This summer marks a full decade of CarseatBlog.com! We can hardly believe it. In some ways, it seems like not so long ago that we began writing about carseats, child passenger safety, and vehicle safety. In other ways, it feels like we’ve been doing this for eternity! 😀 Along the way we’ve shared a lot of laughs, made amazing friends, written over 1,500 blog posts and reviewed over 120 carseats and boosters!

Whether you’re new to CarseatBlog.com or have been with us since the start in 2008 – we’d like to share our celebration (and our cupcakes) with you! You are the reason we’re still here 10 years later, still blogging away, always looking for ways to improve our content and better serve our readers.

During the next 10 weeks, we’re celebrating by giving away some awesome carseats, so stay tuned! Each week will feature a new giveaway promotion and your odds of winning something are pretty darn good. Consider it a personal “thank you” from Darren, Heather, Kecia, Jennie, Alicia, Katie and all of our guest bloggers at CarseatBlog!

This week we’ve partnered with our generous friends at CYBEX, to give away their new Sirona M with SensorSafe 2.0 Convertible! Sirona M is a feature-rich technology seat, designed to be used with an app. The app tells you if your child has undone their chest clip, if they’re in the safe temperature zone, or if you’ve walked away from your vehicle without your child. The SensorSafe 2.0 app also includes your instruction manual and some vehicle-specific information as well. SensorSafe 2.0 works in conjunction with a receiver plug that is inserted in your vehicle’s ODB port. Winner will have their choice of available Sirona M fashions!

This promotion is now closed. Thank you for participating, a winner will be announced soon!

CYBEX Sirona M Specs:

• Rear-facing 5-40 lbs., head at least 1″ below top of headrest
• Forward-facing 22-65 lbs., 49″ or less

Features:

• SensorSafe 2.0 integrates important safety technology into the smart chest clip
• No-rethread harness with 12 height positions
• 10-position adjustable base
• L.S.P. (Linear SIP) bolsters
• Lockoffs for both RF & FF
• Push-on LATCH connectors
• Infant insert
• Cupholder

   

How to Enter Sirona M Giveaway:

• Leave us a comment below (required to be eligible to win), then click on Rafflecopter to qualify yourself.
• For extra entries, be sure to follow the Rafflecopter instructions to like and follow our Facebook page, like and follow the CybexUS Facebook Page and tweet about the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now for the fine print – winner must have a USA shipping address to claim the prize. Only one prize will be awarded. Only one entry per household/family, please. If you leave more than one comment, only the first one will count. We reserve the right to deem any entry as ineligible for any reason, though this would normally only be done in the case of a violation of the spirit of the rules above. We also reserve the right to edit/update the rules for any reason. The contest will close on September 23, 2018, and one random winner will be chosen shortly thereafter. If a winner is deemed ineligible based on shipping restrictions or other issues or does not respond to accept the prize within 7 days, a new winner will be selected. Good luck!

Please note: If this is your first comment at CarseatBlog, or if you are using a different computer/device or a new email address, your comment may not appear immediately. If you are in the US or Canada, your comment is not lost; it just goes into a moderated queue where it has to be manually approved by one of us. This may take a few hours depending on our availability. If you are outside of the US or Canada, your comment may be blocked by our system. Thank you for understanding, as this is the only way we have to manage spam comments.

Good luck!

You may have heard that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently updated their recommendations on rear-facing. As usual, there’s some good news and some bad news. As with our carseat reviews, we will discuss both the good and the not-so-good and try to offer some perspective lacking in national news coverage of this update.

The Good News: The basic recommendation for rear-facing has NOT changed. “The Academy continues to recommend that all children ride in a rear-facing car safety seat as long as possible, up to the manufacturer’s stated weight and length limits.” This updated guidance from the AAP now better matches NHTSA’s policy for consistency in messaging. The authors of CarseatBlog have strongly supported Extended Rear-Facing (ERF) for over 15 years and continue to support this practice.

The Bad News: As we reported a year ago, a major study from 2007 was found to be flawed. This study was the main source of injury data to compare rear-facing child restraint systems (RFCRS) to forward-facing child restraints (FFCRS) in the USA, for children up to 23 months old. It was also the basis for the erroneous ‘Rear-facing is 5x safer’ statistic. Newer research found some contradictory data, causing the original study to be retracted. A revised study, by some of the authors of the original 2007 study, concluded, “Non-US field data and laboratory tests support the recommendation that children be kept in RFCRS for as long as possible, but the US NASS-CDS field data are too limited to serve as a strong statistical basis for these recommendations.” This led to the evolving AAP advice that, “…while the trend was for rear-facing to be superior to forward-facing for children under 2 years, the numbers were too low to reach statistical significance.” Definitely not as compelling as 5x safer.

More Good News:  The reason there is no significant real-world information is because the sample size of injuries to children in car seats is so low during the 22 year study period that there simply isn’t enough data to compare rear-facing to forward-facing conclusively. In fact, all these studies included less than severe injuries just to do an analysis, because there are so few data points for severe/fatal injuries to kids in child restraints. According to the revised study, “NASS-CDS data indicate an extremely low injury rate in children up to 2 years of age in both RFCRS and FFCRS.“ It turns out that both rear-facing and forward-facing car seats do a very good job of protecting children within the relevant age/weight/height limits!

Because the real-world injury data in the USA no longer supports that rear-facing is significantly safer for kids up to 23 months old, the AAP removed the portion of their policy statement recommending that kids remain rear-facing until at least 2 years old. Also, since the original study is retracted, we have to pretend that it never existed. Therefore, we can no longer claim that rear-facing is proven to be five times safer than forward-facing. We can’t even say that statistics prove that rear-facing reduces the real-world risk of serious injury for kids up to 2 years old [or to any age] in the USA.  On the plus side, the 2011 AAP policy on rear-facing to at least age 2 led to a lot of awareness about the safety advantages of rear-facing.

Let’s take a step back and examine the most recent AAP policy statements to put these minimum age recommendations in perspective. Fundamentally, the policies on rear-facing haven’t changed, except for the inclusion of minimums. For over 15 years, the AAP has continued to recommend that kids remain rear-facing to the limits of their car safety seat. In essence, “as long as possible.”

AAP 2018: All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat (CSS) as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their CSS’s manufacturer. Most convertible seats have limits that will permit children to ride rear-facing for 2 years or more.

AAP 2011: All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat (CSS) until they are 2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of their CSS.

AAP 2002: Children should face the rear of the vehicle until they are at least one year of age and weigh at least 20 lb. Infants younger than one year who weigh 20 lb should still face the back of the car in a convertible seat or one that is approved for higher weights. For optimal protection, the child should remain facing the rear of the car until reaching the maximum weight for the car safety seat, as long as the top of the child’s head is below the top of the seat back.

Clearly, this is not the end for extended rear-facing. The retraction of the main study supporting ERF in the USA is indeed a big loss, but not a total surprise because this study had known flaws long before this retraction. Again, the fundamental guidance HAS NOT CHANGED. We still recommend kids remain rear-facing, preferably for 2 years or longer if they are within the rear-facing height and weight limits of their carseat. In particular, parents should pay close attention to the seated torso height limit of the rear-facing seat (which typically requires 1″ or more of shell above the head).

As always, we like to remind parents that these recommendations from the AAP are safest practice guidelines. They aren’t rules or laws. The rules a parent must follow are those printed in their car seat and vehicle owners manuals, on the car seat labels and in any relevant state law. CarseatBlog endorses the AAP guidelines for added safety. We also like to offer perspective by looking at the BIG picture. The biggest reductions in risk come from the following simple steps:

1. Drive unimpaired and undistracted
2. Keep all passengers properly restrained according to the instruction manuals and state law
3. Kids under 13 years in an appropriate rear seating position

So please, buckle up and drive safely!

See our Rear-Facing Links Guide for additional information.

DEALS TRACKER: We find the lowest prices in September 2018 on car seats, strollers and baby gear. Bookmark this deals page and check back frequently for the latest bargains and promo code offers, so you find them here first before they sell out!

We’re the baby gear deal experts so we know where the really good deals are, on the stuff consumers actually want to buy. We scour Amazon and other retailers daily to find the best bargains*. We don’t just rely on automated tools and other deals pages, so we find the best deals for you first. This is the resource other deal pages use to find deals!

