So confused--Parkway or Frontier? Please help!

[cheepomom]

Hi Everyone,
I need to replace my son's Marathon since he is approaching the 49 inch height limit. He is a small 7 year old (48 inches and about 47 pounds). Should I go with the Parkway or the Frontier? On one hand I want him to be harnessed as long as possible, but just wonder if at 7 years old, the Frontier would just be overkill. I have daughter as well who is a petite 4 year old (37 inches and 33 pounds and in a Marathon too), so the Frontier could be passed down to her eventually. Thanks in advance for any advice you guys may be able to offer.

[jjordan]

I'm actually sort of shocked right now that he still fits in the marathon at 7 years old (are his shoulders below the top harness slot?). Wow! Anyway, for a 7 year old, assuming that he doesn't have special needs that warrant harnessing, I'd definitely go for a Parkway at this point. It should last him a few more years with the back on, at which point you can either pass it down to the sister or just get her a booster of her own. In case you are curious, we don't actually have hard evidence for whether boostering or harnessing is safer for kids who are big enough (40# or more) and old enough (at least 4 years old for skeletal maturity, plus whatever time it takes them to gain enough maturity to sit properly in a booster).

[KDsMommy]

We love our Frontier, but at 7 yo I would be looking for a good booster...maybe a Parkway or a Monterey?

[cheepomom]

Yes, I'm pretty sure his shoulders aren't above the top slot. I'll have to double check later, but, I know that the tops of his ears haven't reached the top of the seat. He is the shortest boy in his class, so I hope he gets a big growth spurt soon! Thanks so much to both of you for your responses and the information you shared, jjordan, re harnessing--now off to hunt for a good deal on a Parkway!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

my nine year old is still harnessed in a Frontier, so I don't think that is overkill at all.

[KrisM]

Do you think the 4 yo's seats will expire before she's ready for a booster? If so, the Frontier wouldn't be bad to get and hand-down, if you really want to keep him harnessed. Otherwise, I'd go with a Parkway.

I'm also surprised a 48" kid fits in the Marathon! We had the older versions, but they were outgrown around 5.5 or so and 45".

[Joolsplus2]

Some kids are just all leg, I remember back before we had taller options, the MA seemed to last remarkably longer than it does now (I'm being facetious, lots of kids do outgrow it at 5, but before there was anything taller, we used it till the very last micrometer of height, and lots more kids were fine in it till 6 and 7).

To the original poster, how long do you have till your Marathons expire? They are good for 6 years (classic model with white shell) or 7 years (newer model with black shell) from date of manufacture. That would factor into my decision, because you can use the Frontier for both kids harnessed over the next couple years.

[mom2binsd]

My ds is also 48inches tall and still fits in his marathon in my in laws car. He mostly rides in a frontier and has lots of room. If you go with a booster I found the Monterey really wide for my dd when I tried it.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2