Can my 16 month old use the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 car seat? Ive been reading some reviews and ppl are stressing not to use this car seat till your child is 3 yrs old but my child defiently fits the weight limit and height reqirements so I dont know whats the big deal I mean you 3 year old is not likely to weigh just 20 lbs, so I dont see the problem does anyone else recomend to hold off on this car seat till your kid is three? Can my 16 month old use the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 car seat? Ive been reading some reviews and ppl are stressing not to use this car seat till your child is 3 yrs old but my child defiently fits the... » Read More Can my 16 month old use the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 car seat? Ive been reading some reviews and ppl are stressing not to use this car seat till your child is 3 yrs old but my child defiently fits the weight limit and height reqirements so I dont know whats the big deal I mean you 3 year old is not likely to weigh just 20 lbs, so I dont see the problem does anyone else recomend to hold off on this car seat till your kid is three? « Show Less
1761367
Yes, but it is an important recommendation. Yes, a 16 month old CAN use this seat. But SHOULD they? Heck no. 1 and 20 are legal minimums. My kids deserve more than the minimum.
1761368
Rear facing is much safer for kids, especially under the age of 2 but even up to age 4 or 5 is still safer. The Nautilus does not rear face. Its legal to put a 16 month old in the Nautilus (as long as she's over 20lbs) but its not very safe. Its certainly safer than nothing but according to the latest research rear facing is 5 times safer than forward facing for kids between one and two years old. Toddlers spines are not yet mature enough to hold up their heads in an accident. Their head can literally detach from their spine. Please google "extended rear facing" for more information or post back and I'll be happy to provide more. Rear facing is much safer for kids, especially under the age of 2 but even up to age 4 or 5 is still safer. The Nautilus does not rear face. Its legal to put a 16 month old in the Nautilus (as long as she's over 20lbs) but its not very safe. Its certainly safer than nothing but according to the latest research rear facing is 5 times safer than forward facing for kids between one and two years old. Toddlers spines are not yet mature enough to hold up their heads in an accident. Their head can literally detach from their spine. Please google "extended rear facing" for more... » Read More Rear facing is much safer for kids, especially under the age of 2 but even up to age 4 or 5 is still safer. The Nautilus does not rear face. Its legal to put a 16 month old in the Nautilus (as long as she's over 20lbs) but its not very safe. Its certainly safer than nothing but according to the latest research rear facing is 5 times safer than forward facing for kids between one and two years old. Toddlers spines are not yet mature enough to hold up their heads in an accident. Their head can literally detach from their spine. Please google "extended rear facing" for more information or post back and I'll be happy to provide more. « Show Less
1761369
Rear facing is much safer as long as the car is not rear ended. There is an equal chance of one getting rear ended Vs head on collision. One of colleague was rear ended last week and his kid was front facing. Luckily nobody was hurt.
1761370
Yikes! Sorry I put the same post so many times. My computer is going crazy!!!!
1761371
It is only a recommendation to keep your car seat rear facing for up to two years. It is not a law. My son is in the 95th percentile for height and weight and he's been forward facing in his car seat since he turned one. He will and does not fit rear facing. So, I am sure that your 16 month old can use this car seat forward facing.
1761372
Currently there are no laws as to when a child can face forward in a car seat. There are laws in some states that say that a belt positioning booster can be used after 3 or 4 depending on the state and that all children must be in some type of a restrained seat until they are 8. Car Seat companies are pushing to get kids rear facing longer to buy more expensive products, when they all out grow the seats height wise sooner.
1761373
It is law that a child be rear facing to 1 year AND 20lbs. Has been law since at least 2006. Car seat companies are not spreading lies about extended rear facing to make money. Rear facing is safer. Period. It is proven by the law of physics and the medical fact that children's spines do not fuse until they are between 4 and 6. Please stop spreading lies about car seat safety. Car accidents are the number one killer of children and the last thing we need are people working against safety with their conspiracy theories.
