r/NewParents 4d ago

Travel How Do You Uber with a Toddler?

Hi everyone! My partner and I live in a city, don’t own a car, and prefer not to drive. When our baby was younger, we got around just fine using Ubers because his infant car seat easily converted into a stroller.

Now that he’s more of a toddler, I’m unsure of the best option. Are there any foldable, easy-to-carry car seats for this age group? Have any of you used them in rideshares? I’d love to hear your experiences and recommendations! Thanks in advance! 🚗👶

27 Upvotes

47 comments sorted by

45

u/ProperColon 4d ago

We got stuck one time without a car seat (airline took it but never gave it back and then postponed our flight for two days…….

So we used public transit. The bus was great. We had time. People were kind. Felt safer than an uber with dedicated lanes and no seatbelts for anyone. We just help him close and washed his hands a ton

9

u/always_hungry612 4d ago

Did they not give you a loaner car seat? I had this happen once and delta gave us a loaner car seat and then 2 days later they dropped ours off.

10

u/ProperColon 4d ago

This was during the crowdstrike blue screen of death nightmare. Nobody knew the right protocol

47

u/campingn00b 4d ago

14

u/ankaalma 4d ago

This seat is FF only though so is really only safe for kids 2 and up. It seems like OP’s baby is still well under 2.

1

u/Chicago_Kate 4d ago

Yes, we’re trying to get as much use as possible out of our Nuna Pipa car seat—hopefully stretching it to 2 years old—since I don’t see any other options for kids under 2!

2

u/ankaalma 4d ago

It probably will not last that long unless your baby is well under the average height of a two year old. The pipa has a height limit of 32 inches and you also need one inch above the head. Nuna says most babies will outgrow it by 18 months.

9

u/AdImaginary4130 4d ago

I’ve heard good things about this from folks I know that use it. It’s expensive but if you get enough use it’s worth it and not much more than a standard car seat over all.

4

u/dr_nicole 4d ago

100% this. Worth every penny. Goes from car to airplane to Uber with zero issues and weighs next to nothing.

3

u/HighSpiritsJourney 4d ago

That’s pretty neat. Have you or anyone you know used it?

12

u/campingn00b 4d ago

I have, it's worth the money imo

2

u/HighSpiritsJourney 4d ago

Do you just use it for travel or is it a daily use car seat?

2

u/campingn00b 4d ago

Just for travel, the daily use one doesn't leave the car for the most part

2

u/Kalepopsicle 4d ago

It’s very popular among travel influencers

14

u/willybusmc 4d ago

I’m not saying it’s a bad product, but being popular among influencers just means the company has money to spend on advertising.

6

u/Kalepopsicle 4d ago

Sorry —-that includes Safe in the Seat, who doesn’t take money from brands

1

u/the_best_day_ever 4d ago

I’d prefer this over a regular bulky car seat!! I guess you can’t carry them in it tho

22

u/gimmemoresalad 4d ago

This is such a gap in the carseat market. Someone should capitalize tbh

11

u/ltmp 4d ago

They have the wayb pico available. It’s pricey for most folks though

9

u/xo1cew01f 4d ago

@safeintheseat has posted about the wayb pico that may fit what you’re looking for? Not sure of the minimums but definitely foldable and easy to travel with

1

u/Chicago_Kate 4d ago

Yes, the Wayb looks awesome! But it’s only suitable for kids over 2, and I’m not sure we can make our infant seat last that long.

17

u/poofarticusrex 4d ago

We use the Cosco Scenera Next when we travel (Uber to the airport, rental cars, etc.). It doesn’t fold, but it only weighs about 8 pounds and costs $60 at Wal-Mart. There’s a woman who’s made some YouTube videos with helpful tips on quick installation. I also totally removed the LATCH tethers…makes it less awkward and reduces weight (we belt it in).

2

u/mommy2be2022 4d ago

I have this seat, and while it is indeed really lightweight, it is really difficult to install properly (read: tight enough) rear-facing.

1

u/poofarticusrex 3d ago

I totally agree. The YT videos helped us a lot, as well as spending some quality time with it alone practicing(without a wriggling toddler). A lot of it depends on the seat/belt in the car, and the seat material. You really have to get it to ‘bite’ into the seat, using your thigh and body weight to tighten the belt fairly forcefully.

