Back Seat Sanity Saver? Thoughts on the Kiddie Catch-All
Posted by Jen E @ mommablogsalot on March 11th 2011 in Featured Reviews, travel & eats (5 Comments)The back seat of any car with kids is bound to become a disaster area of abandoned toys, temper tantrums and their favorite book which is always just out of reach. Add two kids and the toys are never near the child that wants them.
The Kiddie Catch-All can’t teach your children to share nicely but it can offer a space to corral small toys and books so they don’t get dropped into the small corners of the back seat, never to be seen again. If you can get your kids to use them anyway.
When I was offered a chance to review the Kiddie Catch-All, I almost passed. “There’s no way my kids would use that,” I thought, along with, “They seem kind of small” and “I bet my four year old could rip a hole in that thing in five minutes!”
Then I thought, all the more reason to review it! There’s no need to be sunshine and roses around here – you guys need honest reviews of real stuff! So I said yes to the review offer so I could give you guys the real skinny on the Kiddie Catch-All and really put it to the test.
Here’s what I found out from my experiences with the Kiddie-Catch-All:
the Kiddie Catch-All in action on my 19 month old’s car seat
My first thought when the product arrived was that it was indeed awfully small. For some kids, it’s probably plenty big but we have gotten into the habit of keeping larger toys in the car specifically because they are big and won’t easily get lost in the car. I wondered how many small toys were actually in the car that I could use this for.
Obviously I don’t expect the large block toy shown to fit in any kind of car seat organization system, but I do think that if it were maybe a little bigger that some of the larger books in our backseat might be able to go in them, which would be great for my older son, but more on that later…
My daughter has gotten into the habit lately of sneaking small toys into the car with her. A tiny book here, a toy camera there. The Kiddie Catch-All is perfect for these stowaway items and I’ve started putting them there instead of bringing them back upstairs. Now I can’t say that she puts all her toys there when she’s done playing with them, but if I’m proactive enough I can get the toys in the little basket either as we’re getting out of the car or when we’re getting in so that if she wants a toy while we’re driving, they should all be right there for her in easy reach.
The Kiddie Catch-All is working much better than I’d anticipated for her. It fits snugly and securely on the arm of the car seat, just under the fabric so that she won’t be tempted to take it off and play with it. It isn’t getting tossed around, toys are often seen perched in the 10f8 little catch-all – I think we can call that a success.
Luckily he hasn’t picked any holes in the netting, so at least that premonition proved not to be true… yet.
Unfortunately, it did not fit on my son’s booster seat – there is simply nowhere to attach it. Any booster seat moms reading this click here to make sure that the Kiddie Catch-All will fit your seat before you buy. We’ve got his perched on the cup holder right now but he’s not really using it, except to pick it up every now and then and play with it or ask me why it’s there.
Bottom line: It’s not a perfect solution. It will not mean that you’ll never tidy up the backseat again or that toys won’t get dropped. If anything, I’m cleaning the back seat more – maybe that’s a good thing. If you’re willing to set an example of putting the toys in the Catch-All where they belong, your kids might pick up the habit, too. At the very least, it will make car rides marginally easier when toys are corralled ahead of time. I’m not sure they are worth the money though- I think you could probably Macgyver something yourself for cheaper. And I do wish it were a little bit bigger and that there was a way to attach it to my son’s booster seat.
But it does fit well on my daughter’s car seat and neither kid has destroyed theirs yet – and sometimes they even use it. So I’d say the Kiddie Catch-All worked better than I thought it would and is worth your consideration when trying to help organize the back seats of your cars while your kids are in car seats (-edit- booster seat moms especially will want to check this link to make sure your child’s seat will accommodate the Kiddie Catch-All).
You can purchase the Kiddie Catch-All right now for $12.95, buy one get one free (normally $19.95).
This post was written for Family Review Network & Kiddie Catch-All who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinions.
Comments (5)
Actually the Kiddie Catch All DOES fit on a variety of BOOSTER SEATS.
Simply checking the list on our website will provide that info. See the link below to see!!
https://kiddiecatchall.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=4
Ally, please note that I added your link to my post so that moms can check to make sure the Kiddie Catch-All will work on their seats. Thanks for passing the link along!
I totally disagree with this review. Not only is it worth the money, (at a price so low who can complain?!) It holds far more than I expected and is so durable and sturdy I know we’ll be using ours well beyond booster seat stages…which by the way it does fit our boosters perfectly as well as our Odyssey arm rests! I’m thrilled with the size as its large enough to hold their drinks, granola bars AND toys at one time but no so large that it gets in the way as I and the kids load and unload our things and ourselves between trips. The design is PERFECT and I’d have paid $20 for one so definitely appreciate the low, low price for one. I like that a SAHM invented this and am proud to support an ingenious mom!! Seems per that link above your review lacks accuracy. Plus, we got ours within 1 week of ordering. Very, very impressed with Kiddie Catch All!!! Even my 10 yr old uses hers for her things. Clean floorboard and happy children = happy mom and safe driving. .
Hi Kara – I’m really glad to hear that it’s been working so well in your car and fits your booster seats – you make excellent points and I agree that this product should work great for a variety of customers.
And thanks to Ally for providing that helpful link,it’s definitely a good idea to look up your booster seat and car seat models and make sure it fits your car before you buy. Customer service with Kiddie Catch-All is superb and I agree, it’s awesome to be able to support mom-made products!
Sorry, I disagree with this review also (judging from the pics your provided, it kinda looks like you might need a full sized toy box to handle the toys you have in your car LOL). I originally ordered these for my grandbabies. I wasn’t counting on my 11 yr old laying claim to them though LOL. She immediately put hers on the arm rest on the car door and loaded it with books, her mp3 player, headphones, a small flashlight, sunglasses and her travel tissues. She took the other one and hung it from her nightstand drawer where I found more books, her booklight and glasses. She’s asked for a few more for the bathroom to hold her shower gels, body lotions, brushes, hairbands, etc. Suggestion for those who have booster seats that don’t have a place for it to hang from; hang it from the arm rest on the door, hang it from the pocket on the back of the seat in front of them, or even hang it from the seat itself. Either way, looks like I’ll be ordering 4 more for the grandbabies (ages newborn, 1, 2 and 3) plus another set for my 11 yr old.