Big 3-yr-old needs bigger seat

[calimom2be]

My boy is very tall (39 inches) and heavy (41 pounds) for his age, so we just moved him from his comfy Britax Roundabout seat to a just-purchased Eddie Bauer Deluxe High Back Booster, for kids 20-100 pounds. I dislike our new Eddie Bauer for a number of reasons:

1. My little guy's head flops forward when he falls asleep, and no amount of adjusting the seat has helped support his head any better. It's not something we detected when he sat in the seat in the store.

2. The buckle is so annoying! I figured it out after 10 minutes or so, but I can't have my son's grandparents borrow our car because they fumble with this closure mechanism so badly.

I feel like my son is too young to use a seat belt right now with a booster--true? I would prefer to see him in a seat like the Roundabout, especially since he still naps often in the car.

Anyone have a seat suggestion for a big boy like this? We have a Honda CRV that's LATCH equipped. Thanks!!!

[Joolsplus2]

The harness on that Eddie Bauer seat only goes to 40 pounds, so I'm sorry you ended up with it :(...Can you return it and get a seat with a harness that goes to a higher weight? The Marathon or Husky would be much safer, more comfortable, easier to use choices. As a booster, the Eddie Bauer is appallingly bad, in terms of holding the shoulderbelt in almost always the wrong place, and pushing the lapbelt up too high. If there's no way you can afford one of the Britax harnessed seats (marathon/decathlon/boulevard/husky), then I would look at the Britax Parkway (booster, yes, but a very confining one for a littler kid) or Graco Turbo Booster (also a great choice for a smaller child).

Good luck, I hope you can return the EB!
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[calimom2be]

Julie, THANK YOU! Based on your recommendation I returned the EB and picked up the Britax Marathon seat. We have to install it tonight but I'm already feeling good about having unloaded the EB, which wasn't working out at all, and going with a Britax again, since we loved our Roundabout.

I didn't realize the EB harnass wasn't appropriate for my son's weight--I'd made a mistake and I so appreciate your calling my attention to that.

Thanks again!

[Joolsplus2]

Oh good, the Marathon is a *breeze* to install, just like the RA!

Yeah, they really don't make the EB weight limits very clear at all... :(
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Joni]

Something I notice frequently is misuse of combo seats (which is what the EB seat was). Because the seat can be used with a harness until 40 lbs. and then up to 80 or 100 lbs as a booster, people often misread the instructions and have children too heavy in the harness. To my knowledge, Britax is the only seat on the market right now that sells seats with a weight limit over 40 lbs harnessed. Of course now that I say that someone else will come out with one. I'm glad you asked questions quickly so that you weren't using the seat too long incorrectly.
JONI
CPS tech