Child and Baby Car Seats

Well I am not sure what your question is. . I assume she is bringing her carseats to use on the plane, because if she is that worried about how dirty carseats are, then she is obviously concerned for her childs well being and would never bring a lap baby . I also should add that I am not so sure about your "Canadian carseats are safer" seems a bit presumptuous,, where did she learn that "fact" ?

What is your question? Lots of people bring their own carseats. What do you want ideas about? I, too, think it's a bit presumptuous to assume that Canadian carseats are somehow "better". I am also a little bothered by the assumption that Spanish car seats would be "filthy". Spanish people have children that they care about, too. In fact, in general, nothing is too good for a Spanish child - they treat them like little princes and princesses. If she is buying them seats, she will want the carseats for the plane, anyway.

Well! What good times you will have travelling with a 4 month old baby and a 3 year old ... plus two nice, safe and clean Canadian car seats, not to mention all the other accoutrements necessary for children. Better thee than me.

Obviously, I have given the wrong impression and for that I am sorry. We have heard that rented car seats are often not cleaned. Canadian car seats are very highly rated although I am sure they are in other countries as well. It is obvious that many of you also do not travel with children. For us it is very common to do so and we love it. My question was have any people ever had problems taking a different country's car seat and using it in Spain?
Thank you for your responses. Regards.

We have been traveling to Europe with our daughter since she was only a year old. We have never brought her car seat because of the logistic nightmare of carrying it around everywhere. Every time we have rented a car the car seat has been a brand we have here in America - Britax and Evenflow. Twice it was the same car seat as I use at home. The rental companies provide covers for the car seats as well if she is worried about cleanliness. You can always disinfect them before you put the kids in there as well. If you will be doing any transportation other then just renting a car this will pose a HUGE problem to have two car seats. The trains and buses do not stop very long and it can be difficult to get everyone on board. I respect your daughter's love and responsibility for the safety of her kids. This could be a case of the unknown and making steps toward controlling some of the variables of the trip. Her peace of mind may be worth all the trouble of the car seats. Enjoy your special time together,
Amanda

Jennifer not sure how its obvious many of us do not travel with kids, I do/have for one, and there are many on here who have also. My second youngest was 5 months old when he and his 2 yr old brother had their first trip abroad. I brought a carseat for the 5 month old as he needed it to "sit" in his airplane seat. As I said, I am very safety conscious with my kids and never tried to save money by letting them be human projectiles.. so they always had airplane seats. We rented a carseat for the older child.
By the time I had three kids under 6 car seats were difficult to bring once they were out of the infant ( good to 20lb) seats,, ( 2 adults, 3-4 pieces of luggage, 3 tots and minimally 2 carseats, too much to carry) So we usually rented once they were in the big kid seats. I always had the infant in an infant carseat brought from home, easier to carry them around and feed them in too.. Worst case scenerio, slip off carseat cover and wash it yourself in tub, it will take a day to dry ( do not put in dryer)but it will be clean. It does not need to be sterile, lets not get obsessive, as far as I know no child has being made ill from sitting on some other kids cracker crumbs, not pleasant I admit, but not deadly. lol

Make sure the carseats are clearly labeled 'approved for airline use' for use on the plane. A few times we've had the flight attendants check ours coming through the door of the plane to make sure it was airline certified.

Thank you everyone. I have my answer. Regards

I am surprised at how many of the responses to Jennifer's post come across as rude and almost nasty. I don't know if they were intended that way or not. We have traveled many times with our now 2.5-year-old and have always taken his car seat with us. We do this for two reasons. First, you cannot be certain that a rented car seat has not previously been in a car accident. Second, I have heard horror stories of people reserving car seats only to find out there were none available when they arrived. I would rather be safe than sorry, so we just plan our itinerary so that we don't have to carry the car seat through too many train stations. We also purchased a car seat cover/bag/backpack, which protects the car seat when it is not being used and makes it easier to transport. My husband just puts it on his back and away we go. We've made several short train transfers this way with no trouble at all. Have a great trip, Jennifer!

Jennifer, I'm not sure about the laws in Spain but I know that here in Canada its illegal to use a car seat that hasn't passed Cdn standards test and was sold in Canada. That doesn't mean that our standards are better, just that to be on the road in Canada you have to have a car seat that was purchased here. It could very well be the same in Spain or any other country you visit. I understand that not wanting to get a car seat from the rental company. Along with cleanliness is the issue of whether the seat has been in an accident or abused in any way. One other option though is to check and see if there's a baby equipment rental company. Most that I've used have been incredibly meticulous as far as cleanliness is concerned and its a whole lot easier than carrying everything yourself. You could get a CARES device for the airplanes. Its a three point harness made for airplanes that is good for children ages 1 to 4.

I haven't tried any of these but it may be a starting point http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/baby-equipment-rentals-europe-spain.htm