Need help picking a booster

[unconfirmed]

Hi,

I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of the various considerations and options available in the booster seat realm.

My daughter is turning four in about a week. She is 40" tall, and weighs about 36 lbs.

The main thing she's asking for for her birthday is a booster seat. She's currently riding in a forward-facing Britax Decathlon. I've been very pleased with the Decathlon.

It would appear that she is too light for the Britax Parkway SG, since she isn't 40 lbs. yet.

My wife thinks that cupholders would be a benefit, for what its worth, which I believe cuts out the Vivo.

Can someone make some recommendations? I'm interested in safety, but would like to accommodate her desire to feel like a bigger girl. Her little sister is getting close to outgrowing her snugride, and will be ready to move into the Decathlon shortly.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers,
unconfirmed

[KrisM]

Personally, I wouldn't put her in a booster until she's at least 5. How about something like a Graco Nautilus that comes in pink, has cup holders and looks more big girl? It harnesses for a long time yet and will turn into a booster when she's older and ready.

[zukeypur]

I agree with Kris. She's way to young for a booster. She needs to be able to sit correctly in a booster 100% of the time, including sleeping. I don't know of a 4 year old in the world that can do that. She definitely needs to stay harnessed, and is actually still small enough to ride rear facing in many seats.

[Joolsplus2]

Graco Nautilus or Britax Frontier. They are big girl seats, are rife with cupholders, and will be a very safe choice for now and years to come.
Boostering brings with it a higher risk of head injury for smaller/younger kids, which is why Britax and several other brands have 40 pound minimums. They truly want kids to be harnessed to older ages and higher weights, because it's safest. And getting in the car is the number one most dangerous thing you do every day...leaving a child's safety up to her is really putting too much responsibility on her shoulders. Let her choose among the harnessed seats you decide for her, one may be more comfy or have a prettier cover, that's a compromise you can make.

Plus, um, yeah, before I knew better, I put my young ones in boosters years ago, and they leaned out of them, fell asleep out of the belts, it was harder to buckle them in, and I bought bigger seats to reharness them a couple more years till they were capable of sitting safely and buckling themselves.

[unconfirmed]

Thanks for all of the advice. We're going to look at the Nautilus and the Frontier.

Are there pros/cons to either (other than price)?

Cheers,
unconfirmed

[zukeypur]

I don't have any experience with the Frontier, but DD2 has a Nautilus in both MIL's car and mine, and she loves it. It's pretty easy to install in both the Yukon and the Sienna, and she loves the cup holder. The ONLY complaint I have is that the chest clip slides down every time she gets out of the seat, and I'm not sure why. It's not big deal to re-adjust it every time I put her in, but sometimes DH and MIL forget to move it back up to armpit level.

[AnnieW625]

We have a Frontier, we got it right before DD turned 3 last February. We still have her harnessed and even though she is still harnessed she calls it her big kid seat.

I was all ready to get the Nautilus until I went shopping with my husband (a mechanical engineer) and he preferred the quality of the Frontier to the Nautilus. He had no problem paying close to full price for it (we got it with 15% off coupon from BRUS), and he is notoriously cheap! We love the no rethread harness, and the headwings on the Frontier as DD is a big car sleeper. The only real downside to the Frontier is that it is a pain to install, but once you get it it's pretty easy. Both Britax and Graco both make pink seats if that helps, and Britax makes one in red in case you want to reuse the seat for a future child.