booster seats

[mommyto4]

My 8 year old daughter will outgrow her Britax Husky soon. I need to find a booster seat for her. Is there one available that uses latch and/or tether anchors to hold the seat in place so it doesn't tip when I make a turn? The Britax Bodyguard did not work for us because the plastic lock-offs dug into her thighs and left ugly, painful red marks. She is 53 inches tall and weighs about 65 pounds. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Melinda

I recently heard about a booster seat called Jane Indy Plus. I don't think it is available in the US though. I checked it out online and it looks like a great seat for an older child. Does anyone know if something like it is available in the USA.
Melinda

[Joolsplus2]

The only seat currently that has a top tether is the Recaro Start. Maybe you want to try the Parkway, though...it doesn't tip at all, and has much better side impact protection than the Bodyguard (deeper, but wider headwings that have been tested with forward motion AND side motion, not just static side motion). Anyway, we really love our Parkways, and are also considering the Recaro Young Style, which is slightly taller than the Parkway, and also has the side impact protection (no top tether or LATCH, but early reviews indicate it's not tippy...I know two moms who got theirs this week!).
Hehehe, my scrawny almost-8-yo is only 50 pounds with clothes on, and still only in the second-to top slot of his Husky! Funny how kids can be such different shapes :)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Joni]

I just got a Safety 1st High Rider, an all EPS foam seat that grows to 59" so that'll give her about 6 inches of growth. It has a wide, flat bottom that hardly tips when Harleigh gets in the car. Right now it's only available at Walmart.com but I found my at Sears on clearance. It resembles the Combi seats but is light weight with a 100 lbs limit and quite stout. I like the seat because it doesn't slip at all on my seats and has a wide bottom that really prevents any tipping. It's about $50 at Walmart.com but if you've got a Sear's near by it might be worthwhile to see if they have any there.
If that's not an option, I really like the Bodyguard and would suggest trying that out.
JONI CPST

[mommyto4]

Thanks, Julie. I think that BRU has Parkways. I'll try to take my daughter there and try them out. I also might try the Bodyguard again (maybe I was doing something wrong before).

[mommyto4]

Thanks Joni. I'll check this one out. If you think of anything else, please let me know.

[Joolsplus2]

Maybe you hadn't properly widened the Bodyguard to her width? It has a dial on the bottom you loosen and can pull the seat apart about 2 inches that might have helped. My kids still far prefer the Parkway, anyway :)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Joolsplus2]

Hey Joni? Would you check your High Rider manual for one thing for me? I think I remember that the headrest must be used in front of a vehicle headrest, and can't be used as a supplemental headrest on a bench/headrest-less seat... can you tell me if that's true? It's a cool looking little seat, I figured it was long gone, though! :)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Joni]

It says do not use this restraint with the backrest if the midpoint of the headrest is above the top of vehicle seat. I'm assuming that's what you mean. Thank you so much for saying that because I completely missed that the first two times I read the manual. Thank God its only in my truck for a few months. DH has high headrests in his and we're moving it to there when we get a Graco. I dearly love this seat though, Harleigh has had an easy time buckling it and it stays very strait even when she leans over to buckle it. I am so glad you mentioned it to me! JONI CPST

[Joolsplus2]

Oh phew, glad you've been using it with high headrests. I think that may have been the faltering point that kept that seat from being a bigger seller (or the fact that Jupiter seats, made of foam, broke constantly and the cost of free repairs helped kill their business...just not a good sign for all-foam seats!)

Cool, I'm glad it works for you...I love a seat with no armrests, lol.

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

[Joni]

Why was it when I got the Jupiter seat for my niece I could find NO info on it anywhere? Now I feel like a bad mommy. I really like the Safety 1st seat and will definitely keep in DH car since his backrest goes much higher than mine but I think I'll be replacing the Jupiter now. I hated it anyway since its so wide and hard to buckle but its sure soft and comfy...Bad mommy!
JONI CPST

[Joolsplus2]

Nah, don't sweat it.. if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Joni]

Actually my dh and I just ran and bought a Cosco Protek. They were only $31 at KMart and it freaked him out too. We hated this seat but it was given to me by one of my students parents and I used it but this was a good excuse to get rid of it. My Blazer doesn't have very high backs and my niece needs to stay in a seat until I can afford to get rid of this seat so I wanted her to have a high back seat. For Harleigh I'm getting a Turbo for my car and the High Rider is actually going to DH's truck has high backs with moving head rests so it'll be better in there. The Jupiter didn't grow either so I was going to need a new one sooner or later.
JONI CPST