Read the Jane' review - confused!

[raynjen]

My daughter is almost five and we have had several situations recently where a booster would have been nice. For our main car we use the Britax Boulevard and we are happy with it. In our second car we use the Britax RoundAbout (older version, no LATCH). She is 38.5" tall and just reached 30 lbs. We had been promising her a booster when she reached 30 lbs (a sneaky way of getting her to eat more). I came online today to read the more recent reviews (we had been planning on a Graco Safeseat) and read the one on the Jane'.

My concern - in his article the reviewer mentioned that the Jane' uses LATCH and that the child must be 40 lbs. I thought that highback boosters used the car's safetybelts and that the child had to be 30 lbs? Has there been some sort of regulation change or is this specific to the Jane'? I would rather NOT have LATCH for a booster. We have had a very hard time teaching other people to fasten the carseat into the car properly. Our daughter is actually better than her grandparents and occasional babysitters at fastening her harness' and making sure she is buckled in tight, so I'm sure she could handle the booster. However, she isn't up to fastening her carseat into the car yet!

ETA: My daughter never sleeps in the car (even at night) so that is not an issue. Cupholder would be a big plus as she cannot reach any of the cupholders in either of our cars. Money is an issue for us since we spent it all on the Boulevard!

Jen in Wichita
Mom to my beautiful daughter,
a short and sweet 4 3/4, Noelle!

http://b5.lilypie.com/BFsVp9/.png

[Joolsplus2]

Hi Jen :)

Well, the Jane' is a the beginning of a new trend in boosters...having LATCH helps a lot with side impact. But it really makes it a big ol' seat, probably better for your main car later down the road than for a handy in-and-out seat with grandma. Also it has belt guide issues (guide's too small, belt gets stuck with slack in it...maybe not a problem in all cars, but something they'll need to work on).
As for the weight limit, it's preferable to have boosters start at 40 pounds, to keep people from putting those unfortunate 30 pound 1 yo's in them, but it's a pain for our skinny kids! And it's something you can fudge a bit, since obviously a 30 pound almost 5 yo is structurally much better able to handle a booster than a huge-headed one year old, but you didn't hear me say that out loud...ssshhh(I put my own 30 pounder dd in a 40 pound seat a few times, lol). (there aren't even 30 or 40 pound dummies, so I don't know why they keep picking those numbers...just habit for the industry, I guess, and they can pick whatever lower starting weight they want to).

So, for a grandma or any booster novice, my definite hands down favorite is the Parkway. Seriously, it's so easy to buckle with no armrests (people put the belts over under around and through the armrests and rarely get them right, it's better to not have them, IMO). It is light and stands alone when out of the car, and it has cupholders (not very deep...definitely not for something spillable, but better than nothing, I think).

The Compass B510 (NOT the B500, which is the old model) is also great, I think... it has good Side Impact protection, cupholders, armrests that flip up for easy buckling, and folds for compact travel and storage....and you can't beat it's fun giraffe print cover, lol.

The Turbo's cheaper, but isn't tested for side impact, and has the armrest issues. It does have lots of head protecting foam, though, and you can make sure your dd knows how to buckle it, but even my booster-savvy kids sometimes mess it up and I worry about them getting it right when they are off with dad or grandma or friends (and they are 8 and 6!)...still, it's definitely cheap and easy to find and kids find it pretty comfy.
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Sheila]

Hope you don't mind me jumping in here with a question!

I am just wondering what the differences are between the Compass B500 and B510. I know the B510 is the new model which has just come out, but what makes it better (or different) than the B500?

I saw the B500 in person the other day at Target, and it was a nice fit for my daughter (she got to try it out). Btw, she is 5 yrs old, 37 lbs and about 42" tall. So, I am talking about using this seat for an older child (though it will be her first booster).

Should I opt for the B510 over the B500 and if so, why???

Thanks for any help!

Sheila
________
Starcraft replays (http://screplays.com/replays)

[Joolsplus2]

The B510 has much better side impact protecive headwings (safer, and better for napping), and is a taller back, too (The B500 is typically too short for even 7 yo's, and kids should be in boosters in most cars till age 10-12...). If you have side curtain airbags and a younger kiddo to hand it down to, then the B500 would probably be a fine choice, but Compass really listened to us and what we wanted in a booster and came up with the B510 (And I'm partial to the Giraffe print on it...If only I had a car with a tan interior, I'd probably get one for my 6 yo!).
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx