Ridesafer vest for a 4 year old, etc.

[natividad]

Hi all,

Our third baby will arrive late summer and I am still trying to figure out what to do as far as car seats.

We have a Volvo wagon and decided to keep it instead of getting a minivan or an SUV. Right now, we have our 4 year old in the Decathlon and our 22 month old in the Roundabout still RF. I will have all three kids in the back seat, of course, and so far I am thinking of the following scenarios:

1. Move our 22 month old to the Decathlon and get a Ridesafer vest for our 4 year old. Baby will go in the Roundabout. My question is, will the Ridesafer vest be okay for our 4 year old, as his only restraint, that is? Or should I go ahead and get a "real" car seat for him?

2. Our Roundabout was manufactured in 2002 so we only have about another year or so of use. Should I just forget about using it for the baby and go ahead and purchase another convertible now?

I know that soon I will have to replace the Roundabout, but my main concern is about the Ridesafer vest option for my 4 year old. Thanks in advance for your replies.

Naty
DS 02/03
DS 05/05
EDD 9/07

[mommyto4]

How much does your 4 year old weigh and how tall? Where are the shoulder in relation to the top slots on the Marathon? Maybe a Radian for the 4 year old, and use the Roundabout until it expires. Something really great may come out in the next year. I think that the RideSafer vest is great for travel, but IMO it would be a pain for everyday use.

[Joolsplus2]

The Ridesafer IS very safe, but yeah, it's pretty much a pain to use every day. I bet a Radian would fit in a Volvo pretty well, and it fits kids older than the Decathlon (taller slots, effectively), so you could put maybe the Radian in the middle, DC on one side (probably it'll only fit FF, unfortunately, but of course try RF) and Roundabout or infant seat on the other?
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[natividad]

Thanks so much Melinda and Julie! Okay, I get the picture about the Ridesafer. With the suggestion that you offer Julie, I am then picturing the following:

22 month old in the Decathlon, passenger side
4 year old in a Radian in the middle
Newborn in the Roundabout RF, driver side

Thoughts?

Thanks!
Naty
DS 02/03
DS 05/05
EDD 09/07

[Joolsplus2]

Sounds good in theory, fingers crossed it works! If you can't find a local Radian to try, order it from Target, that way at least you can return it to a local store with no shipping and restocking fees, but serious finger crossing it'll work!
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx