[blparent] Car seats

[Karla Hudson]

Hi group: 

I own a sit-N-stroll.  Although my children have since grown out of the
device I am having trouble parting with it.  Isn't that funny!  I am
thinking most people wouldn't want to buy it given that it is about six
years old and they probably make a more modern version.  I don't know
anything about an infant sit-n-stroll.  I know my instructions indicated
that you could put the child in the rear facing position.  My daughter was
so small that I did not use this device with her until she was a year old
and sitting front facing in the car.  I believe I tried it once or twice
when she was littler but she did not seem to be as secure as I would have
liked.  It may have been that I just wasn't strong enough to tighten the
straps in the rear facing position.  

I used the device with my son as well.  However, keep in mind that you can
pop the wheels out when the child is in the seat but this does require some
upper body strength and balance.  I was able to take his weight and the
weight of the chair but you should know this about the seat when putting the
wheels out with your child strapped in the device.  

Overall, the seat is the best one on the market.  I find the entire car seat
issue to be annoying.  Yes, I understand the safety implications for kids.
However, as a blind parent and having a spouse who does not drive as he is
also blind I find that the car seat issue prevents persons who are blind
from getting out as much with their kids.  As I often say to friends they
pretty much need a mini-van to move this family easily.  Something else to
think about with the sit-n-stroll is that the seat is not comfortable for
the child for long trips especially if they need to sleep in the car.
Fortunately when we did take a long trip with our kids when they were in car
seats we barrowed a larger one from a friend. 

The model I have carried my kids until they were 30 pounds although the
instruction say the seat can go to 40 pounds my kids grew out of the device
by length not by pounds.  Currently, we have a compass booster for our son
that has a back.  This is a nice seat as it folds where the child puts their
bottom for easier carrying.  My daughter uses a backless booster.  I have
been known to ask customer service at the movie theater to hold on to my
seats until the movie is over when we use Para-transit.  I am sure mall
information desks would be willing to keep the seat for you as well.
Although I always felt that a strapped in child in the sit-n-stroll was much
easier to keep track of than a child running loosely around the mall.  

As I recall the sit-n-stroll was made by a company called safeline kids.
Though I do remember reading that they changed their name a few years later.


Good luck and hope my thoughts help you in the decision making.  

Karla