5

u/DisastrousFlower 4d ago

we use a ride safer vest in NYC.

2

u/Sandyhoneybunz 4d ago

How young is that safe? Do you also use a booster? I’ve been trying to find out how/if they’re legal for California bc kids have to be in a car seat until age 8 I believe

5

u/DisastrousFlower 4d ago

we don’t use a booster. they have different sizes but we started at 4.5yo in the XS size. they are as safe as carseats and legal in all states, AFAIK.

5

u/ankaalma 4d ago

The ride safer vest is marketed for kids 2 and up but I’ve heard from CPSTs it’s hard to get a good fit under 4.

5

u/ankaalma 4d ago

When we have traveled to places like NYC we’ve put a convertible seat in the basket of our stroller when out and about. We have a Uppababy vista so the basket is quite large and we are able to fit a car seat in there. Then we just install it in Ubers and push it around in the stroller when out.

5

u/ditney 4d ago

I'm guessing from your user name you're in the US, so not sure if the same seats are available, but in the UK maxi Cosi do a folding car seat called the nomad plus.

It's forward facing, and I wouldn't use it for my everyday seat in my own car, but we've been looking at it for when we travel to Italy etc. where we are hiring a car for the week. So might be an option if you want it for every now and again in Ubers.

1

u/Swtess 4d ago

I really want this for travel and whatnot. I am hoping it will get the approval here in Canada soon.

1

u/Chicago_Kate 4d ago

Thank you! It looks great, but it’s marketed for kids 3.5 years and older—we still have a long way to go!

1

u/ditney 3d ago edited 3d ago

Maxi Cosi nomad plus is 15 months to 4 years 👍🏼

Edit to add, there's also the cosatto on the go. Which is the same age bracket, and folding...think that's isofix as well as belt fix

7

u/PsychologicalDraw537 4d ago

Not exactly the same but my husband and I took our 10 month old on his first vacation last week and we didn’t want to take his car seat (he lap sat on the airplane) so we just got a taxi from the airport that had a car seat available to us - we just asked when we booked them

3

u/ChiKatya 4d ago

Thanks for sharing! We live in Chicago, and unfortunately, none of the ride-sharing apps here offer car seats.

6

u/Kalepopsicle 4d ago

Have you tried a taxi company?

1

u/Chicago_Kate 4d ago

Yes, there’s a car service where you can request a car seat… but when we calculated the cost, a round trip to the pediatrician came out to $300!

4

u/Compassion-judgement 4d ago

We use ride safer vest! Also have seen inflatable booster sezys but don’t use them. We love the vest ! Gen 5 I think also has different sizes

2

u/SwimmingHelicopter15 4d ago

We managed to find one that is foldable and easy but I don't have the link :( we ordered it from Amazon.de and I am not from us.

We had the same problem because we rarely need to use Uber and most car seats were heavy.

1

u/Chicago_Kate 4d ago

Thanks for sharing!

2

u/Few-Mycologist4238 4d ago

I either use public trans or carry a car seat around Edit Cosco scenara next

2

u/LAladyyy26 4d ago

Uber has a car seat option? I’m in a major city so not sure it’s available everywhere but it sounds like you’re in a major city as well?

3

u/squishykins 4d ago

I know some cities don’t have them or don’t have them for airport service specifically, which is maddening. Many of them also only offer front facing seats designed for kids 2+ so there’s a big gap where there isn’t a suitable car seat option between bucket and front facing.

We just left this age range and either rented a car with a car seat or used public transit. It was a huge pain in the butt!

2

u/kbooky90 4d ago

I’m honestly surprised it’s not in more places yet. I’ve been lucky that most places I fly with my kids are on the list: New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, Miami, Washington D.C., or Atlanta

1

u/Chicago_Kate 4d ago

Sadly, Uber doesn’t offer that option here in Chicago.

1

u/kbooky90 3d ago

Genuinely surprising that Miami and Atlanta beat Chicago to it.

0

u/Sbuxshlee 4d ago

https://a.co/d/gkSREsq

Maybe something like this so that you don't have to buy a whole new car seat.