1761374
States have different laws now about what age with front and rear facing carseats. AAP now says 2 years and that is what I'm going by. I was going to buy this car seat but since it doesn't rear face I went with Britax instead.
1761375
I put my son in this seat when he was 15 months old. at 26 lbs, he fit perfectly (was too tall to even have the shoulder straps be in the lowest hole.) at almost 4 he is still in the seat and is still comfortable.
1723164
No, there is not. My son is 11 months and we bought this for his sitter and grandmother to have in their cars. It serves it's purpose for quick trips around town for them, but I would not buy it for a child smaller than 6 months as there is no head support or cushion. It is very basic but has a good safety rating. For our family car my son has a much nicer Graco. It came with several head cushion options to add or subtract to the seat. On that note, the Graco takes up a lot of space in my Envoy. This car seat is smaller and fits in my husbands extended cab truck that only has a bench seat. No, there is not. My son is 11 months and we bought this for his sitter and grandmother to have in their cars. It serves it's purpose for quick trips around town for them, but I would not buy it for a child smaller than 6 months as there is no head support or cushion. It is very basic but has a good safety rating. For our family car my son has a much nicer Graco. It came with several head cushion options to add or subtract to the seat. On that note, the Graco takes up a lot of space in my Envoy. This car seat is smaller and fits in my husbands extended cab truck that only has a bench seat.
1484651
I really just went based on whether or not my daughter fit in it anymore. She was in her chair from 3 or 4 months old until about 7 months old. She is really big though. She has remained in the 97th-100th percentile since she she was born. So even as big as she is she was still getting at least 4 months of use out of it. I could have had her in it sooner because she was controling her head and neck within a month from birth and trying to sit up at 2 months, but I was slow at figuring out it was time for an infant chair. It really was a great little chair and we got so much use out of it during that time frame she could fit in it. I don't actually know what the weight limit is; I think I looked for it before but did not find one. She just turned one so it was a while ago. I will also add that she has very chunky thighs along with being very tall and in general larger than most her age and she fit in it rather well. I would imagine that the chair would last even longer for infants that follow the normal growth curve. I was not even diabetic and she came out weighing 9lbs, 8oz.
1646301
I use this car seat for my son who is 3 (turned 3 in august) and he weighs 32lbs. There are multiple strap settings and my son fits well in this seat.
1001097
With the convertible car seats, I don't see why anyone would get safeseat. For next db I will get a snugride then use our convertible car seat. My db wanted a more "upright" seat asap and she was under the 1yo weight limit. The bucket seat becomes uncomfortable to them. You can use the covertible car seats up to 2 years rear facing, which is supposed to be the safest way to go. Then use them forward facing up to 65 lbs. So it doesn't make sense to get the largest bucket seat, besides you can't carry them in it after like 14 lbs.
1167576
I purchased this seat for my 3 year old daughter (she's tiny only 25 lbs) but my 15 month old has used it before. I would say it would be suitable for a child that has been sitting up unassisted for a while...maybe 12+ months. Not sure what the manufacturer recommends.
1066163
I would use a convertible so you can keep your child rear facing. I had my 3 1/2 year old, rear facing, in a convertible car seat (not infant). She was in the convertible (I had to finally turn her front facing though) until she was 5 and nearly 40 pounds. Don't go with the "popular" conversation. Go with safe. Do research. Keep your kid rear facing as long as you can.
185653
The front of the Instruction manual says age 3 or over, 30-100 pounds, 38-57 inches. There are car seat safety guidelines on different websites (highway patrol,consumer reports, etc) and car seats are still believed to be safer. We waited to switch over until our son was 40 pounds, over 40 inches and almost 4 years old. We are pleased with the booster and it is easy to use.
