Should I change Carseats?

[rmsfitz]

Hi, I currently have the 2008 Britax marathon for my son who just turned 3. I have the opportunuity to get a 2011 Evenflo Momentum 65 Deluxe. The Evenflo seat sure does look safer (especially on the sides), but I know the Britax seats are considered better. Should I get the 2011 Evenflo or stick with the 2008 Britax?

In addition I have a 2 month old son riding in a 2008 Graco Snugride (22lbs)-should I upgrade him to a newer Snugride seat? I have all the stroller attachments for the Graco.

Thanks so much!
Rebecca

 

[EmmaCPST]

Neither one is any safer, they both meet exactly the same safety standards. The only reason I might go from the Britax to the Evenflo is that the Evenflo has a 40 pound rear facing weight limit, if you think your son could use that extra 5 pounds of growing room before outgrowing it in height that may be a factor but otherwise provided the seat is installed and used correctly, they're exactly the same in terms of safety.

Same goes for your Snugride - the 22 can be a pain to use correctly because the harness adjusts from the rear, but as long as you're using it correctly it's perfectly safe.

I would wait until your baby is ready to move to a convertible and move them to the Marathon RF, and THEN move your oldest to a new seat (a combination seat that is a FF harness and then transitions to a booster).

 

[rmsfitz]

Thank you very much for your advice. So, just to be clear, are you saying that the 2008 Marathon has Side Impact protection? The Evenflo seems so much more "cushiony" on the sides-but I guess I'll stay with my Britax Marathon if safety-wise they are the same.

Also, my 3 year old son is 38 lbs so he has been forward facing for about 6 months now. Thank you for your advice as how to upgrade when the time comes.
Rebecca

 

[EmmaCPST]

There's no standard for side impact in the US, so there's really no way to know whether or not one performs better in a side impact than another. We do know that rear facing is the best protection in a side impact crash, but at 3 & 38 pounds I wouldn't stress too much about getting a different seat to rear face him again. But definitely keep your youngest that way as long as possible!

If you think he'll be more comfortable in the Evenflo - that's a whole other thing and no one here will tell you NOT to buy another car seat just because you want to or like it better, we're junkies like that. But safety wise, either one is completely fine.

 

[safeinthecar]

If it's a really good deal on the Momentum, you might as well get it since you will need it for the baby eventually.

 

[mominabigtruck]

Neither one is any safer, they both meet exactly the same safety standards. The only reason I might go from the Britax to the Evenflo is that the Evenflo has a 40 pound rear facing weight limit, if you think your son could use that extra 5 pounds of growing room before outgrowing it in height that may be a factor but otherwise provided the seat is installed and used correctly, they're exactly the same in terms of safety.

Same goes for your Snugride - the 22 can be a pain to use correctly because the harness adjusts from the rear, but as long as you're using it correctly it's perfectly safe.

I would wait until your baby is ready to move to a convertible and move them to the Marathon RF, and THEN move your oldest to a new seat (a combination seat that is a FF harness and then transitions to a booster).

Not all snugrides adjust from the rear. The cheapy walmart/target ones do but there's lots that are front adjust.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[rmsfitz]

Thank you for your help. I do have a front adjusting snug ride. Since you are experts I am going to ask another 2 fold question.
1) I was told on a carseat check point that latch and lap belt installations are EQUALLY as safe. Is that the case? I have a Range Rover-my past 2007 RR didnt have a compatible latch system, however, I now have a 2011- maybe the latch system would work?

2) Currently my 3 year old forward facing child is in the middle, and my rear facing infant is on the back passenger's side. Who should be next to the window-the rear facing child or the younger child? Ugh-I wish I had two middle seats!!!!
Thank you in advance.

 

[jjordan]

Thank you for your help. I do have a front adjusting snug ride. Since you are experts I am going to ask another 2 fold question.
1) I was told on a carseat check point that latch and lap belt installations are EQUALLY as safe. Is that the case? I have a Range Rover-my past 2007 RR didnt have a compatible latch system, however, I now have a 2011- maybe the latch system would work?

2) Currently my 3 year old forward facing child is in the middle, and my rear facing infant is on the back passenger's side. Who should be next to the window-the rear facing child or the younger child? Ugh-I wish I had two middle seats!!!!
Thank you in advance.

1) If you can get an acceptable installation with either the seat belt or the LATCH system, then they are considered equally safe. If you are comfortable with the seatbelt installation, then there is no reason to use LATCH. But neither is there any harm in trying it. However, you should be aware that most car manufacturers, and all child restraint manufacturers, have a weight limit beyond which LATCH may not be used. So if a child exceeds either the car's or the seat's LATCH weight limit, you MUST use the seat belt to install the seat.

2) The rule of thumb is to put the least protected child in the most protected spot in the car, when possible. A forward facing child is ALWAYS considered less well-protected than a rear facing child, so you are correct in having the forward facing child in the middle.

Incidentally, since you have only one rear-facing child, I would not buy another convertible car seat. When the baby is ready to move out of the snugride, pass the boulevard down to him and buy a new forward facing harnessed seat for the older child.

 

[Kaitsmom]

And i dont know about the Range Rover specifically, but there are many vehicals that do not allow for a center position LATCH install, so double check your manual

 

[mominabigtruck]

I usually prefer a seatbelt install, to me it's much more straight forward and no getting out manuals to see where the latch can be used and and what the weight limits are. But if the latch is there and it's easy to use I will use it, it's just a matter of preference.

Until recently I had a momentum and I really liked it. If it was me I would get the moemntum and put the 3yo outboard on the drivers side, ff or rfing since he could be either so you didn't have both seats right next to each other. Again, that's my personal preference but with the e3 on the momentum I would feel perfectly comfortable with him outboard. If you did get the momentum I doubt you would be able to put it in the middle anyways because it is a beast of a seat. And then when you're younger child is out of the snugride you can put them in the marathon and when it expires move them to the momentum and get a combo booster for your older child.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[yetanotherjen]

1) If you can get an acceptable installation with either the seat belt or the LATCH system, then they are considered equally safe. If you are comfortable with the seatbelt installation, then there is no reason to use LATCH. But neither is there any harm in trying it. However, you should be aware that most car manufacturers, and all child restraint manufacturers, have a weight limit beyond which LATCH may not be used. So if a child exceeds either the car's or the seat's LATCH weight limit, you MUST use the seat belt to install the seat.

2) The rule of thumb is to put the least protected child in the most protected spot in the car, when possible. A forward facing child is ALWAYS considered less well-protected than a rear facing child, so you are correct in having the forward facing child in the middle.

Incidentally, since you have only one rear-facing child, I would not buy another convertible car seat. When the baby is ready to move out of the snugride, pass the boulevard down to him and buy a new forward facing harnessed seat for the older child.

:yeahthatlove:

EXACTLY what she said

 

[cupcakepirate11]

I agree with what everyone else said but I would just buy a harnessed forward facing only seat if you are interested in buying him a new one. Evenflo has a nice seat called the securekid 300 and 400, since he is too big to rear face I wouldnt bother with a convertible just my two cents though!

 

[soygurl]

You've gotten some great advice, but I just wanted to add, that regardless of whether you use the seatbelt or LATCH lower anchors to install the seat, you ALWAYS should use the top tether for a forward facing car seat! :thumbsup:

 

[rmsfitz]

Thank you very much for all of your advice. I have an appointment on Monday at my local car seat check point. I do not have the tether on the ff child-hopefully they will help me with this. Thank you very very much!