Which Combo or Booster for larger 3yr old?

[shopping Mom]

Which Combo and/or Booster would you recommend for my son? He is about 100% for height for 3yr olds (sorry, I can't remember exact height but people think he is 4yrs old) & weighs 38lbs?

I would like a 5 point harness, and wings for sleeping. Safety is important & don't mind paying a little more for it.

We own a Grand Jeep Cherokee Laredo SUV.

Please help..overwhelmed! Thanks

[Joolsplus2]

If you want to keep him harnessed, then your options are limited right now to the Britax Marathon/Wizard (17.5 inch tall slots, 65 pound weight limit...fits even big kids to age 6) or Husky (19 inch tall slots, weight limit 80 pounds, fits kids to age 9 or 10). There used to also be the Nania Airway, but it seems to be discontinued and very hard to find (top harness slots 17 inches harness weight 50 pounds, probably would fit to age 4.5 or 5.5--then it becomes a booster seat to 80).

You could also look at boosters like the Britax Bodyguard, Jupiter Komfort Kruiser, Graco Turbo, Compass B500, or Evenflo Big Kid. These are all belt positioners only and will last to age 8 or 9, at which point he should be just about ready for the seatbelts alone.

The Bodyguard (or even the Recaro Start...expensive, but a VERY nice seat) are slightly more restricting boosters, so might be good choices for a younger kid (minimum weight is 40, height is 43 on the Bodyguard, but if he is really tall, he might meet that with shoes on, lol).

For what it's worth, my 6.5 year old is in the Husky and Bodyguard and really loves both of them, and my 4.5 year old is in the Marathon and we love that too. We had an Airway that was a little more difficult to deal with, but is fine as a bargain choice. The Turbo Booster is also a nice seat for a younger kid, IMO (of course, harnessing as long as possible, past 4 and even longer, is ideal, but boosters are not unsafe for a child who can sit properly in them).

Hope that helps a little, I know there are a lot of confusing choices out there, and some seats are way too hard to find!
:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Shopping Mom]

Hi Julie,
1) What about recommendations for Combo seat in my particular case? Would it only be the Graco Platinum, Graco Ultra and Evenflo Chase?

2) I like Britax's safety record, but doesn't look like Britax makes a Combo seat, right?

3) Lastly, I've read that some parent's don't seem to like Combo seats..can some of you tell me why so?

Thanks again!

[Joolsplus2]

The reason I didn't recommend any of these, is that he's already 38 pounds, and they only harness to 40 pounds. If you want to get one and only harness him a short time longer (you said you wanted to harness him longer, so I went with the higher weight seats), and then use it as booster when he's 40 pounds, then those are great choices. I am not fond of how the seatbelt fits when a child is using these seats as a booster. They are safe, but dedicated boosters such as the Graco Turbo or Britax Bodyguard tend to just fit much better, and are much taller, too, so they last much longer for bigger kids.
No, Britax does not make a combo seat. After the Marathon or even Husky is outgrown, you will need at least a $15 backless booster to get him all the way to the point where the adult seatbelt fits him properly.

Hope that helps a little,
:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[queenmama77]

Julie,

Do you think the Marathon would be the best choice for us?

Henry will be 4 in June, 31-32lbs, and about 40½" flat-footed (string bean like Daddy!). He's about to bust out of his RA but there isn't anywhere locally to try seats! Ack! We bought the RA sight-unseen and, of course, have loved it. My only concern with the MA is that it's extremely likely he'll reach 49" before 65lbs.

I'm up for any suggestions. We love Britax but we'll take anything that'll fit Henry and is safe! I've been a little out of the loop since I haven't needed to shop for anything, so I'm not sure about the "latest and greatest!" Do you think the Nania Airway is a good choice if I can find it?

TIA for your help!

[Joolsplus2]

He's so light, you don't have to go with a higher weight seat if you don't want to. If you are loving your RA and don't want to mess with a "lesser quality" seat, then the MA is a great choice. My 47 inch, 42 pound 6.5 year old still just fits in it (65 pounds is 99 percentile for 6 year olds, I believe, but it's a standard weight for a 9 year old in real life...no need to worry he won't make it THAT long in the seat!) I've never seen a kid younger than 6 be too tall for it, and by that age, they are usually very safe in a booster seat :)
But anyway, if you want to save a few bucks, you'd probably still be reasonably happy with the Graco Ultra or Platinum Cargo, or the Evenflo Chase or Vision. They have top slots about the same as the Marathon, and for a thin child, he'd be able to be harnessed just about the same amount of time in any of those seats (they all have 17 inch tall top slots...my ds was too heavy for these other seats right at about the time he was too tall for them, and he, too was thin like your ds).

So, just go with the seat that fits your car best and you like best...make sure the harness is to your liking, particularly, as you will be using it for a couple more years.

My 4.5 yo dd is in a Marathon, and while she's in the top slots, her shoulders are just barely above the second to top slots, and I think she'll get a couple more years of use out of this seat...she can also buckle and unbuckle herself, and she finds it VERY comfortable.

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[masetane]

My 3.5 year old (32 pounds and 42 inches I think) is sitting wonderfully in her Marathon. While I do have a Graco Turbo Booster for grandma, Britax Starriser (she hated the wings on teh body guard) in our second car - I wanted her harnessed in the car she is in most of the time. Marathon is just great and she still has 2 more slots to go to outgrow so it will be awhile. I did NOT like any of the combo seats I had seen - particuarly Graco Cargo series. Very ill padded and the belt guide seemed poor and flimsy. I agonized for ages about what to do and haven't looked back with the Marathon. Now I am in the process of agonizing if I should get the denim on my Britax b/c I don't want it to fade out like jeans do. Never ends!! ha ha
caroline