This list will be updated any time we see a great deal or promotion code below recent average prices, so you don’t have to wade through dozens of normally priced models to find the bargains. You can help us (and your fellow shoppers) by leaving us a comment if you find a deal on a carseat, booster or popular stroller that isn’t posted yet. We recommend that you bookmark this post, as we will update it regularly throughout the holiday season! If we see a bargain price on a popular model from our Recommended Carseats List, like the Britax Frontier, Britax Boulevard ClickTight, Chicco NextFit iX, Graco 4Ever, Graco Extend2Fit, Maxi-Cosi Pria, Clek Foonf or Clek Fllo, we’ll update as soon as possible!  This post and others at CarseatBlog contain affiliate links.  Please read About CarseatBlog for our affiliate policy and see our Marketing Disclosure.

What you need to know about Amazon pricing: it’s FICKLE. When a product’s price is reduced we rarely know how long it will remain at that price. Sometimes it’s a few days, sometimes it’s a few hours. The best advice we can offer you is to ACT QUICKLY if you see a great deal on something you really need or just seriously want. Just adding something to your cart does not guarantee you that item at that price – you must complete the checkout process to seal the deal. Most items on our list offer FREE SHIPPING & FREE RETURNS to Prime members but always double check this before you put the item in your cart and checkout. Not a Prime member? There’s a 30-day FREE trial. It’s a no-brainer! Try it out and score some great deals. You can always cancel before the 30 days is up if you’re not sold on the many benefits of an Amazon Prime membership.

Looking for more info on a certain carseat or booster? Check out our REVIEWS page. We have in-depth reviews of over 100 carseats and boosters.

Prefer to shop at other stores? If you received great advice from us or discovered a good deal here and share it with friends, please mention us and share* our links to Amazon, Albee Baby, Diapers.com, Target.com, Walmart.com, Kohl’s, and BuyBuyBaby.

Select Editors’ Picks:

These carseats may not be on sale right now, but are among our Editor’s Picks and are reader favorites, too. For current deals, please scroll to the next section.

• Nuna Pipa Infant Seat for $299.95
• Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Seat from $199.99
• Chicco NextFit iX Zip Convertible from $349.99
• Clek Oobr Booster from $199.99
• Graco 4Ever All-in-One from $227.99
• Graco Extend2Fit from $137.99
• Britax Boulevard ClickTight Convertible from $239.99
• Britax Frontier G1.1 ClickTight Harness-2-Booster from $223.99

  

Infant Carseat Deals:

☆ Indicates a CarseatBlog Recommended Carseat 

Britax B-Safe 35 in select fashions for $151.99  ☆ 

Britax Endeavours in “Circa” or “Spark” for $223.99 (25% Off)

Chicco Fit2 Infant & Toddler in “Fleur” for $199.99 ☆ (29% Off) PRIME ONLY

Chicco Keyfit 30 Magic Infant Car Seat in “Coal” and “Isle” for $199.49 ($10.50 Off)

Chicco KeyFit 30 Zip Air in “Surf” for $227.99 (SOLD OUT)

Graco SnugRide SnugLock 35 in “Chili Red”for $104.99 ☆ (35% Off PRIME ONLY) 

Graco SnugRide SnugLock DLX *Extra Base* for $43.70 (51% Off) PRIME ONLY

Nuna Pipa Lite LX in “Stone” for $299.95 (25% Off)

 

Convertible & All-in-One Deals:

☆ Indicates a CarseatBlog Recommended Carseat

Britax Advocate ClickTight in select fashions for $279.99 ☆ (20% Off)

Britax Advocate ClickTight with ARB for $303.99 ☆ (20% Off)

Britax Boulevard ClickTight in select fashions for $239.99 ☆ (20% Off) 

Britax Boulevard ClickTight with ARB for $263.99 ☆ (20% Off)

Britax Marathon ClickTight in select fashions for $223.99 (20% Off)

Britax Marathon ClickTight with ARB for $247.99 (20% Off)

Britax ClickTight Anti-Rebound Bar Accessory for $34.99 

Clek Fllo 2018 in “Noire” for $299.99 ☆ 

Cosco Scenera NEXT from $34.88 ☆

Cybex Sirona M with SensorSafe 2.0 for $194.90 (SOLD OUT)

Diono Angle Adjuster for $9.93 (31% Off) ADD-ON ITEM

Evenflo EveryStage DLX All-in-One for $229.99

Evenflo SureRide DLX in “Paxton” or “Nicole” for 79.99 ☆ 

Evenflo Sonus in from $49.67 ☆

Evenflo Tribute Sport in “Maxwell” for $43.20

Graco 4Ever Extend2Fit 4-in-1 in Select Fashions for $209.00 ☆ (40% Off)

