Need a new seat

I need help choosing a booster for my daughter. She is 35 pounds (will turn 4 in April) and is currently in a Britax Marathon. I also have a son (2 in June and 28 pounds) who is in the Roundabout, which he inherited from his sister. Then, there is our most recent addition who is currently in the infant seat. She will be outgrowing the infant seat soon and I plan on passing the Roundabout to her (rearfacing) and moving my son to the Marathon. That leaves my oldest without a seat. I'm looking at the Graco Turbo Booster and a Britax (I love the line) but am unsure which is the safest route for her keeping cost in mind. We have an Expedition so there should be enough room for any seat (they currently sit all 3 across). Any help would be most appreciated.

THANKS!
Viv

How tall is she? Is she close to outgrowing the Marathon? If she still has room left in the Marathon, I would consider getting a harnessed combination seat for her so she can be harnessed a little longer. (It is better for her to wait until she's 40 pounds to use a booster.) The Evenflo Generations is a decent seat, but it does not currently have EPS foam if that is a consideration for you.

If you do decide to get a stand alone booster I really think I would go with the Britax Parkway over the TurboBooster for a primary seat. It's been tested for side impacts and is easy for children and grandparents to buckle correctly.

If both of your two older ones are still fitting nicely in their seats and money is an issue, you could just get a 5-point Cosco Scenera ($50 or less) for the baby to use for a few months while your older daughter gains a little weight.

If you don't mind putting one of your kids in the third row, the Britax Regent is a nice big harnessed seat that lasts a long time. It is more expensive though. Actually in an Expedition you might be able to fit it in a three across situation.

I would not put a 35 pound child into a booster yet. Every step up in carseats/boosters is a step down in safety, and no step should be rushed.

I would go with a Recaro Young Sport or an Evenflo Bolero/Generations. Both harness to 40 pounds, have top slots comparable to the Marathon's top slots (helping to ensure kids won't get too tall before reaching a full 40 pounds) and both make good long-term boosters because they adjust tall enough to accommodate most kids to at least 4 feet 9 inches tall. The Young Sport is Britax-quality, lots of padding, deep side wings for added side impact protection, EPS foam. The Bolero/Generations does not have EPS foam or as deep of side wings, but is still a great combination seat choice because of the tall top slots and because it adjusts taller in booster mode (no other combo seats do, besides the two I listed).

Use the Marathon for your son and the Roundabout for the baby. Make sure the RA still has life left in it (six years from the date of manufacture).

Is your son RF or FF? If FF maybe get him a combo seat to use so that dd can be harnessed longer. If you got him one of the suggested combo seats and kept dd in the MA until she outgrows it by weight or height you could then put her into the other seat as a booster and put ds back into the MA.

I hope this made sense....

Ilana

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