In September, my husband and I took a three-day certification course to become Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPSTs). We took the course because we encounter lots of babies and toddlers in car seats and felt we could continue our mission of providing the information parents need to make thoughtful decisions for their children.

Soon after we became certified, we realized that as CPSTs who own a natural parenting store, we could do more than just provide information, we could provide the products, too. In October, my husband and I attended the annual children’s product expo and spent many, many hours researching, interviewing and making decisions about which car seats to bring to Green Bambino.

After much deliberation, we decided on Diono and Recaro. Some of our considerations when choosing:

• Safety – Which seats are easy for parents to install safely? As CPS techs, we understand that if the child restraint is difficult to install, it’s likely the child will be improperly secured, despite the best efforts of parents. We also looked for seats with excellent crash-test results, keeping your child safe.
• Longevity – it is recommended to keep children rear-facing as long as possible, so we looked for seats that rear-faced to a high weight limit. We also looked for seats that have longer lives so it’s less likely your seat will expire before you are finished using it.
• Sustainability – Recaro seats are assembled in the United States, keeping jobs here. We’ve also got our eye on a convertible car seat that will release in the next few weeks or months that is made completely in North America and even offers a recycling program for used seats.

Neither Diono or Recaro are the least expensive seats on the market, but we wanted to choose seats that had a balance of safety, durability, and ease of use. These two brands stood out from the rest.

These seats are currently in stock and ready for you to take home today. (Our goal is to keep these seats in stock at all times, but occasionally there may be a short delay while awaiting reorders.)  We also have demo seats available for you to test fit in your car. If neither brand is compatible for your needs, we are happy to make suggestions as to brands that might work better. In the next few days, we’ll be posting more information about what to look for when buying a car seat and tips on installing and using them safely.

We also provide car seat checks and installation help. Please call to make an appointment for this service. You’ll need to set aside 1-2 hours, bring your vehicle manual and child restraint manual, and old towel, and be prepared to crawl around your car with us. We won’t just install your seat – we teach you how to do it safely and securely.