2 new booster seats

I have the opposite problem of most parents. I have two small children. My daughter who just turned 5 is 32 lbs and 41 inches tall. My son who will be 4 in 2 months is 38 1/2 inches tall and 32 lbs. I need booster seats for them because I am giving their Roundabouts to there little sisters who are 5 months old.

I was getting ready to buy the Britax Parkway but read another post about the booster not being a good choice for children under 5. Is this true? why not? would my children be safer in the roundabouts and me being 2 new roundabouts for the girls?

Thanks for the insight.

CJ

It really depends on maturity...younger kids just don't sit so well in booster seats, and if they aren't properly positioned, they aren't going to be optimally protected in a crash. If you are ready to give up the extra protection of the 5-pt harness (boosters aren't UNsafe when properly used, but they are still less safe than a 5-point harness), and your kids are ready to always sit properly in their boosters, then it's not a bad way to go.

Ideally, you might be better off with harnessed seats, like Marathons or Graco Platinum Cargos, that have taller top harness slots and allow harnessing longer, and will also be good for your younger girls later when they are too tall for the Roundabouts or when the Roudnabouts expire (remember they are only good for six years).

Hope that helps, it's really a tough decision to make (especially when your hands are so full! Are your older kids very helpful in buckling their own harnesses?)

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

HI,

Thank you for your reply. My children are excellent about buckling their own harnesses. I love the security of the 5 point harness but if at all possible I would like the girls to be able to use the roundabouts.

I did not know about the 6 year experation. I had no clue. Gosh now I think I should get 4 new car seats. LOL Why is there a 6 year experation? They have never been in a crash. And although I love the new improvements of the new Britax I couldn't justify spending money on new seat when the others work so well. I am not cheap when it comes to my children's safety but money is a concern and I don't want to waste it just because I want "the latest and greatest".

HHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM now I am really wondering what to do. I think Isabella and Harrison would both do well in a booster, if it is safe for them. Will they be able to buckle themselves in after they learn the basics? We have an Expedition and they sit in the third row so them getting in and out of their carseats is very handy.

Thank you for your assistance. Any insight would be GREATLY appreciated.

CJ

Seats expire because standards change (Like the need for airbag warning stickers, the addition of tethers and LATCH, and who knows what they could do tomorrow, like institute side impact testing...that sort of thing) AND because plastics may break down after years of extreme heat and cold. Anyway, 6 years is the general seat expiration age (a few are 5 or 7 or 8 years for whatever reason), and Britax goes by 6.

Really, if you think they would have no trouble staying seated properly in a booster, it's not a bad choice, but be on the lookout for ANY leaning out of position, sleeping sideways, leaning over to beat on each other...LOL, whatever happens back there. I installed a Marathon for a new baby last week and the dad easily had two Britax Huskies in the third row of an Expedition, and his kids were very content with them (they were about age 4 and 6). I let my kids ride in boosters sometimes, but they buckle up their harnessed seats so well (Husky and Marathon) and it prevents so much reaching out toward each other, that they mostly ride in them :)

Exactly...HHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMM... It's a tough choice!
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

Hi Julie,

Thank again for your reply. What do you think about this. I buy 2 Parkways for Isabella and Harrison ( I watched them pretty closely this morning on the ride to school and I think they are mature enough to handle their "big kid seats") The girls use their roundabout which where purchased in 2000 and 2001. Then in 2006 I will buy 2 huskeys or whatever is the safest at that time for the girls. We only have one vechicle so I only have to buy one car seat for each child. Thank GOD for small favors or I would be on the soup line! LOL

Unless you have some other safer recommendation to make I think this will work. Will the Huskeys take them all the way to the end of the carseat phase? Of course Isabella and Francesca (even more so for her she is only in the 15%) are so small they will probably take their carseats with them to college! LOL

Now about those crash tests. Since Francesca is so small, she is one of my 4 month olds, 12 lbs and 23 3/4 inches long. How long should I keep her in the infant seat? Is the infant seat (Graco snugride 2004) safer than the roundabout 2000? When I do transfer her to the roundabout, how long should she stay in the reverse position? Isabella didn't turn around until she was 17 months old because she didn't weigh 20 lbs until then.


Okay have I asked you enough questions? Do you think you know enough about my children? LOL

Thanks again for all of your assistance,

CJ

LOL! My kids will be in college before they get out of seats, too! Check the link in my signature...THAT's how long you ideally want to rearface a child :) My dd didn't weigh 33 pounds (the maximum RF weight for her Marathon) till she was 4.5, and that's when I had to turn her forward facing. Of course, you get MAJOR mommy points for keeping your kiddo rearfacing to 20 pounds, because she was beyond a year. SO many babies get turned way too early because parents don't care enough to know, or know enough to care :(

So, rearfacing as long as you can reasonably stand it, but at least a year and 20 pounds.