1918484
I know that it seems that most people do not keep their children rear facing until at least 40 pounds, but in actuality extended rear facing is much, much, much safer for your child. Other countries keep children rear facing until age four and have much lower rates of child mortality in car crashes. Should you be interested in extended rear facing, I would check out the Diano Radian and the Clek Foonf. If your child is not tall, the Britax Advocate is another great choice. If you are set on turning your son around, I will say that we have this seat and absolutely love it. We use it for our almost 6 year old daughter and she is very comfortable in it. The seat installs like a dream and is very solid. It's heavy though, so I wouldn't choose it if you need to move it a lot. Hope this helps!
695346
We had a Graco car seat and it would only snap in to the car seat adapter (separate accessory). We have a 3 year old and now a 1 year old. When the 1 year old was still an infant, we found It much easier to take her out of the car seat and put her in the bassinet behind the toddler seat and have her older brother in the seat. Hope this helps.
1641080
I got this seat for my son at 1 years old. He was 23 lbs and 32" your child is at min weight but he may not be ready to sit in this seat. In my opinion he's very young. Plus I think he still needs to face the back of the car. If you like this kind of seat I would get one with the recliner feature. So he sits a bit craddled. I would do a bit more research.
885671
I used Britax convertibles with both of my kids from birth just because infant seats are not safe! They were fine and my children were not big(my daughter was 6lbs 11oz and my son came home 4lbs 12oz-he was 3lbs7oz at birth). We have the new advocate for the upcoming baby ;-) The advocate even has an "infant insert" that can be purchased to improve the fit. Yes, they look small in the seat, but it does not affect the safety of the seat-at all. Think about this, a piece of plastic that goes through constant stress of in and out of the car(we have a materials engineer in the family and he was very adamant about it not being safe-too much stress on plastic). The studies about this have been buried time and time again, but there is some evidence if you search the net. Unfortunately, we were hit by a drunk driver when my daughter was only 4 mos, she was just fine in her Britax seat! When my son was 9 mos, our Corolla was sideswiped by a semi-truck, both kids were fine(they slept through it), my son in his convertible, my daughter in her Britax booster. We drive A LOT(40k miles a year) and I have never felt uncomfortable with the convertibles from birth and after our second accident we were told by the investigating officer that the Britax saved my son major injuries! I think you will be just fine going with the convertible from day one, we were and ours were "tested."
1236943
minimum weight is 22lbs-not sure what the height is but I would only use this seat for a toddler who can sit up and support themselves well on their own. While I love this seat for my three year old, I would not put my fifteen month old in it just yet, even though he meets the requirements for a normal front facing seat. This seat just does not offer the support that the larger front facers do but it is a Godsend for older children who need more leg room in a smaller car or truck.
1087248
The more important thing is the stage your child is at. Can they sit up on their own, and are they under the recommended weight limit per seat (I think it was 35 pounds but not 100% sure)? My twin boys started using this at about 5.5 months. So it is more making sure your child is ready and about to sit in a regular seat (though it can recline as well); they should be able to support their own head/neck and sit without much help before this.
998590
It's very convenient for moving in and out of cars - like taxis. However, the fine print says NOT to use on airplanes. I will say it will depend on size of your child too, my middle son is stocky but when he was 3 he still was tilted because he was too small for the best even though he weighed minimum weight restrictions for best. Now he is 4 and fits fine, but it may be too big to be comfortable at 2.5! The weights might have changed - check into the new vests. It is VERY CONVENIENT for a third child in back seat of tiny car!
2266232
Yes. I have a 3 year old and a 16 month old. My youngest has been playing with it since he turned 1. It started out a little tall for him, but that didn't keep him from wanting to play with it. Now he is plenty tall enough to play with it (and he is not "of the charts" tall or anything).
1388030
I have! My boys are 17 months apart so I needed my Safety 1st car seat to fit and it does! I use it in the "front seat" (the one furtherest from you). Sometimes I have to push the sides in, but its a nice secure fit! It's a great stroller! Highly recommend! Congrats on your growing family!