Another car seat question

[gravymommy3]

I am searching for a car seat for my quite-large 4 yo. I have had the Starriser comfy booster recommended, due to her size (46" and 50ish lbs.) I saw on the Britax site the Traveller plus which is for special needs. My question is, can a normal child use the Traveller plus (it goes up to 105 lbs but does not list a height limit). Is this a stupid idea (the sucker is rather expensive, but my child's safety is paramount to me). Or would I be better off getting the Roadster booster (100 lbs) or Starriser (80 lbs)? I also want to get my 3 yo another car seat (he is in a Nextstep used as a car seat and not a booster - he is 35 lbs andjust under 40 lbs). What would be best for him? I want to get my 1 yo a Marathon, I think. What about the Wizard? What does it have (or going to have) that the Marathon does not? Thanks in advance for your help. I just want to get this car seat thing right!

Amy

[Joolsplus2]

Why not the Husky? It is the exact same seat as the Traveller Plus, but is lacking some of the "positional" cushions, and you only need to use one of the tethers, (both seats have 2, and you have to use both of them due to the higher weight limit on the "TP"), and the weight limit is a generous 80 pounds (which is the weight of an average 11 year old). I have the Super Elite (same as Husky, but no LATCH, essentially) for my 5.5 yo ds, and he loves his "big blue seat"...and for $219 at babycollection.com, it's a hefty savings over the Traveller Plus. If it were me (and I didn't really NEED to get rid of my Nextstep), I'd get the Husky for the eldest child, and then when the second child hits 40 pounds, I'd get a Starriser Comfy for the eldest and pass the Husky down. As for the youngest, the Marathon is an awesome seat (my 3 year old is rearfacing in it and she loves it!), and if you want to hold out for the Wizard it might be worth it...the only difference between the marathon and the wizard is that the harness never has to be re-threaded...that is, you can adjust the height of the harness just by "dialling" the headrest/harness straps up and down as needed, so the straps are always exactly AT the shoulders...it's a nice feature, but then again, rethreading harness straps isn't really difficult or done that often. I hope you have a minivan, these seats are BIG (I have a super elite and a marathon, both outboard, and nothing at all will fit between them, not even dd's doll sized graco carseat!) Hope that helps, Julie

[gravymommy3]

Julie,

That does indeed help. I was just worried that 80 lbs on her might come sooner rather than later. I mean, this kid is tall and solid! Would I be better off going to the Roadster rather than the Starriser (when she hits the height limit on the huskey)? I feel she will prob. be too tall before she weighs too much. The Starriser only goes to 80 lbs, right? We have a Toyota Sequioia so hopefully we could fit them in it. Thanks again for your help.

Amy

[Joolsplus2]

well, I know of a kid who's a bit on the more solid side, and she's only 72 pounds at age 7 (and there are a lot of seven year olds who balk at being in a harnessed seat, which is something else to consider)...as far as the next seat after the Husky, the Roadster is ok, but you can't use the back on it after 65 pounds or so, and another favorite is the Cosco High Rise/Auto booster, which goes to 100 pounds and the above-mentioned child really finds comfortable. if you don't have adequate head support, you'll need a highback booster. the graco turbo booster goes to 100 pounds, but has a very small seat (and, same kid as above, finds it quite uncomfortable, though it's a superb seat for smaller kids), and a great option for a booster with a high back that can be used to 100 pounds and 5 ft tall is the Jupiter Komfort Kruiser...hope im not confusing you more! I just think you don't have to spend the extra money for the traveller plus unless a kid has a real need to be fully restrained until age 11 or 12 or more...most kids are perfectly safe and able to sit without moving too much in a regular booster at about age 4 or 5, and keeping them harnessed is a "parental decision" beyond that (like me deciding to keep my son harnessed in the super elite at age 5.5, so he doesn't fight with his sister!). Hope that Helps, even though it's not a real answer :). Julie

[gravymommy3]

Julie has discovered my problem. I want my child harnessed as much for my sanity as for her safety. She and her brother are constantly fighting in the back seat and I am turning into my mother at a rapid rate!! ("Don't make me stop this car and come back there and beat you...) I think that I want a highback booster (when we get to that point) just for added safety. So, that DQs the Roadster. I think I will go with the Husky (hate the name of the thing!) until she outgrows it.

Does anyone else have info on the Jupiter Komfort Kruiser - that sounds like it might work. As far as the child balking about being harnessed, I'm not really going to give her a choice. I think my mom used to say, "My car, my rules." There I go again...

I also remember her saying, "I hope you have two just like you..."

I think I actually have two who are worse than me. I must be llving right.

Thanks for everyone's help.

[Joolsplus2]

tee hee...i think mine are still no worse than my terrorific little tantrummy self (thank heavens!), but there are 2 of them, so it's multiplied, lol. here's the parentsplace board where they reviewed just about all the seats, there's something about the komfort kruiser in there, just fwiw http://boards2.parentsplace.com/messages/get/ppcarseats500.html. and, I confess, I give lipservice to kids who want to be out of harnesses (because, let's face it, it's different!), but so far my intentions are to keep them in a 5 point till about age 8 in our primary car...at which point, there might be seats with better side-impact protection and my car has side head-curtain airbags in the back :) Julie

[tobymc]

It sounds like you are on the right track.

Remember that you can lock the belts around you child in a booster in your Toyota. Toyotas have switchable belts, and you can put them in locking mode. It helps a little in keeping a child in position in the booster.

In general, I'm noticing that kids are pretty done with the harnessed seat by age 7 or so, so I'd suggest the Husky rather than the Traveller Plus. I bet you'll be more ready by the time your child turns 8!

By the way, the Husky was named after the dog. That gives me a much better image when I say the name!

If you have more questions about the KK, you can e-mail me or post here. I've got the Komfort Rider GTX, the KK, and the new Special Edition KK. I've also got a 4 1/2 year old in the Super Elite (Husky without latch).