Like many parents, I’m very particular about the type of car seats I buy for my kids. While I’ve never been in a car accident, I simply don’t want to have any regrets in case I ever am. I just can’t imagine putting my kids into a car seat that fails on them when they really need it!

And I have good reason to be concerned! Car seat failures happen far too often for comfort! A personal acquaintance of mine lost her baby because the car seat failed in a rollover accident. I never want to get in my car and wonder if the car seat will fail. Never!

Because I don’t want regrets, I’ve researched car seat options quite a bit. Two brands have surfaced as having some of the best safety features. One of the most important aspects is that they allow kids to stay in a 5-point harness as long as possible. The brands of car seats that allow this are the Sunshine Kids and Britax car seats.

While the Britax car seats are fantastic, I decided to buy the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 seats. These have wonderful safety ratings as well, and fit my needs better than the larger Britax seats. My kids will be able to sit in the Radian 80 seats until they are 80 pounds, double the normal weight limit for the cheaper car seats! The Radian 80’s also have some other great features I like as well.

Internal steel frames - sunshine and heat won’t make these car seats less durable

Convertible options - these seat can be set both rear-facing for infants and forward facing for older kids

Stylish - you can’t beat the cute patterns they have for little girls’ seats.

LATCH system - because car seat belts have been known to fail, the LATCH system allows the car seat to be strapped directly to the car for better safety

Transportable - while the Sunshine Radian 80 seats are heavy due to the strong steel frame, they do fold up nicely and transport easily like a backpack. This feature is pretty neat if you have to do airline travel.

Not bulky - these car seats are narrow enough that you can actually fit three of them side by side in most cars. That feature alone is worth a lot!

I’m so thankful that I have my kids sitting in the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 car seats. Not only are they cool and comfortable for the kids, they sure make my mind rest easier knowing they’re safe. In the case of an accident, I’ll be glad I spent $250 for them!