A lot of new parents think they need to register for the most expensive car seats at the store. Price and safety seem to go hand-in-hand in a lot of parents’ minds. Let me just tell you, I’ve had a lot of experience with various car seat brands and I can tell you first hand that some of my favorite car seats have been from the most inexpensive brands – like the Graco Atlas 65.
Parenting Myths
– Baby gear sort of reflects on your status as a parent.
– Expensive products somehow prove that you’re a classy parent or that you’re “in the know” when it comes to what’s best for your kid.
– Other moms will judge me if I have a cheap car seat.
– Cheap baby gear means unsafe baby gear.
Honestly, you can get really nice looking and high quality products for not very much money.
When I’m considering a car seat, I look for lots of different things aside from the safety ratings:
Weight – as a family that travels quite often, I consider the weight of a car seat and how awkward it might be to carry around at the airports.
Size – is the car seat going to fit behind my driver seat or in my husband’s mid-sized truck? Will it accommodate my growing child?
Color/Fabric – is the color and fabric stain resistant?
Multi-purpose – I’m all about multi-purpose products so if a car seat can grow with my child, it will totally win me over.
Price – I’m a big time bargain shopper so if I’m going to spend my own money on a product, you better believe I want to get a good deal.
Graco Atlas 65 2-in-1 Harness Booster Toddler Car Seat
Weight – Once your child is out of the infant car seat (unless you have something like the Graco 4Ever All-in-1 Car Seat like I have for Kendall) you’ll need a toddler/preschooler car seat. As I mentioned above, I’ve had experience with a fair share of car seats. Most of them have been great but weight is always a huge concern and a deal breaker. The Graco Atlas 65 2-in-1 Harness Booster weighs in at just 18 pounds making it super easy for me to load on and off of airport shuttles, into hotel transportation, etc.
Multi-Purpose – This car seat is designed to grow with your child from harness booster (22 – 65 lb.) to highback booster (30 – 100 lb.) In California, I believe the new law is that children under two must be rear facing. So once your child is ready for a forward facing “big kid” car seat, you’ve got to check this one out.
Easy to adjust – The ultra-easy Simply Safe Adjust Harness System adjusts the harness and headrest together – with no time-consuming rethreading – to 10 height positions. This is such an easy system to use and takes the headache of rethreading away. This is especially great for parents with larger hands or little patience (like me).
Self contained – When your child has transitioned from harnessed booster to highback booster, the car seat stores the harness seat belt in the “handy harness storage compartment.” I’m all about products with self storage so this feature gets an A+ from me.
Cup holders – If your car has passenger cup holders but your child has difficulty reaching them, you’ll love the two built-in cup holders on this car seat. They can easily be removed for washing and hold snacks, too. My Nissan Pathfinder is a great family car but the rear passenger cup holders are out of reach for my girls. I always consider car seats with cup holders for this reason alone.
Machine washable – The fabric on this car seat is machine washable and is pretty simple to remove from the car seat.
MSRP – $129.99 – This is such a great price for a multi-purpose car seat that grows with your child. Graco is a trusted brand in baby gear and is a brand that I’ve used for years.
Rating – 4.9 out of 5 Stars on the Graco Website
The Graco Atlas 65 has been a wonderful cars eat for our family. It’s easy to move from car to car, my toddler fits comfortably in it and it is budget-friendly. It’s been a great car seat to travel with, as well. It fits nicely in our car seat travel bag and has proven to be very useful in other countries.
As a family who is always on the go, we let our kids eat in their car seats, which means we have to clean the fabric often. This fabric is very wipeable and can even be removed and washed as mentioned above.
How the car seat hooks up, Easy or hard. Because we travel in different cars all the time.
My biggest concern is easy installation, and an easy to adjust harness!
my concern is finding one that fits well into our vehicle and doesnt take up too much room.
My biggest concern is ease of use, both in installation and snapping my child in.
T=My biggest concern is installing it properly.
Easy to install! I have to be able to do it and not rely on my husband!
My biggest concern is weight/height limits and is my child comfortable.
My biggest concern besides safety, is how comfortable it is and what the height/weight limits are. I have a very tall son!
My biggest concern besides safety is comfort for them!
comfort. When my boys were toddlers they would complain about their privates hurting in the 5 point harness.
Price and comfort definitely!
Proper/ease instalation
Ease of installation and comfort for my child is my next concern after safety.
Easy for install. My major concern is comfort and head support then they are asleep
I like to make sure it is comfortable. And easy to move around if needed.
My biggest concern is that it is comfortable,safe, and easy to use.
easy to install and adjust the harness!
Comfort and size
My biggest concern is installing the car seat correctly in my car.
How comfortable it is and the price are two other concerns, honestly.
My biggest concern is ease of use and installation and comfort for my child.
the installation of putting it in my car and the comfort for my child
My biggest concern is that my super tall child will grow out of it too quickly.
my biggest concern is the comfort for my child! I want a comfy plush seat.. a good plush headrest..arm rests that wont dig into my child. always a struggle!
My biggest concern is that my son is still u der 40 po ds and is six.
My biggest concern is that my son is still u der 40 po ds and is six.
My biggest concern is that it needs to be multi-purpose and comfortable. kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you.
ease of putting the car seat in the car, being able to move it.
My biggest concern is how easy it is to put in the car and is it comfortable for the kids to sit in.
Comfort and ability to RF extended.
My biggest concern, aside from safety, is comfort for my little one.
I make sure that car seats aren't really hard to install. Some are so difficult. I also love these cupholders. My son would love that:)
Besides safety is comfort. My daughter absolutelty hates being in the car for more than 15 minutes and even at the age of 2 she will cry nonstop until she is out..I desperately need a new seat to try but just can not afford it at this moment. So maybe rafflecopter will pick me and she can get a new ride.
The size is my second concern for a car seat. We have a small backseat in our vehicle right now.
The size is my second concern for a car seat. We have a small backseat in our vehicle right now.
I am concerned about baby's comfort.
I am concerned that I will know how to use it.
We want to get a seat that the baby won't outgrow in a month. Having babies is expensive.
That it will fit in my car!
We could definitely use a back up for my husbands car so he can help out with errands and such when I'm not available.
Proper installation is my biggest concern. even with the latch system its sometimes hard to get it tight
lemonzest 12 at hotmail dot com
Making sure it fits right in my car!
My biggest concern is finding something that is not to heavy or hard to install. My husband and I often take turns picking up or dropping off the kids depending on our schedules and we are always moving the car seat between our vehicles.
Size is a huge concern…both my husband and I have small cars, so we have to find something that fits!
My biggest concern is how the carseat will fair in case of a accident. I definitely want something that will have the side rests, so if I am hit, if my childs head would go sideways, there is some cushion there to help them.
How long it will last them.
High weight limits for rear facing! my kiddos are tall so they tend to outgrow the specs before i want to switch them!
Price and Comfort are also important to me, as well as being easy to operate. Thank you, Paula Caudill
My biggest concern in buying a carseat, other than safety, is for the comfort of my child. I want them to be comfortable for long car rides without having those uncomfortable plastic carseat parts poking through.
My biggest concerns when considering a car seat for my son, besides safety of course, is ease of use for me (how easy it is to install and adjust the harness, headrest, etc), how long it can be used rear facing, the price, comfort for my son, how well it will fit in my particular vehicle, and the style of it.
Other than safety, my biggest concern is the comfort of my child!
My biggest concerns when buying a car seat is will it last a long time? I prefer seats with higher weight limits. My other concerns are comfort!
I'm always concerned about getting one that'll fit right in my car so my littles aren't beating the back of my seat! lol
One that fits in our car and is easy to take in and out
Comfort, and easy to install.
Besides safety I would say comfort and features. I like cup holders and ones that change as the child grows.
My biggest concern is comfort for my little guy and function for me! Trisha Burgess
Besides safety I look for comfort for my grandchild. I want them to be as comfortable as possible while they are traveling in the car.
Ease of install and use on a daily basis. We are always in & out of the car, I don't have time to untwist straps or dig for buckles x4 kids.
Easy installation
My biggest concern besides safety would be that he or she is aso comfortable with it. You would hate to sit in something that hurts for so long.
My concern is the ease of installing.
My biggest concern in getting a car seat is whether it will fit in my car & be easy to install.
Confortability and ease of installation.
biggest concern for my niece or nephew is safety & quality of the materials.
My biggest concern is if it has passed all standards and is high quality materials.
One of biggest concerns will be how long it will last.
Safety, comfort, and easy installation
My biggest concern is that it's affordable AND that it lasts long and is quality made. Thank you for the giveaway!
I would have to say I would like it to be comfortable for my child.
My biggest concern would be comfort for my daughter.
Comfort. I want my little one to feel safe and comfortable while in the car.
Besides safety, one of my concerns is that it's easy to install.
My biggest concern when considering a car seat is how to install it easily
Thank You for the great giveaway
Fiona N
I like to make sure it's comfortable for my kids.