Some kids DO make it to post-seat stage straight from their Huskies...it kind of depends on the child and the car. Here's a short sweet printout to show you when the adult seatbelt is safe for a child http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm (plan on realistically age 8-12, especially in a large captain's chair). Post Husky, you can use a no-back booster seat, like the Cosco Ambassador, that costs $15, so it hardly counts as yet another chip at your budget :).

You can use the Snugride till the 20 pounds OR till the head is about one inch from the top of the seatback, whichever comes first. It's just as safe as a Roundabout, so use it as long as it's still big enough, I know it's got to be more convenient :)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

HI Julie,

Thanks for the help. Okay I will only ask you a few more questions and then I promise I will stop bothering you.

If money was not part of the equation then what seat would be the absolute safest for my 5 year old and my 4 year old? Isabella is 32 lbs and 41 inches tall and Harrison is 32 lbs and 38 1/2 inches tall.

I drive an expedition and the kids sit in the third row.

Thank you Thank you for all of your help.

Oh by the way I use to live in San Francisco in the eaarly 90 before I came back to Atlanta.

Sincerely,
CJ

Oh, ask all you need! No bother at all :)
If I were made of money...I'd get the Huskies or Marathons now for your older kiddos, and then when the RA's expire, I'd put the younger kiddos in the Huskies or Marathons, and get the older kids booster seats.
Since your older kids are so small and light, and if money WERE an object, I'd still want to keep them harnessed, but a seat like the Graco Platinum Cargo is very nice (not quite a Britax, but not too shabby), and I'd use those for the big kids till the RA's expire, then put the babies in the Cargos and get the big kids nice boosters.

I'm sure your older kids ARE are old enough to be safe in a booster, but try to put it off. There's a certain element of freedom that they can now sit back there, a LONG way from you, and they will reach over to play with each other (or fight!), so that if you can keep them harnessed another year or so, that's another year of more peaceful, stress-free driving for YOU :)

Hope that helps...I admit my dd is a wild thing in the car, and that sways my opinion, but having both my kids harnessed, even at age 5 and 7, adds an element of peace to my life I'm reluctant to give up (we have lots of boosters, too, and they sit in them a lot, and I'm always disappointed with the results, lol)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

Hi Julie,

Okay another change in plans. LOL I finally found a retailer that carries the husky here in Atlanta(that was like looking for a needle in a haystack). I went to see the carseat. Man, that thing is huge and heavy! But I did get a sense that this is the car seat for us. DH and I discussed it for quit sometime. I think the topic has been discussed to death! And it came down to these question. If we where in a serious accident which carseat would I like Isabella and Harrison to be in? If God forbid something really bad was to happen in a car accident would I know that we had done everything we could do to protect our children? And for us the answer was the Husky. That huge expensive car seat! LOL My beautiful children deserve only the best in safety:)

I looked at the Graco but I just love my Britaxs that I can't imagine changing brands. I have found a couple of places online that now have the Husky back in stock. Unfortnately I had ordered 2 parkways before I found this forum and YOU:) Oh well it can't be that much to send back, at least lets hope not.

You said that I should stop using a carseat when the childs head is 1 inch ABOVE the car seat? is that correct? If that is correct I think Harrison is still okay in his roundabout for a little longer. Although I know he will be dissapointed to see his sister's new carseat and he not get one. I can probably wait a few more months before I order his seat.

You have a husky, correct? Can your child see out the window okay? We play alot of games in the car and the husky sits lower than the roundabout. I would hate for Isabella to miss out. Just one more thing I thought about.

Okay are there any questions I have missed? Please let me know if I have. Again, I can't thank you enough for all of your help.

Sincerely,
CJ

If we where in a serious accident which carseat would I like Isabella and Harrison to be in? If God forbid something really bad was to happen in a car accident would I know that we had done everything we could do to protect our children? >>

Yup, exactly. That's what I think all the time. I even make my kids ride in a harnessed seat (usually) for the half mile/slow/no traffic ride to school...you just never know when some freak will fly by at 90mph and cream you, and would a backless booster really be enough for my own edification? Nope, not till I have a new car with side curtain airbags in every row.

You said that I should stop using a carseat when the childs head is 1 inch ABOVE the car seat?>> Um...not exactly. A forward facing harnessed seat is outgrown when one of these happens first: The weight limit is reached, the shoulders are *just* above the top slots, or the tops of the ears are even with the top of the seatback. I wouldn't be surprised if he has an extra month or two, though, as long as you don't have to hand the seat down to the baby (who outgrows the infant seat when there is less than one inch above the top of her head).

My ds has never complained he can't see out the window well, and he's been in the husky on-and-off since he was 5...so hopefully your dd will still have a good view :)

Glad you figured it all out, I'm sure your Parkways will be easy to return (unless you want to keep them...what happens if your kids ever ride in someone else's car? Moving the Husky can be rather laborious, to say the least!)

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx