Question How to keep a toddler warm in the car during harsh winter conditions?

[MaggieR]

The reason we bought the Britax in the first place was b/c it had such outstanding reviews (in fact, it's the Blvd, not the Marathon - I was mistaken). The head padding seems more intrusive than other carseats I've seen, which also impacts his view when rf'ing. Along with his placement in a 4-door sedan, he sees pretty much nothing from his angle. So, this will be a matter of me trying to gather enough toys to entertain him, or something, whereas ffing for a brief amount of time offered him something to look at & talk about. Also, what is the recommendation with children having toys in their hands/laps? I thought I had heard about a sippy cup nearly scalping a child during an impact. so, is it not recommended for him to have toys, for fear that they will injure the child?

 

[An Aurora]

Soft toys, etc are fine. You have to decide what you are comfortable with; I'm ok with small toys and whatnot since the chance of them actually hitting the kid are pretty low.

The wings on the Blvd don't work as blinders; they can still see around them, and since the seat sits up pretty high, chances are he does have a view out of the window.

 

[MommyShannon]

I love our Britax seats. They are cushy and so easy to install, but they aren't as tall and don't have as much legroom. My 2.5 year old is a similar size and I mostly keep her in a True fit now. She doesn't mind the Britax either though. Mostly she's in a van but in our sedan she looks out the back window. I avoid any hard toys. Her favorite think in the car is a small spiral note pad and crayon. If she was ff, she would drop it a lot. She already does drop it but she can find it in her seat.

 

[krasota]

At nearly 2yo in a Blvd installed in a sedan (Crown Vic), my son saw nothing, either. Sedans often have really low seats, especially in back. As kids get older, they see more, particularly with a more upright install. By 3yo, he could give directions . . . still RF, too. (This was actually helpful for my geospatially-impaired DH.)

 

[canadiangie]

Hello and welcome,

Britax has a good reputation with parents, and for all we know they protect children well in crashes, and they tend to install easily, and they come in pretty colours and patterns, but where Britax falls short (and I mean very short) is in rear facing legroom. If I had a penny for every family (ie: not family who posts on a car seat forum, and/or is a tech or car seat finatic, etc, but rather just an 'average' family) who told me they couldn't rear face any longer because their child was uncomfy, impossible to load into their seat, etc, I'd be a very rich woman. I've worked with multiple families who used Britax rear facing until age 2ish and then transitioned to a Diono to continue to rear face, and it's like a while new world opened up. Finally, yes, they can imagine rear facing until age 3+.

My first thought is that if you want to continue to rear face your baby you should consider a seat that offers more rear facing legroom. Unless you're a diehard rear facer like so many of us are you probably will struggle to load and unload your baby rear facing into a Boulevard. Depending on the vehicle you have it can be quite awkward -- I've seen it many times, and I sympathize. I get it, I really do.

So, is a different seat a possibility? It wouldn't even have to be a Diono. There are many other seats that provide better rear facing legroom, and don't cost a fortune.

If your next question is something like "but I bought the best seat, wouldn't a cheaper seat be less safe? ... Is a forward facing Britax better or worse than a rear facing cheaper seat?" Or anything along those lines, please know that a rear facing seat installed and used correctly is going to provide better protection for his head, neck and spinal column, at his age, without question, when compared to a forward facing seat. Translation: I'd take a rear facing $65 Cosco Scenera over a forward facing Britax for a 23 month old, without question.


To your original question, thin warm layers of clothing followed by a one-piece fleece suit is fine, and very warm. It's -14F (-25C) where I live right now, and my 26 month old is fine. Thin warm layers of clothing underneath, head covered, hands covered, and I scoop her into my arms and cover her with a blanket when we are going from car to building.

When we play outside she wears the puffiness thickest warmest snowsuit I can find... but riding in the car is completely different.

Look at LL Bean and Land's End for budget friendly one-piece fleece suits.


Hope that helps and please excuse typos. My iPad is having a tantrum lately.

 

[mlohry]

We recently traded our Britax Marathon 70 for a Radian 80 to keep our 3.10 year old daughter RF. We live in the north and will continue to RF her until her 4th B day. We traded the Britax because of the leg room, you are for sure right, not enough leg room. The Radian solved that issue for us.

Oh and my DD wears a Columbia Fleece in the car and my boys uses very thin down jackets that completely collapse when pushed down. They all have different jackets for outdoor play.

 

[emandbri]

I really like my car seat ponchos. I had one for my dd and bought a smaller one to have on hand for kids I watch.

My dd was rfing until 4 1/2. I have on my child care site that kids will be rfjng until at least 3, I have no intention of turning them until I have to.

 

[cookie123]

Lands End Is having a great sale!

My grandkids learned early to take their coats off in the car. They would never put their coats on after buckling up so I guess They were ok! When they're with me I have them wear a fleece over whatever they're wearing. We live in MN.