As you may know, I’m kind of a fanatic about car safety. I do a lot of research to ensure that I have safe car seat options for my children, and I am passionate about helping others do as much as they can to keep their children safe in the car.
Last year, the American Association of Pediatrics changed their recommendation to encourage parents to keep their toddlers rear-facing at least until two years. This is great for safety, but not always great for parents’ wallets. With buying an infant car seat, in order to keep a toddler rear-facing, parents would have to buy a convertible seat for the time when a child was not old or big enough for a forward-facing seat. And we all know how expensive car seats can be!
But Graco has worked hard to bridge this gap for parents, and has recently introduced their newest car seat: the SnugRide Click Connect 40. This innovative seat is an infant carrier seat for babies as small as 4 pounds, but is also ready to handle a toddler up to age 2 (up to 40 pounds).
Graco asked me to review the new seat, which is currently available at Babies R Us. I went to the store to get it, and the man working in the car seat/stroller area was more than helpful. I had a lot of questions, and he was knowledgeable and friendly as he answered them.
Pros for the Graco SnugRide Click Connect 40
1. Parents can save money. Instead of buying an infant seat, a convertible seat, and a forward-facing seat, they could just buy this one and a forward-facing seat. This will save money, and also be more eco-friendly.
2. Having this seat makes it easy to keep your toddler rear-facing. You wouldn’t have to switch anything or make a transition at all.
3. This seat is just awesome. It’s hard to pick my favorite part, but I think it is the way the height of the harness adjusts. You know how, when your baby grows taller, you have to make the harness go through the higher slot? You have to pretty much take the whole thing apart and quick-rethread-the-thing-before-you-forget-how-it-went-together. Yeah. There’s none of that with this seat. Take a look:
Here’s the headrest inside the car seat. The light gray part is the cushy (removable) insert for your newborn. The dark gray part is the sturdy headrest which is attached to the harness assembly.
Now, stay with me, and look at the next picture.
See the square-ish thing at the bottom of the picture with the red button on each side? That’s how you adjust the harness. This is on the back of the car seat, and all you have to do is squeeze the buttons together (really easy) and slide up or down to put the harness in exactly the right spot for your child. No more re-threading and having your living room floor be covered in Cheerio dust because you turned the seat upside down! And you only need one hand! Can you tell I love this feature?!
4. My other favorite thing about this car seat is the base. Just like other infant car seats, the seat itself snaps into the base so you can take your sleeping baby inside without taking him/her out of the seat. But this base is made so that it can be used for bigger children. To the left, you see a picture of the adjustment thing on the base. There is one of these on each side. To give your older baby more leg room, just push down on the red button on each side of the base, and slide the whole thing back. There are eight positions to help your child stay comfortable and safe.
Now, as much as I think this car seat is completely innovative and just plain cool, there are a couple of things to think about. Not even cons, really, but considerations.
Things to take into consideration
1. The size of the seat. While I was at Babies R Us, I compared the size of the Click Connect 40 with other Graco seats. Although I have a minivan, I know that other parents with smaller cars may not have as much space as I have. When the base is set for a newborn, the Click Connect 40 seems to be the same size as the SnugRide 35 (which is the seat I had for Joel and never was a problem). When the base is extended for an older child, it does extend the seat a bit. Here’s the thing, though. It’s not much! (Maybe two inches!) If this would be a problem for your car, I would encourage you to go to Babies R Us and ask the people to help you try the seat in your car. That’s really the only way to know if any given car seat will work for you.
On the plus side, the car seat weighs the same as the SnugRide 35 (9.75 lbs).
2. The Click Connect system. This car seat is only compatible with the new Graco strollers that have Click Connect. This means that if you already own a Graco stroller, you will not be able to use the SnugRide Click Connect 40 with it to create a travel system. Of course, if parents are buying this seat for their first child, this is not an issue at all.
If you would like to know more about the SnugRide Click Connect 40, check it out online. There are videos that show how it works, plus lots of pictures and information about the seat.
SnugRide Click Connect 40 Giveaway!
One lucky reader has the opportunity to with your very own SnugRide Click Connect 40 (retail value $219.99)! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. This prize can only be shipped to U.S. addresses. Contest begins October 10, 2012, and ends October 31, 2012. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond with a mailing address. Alternate winner will be chosen if winner does not respond within 48 hours. Blog owner is not responsible in the event of a problem with the prize.
As a member of Graco Nation, I was provided with a SnugRide Click Connect 40 to facilitate my review. Graco is also providing the winner with a SnugRide Click Connect 40. All opinions are my own.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
October 9th, 2012 | Tags: 
so hard to choose…love that you don’t have to rethread that harness to adjust the height…love that it can allow older children to remain rear facing…love saving money by only buying two seats, instead of three!
