Parental Thread

[dachinesedude]

I have a 4 yo, 2 yo, and a NB, I know minivans are uncool and all but it's a godsend for people and cargo hauling, SUVs starts getting real cramped once you have 2+ kids and all their stuff

[TypeRNammer]

Originally Posted by Araaadi

What parent cars do you currently have?
Traded my F150 for a 2022 Rav4 and I find that we have way too little space for our newborn.
Infant car seat takes one rear seat plus 1/4 the middle seat, and we always have the stroller in the trunk since it doesn't make sense to keep moving it around. Starting to feel way too cramped. Looking into Highlanders or RX350s but I don't know if its worth the change and gas is too crazy to go back to a truck.

We had a Honda Odyssey before. Was very well utilized in the first couple of years, over time we didn't need all that space. Downsized to a Tesla Model 3 as the primary family car. Kids are now 6 and 4 so we don't need to carry much stuff.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Araaadi

What parent cars do you currently have?
Traded my F150 for a 2022 Rav4 and I find that we have way too little space for our newborn.
Infant car seat takes one rear seat plus 1/4 the middle seat, and we always have the stroller in the trunk since it doesn't make sense to keep moving it around. Starting to feel way too cramped. Looking into Highlanders or RX350s but I don't know if its worth the change and gas is too crazy to go back to a truck.

We have had wagons as our family hauler for years. We started with a MK6 Golf Wagon and we now have a MK7 Sportwagen. My other car that can do family hauling is an old Mazda 6.

I find that the Golf Sportwagen has more usable space (rear cargo hold is longer which is better for accommodating full-size strollers, like an Uppa Baby Vista) in the back than some CUVs, like the current CX5. There are no problems for the front passengers' leg-room with rear-facing seats. If you are comfortable with the lower ride height of a wagon, I would go with a wagon all of the way. Gas mileage in the city is around 10L/100km if you're aggressive on the throttle. It's just a shame that VW no longer imports them into North America, so you're stuck paying sky-high prices for used ones.

6-speed manual, AWD, in a wagon format. Not much else to say...

[vash13]

Solution we did since we do travel every long weekend to Vancouver island because the in laws live there. I bought a ski box to store all the luggage. It was a god send. All luggage goes on top and in the back of our RDX is basically food, snacks, diaper change station and the kids can sit there to eat. It's cheaper to buy a ski box and rack than it is to buy a bigger vehicle. I even was able to bring my portable pressure washer and wash bucket to wash my car there lol.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by inv4zn

kinda off topic, but having a conversation with a toddler learning to talk rear faced is so challenging.

She'll be like "mommy is sitting behind me", but then I'll be like "yes but she's also sitting in the front" and then she freaks out because mommy can only ever be behind her, never "in front". lol.

I switched the seat to front facing tonight, solely because of her leg cast. With a solid unbending leg rear facing was proving to be quite a struggle, so temporarily front face...we'll see if we can persuade her to go back once the cast comes off.

I forgot who asked, but it's a broken femur. Broke clean right above the knee, doc thinks 3 weeks should be enough. Had to go to re-buy a fucking infant bath thing so we can bathe her without getting the cast wet.

Toddler-bed training semi-failed, because after the first night of not getting out of bed, she realized she can just drag her bum leg down and around her room. She climbed out of her bed in the middle of the night, and slept on the floor in a blind spot of the baby cam. Scared the fuck out of us when we woke up and she was gone lol.

She's now asking everyone she meets to draw on her cast.

She moves around the house like this:

I asked. I am surprised it's a clean break, but I guess it'll be an easier heal at least.

Originally Posted by Tapioca

We have had wagons as our family hauler for years. We started with a MK6 Golf Wagon and we now have a MK7 Sportwagen. My other car that can do family hauling is an old Mazda 6.

I find that the Golf Sportwagen has more usable space (rear cargo hold is longer which is better for accommodating full-size strollers, like an Uppa Baby Vista) in the back than some CUVs, like the current CX5. There are no problems for the front passengers' leg-room with rear-facing seats. If you are comfortable with the lower ride height of a wagon, I would go with a wagon all of the way. Gas mileage in the city is around 10L/100km if you're aggressive on the throttle. It's just a shame that VW no longer imports them into North America, so you're stuck paying sky-high prices for used ones.

6-speed manual, AWD, in a wagon format. Not much else to say...

