Booster Question

[MamaParis]

I'm looking for suggestions for a booster seat for a friends 4 year old.

Its for occasional use when grandma has to pick her up from school this fall.

Age: 4.75 years old
Stats: 32 lbs & 40" tall

The child rides in a Marathon and a Roundabout (just about outgrown - she has maybe another month or so in it) in her parents vehicles, but will need a seat to use in her grandmothers vehicle when school starts this fall.

They don't really have the funds right now to buy two expensive new seats and they 100% need to replace the Roundabout she's about to outgrow.


So she was going to get the child either a Marathon or a Recaro Young Sport for her car and then a less expensive booster for grandma's car.

Swapping out car seats w/ grandma isn't practical for them as they have 3 kids in seats (and the oldestis in the middle FF) and its already a tight fit in their cars.


What do you think?

I was thinking of just giving her my Parkway to use for grandmas car, since I really do't use it anymore and telling her to buy another Marathon - do you think that would be best?


What other options are there for seats with taller harness heights that won't break the bank?


How much more time will she get in a harness if she buys her the Recaro Young sport? I don't have my Roundabouts anymore to compare it to my Young Sport ... Is she better off with that since it turns into a booster or should she just get the Marathon?


sorry for all the questions .. I've been out of the car seat loop for some months now ...

[Joolsplus2]

And we've been missing you, here in the loop, girlfriend :) (what? real life? oh, fine, be like that... <giggle>).

Yeah, you know how easy the Parkway is to buckle for novices... and how well it fits littler kiddos and tall kiddos, It'd be my top pick. The Cosco Apex (Safety 1st Alpha Elite, maybe 12 other names, as long as it harnesses to 65, that's the one I mean, lol) is actually really nice for about $100-$120...it's as tall harnessed as the Marathon, goes to 65 pounds, and actually becomes a good booster later...BUT, it requires a vehicle headrest is it's only bugaboo.

The YS is about as tall as the MA, I think... 2 inches taller than the RA?, but only harnesses to 40, but of course makes an excellent booster.

Oh, while I have you, the Maxi Cosi Priori is coming back, and it rearfaces to 35 pounds now!!!!! (Elitecarseats has pictures, but of the EU version, I HOPE we get those nifty colors, anyway)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[MamaParis]

Yeah, I was across the pond for a few months with relatives. A family member was very ill and eventually died, so we were going back and forth spending some last months with everyone over there.
My DH and the kids were flying back and forth as was I - so its been rather hectic lately around here. But in the end I was glad to have been able to spend the time there.
We also spent a month in NYC with my SIL. Got to see new years eve there and all that.
And then DH took us all on a road trip all the way up to Alaska! Which took a good while to get there and then back here! ;)

But we should be home for a bit now! lol
My kids were missing their normal every day things and classes etc way too much.



OOOH yes! I saw that the Priori is coming back! And wow! a RF option!! At first I thought it was just a typo - but its true!!
I love the funky colors too!

I may just have to get a new one for my 1 year old. I wonder if they'll have the 8 year expirations still? I wonder how the install will be? the old Prioris was beyond easy to install!!

Mine just expired recently and I had to destroy it! :( The destruction part was fun, yet sad all at the same time! My kids loved that seat!
I kept the zebra cover though! lol




I didn't even think to go out to the car and compare the YS to my MA ... duh! I guess my mind set was comparing it to the RA this whole time since thats whats she riding in right now.


OK I think I'm going to suggest to her to get the Recaro YS for her 4 y/o. Since it won't buy her much more harness time than the MA and she doesn't need it to RF and her kids are lightweights like mine and wont ever reach the 65 lb limit of the MA, and at the very least she'll have a decent booster in the end.
And I'll just give her my Parkway.
My sister just moved away, so I no longer have to tote around her kids in my car - and my 3 are FAR from needing a booster!

They're still suffering financially from the hurricane damage they had, so I'm trying to be a frugal as possible with my suggestions.



Any word on the new Recaro convertible? any pics or specs out there?

Oh yeah and what is the Uptown that everyone is talking about?

[Joolsplus2]

Well, enjoy travel now, soon your life will be ablaze with school activities (I'm counting down the days practically till I never get another PTA newsletter or have to do another page of homework... what does 18 years break down to in days? ugh).

I saw a prototype recaro, looked like a wizard, but hopefully they've tweaked it considerably. rf tethered to 35, ff to 70, 19 inch top slots... sounds huge, should be out...umm... soon?

The Uptown is definitely the nicest cosco ever. Walmart for $99... rf to 35, britax-esqe cover (plush and elastic all the way around), 16 inch top slots, epp foam (softer than eps, same function). It's really an Enspira without the headrest pillow or boostering capabilities, installs well in most cars. :)

Oh, just got back from the Dr...Leah's 14 months, 31.5 inches tall (80th %ile) and 21lbs12 ozs (40th %ile)... definitely slowed her weight gain (she was quite chubby till 7 months!). Still has loads of room to grow in her Safeseat1, too (Key Fit has been sent off to a worthy home and is being loved and used more, yay, but sad to see it go...)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[joyful mommy]

Julie,

Do you know up to what weight the new Recaro will harness to? DS is already about 32 lbs. We'll need to switch to new ones soon as 1st DS is in a RA in one car and 2nd DS is about to outgrow his infant seat.

Also, do you know what this new model will be called?

Thanks for any more information you have on this...!

[Joolsplus2]

This is from Recaro...

Mon - March 5, 2007
Recaro updates release dates for new car seats

Recaro touches base with news about their new car seats. Recaro had planned to launch an infant car seat and convertible seat in early 2007; here are the updated release dates:

---Our infant shell, the RECARO Picco, is now slated to launch in November
---Our $219 Convertible seat, the RECARO Como will be in-store the first week of June
---Our $259 Convertible seat, the RECARO Signo will be in-store the first week of July
---Our new High Back Booster will be in store the second week of June and is offered in Microfiber for $99 and fabric for $89. The RECARO Vivo sells at the $99 price point with the Vivo Lite at $89.
---The RECARO Young Style will be discontinued in August due to the launch of the Vivo however the Young Sport and Start will stay in production
---We are also working on a higher end High Back Booster for $129 which will not launch in 2007 as I currently have it planned.

We have launched our first large retailer in-store already this year. The Young Sport landed on shelves in Sears in February. We are also looking at floor launch of a majority of our product line-up in Babies “R� Us in the next few months as product becomes available.. Sales are growing at a strong rate on Target.com and Sears.com so I look forward to launching on-line with Babies “R� Us in the next few weeks and JC Penney before Mother’s Day.

The Convertibles (Como and Signo) are looking to hold a weight range of 5-70 pounds while the Vivo high back booster has a weight range of 30-100 pounds. "

Sounds cool, maybe soon enough?
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[joyful mommy]

Julie -- Thanks. It does sound cool! Not sure if it will be soon enough as my 3 month old is already 25" in our old Prima Viaggio. That leaves one inch to grow between now and early June -- cutting it pretty close, probably too close! ;)

My toddler, however, can probably last that long and possibly a bit longer -- but we're planning on moving the older one up to the new seats so the younger one can have the WZ and RA. (WZ not being a problem at all for the toddler's growth at this point.)

(I was almost caught off guard when our oldest outgrew the infant seat at about 5 months -- who knew our next one would be slightly longer at this stage... or that it would really matter?)

I guess I could always hope the Como might appear a couple of weeks early....