need booster seat to replace marathon

[webmaker]

My 3.6 yo dd (41 pounds 41 inches) is constantly getting her head bumped if I put her in the marathon or even when she climbs in herself. It sits too high in the back of my blazer. She inherited that seat from my son (5.5 yo) who now sits in a regent. He needs to stay in the regent. He has autism and gets out of anything else. He could probably get out of the regent too, but I think he just really likes it. DD is ready for a booster seat. I don't know much about booster seats though. I've seen some posts about covertibles that change into booster seats? But she is probably already too big for those, right?
Thanks - you are all such a wealth of knowledge!
Lisa

[momtoB]

She is really too young for a bpb yet. The minimum recommended age for a bpb is 4yrs old, but most cpst's will recommend closer to 5yrs. When we put our kids in harnessed seats, the responsibility to make sure they are buckled in correctly every time lies with the parent. When we put them in a booster the responsibility to stay seated and buckled in correctly every time becomes the child's. Ask yourself will she stay seated correctly 100% of the time, never bending over to pick up a cup or a toy, never twisting around to see something behind her, never putting the shoulder strap under the arm (which can result in internal injuries known as "seatbelt syndrome")? Most 3 & 4 yr olds just can't be trusted (for lack of a better word) to do this. It only takes a split second for an accident to happen and if your child isn't 100% seated correctly in a bpb then something really bad could happen to her.

Honestly, I would just figure out a different way for her to climb into her seat so she doesn't bump her head (ie be more careful), or get her a Regent also, which as you know, sits lower.

Or, if your blazer has high seatbacks or adjustable headrests, the Apex might work for you also. (This seat is outgrown by height when the tips of the childs ears reach the top of the *vehicle* seatback/headrest so it's important that the seat is fully supported by the vehicle seat). It has the same height harness slots as the Marathon so the harness will last the same amount of time as the MA's will (which slot are you using now in the MA?) and it has a 65lbs limit w/the harness. This seat then converts to a bpb up to 100lbs. It is a wide seat though (almost as wide as the Regent) and one complaint about it as a bpb is that because of the width and the armrests, it's hard for a child to buckle themselves in with this seat which may or may not bother you.

Hth.

Cheryl
ds-4/03 3.75yrs in a Britax Blvd.

[SusanMae]

I think you should check the age on your MA. Since you're 5.5 yr old used it and you're 3.6 yr old is using it...you might be coming up on the expiration date of 6 yrs past the date of manufacture.

Susan

[kellyotn]

The Apex sits low, harnesses to 65 lbs and then becomes a decent booster. She's currently too young for a booster. In a booster, the child is very responsible for her own safety. If they sleep out of proper position, wiggle, mess with belts, bend over to pick up dropped items - all these things are very dangerous.

The new brown Apex at BRU has very tall slots (there's been varying "versions" of the Apex and the slot height has always been a magically changing thing). I sat my daughter in it, there are four sets of slots and the top one was WAY WAY higher than her Marathon. It sits quite low. You do have to move the headrest all the way up to expose the top/4th slot, FYI.

The Regent would also be a good choice, especially since you also have a younger child that could use it eventually.

And, yeah, check the manufacture date on the current MA. If it was 2001, its gonna expire this year and you need to stop using it anyways.

I too bonk my daughter's head if I'm in a hurry and I don't get her in just right. I now let her climb in. I open her door and let her climb in (and put her straps on and dig the buckle out), close her door and walk around to harness my son in. Go back her her side, buckle her and off we go. ;)

[Joolsplus2]

MA's didn't start being made till fall of 2002, so the oldest ones wont' expire till fall of 2008...though that makes me wonder if the seat has been repaired with the replacement adjuster strap (ALL seats prior to 7/23/04 have been recalled and the strap should be replaced 1-888-4BRITAX)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[webmaker]

I did put the new straps in. Why do car seats expire?
Lisa

[Joolsplus2]

There's a great thread on expiring carseats in the car seat forum in baby bargains (click on 'top' on this page to find it), basically the most dangerous thing is that the plastic can break down over time, but also, safety standards change, parts and manuals get lost and are sometimes not replaceable, recalls get ignored (fortunately not yours, but it happens a lot).
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[tjham]

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=set_threaded_mode&forum=13&page=&topic_id=46400&prev_page=show_topic#46493