The CX5 is tiny, nothing fit in it when we test drove it. It's half a size smaller than all it's competitors.

I wanted a wagon as well, a F31 330i would have been great as I can put all the cast off M3 parts on it lol. But now I understand it's just so much easier to load and unload in a SUV. The only other choice is really a bigger SUV or a van.

Originally Posted by vash13

Solution we did since we do travel every long weekend to Vancouver island because the in laws live there. I bought a ski box to store all the luggage. It was a god send. All luggage goes on top and in the back of our RDX is basically food, snacks, diaper change station and the kids can sit there to eat. It's cheaper to buy a ski box and rack than it is to buy a bigger vehicle. I even was able to bring my portable pressure washer and wash bucket to wash my car there lol.

We are going to do a ski box on the X3 once the 2nd one arrives. I wanted to upgrade to a X5/Cayenne but the interest rates are telling me that it's a bad idea right now. Let's not burn money on something that's nice to have but don't really need. Can't really argue with no car payments right now.

[RiceIntegraRS]

Originally Posted by Araaadi

What parent cars do you currently have?
Traded my F150 for a 2022 Rav4 and I find that we have way too little space for our newborn.
Infant car seat takes one rear seat plus 1/4 the middle seat, and we always have the stroller in the trunk since it doesn't make sense to keep moving it around. Starting to feel way too cramped. Looking into Highlanders or RX350s but I don't know if its worth the change and gas is too crazy to go back to a truck.

We have a Rav4 and have 2 kids. my daughter isnt even 1 yet. It suits are needs very well. Learned what was needed in the vehicle all the time and what wasnt. As someone has said, once they get older, u will need less stuff. I have a Frontier but the cabin is pretty cramped, but i have alot of cargo space for the kids junk


As for the rear facing question, I put my kids in a position they are most comfortable with. Me and all my friends put our kids front facing alil after the 2 year mark. On long trips i do switch it back to rear facing cause they sleep alot easier rear facing plus they are more comfortable.

[Eff-1]

CX-5 is smaller than its competitors. I agree. We make it work with our 3 month old, but it is cramped.

That being said, it was the most 'fun' to drive of all competitors (and best looking imo) so it's a trade off I am okay to live with.

[Liquid_o2]

Opinions on infant car seats? I was looking at the Clek Liing, but wondering if there are better options out there?

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

Opinions on infant car seats? I was looking at the Clek Liing, but wondering if there are better options out there?

We had the Britax B-Safe for both of our kids when they were infants.

It's a good mid-tier option with excellent build quality, solid latch system buckles, and solid harness.

[Liquid_o2]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

We had the Britax B-Safe for both of our kids when they were infants.

It's a good mid-tier option with excellent build quality, solid latch system buckles, and solid harness.

This looks really good. Much cheaper than the Clek. We are having twins, so I have to get two...

[Eff-1]

We have the mico max 30.

Pros: Super light. Easy to carry. It's fully compatible with our Bugaboo stroller.

Cons: It's quite long in its shape, especially when installed in the car on its base. I'd recommend doing a test fit before buying to make sure your car has enough space for it.

[Kilinim]

We're using the UPPAbaby mesa. No complaints, well worth the extra $.

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

We have the mico max 30.

Pros: Super light. Easy to carry. It's fully compatible with our Bugaboo stroller.

Cons: It's quite long in its shape, especially when installed in the car on its base. I'd recommend doing a test fit before buying to make sure your car has enough space for it.

I have so many questions for you this Wednesday lol

[!Aznboi128]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

Opinions on infant car seats? I was looking at the Clek Liing, but wondering if there are better options out there?

Clek Liing is one of the few that offers the rebound bar which means in the event of a collision there's reduced bounce back.

All seats sold in Canada pass all the safety checks but it's a pass or fail so it's sometimes hard to determine which would be safest.

As a Car Seat Tech, my suggestion is the safest seat is the one that fits your child and budget.

