The Great Car Seat Indecision

30 Apr

A few years ago we bought Cameron a Graco Nautilus with the thought that it got great safety ratings and it would be the last seat we would ever need to buy him since it’s a 3 in 1.

Fast forward to now, Logan needs a new seat. The obvious choice was to buy another Nautilus and call it a day. Then I gave it a little more thought and decided to just get Cameron a booster seat and move Logan into Cameron’s old Nautilus. I’d save a few bucks in the deal and I still wouldn’t have to buy another car seat.

I’ve always been serious about car seat safety and have gotten top rated (and often expensive) car seats for the boys as they grew up.

Cameron will be six on Thursday and is well within the height and weight range for a booster seat. Hell, most of his friends are already in boosters and have been for a while. Cameron is still sporting the five point harness and will be for the foreseeable future.

A few years ago I remember hearing a tragic story of a little boy who was killed in a crash because he slid under the seatbelt. He was in a booster seat and was the right height, weight and age to be in one. His parent’s had done nothing wrong and yet he was still gone.

The take away for me was to keep the boys in the five point harness as long as the seat would hold them. Why rush the milestone when it can have such serious effects? The Nautilus can be used with the harness up to 65 pounds, and Cameron is only about 45. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children should be in a forward facing seat with a harness until they reach the maximum height or weight for the seat and that’s what I plan to do even if it embarrasses them.

We had even gone so far as to buy a new booster seat for Cameron and he was so excited to sit in it. Less than 24 hours later I returned it and bought another Nautilus. I just couldn’t do it. The likelihood of us getting into a serious crash while he is actually in the car with me is pretty slim, but I would never be able to live with myself if something happened to him. So I erred on the side of caution. Perhaps another gross overreaction, but I don’t care.

He was upset at first but I taught him how to buckle and unbuckle himself so he feels like a big boy. It was a compromise I could live with.

If you’re a parent trying to sort through the millions of car seats out there, I would HIGHLY recommend the Graco Nautilus. Buy it when your little munchkin turns two and have it until they’re ready to sit on the car’s seat. The price is right too, you don’t have to break the bank for a safe, comfortable seat for your kids.