Side impact protection???

[zsfmom]

I'm also on the hunt for a booster seat. I'll have to check my son's height. He was 36" at 3 and 30 pounds but that was 9 months ago. I drive a 4 runner. Like many of you, my almost 1 year old needs to move into the Britax Marathon, so the older one needs a new car seat.

I've been told to check out the Graco TurboBooster ($40 - $50), the Britax Parkway Booster ($99) and the Apex 65 ($130). Any others? Anyone have an easy list of pros & cons?

Graco
30 - 100 lbs
36" - 57"
NO side-impact protection
Quality cup holders
Can change to a backles booster seat

Britax
30 - 100 lbs
36" - 57"
True side-impact protection
Flimsy cup holders
Some like the head rest, some find it too restricting.

Apex 65
30 - 100 lbs
36" - 57"
Side-impact protection? Supposedly
Cup holders?
5 pount harness
Must have a highbacked seat.
Difficult to adjust and belt buckle may irritate child's legs.

Any other pros and cons to add? Any other car seat I should be checking out?

Thanks!

[katiesmommy]

I personally would not put a child under 5 (preferably 6) in a booster seat at all. Since your son isn't even 4 yet, look into a taller harnessed seat. The Radian 65 would likely get him to the right age. If you really want to harness as long as possible, go for a Britax Regent. As young as he is you would definitly get at least 5 years use out of it.

[momtoB]

Four years and 40lbs is really the bare minimum for moving a child up to a dedicated booster seat. As the pp stated, age 5 or 6 is a much better time to do this because of maturity - both emotionally/developmentally being able to stay seated properly 100% of the time and I have also read more recent research shows this is the age when the childs bones are much more mature/solid and until this time a 5pt harness really provides significantly more protection than a 3-pt adult seatbelt.

Also, how old is the Marathon? How does your 3yr old fit in it right now? Where are the tops of his shoulders in relation to the harness slots (check under the cover as it can slide down a bit)?

If your 3yr old still has quite a bit of growing room in the MA then I'd just get another one for your younger child and keep them both harnessed. If your older ds is getting close to going past the top harness slots (which would be unlikely unless he's very long torso'd) then go for the Britax Regent as that will definitely keep him harnessed the longest. You could pass the Regent down to your younger dc when the MA expires and move ODS into a booster at that point, probably 6yrs old by then. Remember all the Britax Seats have a 6yr lifespan from date of mfgr.

hth

[bjwebster]

I have the Apex for my almost 4-year old twins and I like it. The only problem I have with it is that the buckle in the seat has a very short strap and can be a bit of a pain to buckle. I don't find it difficult to adjust though. It does have little "wings" on the sides of the head for impact protection. It does have a cup holder. You can use the 5-point harness up to 65 pounds. The seat is rather large. I have two of them side-by-side in the back seat of our truck (passenger side and middle) and they fit, but just barely. Once we switch to using the car seat belt, we will have to move them apart. Overall, I am happy with the seat. And you can get it for $99 at http://www.albeebaby.com/sa1stap65boc1.html

HTH!

Bobbi