Car seat help?

[jjjo1112]

What to do, what to do??
In our main ride (minivan) we have our 6 year old in a harnessed nautilus, our 5 year old in a Britax Boulevard and our 3 year old in a Britax Marathon. This is the car we normally drive and will be the only car that will fit all 4 kids once the new baby comes- so any extended driving will be done in this car.

My husband is planning to get a 2009 Chevy Malibu as his car and I'm trying to figure out the best/cost effective way to fit the 3 older kids in his car. This would be for around town/to activities driving with minimal time on the highway. Currently we have an extra Britax Marathon which we can latch in for our 3 year old and then we have a Graco Highback Turbo booster. I'm wondering if my 5 year old should use this and then we should get another one for my 6 year old, or if we should get a regular booster seat for him. Or if we should use the turbo booster for the 6 year old and get my 5 year old a harnessed seat. She weighs 38 pounds and is 42 inches.

Whatever we decide- I'm not looking to spend a ton of money- prefer under $100 and it needs to be narrow. Any ideas?? DH seems to think that the 5 and 6 year old can just ride in graco turbo boosters and that 3 year old can be latched in her Britax Marathon.

Thanks!!

[legaleagle]

Whatever we decide- I'm not looking to spend a ton of money- prefer under $100 and it needs to be narrow. Any ideas?? DH seems to think that the 5 and 6 year old can just ride in graco turbo boosters and that 3 year old can be latched in her Britax Marathon.


That sounds perfectly reasonable to me, though I have no idea if they'll actually fit in the car. I know the turbo boosters fit smaller kids well so would be a good choice since your 5 year old is not yet 40 lbs. Definitely worth a test fit.

[Joolsplus2]

Turbos can be wide and a pain to buckle next to other seats, so maybe not THE best choice for boostering, but try the one you have before you decide. Other super narrow choices would be the Harmony Youth Booster ($13.50 at Walmart, backless, but fine for a 6 yo in a car with side curtain airbags, as long as the kiddo sits still, and generally they can, mine does with some reminders :)). The Harmony Dreamtime might be easier to fit for the 5 yo, or the Safety 1st Boost Air is super narrow with flip up armrests for easier buckling.

[legaleagle]

One other thought (techs please chime in!) - would the bubblebum be ok for the oldest, and if you only have 2/3 older kids, one can ride in the turbobooster and one in the marathon/blvd?