Graco 4Ever All-in-One in “Cameron” for $227.99 ☆ (24% Off)

Graco Contender 65 in “Sapphire” from 99.99 ☆ SOLD OUT

Graco Extend2Fit in “Gotham” for $137.75 ☆ 

Graco Extend2Fit in “Gotham” for $137.74 ☆ (31% Off)

Graco Size4Me 65 in “Matrix” $133.95 (26% Off)

Graco Milestone 3-in-1 in “Gotham” for $165.98 ☆ (28% Off)

Graco SlimFit 3-in-1 in “Anabelle” for $139.99 ☆ LOW STOCK

Maxi-Cosi Magellan for $297.49 (15% Off) LOW STOCK

Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 in Black Gravel for $212.49 ☆

Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 in select fashions for $199.99 ☆ (31% Off) 

Safety 1st Guide 65 in “Chambers” for $69.99 (30% Off) 

 

Combination Seat Deals:

(Forward-Facing with Harness + Booster) 

☆ Indicates a CarseatBlog Recommended Carseat

Britax Frontier ClickTight in select fashions for $223.99 ☆ (20% Off)

Britax Pinnacle ClickTight in select fashions for $239.99 ☆ (20% Off)

Britax Pioneer in select fashions from $151.99  (20% Off)

Chicco MyFit for $189 ($10 Off)

Chicco MyFit LE for $237.49 (SOLD OUT)

Cosco Finale in “Realtree Camo” and “Spring Bloom” for $38.88

Evenflo Maestro Sport in “Crestone Peaks” for $55.99 BACK ORDER

Evenflo Transitions in “Maleah” for $117.32 LOW STOCK

Evenflo SafeMax Combination in “Crimson” for $143.88 DEAL ENDED 

Graco Atlas in “Glacier” for $98.79 (24% Off) 

Graco Nautilus 65 in “Sylvia”  DEAL ENDED

Graco Nautilus 65 LX with Trueshield from $141.68

Harmony Defender for $78.00 

 

Booster Deals:

☆ Indicates a CarseatBlog Recommended Carseat

Britax Highpoint (with LATCH & SecureGuard Clip) in “Asher” or “Seaglass” for $119.99 ☆ (SOLD OUT)

Clek Oobr in “Drift” with Rigid LATCH for $199.99 (14% Off) PRIME ONLY

Chicco KidFit Zip (with LATCH) for $99.99 ☆ 

Graco TurboBooster LX (with LATCH) in “Matrix” for $56.99 ☆ (29% Off)

Evenflo Spectrum in various fashions from $45.79 ☆ BACK ORDER

 

   

Travel System Deals:

(Infant Carseat + Stroller)

Britax B-Agile w/ B-Safe 35 Elite in “Black” for $314.99 (28% Off)

Britax 2017 B-Agile w/ B-Safe 35 in Red or Black for $299.99 (32% Off) SOLD OUT

Graco Fastaction Fold Jogger Click Connect Travel System w/ SnugRide 35 in “Gotham” for $232.99 DEAL ENDED

Graco Fastaction Fold Sport Click Connect Travel System in “Pierce” for $218.63 AFTER COUPON

Graco Fastaction Fold Sport Click Connect Travel System in “Gotham” for $237.99 (20% Off)

Graco Aire3 Click Connect Travel System w/ SnugRide 35 in “Gotham” for $192.99 DEAL ENDED

Graco Modes 3 Lite Stroller w/ SnugRide 35 in “Addison” for $211.32 36% Off 

 

 

Stroller Deals:

Single strollers

Baby Jogger 2016 City Mini GT in Crimson for $259.99 DEAL ENDED

Baby Jogger 2016 City Select in Ruby for $374.43 DEAL ENDED

BOB Revolution Pro jogger in 3 fashions for $399.99 DEAL ENDED

BOB Revolution Flex jogger in 3 fashions for $359.99 DEAL ENDED

Graco Snugrider Elite Stroller Frame $64.80 (35% off)

phil&teds Sub 4 World’s Fastest Jogger in Black for $278.34 (69% Off)

Mountain Buggy Terrain Premium Jogging Stroller in Graphite for $480.25 DEAL ENDED

Summer Infant 3D Lite in Black for $62.67 DEAL ENDED

Double Strollers  

* accepts one infant carseat; **accepts two infant carseats; @ requires adapter sold separately

