I am kind of a car seat crazy person. I want my kids to be safe. You hear stories all the time about seats not being installed correctly, or about an accident that could have been avoided if only the child had been strapped in correctly to a car seat. So, when I had my first baby, I made sure to do my research. I found an acceptable infant car seat, but when it was time to move her up to a bigger one, I wanted one that was going to last, and one that was strong, and durable. I chose the Sunshine Kids Car Seat. Maybe you haven’t heard of them?
Britax seems to have the best reputation around for safety, but Sunshine Kids is up there too. For some reason though, I don’t know a single other person in my own life that has this kind of car seat. But, there are some definite pros.
1. They are committed to safety. They have lots of great information on their website about safety. The safety features each seat includes are (taken directly from their website):
1) Steel reinforced frame for unsurpassed strength
2) Deep head & side walls for containment
3) Energy absorbing foam liner to distribute crash forces
4) Energy absorbing tether to reduce acceleration forces
5) Adjustable head support to minimize lateral head movement (not available on all models)
2. Good reviews. They are compared to the Britax by many people, and get excellent reviews.
3. They are skinnier. While this may not seem like a big deal, it was to us. How many times have you gotten in someone else’s car, and worried about if your car seat was going to fit properly because it was too wide? These car seats give the same great protection, but are made so that you can fit 3 right next to each other very easily within any make/model of car. I never have to worry if my car seat will fit next to a friend’s bulky one. It always does.
4. The seat of the car seat folds up. This is another reason why we bought it. When we had our first, we were flying all the time. We constantly had to take the car seat with us. We liked that it came with a shoulder strap, and the seat folded up when not in use. It is an awesome feature if you are having to carry the car seat around an airport.
5. It can be used from birth until they are no longer in a car seat at all! While so many of use use the infant car seats to carry our newborns around, you don’t really have to buy one with this car seat. It can be used for newborns and you can keep it until they are out of a seat for good. I think mine goes up to 85 lbs. Although I don’t think I’ll ever have a kid that big in it. There is more than enough room to grow.
We have two now. Both of our kids sit side by side comfortably in the car leaving plenty of room for a third person in the backseat. This has made it possible for us to keep our mid-size sedan for longer and not have to upgrade to a bigger car. The biggest draw back to me with this seat is the weight. I will not lie, it is heavier than most car seats out there. But, other than that. We have been very happy with ours.
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