Nanny needs low cost seat for 3.5yo

[Unregistered]

Hi all!

Thank goodness I found a site of experts because I am clueless on what to do! I am beginning a new job as a nanny (20hrs/week) and will be doing a fair amount of driving with the little ones. In the past, parents have always provided car seats for my vehicle. This new job is no exception, but I see that the car seat they are providing me with for the 3 year old little boy expired years ago. It doesn't look safe at all!

Would you recommend a seat that would work well in my 2012 Hyundai Tucson? I like seats that sit up on higher base as my backseat is so deep that low profile seats won't allow a child to see out the window.

The littlest one is also outgrowing his infant seat at 11 months, and I see his big boy car seat in the garage waiting for me and I don't think hes ready to face forward at one year old. While this isn't as time sensitive, I'd love recommendations for him as well.

I know this will have to come out of my own budget, and while buying a safe seat is my number one priority, I would prefer it be cost effective for a graduate student with loans!

Thanks so much!
Katelyn

 

[Beloved]

For the 3.5yo an Evenflo SureRide or Maestro would keep him in a harness for a long time. The SureRide is $80-$100 and the Maestro is $70-$85. The SureRide can be rearfacing or forward and the Maestro is only Forward and will become a belt-positioning-booster later. Neither of these sit up very high, so I'll let someone else suggest a higher seat.

For the 11 month old, I would look at the Cosco Scenera NEXT. It will rear-face until a safer age of at least 2 and possibly past 3. It costs $45 at Walmart.

 

[1mommy]

Is the 3.5 year old particularly tall or heavy? If not then a Maestro should be fine, but if hes tall or heavy for his age I would go for the SureRide. Note that the Sureride has a higher height and weight limit so its great for longer lasting and fitting a wider range of kids in case you need to use it in a pinch for another kid.

Either a SureRide or the Scenera Next would be good for the 11 month old, note that the Scenera Next is outgrown in a few years for a tall kid, and it is outgrown forward facing before it is rear facing, so its a great budget seat to rear face the child in until he is 2 or 3, but probably will not be useable forward facing at that point.

If you can get the parents to chip in and want a nicer seat I would suggest looking at the Graco Fit4Me/Size4Me/MySize. It has a no re-thread harness so its easier to adjust for multiple kids (which probably isn't a primary concern but thought I'd throw it out there)

None of those seats sit really high up, your best bet for high up would be the Recaro Pro Ride which isn't highly recommend because it can be hard to install, and hard to put your kid in the seat rear-facing (not to mention short lived for rear facing with the kids knees in their chin) and a bit more expensive then you would probably want.

 

[JlynnB]

Is there any chance that the seat they have in the garage for the 11 month old is not expired and would fit the 3.5 year old? If so, you could just get the Scenera NEXT for the baby and put the older child in that. Of course, they could've picked it up at a garage sale for all you know so it might be safer just to buy a Maestro or SureRide if you can afford it. Either way I would tell them that the seat is expired and that you cannot use it for liability reasons because when plastic gets old it can fail in a crash. Since this is your profession and you're offering to buy a new seat, I don't think they should get mad about that. Ideally, of course, they'll offer to buy a new seat themselves, and hopefully at least they won't go using it in grandma's car or something. Some people won't care, but others just have no idea.

 

[JlynnB]

Oh, and you might find this helpful: http://carseatblog.com/30022/comparison-of-budget-priced-convertible-carseats-under-100/

The Maestro isn't a convertible so isn't covered there, but the other seats mentioned are.

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you so much for all the suggestions and link to the comparison page! I will definitely look into the Evenflo Sure Ride as the oldest is fairly tall.

I think the little one would do well in that or the Next.

THANKS AGAIN!