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How do you enter this contest. My computer won’t let me write in the space.
I love everything about this seat. The longer rearfacing, the economical benefits, the pattern, everything! We would love to be able to keep our new baby coming in March safe.
I love that it holds up to 40 pounds- so nice to have a seat that will fit your child as they grow from baby to toddler!
I love that it reinforces the AAP’s guidelines of leaving the child rear-facing until age 2. I also like the harness adjuster. Hubby and I are expecting our first baby (we just found out it’s a boy!!) in February and we’d love to get this seat for him.
I know this seat is new, but we have been eyeing it for baby #4. Our previous infant seat expired, so we got rid of it. A friend gave us one they aren’t using, but I don’t care for it much. I like the idea of being able to adjust the seat so easily.
I like the fact that it adjusts with one hand in the back.
Love that baby can stay rear-facing for 2 years and in the same seat which saves money!
We happen to walk into Babies R Us and they had just gotten this carseat. My husband automatically fell in love it it! Love the adjustable features!
I love that it is rear-facing for up to 2 years! There is no need to purchase another seat!
I love the adjustable features, that its rear facing up to two years of age and the money we will save.
Would love to have this car seat for my newborn.
This car seat looks awesome. Definitely going to check it out.
Can’t wait to check this car seat out!!!! I’m excited about the new weight and height limits
I love that this is SnugRide has side impact protection!
I love that it offers an extended rear-facing option like a convertible seat, but that it also offers the convenience of a carrier. We want to rear face as long as we can, so a convertible seems like a better option than a small infant seat, but we also like the option of being able to take a sleeping baby out and not wake him/her. This seems like the perfect option for us.
I love the idea that this car seat can grow with the child, saving parents money and time not having to do research on the latest car seat models. i want one! Baby A due May 11, 2013
This just looks and sounds so awesome! I am the proud mother of 3 girls, ages 7, 5, and 4. My husband and I just found out we are expecting #4 so I have already started researching–BOY have things changed in just 4 years! I’ve already made my mind up that we will be using this seat. Now if we could win one, that would just be fabulous!
I love the harness adjustment. I didn’t like all the threading straps business!
this has to be the coolest car seat around. the straps are so easy to move, making the entire car seat more user friendly. I also like the fact, that its still as light as the snug ride 35!
My wife and i are expecting our first child this spring and have already began looking at car seats. This one looks so user friendly, its my top seat now!
I really hope I win, my daughter currently uses my sister in laws car seat. My daughter is 4 months old and she is really long, I would love to have the adjustment for height like the graco snugide click connect 40 does, I love how it has the ability to grow with my child. Currently I cannot afford a carseat, in the past year I have 2 break ins, one in my house and one in my car. Everything I have ever worked for is gone, I would love to be able to have something new for my child
just checked out this seat tonight at babies r us. its so amazing, and very easy to use!!
i appreciate all the extra protection for the newborn baby!
I like the recline adjustment for more legroom. I feel like a lot of people don’t continue to rear-face their children because they feel like their legs touching the bad seat is a bad thing. Hopefully this seat will others rear-face their children longer. We would love to win this seat, and we would plan to use it to the max of its rear-facing capabilities.
This seat look so cozy! I love the fact is has different positions and can be used for so long. Definitely a plus with taller/larger children.
My absolute fave feature is that it grows with my child. I love my Chicco, but made the mistake of buying just a plain Jane infant seat. I was torn between the Chicco Key Fit and a convertible seat. Yeh, big mistake. Now I need to buy something else and want to keep my child rear facing as long as possible. Thanks for a great review. Love that you put things to consider. Appreciate the honesty
Its so great that graco is helping parents realize how important rear facing until at least two is. I know so many mothers that just turnd their baby farward when they out grew the infant carrier at 1year. A seat like this encourges them to keep thier baby rear facing longer.
Rebekka S recently posted..Graco SnugRide Click Connect 40: Review and Giveaway
I love not having to worry if my son is going to outgrow it and I am going to need a new carseat! It’s the ease of a convertible and carrier in one!
Leslie S recently posted..Save at Red Lobster & Olive Garden – Giveaway
I love how it can hold a child up to 40 lbs, both of my sons outgrew the weight limit of their infant carrier within the first 9 months.
That is one car seat option that I’d love to have for my new born. It looks comfy,and I like the fact that it adjusts with one hand in the back.
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I am expecting and reading everything kids, child and safety related I can lay my hands on. One really appealing thing about this for me is that its 3 in 1!
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