Graco Car Seats

Graco car seats were the furtherest thing from the minds of the founders of the Graco company. Maybe that would be more like seats were the furtherest thing since as we will see cars have always been at the forefront of Graco's leadership.

Graco was founded in The City of Brotherly Love (for those who don't know that's Philadelphia PA) in 1942 as Graco Metal Products. The founders were Russell Gray and Robert Cone. The company originally fabricated machined parts for cars and various other machinery. In 1953 Robert Cone became the sole owner as Gray left for other pursuits. Shorly after even as Cone was deciding what else the company could make an engineer named David Saint come onboard. The first product produced was an early version of the famous Graco Swing and the rest as they say is history. Graco is no a subsiduary of Newell Rubbermaid.

Most Graco car seats are at the top of their class for durability and style. When dealing with children, especially babies and toddlers product quality can be a deal breaker. My wife and I did foster care for 12 years and never had a Graco car seat fail or break.

Cleaning is a breeze. Mild soap and water is the best with some type of terrycloth. You will not want to use any harsh chemicals for two reasons. First they aren't needed and may cause negative reactions in the child. Second, it could cause damage to the seat itself. This would most likely be only cosmetic damage.

Mild soap and water will clean all of the seat and the covers are machine washable in cold water using the delicates cycle and drip dry.

This is nothing else to know for maintance since the polymers that are used are of solid construction and and designed to withstand extreme tempatures and tough usage.

For infants you will be looking at the Snugride series. For some models there is a base sold seperately that is a really cool option. If you have a base in two veihicles it can really speed up the time from load to go.

The Snugride series gets high marks from all independant safety watchdogs that are readily accessible.

The only knocks on these car seats is that they can be a pain to tighten since that manuever has to be accomplished from the back of the seat. That can be somewhat of an inconvenience. The other is that the seat can get hot if left in the car. However it is unclear if that is specific to the Graco seats or simply a product of the type of materials used, think dashboard.

For Toddlers there is the Nautilus. The Nautilus should be the last car seat you have to buy since it is a 3 in 1 multi-mode car seat. It can be a car seat with a 5 point harness for toddler or small child and can be used as either a high back belt positioning booster or a backless booster.

The Nautilus has a steel reinforced frame and the3 head rest is adjustable. There is a cup holder that can only be fully appreciated by parents that have to commute or go on trips with their toddler. The side storage compartment is a handy feature as well.

Here is a breif veiw of Graco's car seats.:

• Graco Nuatilus 3 in 1 Car Seat: This car seat bridges the time a child is 20 pounds until they reach 100 pounds. A stylish and well built product. The most popular style is the Matrix.
• Graco Safeseat Infant Car Seat: For Infants up to 30 pounds and 32 inches tall. The car base stays in the car which can be extremely handy.
• Graco Comfort Sport Seat Car Seat: For Infacts and toddlers up to 40 pounds. Has a cup holder and snack tray. Can be rear or front facing.
• Graco Snugride Infant Car Seat: For infacts less than 20 pounds and 29 inches. Base stays in car and bases can be bought seperately for additional cars. Foam forms around child's body for comfort and safety. Adjustable climate protection includes all weather boot, canopy with visor and window, and blanket.