What kind of car seat is your 4 year old in?

[swissair81]

Both my 4.5 and 6 year olds are in Radian XTs. DD just turned 6 and weighs 44 lbs. I'm mulling over switching to a HBB, but I don't feel a real need to and it's an extra expense. DS is 4.5 and not yet 40 lbs, plus he falls asleep in the car often. I don't think I'll be switching him for quite a while.

[daniele_ut]

Can you recommend a booster for a 4.5 year old?

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I wouldn't recommend a booster for any 4 year old, honestly. i dont know ypur child's weight and height but the *minimum* recommended age and weight to ride in a booster in 4 and 40 lbs. That doesn't mean it's best practice, though.

My 5 year old DD is petite and barely 35lbs and she is harnessed in a Nautilus or Radian 50. DS1 rode in the Nautilus harnessed until he was 6 and DD will be in it at least that long.

[Tenasparkl]

4.5 year old harnessed in a Nautilus. She keeps asking about a booster and I keep telling her that she's in that seat for a LONG time.

[AnnieW625]

The OPs daughter is the same size as my 6 yr. old. If I were her and a high back booster made more sense in the long run I would look at the Diono Monterey, Britax Parkway, and if money were not an option one of the Kiddy World seats, one of them has a sheild which is suppose to be as good as a harness.
http://www.kiddyusa.com/kiddy-seats/...orld-plus.html

[Multimama]

DS is almost 2.5 and is in an expired Boulevard in one car and DD's Marathon in the other car. I was hoping I could give DS her Radian XTSL and get her a high-back booster for that car, while she still rides in the Frontier 85 in the other car. So maybe I should get another Radian for DS? Not sure what would be the best seat to get. He's pretty small for his age (but trying to nap right now so I can't measure him to remind myself).

If your DS's carseat is expired you need to stop using that seat, even if it means moving around other seats to keep him safe. No child should be riding in an expired seat. I wouldn't move your DD to a booster just because that's what other people are doing. Other people do lots of unsafe things. But at her height and weight if she can sit correctly for the whole ride every time I would move her to a booster in a heartbeat versus keeping your DS in an expired seat. He should not take another ride in that seat.

I wouldn't recommend a booster for any 4 year old, honestly. i dont know ypur child's weight and height but the *minimum* recommended age and weight to ride in a booster in 4 and 40 lbs. That doesn't mean it's best practice, though.

There are no studies that show that a 4 year old who weighs more than 40 lbs and can sit correctly for the duration of the car ride every car ride is safer in a harnessed seat than in a booster. So I don't think it's appropriate to say that it is not best practice if that is the OP's situation. Now, she might try a booster and find that she was wrong about her DD's maturity. But if one of the cars is used only occasionally she could start booster training in that car and it would not be an unsafe choice.