Recs for a high back booster for my 6 1/2 year old....

[jerseygirl07067]

She is actually still in a Britax Marathon as she still has not yet outgrown it but is about to, and it is also about to pass the expiration date to She's about 45 pounds and 48 inches.

I'm looking for one that is more economical. It will be in our primary car (an Ody) and needs to provide good lateral head support if she falls asleep in the car which is often.

Should I go with a belt positioning booster or one of the harnessed ones? Recs appreciated!

[mikala]

On my phone so I can't easily link to posts but I just asked a similar question minus the car sleeping part a month or two ago. We ended up with a Graco Affix and a Chicco Kidfit and both seem fine. I also considered the Britax parkway. My child doesn't car sleep at all so that wasn't a factor. I think I'd look at a harnessed seat like the Frontier or maybe Pioneer for frequent car sleeping. My child has similar stats and seemed to have plenty of growing space in the Frontier but it was time to pass it to little brother. Something like an Evenflo Secure Kid might be a cheaper option too, I just don't know how tall they go so you'd want to check that.

If you go belt positioning booster the Parkway has a crotch lap belt holder that would probably help keep her from slumping down under the lap belt when she sleeps.

[jerseygirl07067]

Thank you! So the harnessed seats, can they still convert to a belt positioning booster and then a backless? And what is the weight limit to be in the harness? I was initially thinking of a belt positioning booster but noticed my 6 y/o slouches a lot when I do put her in a booster. I kept having to turn around and check, but frankly that is something I don't want to have to worry about when driving.

[lovemydeals]

I love the idea of a carseat that does everything, but I find that in the end, I have to buy a different seat because it doesn't work so well. For instance, I have an older Frontier. It is a great seat for extended harness seating. My daughter never complained while in the seat and was able to sleep comfortably. The weight limit on our is 85. We recently converted it to a belt position booster and hate it. The seat is extra wide and the arm rest does not move, so it makes it really difficult for her to put the seatbelt on by herself. I have to do it for her. So we are using the Frontier as an extra seat and ended up using a HBB booster that belonged to my older daughter.

So, buy a seat for the purpose you want to use it for. If you need extended harness, find one that is good for that purpose. When you need to buy a HBB, find a good high back booster. There are many good seats that don't cost a fortune.

[Joolsplus2]

With a younger kiddo to hand down to, the Frontier might be a great option (sort of bigger headwings for sleeping than the Pioneer, and substantially easier to install)
Or a good booster like the Parkway/Kid Fit/Recaro/Turbo LX (at BRU, it's got mega side wings, mega headwings, and LATCHes, for only 89$), and the mere threat of harnessing again if she gets too wiggly usually worked for my girls

[jerseygirl07067]

On my phone so I can't easily link to posts but I just asked a similar question minus the car sleeping part a month or two ago. We ended up with a Graco Affix and a Chicco Kidfit and both seem fine. I also considered the Britax parkway. My child doesn't car sleep at all so that wasn't a factor. I think I'd look at a harnessed seat like the Frontier or maybe Pioneer for frequent car sleeping. My child has similar stats and seemed to have plenty of growing space in the Frontier but it was time to pass it to little brother. Something like an Evenflo Secure Kid might be a cheaper option too, I just don't know how tall they go so you'd want to check that.

If you go belt positioning booster the Parkway has a crotch lap belt holder that would probably help keep her from slumping down under the lap belt when she sleeps.

With a younger kiddo to hand down to, the Frontier might be a great option (sort of bigger headwings for sleeping than the Pioneer, and substantially easier to install)
Or a good booster like the Parkway/Kid Fit/Recaro/Turbo LX (at BRU, it's got mega side wings, mega headwings, and LATCHes, for only 89$), and the mere threat of harnessing again if she gets too wiggly usually worked for my girls

Thank you so much for the info. I wound up buying a Chicco KidFit today, but I did have a question. It looks like it fits DD fine, but with the latch it still moves around. Is it supposed to do that? If so, how much movement is acceptable? I am so used to that rock solid latch install of our Britax Marathon. Are boosters not as rock solid when installed with latch?

Joolsplus2, what is the Turbo LX? I couldn't find that one when I looked. Who makes that one? It's been years since I've been car seat shopping apparently!

[mikala]

I'm not jools but I looked for the seat when she posted earlier today and am guessing this is the seat based on brand and price. http://t.toysrus.com/product/index.j...:69016836:TRUS

[jerseygirl07067]

I'm not jowls but I looked for the seat when she posted earlier today and am guessing this is the seat based on brand and price. http://t.toysrus.com/product/index.j...:69016836:TRUS

Ahh, that makes sense. I was looking for the Affix and they didn't have it in the store. It was one of the ones on my list to look at. Now if I could figure out this booster movement thing with the LATCH install...Mikala I think you said you had gotten the Kidfit too. Does yours move around?

[mikala]

Yeah we have both a Kidfit and a basic Affix and both move around some. I'm pretty sure I read here or on a car seat blog that the movement is fine. Most boosters don't have LATCH at all and are considered safe because the seat belt is doing all the work to keep the seat and child secure. For boosters LATCH is primarily to keep an unoccupied seat from becoming a projectile in a crash so it doesn't have to be a rock solid connection like it does for other car seats .

[jerseygirl07067]

Yeah we have both a Kidfit and a basic Affix and both move around some. I'm pretty sure I read here or on a car seat blog that the movement is fine. Most boosters don't have LATCH at all and are considered safe because the seat belt is doing all the work to keep the seat and child secure. For boosters LATCH is primarily to keep an unoccupied seat from becoming a projectile in a crash so it doesn't have to be a rock solid connection like it does for other car seats .

That's what I was thinking and that makes total sense. I know the manual said to still buckle the seat (when used as high back) with the seatbelt when it is unoccupied but there's no way I'm going to do that. So hopefully the latch should be sufficient to just hold it in place!