Harnessed Booster for (tall) 3 yo?????

*Sorry, if this something commonly asked*

I am looking for reasonably priced (not Britax) booster for a 3 yearold. She is about 37" tall, weighs about 34lbs. I noticed that her shoulders are above the highest strap slots in her current booster (Leather Eddie Bauer- something or other ;-)
-It is reccommended for her to be harnessed still, correct?

Any advise and suggestions would be great!!!

I was reading in another post about Safety 1st Apex 65- is this a good seat? What about Safety 1st Summit Deluxe Grow With Me Booster Car Seat?

TIA

[o_mom]

She absolutely needs to stay harnessed for another year or two. There are several choices.

The Graco Cargo is a great harnessed seat to 40 lbs with tall top slots. It is an OK booster, but not great. Make sure to get a front harness adjuster.

The Evenflo Generations is another 40lb combo seat that actually makes a good booster, but the harness adjustment is a dial, not a pull strap so try it out first.

The Cosco Apex 65 harnesses to 65 lbs which will last quite a long time and makes a good booster. The downside is that the car must have a high seatback behind it (do a search in this forum for details). This means that even if your car fits OK, you may have problems switching it to other cars easily.

Thanks! I was pretty sure she should stay harnessed a while longer.

-Is the top slots being too low, a reason to get a new seat? I just want to be sure. She is still under the weight limit and her ears are nowhere close to the top of the seat.

The seat is going in a Chrysler Town& Country Van, and is only used in that vehicle.

[o_mom]

Yes, if her shoulders are above the top slots, she has outgrown the seat.

Thanks! I am just having to do some convincing that she has infact, grown out of the seat that was bought a year ago. And that she is not ready to just use it as BPB ;)

Anyone else have any advise on which seat?

[o_mom]

Ah, yes, the convincing. Try these videos:

Harnessed:

http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_s...cosipriori.mpg

Booster:

http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_s...xicosirodi.mpg

[kellyotn]

>Thanks! I am just having to do some convincing that she has
>infact, grown out of the seat that was bought a year ago. And
>that she is not ready to just use it as BPB ;)
>
>Anyone else have any advise on which seat?


FWIW, I think the EB seats in general are low and prone to this happening. :( I'm not certain on your specific seat, but it seems to be a theme w/ Eddie Bauer seats. Just tell your hubby that that was something you wish you'd known then. I wish the slot height information was displayed. Its not something a person really thinks about when shopping. The weight max is shown, but not the slot heights.

Techs, does the EB leather seat end up making a good booster when that time comes??

Any thing else I can look into?????



Thanks to you who answered I apprciate the help!

[kellyotn]

Here's a chart of measurements, so you can see which ones have taller slots.

www.carseatdata.org/csnumbers.html

Yes, I think the Apex would be great if you don't need to worry about moving it. Harnessing to 65 is awesome! I **wish** the darn seat would work for my husband's truck.

I'm not sure about the Safety 1st Summit, it that the same as a Cosco Summit? If so, avoid, it has low slots.

Would your hubby be into Recaro? Lots of hubby's like the race car seat factor. The Young Sport harnesses until 40 lbs, then becomes a stellar booster - side impact, etc.

I only wish they harnessed until 65 too. In our case, I may get it when my oldest outgrows her Scenera (by height). She's 3.5, 35-6 lbs, 39" tall. I'll harness her in it until she gets too heavy, then swap my youngest into it and her into his Marathon. That might work for your situation too.

The other combo's I see recommended are the Evenflo Bolero / Generations. Good harnessed and as a booster. The Graco Ultras (look for a front adjuster) are a bit better harnessed, but a so-so booster.

HTH!

Edited to add link. Doh!

And, Cosco and Safety 1st are "the same" with regard to the Apex. On Amazon, it lists the blue one as a "Safety 1st Apex 65 Booster Seat - Lancer" then beneath it says "Other products by Cosco". (Lancer is the fabric name.) The red one is listed as "Alpha Elite Apex Booster Car Seat - Red Alpine".

I'm not sure if the Summit is exactly the same between the companies, but I'd hazard a guess they are the same.

:)

Thanks!!!

The Recaro looks awesome!!! I am huge racing fan, and would love to have one of those. But I think it is probably too pricey, as this will be her 4th carseat.
(The seat is actually for the girl I nanny for, her mom sort of relys on my knowledge and research when it somes to things like this- she didn't even realize D was too tall for her current seat, it has taken some convincing, that she really needs a new seat and is not ready for BPB)
It seems that Walmart carries the Apex, so hopefully we can check it out IRL and test her in it.
I will check on the others too.