Nedra
Car-Seat.org Ambassador
Okay, so because I'm an obsessive planner, I've come up with an "ideal car seat plan" for my family.
Assuming 2 kids spaced 3 years apart (we only have one kid right now but the plan for passing down seats only works if we have at least 3 years between kiddos), seats in two cars, rear-facing until 4 (in the main vehicle and until at least 3 in the secondary vehicle) and harnessing until 8, out of regular boosters by 11, and out of the Incognito by 14, I mapped out what I would ideally use for my kiddos for the next 14 years. I also considered our travel patterns and lifestyle needs and included solutions that will work for home configurations as well as travel.
Then I priced out how much I'd project we'd spend on child restraints, total.
Obviously, I am assuming a LOT. Including that the current offerings will still be around, still be considered safe, and still be offered at today's prices. Also, that the seats I'm imagining will actually fit my current and future kids, fit our current and future cars, etc and that I won't hate any of them and firesale them on craigslist, etc.
All in all, the cost was $1,470 based on current Amazon prices (rounded up to the nearest $5 since it's all a guesstimate anyway).
So here's my question: How does this compare to real-life?
How much have you spent on car seats and for how many kids and how many cars? Did you find that you were able to pass down car seats to younger kids easily? Or did the spacing/sizing not work out and each kid ended up with fresh seats?
I am hoping that this thread may be a good source for parents to go to when estimating the costs involved. I am also hoping it might give me a reality check about whether this estimate is reasonable. In other words, I want to know if I'm being a sucker and there are way cheaper ways to raise 2 kids, or whether I'm being overly ambitious by assuming that I can possibly skate by without two kids needing to use the same seat at the same time. What I definitely do not want is to offend anyone, so please know that I mean absolutely no disrespect even though I know money is a sensitive issue. Of course you should not feel obligated to reply unless you feel comfortable doing so.
For those who are curious, my plan assumed the purchase of the following:
1 Cybex Aton (we actually have an Aton 2, but I only used the cost of an Aton because that's what we originally purchased. Our Aton 2 was paid for by insurance.)
1 extra Aton base
1 Britax Pavillion G4
1 Chicco Nextfit
1 CARES airplane harness
1 Safety 1st Go Hybrid
1 Frontier 90
2 Bubble Bum Boosters
1 Incognito
ETA: The only items on this list that we've actually bought are the first two. The rest are all just daydreams at this point.
Assuming 2 kids spaced 3 years apart (we only have one kid right now but the plan for passing down seats only works if we have at least 3 years between kiddos), seats in two cars, rear-facing until 4 (in the main vehicle and until at least 3 in the secondary vehicle) and harnessing until 8, out of regular boosters by 11, and out of the Incognito by 14, I mapped out what I would ideally use for my kiddos for the next 14 years. I also considered our travel patterns and lifestyle needs and included solutions that will work for home configurations as well as travel.
Then I priced out how much I'd project we'd spend on child restraints, total.
Obviously, I am assuming a LOT. Including that the current offerings will still be around, still be considered safe, and still be offered at today's prices. Also, that the seats I'm imagining will actually fit my current and future kids, fit our current and future cars, etc and that I won't hate any of them and firesale them on craigslist, etc.
All in all, the cost was $1,470 based on current Amazon prices (rounded up to the nearest $5 since it's all a guesstimate anyway).
So here's my question: How does this compare to real-life?
How much have you spent on car seats and for how many kids and how many cars? Did you find that you were able to pass down car seats to younger kids easily? Or did the spacing/sizing not work out and each kid ended up with fresh seats?
I am hoping that this thread may be a good source for parents to go to when estimating the costs involved. I am also hoping it might give me a reality check about whether this estimate is reasonable. In other words, I want to know if I'm being a sucker and there are way cheaper ways to raise 2 kids, or whether I'm being overly ambitious by assuming that I can possibly skate by without two kids needing to use the same seat at the same time. What I definitely do not want is to offend anyone, so please know that I mean absolutely no disrespect even though I know money is a sensitive issue. Of course you should not feel obligated to reply unless you feel comfortable doing so.
For those who are curious, my plan assumed the purchase of the following:
1 Cybex Aton (we actually have an Aton 2, but I only used the cost of an Aton because that's what we originally purchased. Our Aton 2 was paid for by insurance.)
1 extra Aton base
1 Britax Pavillion G4
1 Chicco Nextfit
1 CARES airplane harness
1 Safety 1st Go Hybrid
1 Frontier 90
2 Bubble Bum Boosters
1 Incognito
ETA: The only items on this list that we've actually bought are the first two. The rest are all just daydreams at this point.