Car Seat Review: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For
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.)
Back during that first pregnancy, my husband and I went to a baby supply superstore to see the car seats in person. To touch them, fiddle with their bells and whistles, and see why one might be better than another -- trying to understand why the expensive ones are so expensive. One good friend of ours swears by the high-end Britax brand. "Why would you get anything but the best when it comes to your child's safety?" she asked.
But does spending more mean getting the best? As a matter of fact, it might. Pediatrician Laura Jana, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a certified child passenger safety (CPS) technician, says that after choosing a seat that meets the minimum safety requirements in the United States, you also have to factor in that the seat must fit well in your make and model of car. Beyond those restrictions, "it’s also important to look for other features that make it most likely for you to use the car seat correctly each and every time your child travels in the car. In some instances, this can even mean that a cup holder, attractive fabric or easily adjusted straps that don't twist could, in some ways, qualify as safety features. After all, if kids love their seats and parents are able to install and use them with greater ease, then everyone ends up safer."
After careful consideration, my husband and I settled on the mid-priced Graco Snugride infant carseat ($120), and deferred worrying about a convertible or toddler seat because the need for those was so far in the future. I laugh at that memory now because our gigantic child grew out of that infant seat in just 6 months, and a year and a half later we had a second fast-growing son who did the same thing. When it came time to purchase a convertible seat (the kind that faces backward until the baby is 1 year and 20 pounds, then faces forward and can be used until the child reaches a set weight limit), we went through the whole dilemma again: do we have to spend a lot to feel safe?
The answer, my friends, is YES. At least for me. I poo-poohed the extra expense in the past, thinking that only hysterical parents were suckered into dropping all that cash for extra padding and fancy colors, the same way they sank their children's college funds into trendy Bugaboo strollers. And then Britax sent me the new Boulevard CS ($330).
The clouds parted, the angels sang, and all was right with the world. After all this time I have discovered a car seat that does what I want it to when I want it to. Let me explain. To do this, I will tell you a story of four car seats:
1. The Evenflo Triumph. ($130) I love this car seat and I wish I could use it forever. It's like a La-Z-Boy for the backseat with a foolproof adjustment device: wheels that you crank that tighten the child restraint harness, and a lever that you depress while loosening the harness. It works, and it was less than $200 dollars. The downfall? It only goes up to 40 pounds. If you make enormous children, that's not gonna last you very long.
2. The Cosco Scenera. ($44) I hate this car seat. The only reason I bought it was that it only weighs 10 pounds. Oh, and it was less than 50 bucks at Wal-Mart. We needed a car seat that was light enough to lug through airports and haul onto an airplane for our then 8-month-old firstborn son. Why I hate it: the adjustment device for the restraint harness is a belt you pull between the child's legs, but when you pull it, only one side of the harness will tighten. Plus, most of the time it gets stuck so that I can't even tighten the strap when pulling as hard as I can. I have to ratchet the thing down (pulling, loosening, pulling, loosening, etc.) until it's sort of as tight as I want it. For some reason (laziness, frugality) I've kept the darn thing, and it's given me grief throughout our entire relationship.
3. The Evenflo Generations Harnessed Booster. ($100) This is the next size up from the Triumph, intended for harness use with a child up to 40 pounds, and then as a booster seat with the car's seat belt after that. It has the same groovy adjustment wheels as the Triumph that I loved and is supposed to work the same way, but when I brought it home and installed it, the whole thing jammed. I'm no dummy, and I've got a lot of experience installing, removing, and re-installing car seats. So when this thing jammed, I knew it was not something I was doing wrong. Unfortunately, it jammed just as I was supposed to be picking up my older son from daycare, and my husband had the other car with the functioning car seat, so I had to throw the baby in the double stroller and walk to pick up his brother. I hustled but still got there late, and I still blame that car seat. I couldn't bring myself to try the same model again, so when I returned the seat to the baby superstore, I came home with our next entry.
4. The Alpha Elite Apex Booster. ($80) This is a perfectly functional seat that has a five-point harness for use up to 40 pounds and then it becomes a booster for use with the car's seat belt. Its adjustment gets as funky as the Cosco Scenera sometimes, but overall it's just fine.
I knew I needed to get another car seat to accommodate both of our children, but I was postponing that whole process, as usual. When Britax contacted me, I was open to testing the seat, but skeptical for all of the above reasons. I dared them to impress me.
First of all, how do you even say Britax? I've heard it pronounced so many different ways that this was my first question to the company that represents them. Here it is once and for all, dear readers: BRYE (rhymes with "pie") TAX, like sales tax. Now you sound educated. And rich. You can also tell yourself that the higher cost of a Britax car seat does buy you more safety, because even though all car seats sold in the United States have to pass minimum safety requirements, those requirements only cover frontal impact.
According to Pankaj Amesar, Britax’s advanced technology program manager, the government regulations "do not require the child restraints to pass any side impact test or a comfort test. In addition, they do not dictate the ease of use, style, appeal or the fashion. These are all factors that differ, depending on the seat you choose."
My husband installed the Britax Boulevard CS in our sedan. It took him a minute to locate the LATCH attachments because as an engineer, he never reads the instructions. Once I stood over him with the booklet, however, we both marveled at all of the features that make the seat easy to use and adjust. (And to his credit, the LATCH attachments were sort of hidden within the seat and had to be pulled out.)
Installing the "Versatether" was a little bit tricky because of it's Y shape (meant to absorb extra shock during an impact) -- our tether attachment is not directly behind the seat, but that's more of a Mitsubishi problem than a Britax problem -- but we did get it to work after a bit of maneuvering.
The seat is big enough for children up to 49 inches tall and 65 pounds heavy, which is a good thing for us because, again, giant kids. It's comfortable enough for both sizes of our children, and it's very easy to adjust to their different heights. In fact, no disassembling of the seat pad is necessary (can I get a hallelujah?) to raise or lower the harness strap heights (which should be above their shoulders when forward-facing).
The child restraint harness adjuster works like a dream. And with this newest Britax model, the adjuster has "Click n Safe" technology, in which the strap actually makes an audible click when the harness is safely snug. No lopsided tightness, just easy-to-use, simple safety. The click is not meant to replace common sense -- if the straps still seem too loose, keep clicking!
My older son is pretty tall, so for him the harness straps have to be at their highest point, which means raising the head rest to its highest point. No sweat, just turn the knob on the side of the seat and the headrest is where it needs to be. With the head rest at that height, it seems a bit unstable, but that flexibility is there to absorb the initial forward motion in a crash event, providing more flex for taller children.
Given the steep price tage, it helps that the the Boulevard CS is so luxurious-looking. My son is riding in a throne every time he comes in the car with me. My younger son is, of course, growing so quickly that we will need another toddler/booster seat in about a year. If I start saving now, I'll be able to order the newest Britax model by then.
Now that the Boulevard CS has come into our lives, I wish I could make a phone call to myself three years ago and say, "Get this one. It will save you hours of indecision, confusion and frustration. It may cost more, a lot more, but it will be so worth it."
-- Kim Tracy Prince
Kim is the loving mother of a very energetic toddler and baby boy. She has worked on the hit show, "Bringing Home Baby." Read Kim's blog. Have a comment for our very blunt Mama? kim@themommytimes.com
