Booster | Imamother

superjew ↓

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 6:38 pm

I'm ready to put my three yr old into a booster and need help deciding which one. We currently have an infant car seat and a convertible car seat that my now 3 yr old is growing out of. I'd like to get one that his feet will go straight down but the seat is deep enough for him to be comfortable sitting on it.
I also see there are some with 5point harness and others that you use the plain seatbelt. What is the exact difference? I'd probably prefer the 5point harness, however a convertible car seat isn't necessary so something specifically for booster seat. I also want this to be the last seat we buy, so that it can grow with him.
Something $100 and below preferable. Graco preferred as well.
TIA

Hashem_Yaazor ↓

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 7:35 pm

5 point harness is a must at this age. I wouldn't even think of using the car's seatbelt to properly restrain that young age. The spine may not even be fully developed yet, which is why many rear face still at this age. I would restrain as much as possible. (My 4.5 yo is in a 5 pt harness, and my almost 3 yo is RF, if you want to know where I'm coming from.)

I'd go with this with your budget for a seat that fits well and will last a while (harness goes up to 50 lbs which is pretty decent).

Evenflo Maestro Car Seat Booster

MaBelleVie ↓

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 7:57 pm

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

I agree with all of this. What seat do you have now that he's already outgrowing? I just moved my TALL 3 yo into the maestro that HY linked. He still fits well in his convertible, and he actually prefers it, but I needed it for the baby. Anyway, the maestro is a nice seat, installed easily with latch, and the straps are easy to adjust. I plan to use it in harness mode for quite a while longer, but it does have the option of using it with the car seat belt.

MimiMommy ↓

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 8:23 pm

We have the Graco nautilus. We moved my daughter into it when she was about 3. It has a 5 point harness, which we removed when she got too big so she used the regular seatbelt. Recently we took the back off so now it's a backless booster. We've been very happy with it.

boysmom12

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 8:25 pm

I have the graco nautilus too. its a great carseat but I have a couple problems with it. the head slump is terrible. if your kid falls asleep in the car alot, her head will slump over. I went from the graco myride 65 to the nautilus and I'm just not used to the head slump. I also feel that the buttom buckle by the crotch is a bit short and sometimes that can be annoying when trying to seat belt. other then that I'm really happy with it! my son is almost four and we still use the harness.

↑ Hashem_Yaazor ↓

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 8:42 pm

Mimi, when did she grow out of the harness? Weight wise? (it goes to 65 lbs).

The Nautilus is not under $100 though, and it's also big. It's cheaper to get a Maestro and a backless booster than it is to use the Nautilus. Smile

bbmom ↓

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 9:13 pm

I have the nautilus and the crotch strap has definitely been an issue. DD always complains that it hurts her tushie so I switched DS (age 3) from the TrueFit to the Graco. He wears a diaper and he's shorter than she is so he doesn't seem to mind it. I don't find that the head slump is any worse than the TrueFit - although I think they're both pretty bad. DD (age 4) is very comfortable in the TrueFit.

My main plus with the Nautilus is that it's so easy to use as a booster with the seatbelt (when it's LATCHed in) so it's really helpful for driving carpool when I have bigger/older kids in the car.

I probably wouldn't buy it again though.

acccdac

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 9:15 pm

just to reiterate, I was told that until 4 a child should not be using a seat belt, their bone (no matter their size) are not developed enough to withstand the pressure of a belt during an accident and they should be in a 5 pt harness

↑ superjew ↓

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 10:19 pm

Thanks for the replies. I really did not want to have to buy another booster again later on, even though its cheap. Its just annoying to keep buying.
Son is in this now:

http://www.overstock.com/Baby/.....153:s

But his feet kick our seats because they go up and he's tall. I need something that his feet would be able to hang down to avoid this issue. I wish I would know about that issue before and I'd go straight for the nautilus. I just find it a waste to buy that now when it is used as a car seat too.
This looks pretty good, thanks for the link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ.....B2CQS

I just wonder if the seat is deep enough. Anyone have any other suggestions in this type of seat? Something that maybe he can last longer in?

↑ Hashem_Yaazor ↓

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 10:25 pm

It's really a matter of how the seat fits on your car's seat, but the incline of the MyRide is quite elevated, so it's likely that a straighter combination seat (harness to booster) will be better.
You can always return it if it doesn't work...

I just want to mention that most combination seats don't work well as boosters. The Nautilus is not a good booster, and once it's taken apart, it's really hard to put back together.

If you think you'll be having another child in the next couple of years, you can think of getting a dedicated booster as a need anyway, since you will have to pass on this seat to an upcoming child.

It's really not that annoying to buy another booster. They're lightweight and easily available at Walmart (I really like the Harmony boosters sold there).

I've gone through 2 infant car seats, 3 convertible car seats, 2 combination seats, 1 high back booster, and 3 backless boosters since I had my first 7.5 years ago! (One infant seat expired, 1 convertible seat expired, 1 combination seat expired, and 1 backless booster got lost Wink

)

↑ bbmom ↓

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 3:54 pm

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

)

I find that the Nautilus works well as a high back booster. I'm assuming you meant backless?

OP have you looked at the Diono Radian? It's pricey but its a good seat.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/.....r=8-1

↑ MaBelleVie

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 4:03 pm

It sounds like your main concern is how he will fit in it. For that, the only way to know is to put him in the seat and try it out. Why don't you take him to toys r us and test them?

BTW, the nautilus doesn't rear face, so it wouldn't have been helpful to you anyway.

↑ Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 4:25 pm

I'd much prefer the Maestro over the Vantage. The Vantage does not have good reviews at all.

The Nautilus fits some kids well as a booster, but only a specific subset.

I see no reason OP needs a Radian. It's way over her budget, and it doesn't seem like she is looking for a convertible. As there are many combination seats on the market that are good for less than half the price, and she made no comment about needing a unique feature like a narrow seat, the Radian is overkill....though it's an awesome seat Very Happy

↑ bbmom ↓

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 5:11 pm

I know it's way over her budget but it sounds like her main concern was how her child's feet kick and the Diono really has the child's feet hanging down- more then other seats because the actual car seat fits very low onto the seat of the car while other seats tend to be higher leading to feet sticking out more.

Truth is that the only way to tell if a new carseat solves this problem is for her to install it in her car and try it out.

The Diono is an awesome seat and that's a good price for it. Too bad I'm not currently in the carseat market Smile