Best Booster Seat Option for a 4.5 year old

[EmkayN]

I have a DD who is 4.5 years old, weighs 35 lbs, and a little over 40 inches tall. She is currently in a Britax Marathon. However, my DS who is almost 3 and also over 40 inches tall is outgrowing his Britax Roundabout. So we need to buy another car seat. My husband and I have looked at the Britax Parkway, Compass Folding Booster, and Graco TurboBooster. We also looked at the Britax Husky, but it seems WAY too big for my petite DD. I am a HUGE Britax fan so I am leaning towards the Parkway. However, we think our DD will be miserable since it seems she won't be able to see all around her due to the side part of the head rest. Is that true? Have any of the children who have the Parkway complained that they cannot see?

Or IS the Parkay the best seat to go with? Or is there a better one that we have not looked at?

Anyway, as you can see, we are in a dilemma, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Melissa

[Joolsplus2]

My kids are perfectly happy in the Parkway...it was the Bodyguard that made them little hunchbacks trying to lean forward out of the wings, lol. Yeah, the wings are big, but they are far apart and really don't seem to be an issue...and they are so comfy for resting on! My ds gets so tired and grumpy sometimes in his Husky when he wants to rest his head...he aked me to dial the pillows up once, and I was really confused till I realized he thought it had a nice headrest like his Parkway, and I just had put the "pillows" too low for his head! :D
The Graco Turbo isn't bad, too...but there's just a certain difference in quality that Britax aficionados often can't tolerate.

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

[Joni]

I haven't heard too many complaints about the parkway but I'm a fan of the Graco Turbo Booster. My dd is 3.5 and 40 inches tall and 31 lbs and she just graduated into one and she's very happy. We are too. It has the EPS foam like the Britax seats and is cushy enough and easy for her to use and buckle on her own. She's in awe of the cupholders which don't come on the Britax. If I were to recommend a booster, I'd recommend either the Britax Parkway or the Turbo booster. One plus about the turbo booster is that they have tons of prints that are favorable to kids, which will help keep them in the seat longer too.
JONI CPST

[Joolsplus2]

The Parkway does come with cupholders... they aren't too hot, but there they are (full of candy wrappers and pokemons in my car, tee hee!)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[mybabyboy]

We have the Graco Turbo Booster and love its portability. BTW, it also has a cup holder.

[EmkayN]

Thanks so much for responses! It is very much appreciated. We are going to go with the Britax Parkway. After searching through the hundreds of messages on this board, I think I would have seen a lot more complaints about the Parkway if it really did restrict their child's view.

Once again, thanks!

Melissa

[Joolsplus2]

Good luck... the old cover options are all nice, but some of the newer ones are downright snazzy... I don't think you can go wrong with any of them (they aren't as cute as Disney Princesses or Flower Power, but IMO, the side impact crash testing I've seen Britax do on their seats with headwings is somehow more compelling to me...)
http://carseats.babycatalog.com/booster-car-seats/fall-collection-parkway-booster-seat/e904pkw.html

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