Question What is the best solution? (Canadian)

[JulieD]

I have a 7 month old DD who is approx 17lbs and is quickly outgrowing her RF infant bucket seat. We are looking to move her to a RF seat around 9 months. We also have a 2 year old DS who is in a FF Britax Marathon. We drive a 2007 Dodge Caravan so space is not a concern- the kids seats are individual seats as opposed to the bench seat. My question is... should we move DD into DS Britax and purchase DS a Britax Frontier? Or should we purchase another Britax Marathon for DD? What would be the best solution here attempting to be cost effective in our choices?

 

[canadiangie]

Re: What is the best solution?

No, I would not buy another Marathon.

What does your 2yo weigh?

Have you done any reading on the benefits of rear facing?

 

[Pixels]

Re: What is the best solution?

How big is your 2yo? If he fits (and the vast majority of 2yos fit) then I highly recommend buying a second convertible and turning your son back rear facing.

Your 2yo's size will also help us make cost-effective recommendations.

 

[JulieD]

Re: What is the best solution?

sorry 2 yo is approx 30lbs... both kids are on the long side though hubby and I are both short!
we attempted to keep him in RF as long as we could but he's a bit of a smartie and learned around 20 months that if he pushed on the head of the van seat we wouldn't be able to tie him in. plus his length made him quite cramped in RF
hubby thinks DS is approx 60-65cm in height

 

[chay]

FWIW my kids went through various phases of hating car seats and fighting me when putting them in. My DS has been switched back and forth from RF to FF and back again quite a few times now as we bought different seats. At one point he hated the FF seat and would slide out every time I put him in, at others he would hate RF and plank across. IME either way he had his ways of making car trips fun.

Anyways, just wanted to say that just because he fought you, doesn't mean he will still fight. DS was 3.5 the last time we bought a seat and I let him decide which direction it would be in our main car. If he wanted to stay FF I was going to get a Nautilus or Frontier but he wanted to go back RF so we went with a Radian. He still RF in it while FF in DH's car. Ask him which one he prefers and it's RF.

There are also big differences in leg room between different seats. My DD is RF in a Marathon (old style) and her legs are just as folded as DS's even though he is many inches taller. The True Fit might be an option as well depending on weight - RF to 35lbs, FF to 65lbs, tall harness, tall shell and great price.

 

[LittlePeanut]

If your kids tend to be on the taller side and you decide to continue to FF the 2 y/o, then yes, the Frontier (currently on sale at SnuggleBugz for $240) is a great choice. It will keep him harnessed longer than any other seat on the market if he's a tal but lightweight kid (has the tallest top harness slots in Canada). It will later convert to a well fitting (on most kids) highback booster.

There are more "economical" choices but none will last as long as the Frontier. It also has a 9 year expiry which means when your oldest is ~6 y/o and a min of 40 lbs and ready for a full time booster, you can buy a HBB (fairly inexpensive) and pass down the Frontier to your youngest.