Booster seat for almost 3-yr old

[jenr126]

I'm VERY nervous about getting a booster seat for my soon-to-be 3-yr old, but the reasons are as follows as to why I feel we need to get one:

-She's in a Britax Marathon now - she's 40 lbs and 40" - bigger than most her age.

-We have a sedan where she is currently seated in the middle - i.e. plenty of leg room.

-My husband is 6 ft. and I'm 5 ft. 9 in., so we both ride/drive with the front seats pretty far back.

-We are expecting our second child in a few weeks, so we have to fit an infant seat in the back, thus requiring us to move our daughter to one side.

She will not have enough leg room!

Believe me, I do not want to move her from a 5-pt harness for safety reasons, but I feel like a booster seat with a back would give her more room.

We have been looking at the Graco TurboBooster because it can be converted in the future to a backless seat and it is reasonably priced, but I am nervous about strapping her in with just the seat belt.

Does anybody have any suggestions?!?!?

Thank you!!

[anphsmom]

I'm not sure if a booster would give her more leg room or not. Maybe a seat that didn't recline as much? I seriously wouldn't consider putting her in a booster. The graco nautilas(sp?) is a great seat that can be converted to a booster later. My 6 yr. old is still in the harness mode and fits great! I really like the seat. We've also had Britax roundabouts and Blvds. and loved them. Whenever I have a car seat question, I go to car-seat.org. The posters there know their stuff. They give great advice and suggestions based on need, child's height,weight and your budget. They may also be able to help you with the leg room thing! Good luck and congratulations on baby #2!!! 2 kids are a lot of fun!!! Mine are just getting to the stage of playing nicely(without fussing) together. They are 27 months apart.

[KrisM]

I wouldn't do it. She's just not old enough for a booster. There are a lot of seats that would work. How about the Graco Nautilus? It's a 5-point harness to 65 lbs and then converts to a booster. It won't take up more room than a traditional booster.

My kids are in Radians and they are so low and narrow, it's like they're on the car's seat. These are convertibles, and probably not as useful to you, but much safer than a booster.

[BeachBum]

We have the nautilus for our 3 yr old and it's great! It is much more upright than the MA which is in our second car.

[SnuggleBuggles]

The Nautilus would barely take up any more space than the Turbobooster and would be much safer. FF'ing in her MA would be fine too. I bet that she would be comfy even behind a chair pushed all the way back. ETA- my ds1 is a tall 6yo and is comfy in our small Civic even when dh is' chair is all the way back. Even if not I wouldn't put her comfort over her safety, kwim?

Beth

[hbridge]

Hi, I just want to chime in as the parent of a VERY tall child...

Our car seat tech said that we should NOT use a booster for a child until at least age 5 because of the development/location of internal organs. I guess the lap belt of the booster could cause damage to internal organs in the event of an accident. That was enough for me to keep DC in a 5-point harness.

There are seat out there for taller children, but the sales people will often tell you that at 40" and 40# the only option is a booster, this is not the case. For us, when DC outgrew the 40"/40# seat we moved on to the Apex 65 in our auxilary vehicles and when DC outgrew the Wizard we upgraded to a Regent in the primary vehicle.

I would try to keep your child in a 5 point harness for now at least. If you are finding this difficult I would talk to your Pediatrician and see what they recommend. It's tough when the child outgrows the seats quickly and the stores are giving you info that you aren't sure about.

Best of luck.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We have both the Sunshine Kids Radian and the Nautilus as extra seats in DH's car and MIL's car. They are built very differently from the Marathon in terms of angle/recline. Is she too big for the Marathon? I wouldn't think she'd be outgrowing it yet. Remember, the middle of the backseat usually has a hump that makes the seat stick farther forward. In the side seats, it will actually go flatter against the passenger seat. Have you moved it over to try it out?

BTW, congrats on the 2nd one on the way. It is exciting!!!

[deannanb]

we have the Graco Nautilus for a very tall 4 year old -
and I wouldn't even think of taking him out of the 5 pt harness -

good luck!

[bubbaray]

Either a Radian or a Nautilus will give her more room and keep her in a 5pt harness. The Frontier is also a great seat, but may or may not give her more room for her legs. I can't see a booster giving her any more room than any of these three seats.