booster seats and cup holders ??s

[gemini2000]

We will soon be in the market for a booster seat for DD 3.5 yrs, 34 lbs and 39 inches tall. She's currently in a RA, which we love. We've done some browsing, and my husband is partial to the less expensive Graco boosters with the built-in cup holders. I am partial to the Britax seats (esp. the new BodyGuard), but my husband keeps reminding me that our daughter will be a booster for many years (we are in an 8-80 state), and that there will be occasions where she will have McDonalds cups, so he thinks the seats with a cup holder will be more useful. I'm thinking there are other options, and that as DD gets older she will be able to use the car's built-in cup holders. We also do a lot of long distance traveling (to visit the grandparents) so I like the fact that she could sleep more comfortably in the BodyGuard.

How do you deal with kids in boosters that don't have cup holders? is it really that big of a deal to have a seat with cup holders? Also, does having a seat with built-in cup holders affect the integrity of the seat?

What other points should I consider, and are there any other boosters I should look at?

Thanks for your help!
Katie's Mom

[Joolsplus2]

I would look at a seat that can keep her harnessed longer, she's really too young (and WAY too small for the bodyguard, as much as I LOVE that seat and would HIGHLY recommend it to you if she were big enough...we do fine without cupholders :) ).
It's just SO much safer to keep them harnessed till 40 pounds and age 4 or 5, and about 46 inches or taller.
My experience with the Turbo cupholder is that it's too darn shallow to actually hold a cup securely, anyway...it's just tip-city. I'd look at the Evenflo Chase, or Graco Platinum Cargo for now...they have good cupholders, high top slots, and front harness adjusters, and then get the bodyguard later. Very few kids find the turbo comfortable past age 7, and despite the law, you will want your dd in a booster even longer than age 8...smaller girls need them until age 10 or 11, when they are 4'9" and the seatbelt actually fits them properly and not dangerously.
The Turbo's an ok seat, for kids age 4.5 up to age 7 or so, but you have such a short time to protect your dd as best as you can, you should consider a seat that can harness her longer so she's as safe as possible as long as possible (those seats also become decent boosters and will last height wise to age 8 or so...who knows, maybe there will be an even better choice out there.... :) )
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx