Skinny is back in demand – that is, if you’re a carseat or booster. Unfortunately skinny is also hard to come by these days and that’s a real problem. In a time when Americans are downsizing their vehicles in droves – increased laws and awareness are keeping more and more kids in CRs longer. The combination of these two factors is creating a real space problem.
We need more CRs that can fit in narrow seating positions and in those tricky 3-across situations. Manufacturers need to work quickly to address this issue because if one more parent suggests removing the armrests on their Turbo booster to make it fit next to another CR – I’m going to lose my mind!
Here are some suggestions for all CR manufacturers. Work on designing some new, narrow seats and pay particular attention to how your various models fit/puzzle/mesh next to each other. In the mean time, how about reviving some of those older designs that worked so well for us in the past?
Dorel – could you bring back the Touriva? The Scenera just doesn’t fit well in tight spaces like the Touriva did.
Evenflo – how about dusting off the Right Fit mold? The Big Kid just isn’t cutting it in smaller vehicles. If you slap some snazzy covers on the Right Fit and keep it competitively priced, it’ll be a hit – I promise. The contours of that particular design with the narrow back and the low, flared-out armrest/nubs made it fit well in narrow seating positions AND made it easy to buckle, even if it was next to another CR.
Graco – please keep making the Ultra/Platinum Cargo. The Nautilus is great but it’s not exactly 3-across friendly. The Cargo was usually a seat that we could count on to fit in small spaces next to other seats. Of course it would be even better if you could find a way to get it rated to 48 lbs with the harness like its Canadian sibling but truthfully, I’ll be happy as long as you don’t discontinue it.
Britax – now that your Parkway, Monarch and Safe Voyage boosters are “Best Bets” from the IIHS – how about keeping them? Pretty Please? In particular, the width-adjustable bases on the less beefy models (SR/C and Safe Voyage booster) are awesome when you’re trying to cram 3 CRs into the back of a small sedan. Even the BodyGuard might be worthy of resurrection if you did away with those annoying lock-offs. And although the Parkway was not width-adjustable it still worked well for a lot of people in narrow seating positions and 3-across situations because of the tapered shape and lack of armrests.
So, how about it? I know all the molds for these seats are still hanging around somewhere collecting cobwebs. It probably wouldn’t take much to start producing some of these models again just until you manufacturers can get some new designs to market. This trend of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road and increased CPS awareness/legislation is only going to continue.
The industry has been very focused in the last few years on bigger and wider. No doubt this is due to the the fact that American kids are getting bigger and wider not to mention they’re staying in CRs for much longer than in the past. Plus, there has been a strong, steady demand for Higher-Weight Harness (HWH) seats that can accommodate bigger/older children. This is all well and good – but you can’t focus exclusively on bigger and wider while simultaneously phasing out slimmer models. Because if the bigger, wider seats don’t fit in smaller vehicles – then what? What do you think happens when a family of 5 trades in their Tahoe for an Accord? And what do you think happens at a check event when a car pulls in with 3 kids in the back of an old Corolla and all 3 need to be in seats? We can’t afford to give away Radians so often the parents are forced to make those “tough choices”. Do you put a kid up front in a CR? Let the oldest ride without a booster in back even though he clearly still needs one? This is reality. This is what we have to deal with at almost every check event just because we no longer have those affordable options like Tourivas and Right Fits.
Manufacturers, you can help those of us in the trenches (and those of us who are personally in these situations) by meeting these challenges and making more small-vehicle-friendly seats. We also desperately need more affordable options for our CPS programs that work in these tight situations. Tourivas, Right Fits, a no-frills version of the Ultra Cargo and a permanent supply of sale-priced Safe Voyage boosters would really, really help. We can’t fix every incompatibility that we encounter but this particular problem seems to have some possible solutions that are realistic and within reach. I hope you’ll agree.
I’m still just enraged that they discontinued the fisher price line of seats.
They just didn’t give it enough time to catch on.
They launched them when the britax seats were on sale, so the sales couldn’t be great, and then they didn’t wait for the word of mouth (namely on boards like this) to spread and really get sales up.
Instead, they counted their chickens before all had hatched.
VERY short sighted, Britax.
Really, I could deal with the other companies not bringing back the Touriva and Right fit.
What I need is Graco to continue the Cargo (though I dream of the same 48lb limit Canada enjoys, too) and for Britax to get their brains back in their heads.
I don’t care what you call it – starriser comfy or Fisher Price Safe Voyage booster, but it needs back on the market.
And you know, letting Fisher Price show that booster in every dang FP commercial doesn’t help parents realize that you discontinued it!!!
I have a fisher price safe voyage and soon to be Parkway and I so need to fit 3-across in my van(short base kia)…this is the only way I will be able to do it… Please come out with skinner carseats/boosters.
Way to go Kecia! Yes we need those smaller seats too, we recently bought a SR/C to go in the middle of our 2008 Suburban. GM thought to put in the lap/shoulder belt but forgot the head rest as well as setting the anchor points about 11 inches apart very few CSR fit in that position.
Ugh! I can remember the first time I tried to put another seat next to my center-installed Nautilus – no dice. So every time DS has a playdate I have to move that Nautilus. I really really miss the Marathon’s base on those days. Too bad DS doesn’t fit in one anymore. =( So I will add to the clamor for skinnier seats.
YAY! I worked for a very popular baby chain…. think the sibling to Geoffrey the giraffe. At least twice a week I would have to take three seats out to a vehicle and end up piecing them together. 8 out of 10 times there was no way to make them fit! We need slimmer seats! Especially for the forward facing and boosters!
Psssssst, Right Fits don’t expire! As long as they’re in good condition and haven’t been in a crash, you can continue to use them.
Great blog! We need both skinny and high weight seats!
I miss my Parkway. Well, I mean my kids’ Parkways. :o) Wonderful belt fit (even on my not quite 4 yo dd while waiting on a Wizard harness to replace the one the cat peed on).
I think the key here is that we need a wide range of seats to suit all the different seating situations and needs! (Hear that, manufacturers?) Lately, we’ve had the “super” boosters that will last kids forever – the Monterrey, Frontier (as booster), etc. But I don’t see many people getting 3-across with those seats. What the market is lacking right now is a reasonably priced, narrow high-back booster (that converts to a backless). Not all parents are able or willing to afford even the price of a Parkway or FPSV booster (when those were both being made), but there are parents in all price ranges who need to fit 3-across.
Oh ITA! I loved my Right Fits and they all expired this last year! I loved how they were easy to store and they fit even wide kids! I also miss the Fisher Price Futuras! Even with giving out the Radian (we actually had those at the last check I did!!) you’re not guaranteed a good fit! The Futura fit in every car and position I put it! I miss that seat!
Kecia, great article! We’ve asked (begged) for HWH from manufacturers for so long and now that we’ve got these big seats, we also have sky high gas prices and smaller vehicles. We’ve also had parents all along who have never bought into the HWH philosophy and still need to get their 3 kids into their sedans. A lot of times it is the lower income families who can’t afford to run out and try a variety of seats because they either can’t afford the gas money or they can’t afford the seats.
We love our Parkway because of its ease of use. No arms to ever get the lap belt in the wrong place, tall seat back–it’s nearly perfect! The narrowness of the FP Safe Voyage booster–these really do make a difference between whether or not a parent will use a seat for a child or not.
great article! I have 7YO twins and a ’97 Honda Civic, if we didn’t have our Parkways and a RideSafer Travel Vest there’s NO way we could ever have fit 3 across in our back seat, and our FPSV boosters make for a much easier 3 across with a classmate’s Turbo in our ’95 Highlander than the Parkways.
Julie, I thought about the FP Safe Embrace booster when I wrote this (and our all-time-favorite slim infant seat – the Stay-In-View) but the FPSEb really wasn’t all that great at positioning the lap belt. Although it was definitely the easiest booster to buckle in a tight 3-across – EVER! I had 2 of them stashed in the back of my closet for the longest time. I finally got rid of them last year when someone else really needed them and it was clear that nothing else was going to work. They didn’t expire until 2009 thanks to FP’s generous lifespan.
My old trusty SR/C went to a new home years ago but I still have a Safe Voyage booster and a Right Fit. I don’t need either of them right now but I’m like a boy scout – always prepared for any situation! LOL!
Great article. I totally agree. Bigger is not always better (although there is definitely a need for that too).
I give this a “here, here!!”. I have been desperately searching for a StarRiser Comfy for several months so that I could use it in a 3 across scenario in my 9 passenger Suburban. With soon to be 5 kids it was going to be interesting to get them all to fit in there with seating constraints (lack of headrests & a couple lap-only seatbelts).
While we’re on the topic of bringing back narrow seats, FP PLEASE bring back the Futura & the Stay In View!!!
Oh yes, Kecia, this is what I’ve been wanting to shout from the rooftops for some time now! I had to get three kids in the back of our 2006 Ford Escape, and the Parkway and Starriser Comfy were the easiest choices. The Right Fit also worked in the center (It’s a very narrow center spot in that Escape and tough to find anything that works!). I agree that the Right Fit in some different colors of plastic and covers (jet black or charcoal would look great in some nicer sports cars with scooped out back seats…) would be an absolute hit. I also submit that the Clek Oto be introduced in the US, it’s super easy to fit in tight spots.
Britax brought back the Starriser Comfy once after discontinuing it, surely they can be convinced again…. maybe we can have similar luck with the ultimate in skinny boosters, the Fisher Price Safe Embrace Booster 🙂
I ADORE my Parkway and Starriser Comfy! The Starriser fits in spots even the PW won’t, though the PW is easier to buckle most of the time due to the lack of armrests. If they could mesh the SRC’s shoulder belt guides and width-adjusable base with the deeper wings of the Parkway, I’d be ALL OVER IT! Britax, do you hear us? Bring back the boosters! Parents who need/want to fit three child restraints across a single row NEED these super-skinny boosters!
Amen! We could start a blogging and letter-writing campaign. Think they’d listen?
Great article.
Next year we’ll have three across. If my oldest outgrows her Radian before we get a larger vehicle I’ll have to use my Parkway. She’s already around 47 lbs and on the top slots. Thankfully, I bought one already, because there’s nothing else out there new that even I can buckle next to two other car seats.
We need at least a FEW narrow boosters!
Amen! The Parkway is the ONLY booster that lets me put three-across in the back seat of my 2 door Cherokee.
I still can’t believe Britax has discontinued the Parkway. I LOVE that seat for 3 across. In fact, I originally bought my two specifically because I needed to fit all 3 kids in the back of an older Cavalier while our other vehicle was being shipped back from overseas when Hubby got out of the Army.
Great blog! Though, I personally love the lockoffs on my Bodyguard-great for kids that can’t sit still 100%, yet have to be in a booster sometimes.
Great Blog! I won’t even allow myself to look to see if there is an expiration date on my beloved Starriser backless, at least not until the end of this school year when all DD’s friends are 8 and could ride without a booster if necessary.
yay! great article!