Grrr...my 2 gripes about the Graco Nautilus

I was so happy when I first got the Graco Nautilus car seat. I needed to buy 3 of them, and the price was reasonable. But now, I'm questioning my decision to buy them.

Gripe 1: Whenever my son falls asleep, his poor head falls forward. It looks so uncomfortable. And since it's winter, he has zipper marks from his coat on his face, and he's drooling all over the place. Poor kid.

Gripe 2: My son can and does unhook the chest restraint while driving. Lately it's becoming a daily thing. He's proud of himself for being able to open it, and even prouder when he closes it back up. Except sometimes it can take 5 minutes. God forbid we pull over and do it for him. It's just not safe....plain and simple. If it weren't for spying on him in my mirror, I wouldn't even know that he's doing it. He does this in all three cars that he rides in.

Anyone else have these issues? Any suggestions on how to eliminate both of them? Obviously #2 is far more of a concern than #1.

The Britax Frontier looks like a good alternative, but boy is that car seat expensive when you have to consider buying 3 of them!

Re: Grrr...my 2 gripes about the Graco Nautilus

Are you able to move the chest protector strap up higher and tighten it? If he can get his fingers underneath it to open it, it might be to loose. FWIW my DD did it with her britax boulevard. Of course we were driving, I did not see her do it. We were stopped at a light next to a police officer and he saw it (she waived at him). He pulled me over and gave me a ticket even though I said she did it herself. He yelled at me. He looked so young. After he gave me the ticket, I told him I wished he had a child who would unbuckle their harness and then when he was older he would have more compassion and understanding. He was speechless. He could not believe that she opened it herself. I asked him to redo it. Then I said to my DD show the officer how you can undo it yourself. Of course she did. But since he wrote the ticket I could not get out of it. I asked that he have more compassion for other parents in the future.

Re: Grrr...my 2 gripes about the Graco Nautilus

I don't think it has much to do with the Nautilus itself. I think most kids have their heads flip forward when sleeping in a carseat. My DD did that in her Britax too before we had the Nautilus.

And my DD up can undo the chest clip as well but I think its just that she's old enough to have figured it out and it's unavoidable. (She's 4) We just taught her that the ONLY time she's allowed to touch the clip and open it is when we get where we are going and the car is parked and turned off. She gets it and leaves it alone while driving thankfully. Is he old enough to teach him the same?

I could be wrong but I would think you're going to run into these problems with most carseats.

Message edited 1/18/2013 1:52:08 PM.

Grrr...my 2 gripes about the Graco Nautilus

Both of the issues I think are normal for most car seats.

The head always falls forward. My DS doesn't seem to mind so I go with it.

And at some point all kids will lear how to undo the buckles.

Re: Grrr...my 2 gripes about the Graco Nautilus

Thanks for the replies.

My son is old enough to be taught not to open the buckle when we are driving. We thought he was getting it, until this past week when he started opening it every time we drove somewhere. It is very easy to open, but I guess most kids at this age do it on their own anyway.

As for the head falling forward, I didn't think it was going to be an issue because he hardly napped in the car. Now it seems like he falls asleep every afternoon. I guess he's comfy in his seat, although it doesn't look comfortable to me!

Re: Grrr...my 2 gripes about the Graco Nautilus

Re: Grrr...my 2 gripes about the Graco Nautilus

Posted by Hofstra26

Posted by StayForever

Thanks for the replies.

My son is old enough to be taught not to open the buckle when we are driving. We thought he was getting it, until this past week when he started opening it every time we drove somewhere. It is very easy to open, but I guess most kids at this age do it on their own anyway.

As for the head falling forward, I didn't think it was going to be an issue because he hardly napped in the car. Now it seems like he falls asleep every afternoon. I guess he's comfy in his seat, although it doesn't look comfortable to me!

I would die if I slept like that but I think they are waaaay more flexible than us. She never complains when she wakes up so I don't think she even notices.

Re: Grrr...my 2 gripes about the Graco Nautilus

How old is he?

My girls have been buckling and unbuckling themselves completely by 2.5- 3 years old. But we taught them immediately not to do it while driving. They did it in their Britax marathons that they had before the Graco's. so it's not the seat.

His coat should probably be removed before getting in the seat. So that would help with the zipper marks on the face.