Travel Car Seats
Traveling can be overwhelming with kids, especially managing all the gear you have to pack to ensure your kids are safe, comfortable and happy. I polled you all on the best travel car seats for all ages, and there was a clear favorite for each category.
My first piece of advice when it comes to car seats is to follow @safeintheseat. Michelle specializes in car seat safety and provides incredible value and resources when you are having to make a decision about a car seat. The decision comes down to many factors including your family’s needs and whether your kids are in the infant, toddler or kid stage. The categories I polled on for favorite travel car seats will carry you from infant through kid stages. While you can absolutely travel with the car seats you use at home, many people opt for lighter weight, travel friendly options. Here are the community favorites, plus some honorable mentions.
Infant Travel Car Seat: The Doona is one of those baby products I wish I had known about as a new Mom. I am excited to have it for my 3rd child and through feedback know it is especially helpful to have for 2nd children and beyond. It is a unique car seat in that it has wheels that pop out so it can immediately become a stroller when it is taken out of the car. This makes it the perfect option for traveling and it is also approved to use on airplanes. It is a rear facing only seat and can fit kids that are 4-35 lbs or 32 inches tall.
The other most common submission was to travel with your normal infant car seat and learn how to install it without the base. This is the route we have gone many times and has been very manageable!
Convertible/5 Point Harness Travel Car Seat: The Cosco Scerena Next won without a doubt! Nothing came close to the amount of submissions the Cosco Scerena Next received. There are a few versions this brand offers, but the Next model was by far the most popular. This travel car seat most notably weighs under 8 so it is ideal for travel. It can be use rear (5-40 lbs) or forward (22-40 lbs) facing and is also extremely compact and affordable which is why people love it for travel.
The other 5 point harness travel option worth mentioning is the WayB Pico Travel Car Seat. This option is very pricey, but extremely lightweight and folds up into a compact backpack case. This is a forward facing only car seat, suitable for age 2 and older until you outgrow the weight or height limits. If you travel domestically quite often or live in an environment where you need to take transportation like cabs often, this is a really great option. One other fun fact is that it is the narrowest car seat on the market in the United States.
Diono Backless Booster: We own and love this Diono Backless booster for traveling. It is compact and a great option for kids that are 40-120 lbs when you don't want to haul their bigger car seat or booster. It also flies free like any other car seat does.
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