What to buy next?

[october_mom]

My son who will be 5 next month is about to outgrow his Marathon (he's about 40 lbs and 42" tall). I was looking at the Britax Regent but that only buys another 2.5" in the 5 point harness. So is it worth it to buy the Regent or should I look at the Parkway or another seat entirely? Thanks for the help.

[Joolsplus2]

"only" 2.5 inches is actually like 3-5 years, depending on how leggy he is :)...it really is a considerably larger seat.
You can keep using the MA till his shoulders are 'just above' the top slots, which is 45-49 inches for most kids. Contact Britax for the modified shoulder foam to give him some more shoulder width room....and then search your soul...are you ready to give up the protection of the 5 pt harness just yet? I know my 9 and 7 year olds still love their Regents and have plenty of growing room in them, and I feel better having them harnessed in our van that doesn't have side curtain airbags. In our car with the side airbags, I'm more mellow and allow backless boosters...but they still have a hard time sitting properly in them even now (lots of sideways leaning, shoulderbelt falling off the shoulder onto the arm...).
The Parkway's a great seat, too (yup, I have a couple of them, lol) ...and there are also other great boosters (some coming out in the next few months, or awaiting more reviews, like the Jane' Indy Plus), so you might want to shop around and see what boosters are coming before you choose one.

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