

mommaon112903

New member
We do not, nor have we ever, had spare/emergency seats for Josef. Someone should always be able to get to my car or DH's car to get something for him.

I honestly do not even know what I would want as an emergency seat, I know they are emergency seats so "anything" would do but I honestly cringe at the thought of Josef in a LBB and I do not care for any of the other in-expensive HBBs on the market. :eek:
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
We do not, nor have we ever, had spare/emergency seats for Josef.

I see that you have three seats for two vehicles. Thus, you have a spare. :p

OP, if your only concern for having a spare is really whether to move them around whenever a non-booster kid rides in your DH's vehicle, I'd say it isn't exactly necessary. :twocents:
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
I agree. It's highly unlikely that, say, 2 vehicles would crash at the same time, rendering both seats unusable. Very different situation. ;)

We have only one car. Let's just say I have enough seats that if we crashed, I could put them in seats in a rental without buying new ones. And then if the rental crashed, we'd have to rent a bigger vehicle, but I could do it again. And then if THAT crashed, the baby would have to go FF or I'd have to buy another seat, but I could do it again.

I have too many seats...
 

Mommy2Marcus

New member
I do not have a spare usually. I do right now, but I am waiting for my friend to come get it for her kid. Other wise the only 3 people that EVER have Marcus all have seats in their cars already, so it is not nessicary for us to have a spare. I have thought about picking up an inexpensive exra, but I would be looking at at least $100 for a spare now & I just do not have that kind of money to spend on something that will more than likely never really get used.

I have 4 seats for 1 kid right now. LOL! I keep one in each car he rides in & so no need for a spare. B/C if I ever needed to use his seat for someone else's car then I can just pull the seat from mine or DH's car!
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
I agree. It's highly unlikely that, say, 2 vehicles would crash at the same time, rendering both seats unusable. Very different situation. ;)

We have only one car. Let's just say I have enough seats that if we crashed, I could put them in seats in a rental without buying new ones. And then if the rental crashed, we'd have to rent a bigger vehicle, but I could do it again. And then if THAT crashed, the baby would have to go FF or I'd have to buy another seat, but I could do it again.

I have too many seats...

LOL, I could crash both of our vehicles and three rental vehicles before I ran out of seats. (Though DS would have to be in a backless booster in the last rental.) (Oh wait, no he wouldn't, we have the Regent in the garage too - so we'd have the backless left after the last crash. :p)
 

christineka

New member
I am a sahm. My kids rarely ever ride with anyone besides dh or I. There has been no need. I'm around all the time to drive wherever necessary. The few times I wasn't, the destination was within walking distance for the older kids. I'm not worried about having backup seats in case we are in a crash. I'm sure I could send someone shopping for me to bring back the car seats. Is it that much of a big deal to have spares in the other car? I'm not going to have spares for each kid. Right now I have one harnessed (rfing) and one booster. When older little dd outgrows rfing (probably 5.5 years) she can ride in the booster. But, when baby dd outgrows the keyfit (or just gets uncomfy or something) she's going to have the avenue as her main seat. Unless I think up something else with my current seats. Or convince dh we need another.

I know lots of people on here have multiple car seats per kid. Grandparents don't take my kids anywhere, they don't have a nanny, daycare, or carpool. Do my kids need multiple seats?
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
If you're not worried about crashes, they don't ride with other people, and you have a vehicle at home at all times you can put them in, then I'd say you don't need one. :) Though, they're going to school now, so if you ever want to send a seat to a play date I guess you'd have to move a seat. But if you're comfortable with that, I don't think you NEED one. I would WANT spares in your situation, but that's because as I said, I have way too many seats-- I worry about crashing the ones we have, but then, my kids are a lot less likely than your kids to fit in off the shelf seats. ;)
 

mommaon112903

New member
Yes, but the Regent and Parkway are in the same car ;) Talk about tight quaters in the Accord now :eek: I am in the process of transitioning Josef to full time boostering, so he is in the Regent in the mornings with me (when I take him to school, about three days/week) and in the Parkway every afternoon. He would :love: if I took the Regent out, but not until our road trip in October ;)

I see that you have three seats for two vehicles. Thus, you have a spare. :p
QUOTE]
 

christineka

New member
After some thinking I think having a booster is a good idea. Dh likes to take random big kids somewhere if he has a seat. Back in the olden days when we didn't have a spare in his car he would let dd ride without. (She fulfilled the law's requirement of being over age 4.)) Now he knows better, but would err on the side of not taking the kid so as not to move seats. Now I'm thinking about the ETA again. I don't like fussing with harness slots. Maybe when baby dd moves to the avenue I can find an eta on sale. That is IF a car seat is needed. I was thinking about it today actually. I would not want to take out either of the seats that are in my back row. They are a pain to get to. Then to install in dh's car. (I don't even know if the radian installs rfing in his car.) It certainly wouldn't be something more me to run out and quickly do if dh wanted to take someone shopping with him. I wouldn't like to do it if he had to take a kid somewhere else. The keyfit has been no big deal to move. Maybe I should just get dd a seat that installs easily to move when needed.
 

simplychels

New member
I would say everybody should have a spare. you never know whats going to happen. It doesnt even have to be an accident. For example just over a month ago I noticed my MA had a crack in the base. great, no spare seat, and Britax told me not to use mine and to await their replacement in the mail. I was a little bit hooped.
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
If your husband is my husband, the answer is yes. He is notorious for forgetting to leave me with carseats/boosters, even when I reminded him and left him a note. Even when his car rarely had carseats in it, and he had to lay his duffle bag on top of the seats which were normally NOT in his vehicle. Even after numerous occasions of having to listen to me freak out about missing an appointment and/or having to leave work to bring me the seats. :rolleyes:
 

Ducky5306

New member
for the past few months i've only had 1 car seat (its a MA) I had spares when he was younger since i had a daycare baby.. it came in handy for carpooling (a friend and I carpool to seaworld when we go) but I sold all my extras and was fine with only having the one seat since my son is with me 100% of the time but I found a GN for $76 at target last week and couldn't pass it up (even though I don't really like the gn) its there for any emergencies... My point is i think its nice to have an extra but not needed (depending of course on who drives your child around) my mom is the only other person who drives him and we share a car anyway so there is always his seat already in there!

Funny story- I thought I had an extra seat and sold his RA that he was about to outgrow on CL then i went to get the extra seat only to realize i'd left it 3 hours away while visiting a friend :eek: ooooooops! we stayed home until his new britax came in the mail ;)
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
I would look at a spare hbb or lbb, for your older boostered kids. That has worked well for us. We have only had one set most of the time. Our kids are 2y, 3y, 7y and 8y. 2y in ff bv, 3y in husky. Oldest just moved out of lbb. They are over 4'9" and pass 5-steps in all cars they ride in. I do have 2y old touriva in the garage, but it is going to our nephew soon. So my only other seats are 2 lbb. Doesn't work for a 2y and 3y.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
I agree. It's highly unlikely that, say, 2 vehicles would crash at the same time, rendering both seats unusable. Very different situation. ;)

We have only one car. Let's just say I have enough seats that if we crashed, I could put them in seats in a rental without buying new ones. And then if the rental crashed, we'd have to rent a bigger vehicle, but I could do it again. And then if THAT crashed, the baby would have to go FF or I'd have to buy another seat, but I could do it again.

I have too many seats...

:eek:

you win.
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,656
Messages
2,196,898
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