Here are something to keep in mind when shopping for an infant seat
- You're only going to use this seat for a year, don't splurge for the extra materials it's generally not worth it.
-make sure it fits your vehicle, some infant seat handles are tall making it hard for you to get them in and out of your car
-most infant carriers has rigid latch anchors, make sure you can install them easily and safety and it's secure (use your non dominant hand give it a wiggle at the belt path it shouldn't move more than an inch)
-stroller compatibility - one of the best things about infant seats is they pop off the base and you can attach them safety to a stroller. So whatever stroller you're getting make sure it works with the seat
-weight - nearing the end of the year an infant carrier + child is 30-40lbs. A lighter infant seat might be easier to handle especially if a household member can't lift heavier items. My friend got a Nuna Pipa Lite because it was the lightest carrier simply due to the fact she sometimes struggles with groceries.
-Some infant carriers can be installed by itself and some has to be installed with the base. So if you have multiple cars you can get a couple of bases which can be easier but costly.

Last but not least carrying your infant seat. Don't use the handle it's aways clumsy and makes it hard to hold do this instead.

[inv4zn]

We have the Nuna Pipa Lite. Have no complaints, and yes - it is very light, and yes - it does matter.

The only con with the Pipa Lite is that you need to install it with the base. The 'regular' Pipa, you can install the bucket itself using a belt (ie useful for planes, cabs, ubers, etc.).

[Tapioca]

After looking at the retail prices for some of these seats, all I can say is that RSers are ballin' out of control.

[underscore]

We had the Graco click connect combo thing, I'm pretty sure it's the same one shown in that picture. It was easy to use and we got it on clearance when Sears shut down lol.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

After looking at the retail prices for some of these seats, all I can say is that RSers are ballin' out of control.

Wait till you see our strollers.

We used the Chicco Keyfit30 which finishes near or at the top of nearly every comparison. Worked fine. I think there are lots and lots of great infant seats so buy whatever works well with your stroller.

[!Aznboi128]

lol stroller prices are insane. I have a Uppababy Cruz v2 and a Babyzen yoyo2, having kids is expensive.

[TypeRNammer]

Originally Posted by !Aznboi128

lol stroller prices are insane. I have a Uppababy Cruz v2 and a Babyzen yoyo2, having kids is expensive.

Strollers are insanely expensive

We had a first generation Nuna Mixx, I think with coupons and stuff it was in the mid $600s. The latest Nuna Mixx is like over a grand.

Then our secondary stroller was the GB Pockit. One of my favorites. Has a nice party trick to it too where it can fold into extra compact mode. Makes an excellent travel stroller.

[AzNightmare]

Feeling kind of stressed hearing you guys talk about how cramped your SUV's are.

The biggest car I have is a Mazda3 hatch, and honestly, not looking to upgrade any time soon, nor do I have the money to.

First baby is coming at the end of the year...

[RCubed]

No issues with my CTR and our almost 2 year old. We dont have a bulky stroller though. Babyzen yoyo2 and a minimei shoulder harness that she prefers.

[320icar]

Originally Posted by AzNightmare

Feeling kind of stressed hearing you guys talk about how cramped your SUV's are.

The biggest car I have is a Mazda3 hatch, and honestly, not looking to upgrade any time soon, nor do I have the money to.

First baby is coming at the end of the year...

Okay let’s get one thing straight. These people are talking about huge first world problems. Everyone around the world raises children in all kinds of conditions, and soooooooo many do it without the luxury of any car.

I have either my focus hatch or the Subaru hatch. Either one swallows a dog, baby seat, stroller, diaper bags etc with easy. The only thing you give up is front passenger leg room, especially when you go forward facing and your kid starts kicking the seats.

My wife has the Ford Flex. It’s super roomy and fantastic, you can haul sooo much. Sure makes beach trips or weekend getaways easier, but in no way shape or form is having a van, SUV, wagon etc a necessity. I would say hatch > sedan though

[Spoon]

Owned several Rav4s for the past 14 years and raised two kids with them. Worked just fine for us.

If you thought a 1k stroller was expensive, pretty sure you'll breeze through that with the difference in fuel price by upgrading to a larger SUV.

[underscore]

Personally I think it's nuts to drop a grand on a stroller that they'll only use for a year but that's just me. If you have the means and desire then obviously go for it but don't feel like you have to spend that much if it's not in your budget.

A Graco car seat/stroller set is like $400. The one thing I was willing to pay extra for was that ability to unclick the car seat from the base and into the stroller without having to take the baby out. My second hated the stroller so I just strapped her to my chest in an adjustable carrier that was like $100? I like those much more than pushing a stroller anyways. Then once they got too big for that the kids now go in a pair of these that cost a whopping $40 each and take up zero room in the car.