Overwhelmed Mom Looking for Booster Seat

[rkw831]

I am a newbie (sort of - I used to be a Baby Bargains fanatic)but any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have spent naps and bedtimes researching and I just can't decide.

My daughter is turning 3 in 3weeks and has outgrown her Britax Roundabout. She is approximately 38-39 inches and 32 lbs. My issue, I think, is that I have a '02 Jeep Grand Cherokee that does not have latch. I am currently looking at the Britax Regent, Sunshine Kids Radian and the Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe. I am open to any other suggestions.

Thank you all very much!
~Ker

[katiesmommy]

At your DD's size I would say definitly no to a booster. A large harnessed seat would be perfect. The Britax Regent is fantastic, she would probably get the full 6 years out of it. But it's very large, so if you need to fit more people in your car next to it, or have to move from car to car, it's probably not best.

[rkw831]

Sorry - I should have mentioned I was looking for a 5 point harness seat. I am unsure if what I am looking for is a booster seat or a convertible seat. Especially since the Roundabout was a convertible.

We don't really move the car seat too often to my husbands car (Camry), maybe 4-5x year. But room is a minor issue for us. We occasionally have a set of grandparents for a short ride. But hope to add to the family soon. But.... hopefully a new car would follow.

I do want to make sure my daughter has enough leg room though - she inherited her mommy's long legs.

Thanks for your help!
~Ker

[momtoB]

Well the Radian is very narrow so that would help with space issues. It's top slots are 18" on both the Radian65 & the 80. Most kids don't need that extra 15lbs so I'd just go with the 65. Some vehicles have install issues w/the seatbelt - if the buckle stalk is long or stiff. If you can try before you buy that would be best. I've heard good things overall about this seat though. The other nice thing about this seat is it has a 7 yr lifespan, so if/when you do add to the family you should be able to pass it down. At that point you might want to get a Regent, or possibly some other higher weight limit seat like the new Recaro Como (coming out in June/July) which has 19" top slots and a 70lb weight limit. Here's a site that's previewing them: http://www.proamauto.com/recaro_como_seat.htm

The potential downside of the Regent is that it is very wide. The Regent also MUST be top tethered after the child reaches 50lbs (but we recommend all fwd facing harness seats be tethered). It might be possible to retrofit your vehicles with tether anchors if they don't have them. The Cosco/Safety 1st Apex is almost as wide as the Regent. While the Regent is a fwd facing harness only seat that does NOT convert to a bpb, it has 20" top slots and will keep most kids in a harness seat until 8-9yrs old.

The Apex has shorter top harness slots (17") w/65lbs weight limit then converts to a BPB up to 100lbs. The Apex MUST have a tall vehicle seatback/headrest to support it. With the headrest fully extended, it's about 32.5" tall.

Oh and the FPSVD is the same size seat as the Marathon so if you want to see how your dd fits in it, then you could try her in one...or even try the MA in your car if you can't find an FPSVD anywhere to try. They are the same shell. The MA/SVD have 17.5" top harness slots. The FP seat is basically a stripped down version of the Marathon.

hth!

[katiesmommy]

ditto

[rkw831]

Thank you for all of this information - it is very helpful

Just a few questions,

Do children find the Radian comfortable? - it doesn't look very "comfy" compared to other seats. Is there anywhere that sells the Radian, apart from online? I am in CT

Also, I have read that there are some difficulties installing this seat. Do you think this would be an issue without LATCH?


My car (the Jeep) is equiped with top tethers and my husbands car (Camry) does have Latch - does that open any other options?

Thanks again!

[avd3875]

My DS (39lbs, 41") loves his Radian. It doesn't look very plush, but it actually is quite comfy. He was in a Roundabout before the Radian and he has never complained that the Radian is less comfy. As for installation, I don't have much experience there. However, I can easily install it in the center of a 1998 RAV4 (and a 2000, as well) with the lap belt only, in less than three minutes. Last week I installed it in the third row of my in-laws' 2007 Sienna, with LATCH, also in under three minutes. I have never had any trouble getting a solid installation with the Radian, even on the slippery leather in the Sienna. I'm loaning one of my Radians to a friend with a CRV (with LATCH) for the weekend, so I'll get a chance to try my skills in another car.
Good luck!

Forgot to mention, we can fit a passenger on either side of the Radian, even in the small RAV4!