Baby Trend Universal Double Stroller Frame for $66.99 ** (33% Off) 

BOB Revolution Pro Duallie Jogging Stroller in Black for $551.99 DEAL ENDED

BOB Revolution Flex Duallie Jogging Stroller in Black for $511.99 DEAL ENDED

Britax 2017 B-Agile Double Stroller in “Black” and “Red” for $249.99 (EXTRA $50 OFF AT CHECKOUT)

Graco Modes Duo Stroller in “Balancing Act” for $239.00 ** (32% Off)

Graco Modes Duo Stroller in “Basin” for $202.20 ** (42% Off)

Graco Roomfor2 Stand and Ride Stroller in “Gotham” $108.99 * (27% Off) 

Joovy Twin Roo+ Stroller Frame for $97.65 ** (25% Off)

UPPAbaby G-Link Double Stroller “Pascal/Grey” for $399.00 (20% Off)

 

Other Baby Gear Deals:

  

Britax Car Seat Travel Cart for $63.35 21% Off

Graco Simple Switch Portable High Chair and Booster in “Zuba” $54.90 (31% Off) 

Graco Pack ‘n Play Playard with fullsize bassinet in “Zuba” $49.99 (38% Off) DEAL ENDED

Graco Pack ‘n Play Playard with fullsize bassinet in “Pasadena” $58.39 DEAL ENDED

Graco Simple Sway Baby Swing, Abbington $72.00 DEAL ENDED

Fisher-Price 4-in-1 Total Clean High Chair $85.73 DEAL ENDED

Fisher-Price My Little Snugabear Cradle ‘n Swing $89.00 DEAL ENDED

Winco Unassembled Wooden High Chair in Mahogany for $46.21 

 

 

More deals will be posted as they become available. Find a deal that isn’t listed here? Leave us a comment and let us know what you found! If you found a great deal here and share it with friends and social media, please be courteous and mention us and please consider using and sharing our links to Amazon, Albee Baby, Diapers.com, Target.com, Walmart.com, Kohl’s, and BuyBuyBaby.

This post and others at CarseatBlog contain affiliate links.  Please read About CarseatBlog for our affiliate policy and see our Marketing Disclosure.

Last updated 9/20/2018

*If you monitor our page and share, please consider mentioning us. We spend a lot of time searching out deals and compiling the best ones. We’re happy if you spread the word, but please be courteous and use our links and credit our website when you do. Thank you! 

Updated Recommendations for Children in Carseats and Boosters

A revised policy statement on Child Passenger Safety from the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) was released today. The most significant change is the removal of the age 2 minimum recommendation for forward-facing.  The updated policy keeps the basic wording to recommend that children remain rear-facing until they reach the maximum weight or height allowances of their carseat. This revision aligns AAP’s policy with NHTSA’s current recommendations which also suggest using your carseat to the limits before transitioning to the next stage/category of seats.

 

The table below outlines the updated Best Practice Recommendations from the AAP.

The policy revision is a direct result of the retraction of the 2007 Henary study which we now know was flawed. Unfortunately at this moment, we do not have enough data to definitively say how much safer rear-facing is compared with forward-facing. Also we can no longer point to a specific age at which to make the transition from rear-facing to forward-facing. We acknowledge that this revision will cause some confusion to parents and caregivers who have previously been told that the AAP recommendation was to rear-face to a minimum of 2 years. Currently there are 11 states with laws that mandate rear-facing to age 2, and there are also carseats on the market which also mandate a 2-year age minimum for forward-facing. If you live in a state that requires rear-facing to age 2, or if you own a product with a 2-year age minimum for forward-facing then you must follow the guidance of your state laws and/or your manufacturer’s instructions.

The AAP used a data-driven approach in revising this policy. In the absence of statistically significant field data to support the previous rear-facing to age 2 recommendation, they felt it was necessary to update their current policy.

We understand that evolving information can be hard sometimes and the lack of good data is frustrating. On the bright side, the reason that we don’t have enough data on kids being injured in carseats, rear-facing or forward-facing, is because carseats are doing a great job of protecting children in crashes. We encourage researchers and manufacturers to continue important research on this and a variety of other subjects that relate to child passenger safety. Here at CarseatBlog we will continue to focus our efforts on educating parents and caregivers on proper usage of carseats and boosters.