For many parents, choosing a car seat for their children is a tough decision, complicated by the sheer number of car seat manufacturers and the many options they offer. Naturally, parents are dedicated to finding the best and safest car seat for their precious cargo. Sunshine Kids and Britax are two companies that consistently appear in the news when it comes to outstanding crash test performance for car seats.
Function
All car seats are designed to safely restrain small children in the event of an accident, although the manner in which they function depends on the type of seat. Some seats secure to the vehicle seat and incorporate an independent restraint system. Other seats merely rest in the vehicle, held in place by the occupant's weight. Such seats position children so they can use the vehicle's safety belts.
Types
Britax manufactures most types of children's safety seats, including infant bucket-style seats, a range of convertible seats and high-back booster seats. Sunshine Kids makes a smaller variety of car seats, and its selection is limited to convertible seats and a high-back booster option.
Convertible seats, such as Britax's Marathon, Roundabout, Boulevard and Advocate, allow parents to use a single seat from birth through early childhood. Such seats install rear-facing for small infants and toddlers, and then parents can turn them forward-facing until the child outgrows the seat. Sunshine Kids offers three such seats in the Radian XTSL, Radian 80SL and Radian65SL.
Britax offers a regular high-back booster that elevates children so they can use a seat belt properly, as well as a convertible booster that restrains kids using a five-point harness before converting to regular seat belt use. Sunshine Kids makes a single booster seat option, the Monterey, which also converts to a backless booster seat for older children.
Safety Features
Britax incorporates some standard safety features across all models, such as side-impact protection and the use of expanded poly-styrene (EPS) foam to absorb energy in a crash. Britax also incorporates a patented Versa-tether on some seats to reduce seat movement as well as an energy-absorbing base and built-in lockoffs to hold the seat in place.
Sunshine Kids also uses EPS foam, a reinforced steel frame and a tether system for forward- and rear-facing installation. In addition, Sunshine Kids use a SuperLATCH system that permits use of the seats for children up to 80 lbs.
Both companies had convertible seats rated in the top four by Consumer Search, and each brand is regularly recommended to parents by Child Passenger Safety technicians, as well as by books such as "Baby Bargains," which evaluates baby gear based on parent input and surveys.
Considerations
Both brands come in an array of fun fabrics and patterns, and both companies feature seats with comfort features, such as memory foam and pillow inserts for infants. Because the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ride rear-facing for as long as possible, an important factor in choosing a toddler car seat is the rear-facing weight limit. Britax convertible seats accommodate rear-facing children up to 35 lbs., while the Sunshine Kids Radian models allow children up to 45 lbs. to ride rear-facing.
Because the safest seat is the one that you use correctly every time, it is important to note that both companies rated highly in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's ratings for how easy each seat is to install, though both received low ratings on their labeling.
Cost
Though the prices are comparable, Britax is the more expensive of the two brands. For example, in 2010, the Britax Advocate retails for $370, while the Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL sells for about $300.
