When I was pregnant with my first son, I did all the requisite hand-wringing and research about all the baby stuff I would have to buy or register for. I bought the book Baby Bargains and signed up for Consumer Reports Online. I asked questions of all my friends who were parents; in fact, I sent them all a questionnaire and compiled the results into a handy guide for what worked and what didn’t.

One very important item that I’ve spent hours debating on is the car seat. For three years now I have wondered why there are so many different brands and styles, when every child needs a car seat and there is a basic set of safety standards that each one has to meet. Why is there such a broad range of prices, too? I guess you can ask that question about anything: why spend thousands of dollars on a dress when you can get one for 25 bucks at Target? (Okay, don’t answer that question. read more