Last year, a YouTube video circulated about a car seat tragedy involving a three-year-old little boy. The parents shared their grief with thousands of viewers in an effort to raise awareness about car seat safety. Unable to shake my reaction to their story and their resulting findings about car seats, I was prompted to order a new seat for Emma Kate this week. She is almost 6 and has (finally) reached the 40-pound weight limit for her current car seat. Faced with the choice of buying a booster, I decided to go with the Britax Regent- the only five-point safety seat that holds children up to 80 pounds. Because seat belts are not 100% reliable, children can be ejected when restrained only by a traditional booster seat. The Britax Regent is secured by the latch system, which makes it a better choice for keeping big kids safe.
I am excited that EK’s new seat arrived today. It is enormous (I can fit in it!) and heavy, so I hope it will fit well in our car. We still want to have access to the built-in booster seat which we will continue to use occasionally as needed. After scouring the web for the best price, I found the Britax Regent at BestBuyBaby.com. It arrived in two (!) days, and the shipping was free.
The YouTube video that inspired this purchase: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ. Please be warned this story is sad. I think it really resonates with me as the mother of a daughter and son similar in age to the children in this story.
Regardless of the car seat you choose, please check to make sure the seat is properly installed and the child is appropriately secured. Drive safely.
Jack modeling the Britax Regent:
Posted on March 27th, 2008 by tonya
Filed under: Mothering
Aunt Sue told me to read your blog about the car seats…I have been thinking about getting a Regent for Troy, too. He still has 7 pounds to go on his current seat but he’s almost too tall for it. I’m glad she told me to check it out-that is the best price I’ve seen, and I know shipping would be crazy high on it because it’s so heavy. Tell everyone we said Hi!
Elizabeth and Troy
Hi Beth,
It’s great to hear from you! I definitely like what I have read about this seat. The “regular” price for it most places is $269, so I think $219 (no shipping/no tax) is great. One warning: the Britax is HUGE compared to our other seats, so you might want to check the measurements first. It does fit in our SUV, but there isn’t a lot of room between Emma Kate’s seat and the seat in front of her. Would love to see you guys in Wilmington soon!
Best,
Tonya (Chris, Emma, & Jack)