Booster Seats

We recently made this very transission with our four and a half year old daughter....

I got a graco turbo booster at Target and we have been very happy with it... they have two styles to choose from, one with the high back (which is removable) and one with out the high back... both are very easy to use and take in and out of car for use in other vehicles and also has a couple slide out cup holders perfect for the on the go sippy cup!

Good luck!

Walmart sells a booster seat that has a removable back. I believe it is a graco seat. But just the seat sells for around 20 dollars and then you have to purchase the back if that is something you believe your child needs. But it has a safty strap for the seatbelt to keep it in place on the child's shoulder. And arm rests, and two cup holders that pull out for juice and what nots. The cushions come off for easy cleaning. We have had ours for about a year and we love it.

I cannot actually reccomend one as per say, but I bought one for my daughter that is almost 4 @ Wal-Mart. I think it is a Graco booster where it has a removable back rest. This way I can use it to control her seatbelt now and when she is bigger, I can remove the back and just strap her in without the shoulder strap giude. I think I paid like 80.00 for it and it has worked great. I would check there first before going to a brand store. You can get COSCO and GRACO @ Wal-Mart cheaper. Hope this tidbit of information helps a bit.
TheresaT

My almost 4yo is in a five pt harness Fisher Price Safe Voyage for safety reasons (5 pt harness is safer than a booster) but as far as booster seats go, I recommend the Graco Turbo Booster or the Britax booster seat.

Hello C.,

Our favorite booster is the Graco Turbo Booster - they are about $50 (for the model with the back) and are the best of all my sister and I have tried. We bought ours at Costco a couple years ago, but I have seen them elsewhere (like Babies R Us, Target, Walmart).

have you tried looking at the manual that came w/your car seat? it may convert to a booster seat by removing the 5 point harness and using the seatbelt. mine did that i use for my grand daughter.

You may want to visit the NHTSA website since they have ratings for different booster seats.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CPS/CSSRating/Index.cfm

Note to all - our pediatrician's opinion is that parents should not upgrade their kids to booster seats until they are 40 inches and 40 lbs. This is a more strict guideline than most of the carseat makers use, but I trust my pediatrician's advice more than these manufacturers who are just trying to make a buck.

We have the Graco Turbo Booster (~$50, 8 lb.) from Meijer or Target...highest rated booster seat several years in a row from Consumer Reports. FYI, the second highest rated is $300 more....and weighs 22 lbs. We have two - a generic gray pattern and one that my 5 yr old loves.....looks unmistakably like a seat out of a race car. They're both comfortable for long trips, breathe well, easy to assemble, disassemble (to clean, fold flat if need be, have two cup holders, and have some cushioned support on either side of the head for sleeping. We've used them for several years and they're great. Pretty much still look new. yeah I'm a fan.

I really liked the Turbo Booster made by Graco. You can get it in either a regular booster or the high back booster. I found the high back nice because if they fell asleep they still had that support up by their head. Then if you decide later that you don't need that, the back does come off and it turns into just a regular booster. This booster also has cup holders on either side that slide inside when not in use. So this would be my suggestion!!!

C.,

Our little boy is also 4 and he is in a booster seat and has the removable backing. The seat belt fits right through the slots and so simple now to get him into the car. I have always used Britax Car Seats, but purchased this $50 Simple Booster Seat from BabiesRUs. However, like other posts are available at Walmart, etc. Our son is very tall and this works perfect. Good Luck! A.

graco turbo booste has our vote - mother of 7 year old (short and small for age - will be in booster for a while!) and mother of 6 month old - in a baby seat!

Hi, I also have a 4 year old boy and we got him the Britax booster - about the only one approved for side impact protection. It holds his head if he falls asleep and he says it is very comfortable. I think it runs $99. I got two from www.albeebaby.com (great website). J.

When you buy a booster seat buy the new version where the seat blet goes through the big slot not those old ones that are a huge pain in the butt! When i bought my kids their boosters I went for cheapest, which isn't always the best. My brother in law bought a super nice one for his son, it has a quick release for when you need to change it to just the seat with out the back on it and it has lights on it as well! Here is the link to check it out http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4875440. Walmart is usually the cheapest, but if you have a Burlington Coat Factory they usually have the bigger selection. Good luck in your search!

I am a huge fan of the Britax products. We had 2 carseats made by them and the booster. They have wonderful parent reviews and awesome safety reviews. The woman at babystyle.com told me they are they Mercedes of car seats. Expensive but well worth the money.

I am not sure which ones to recommend to you, but i have one that you should stay away from. It is the one designed like the evenflo booster seat that you can purchase at walmart. My daughter often falls asleep in the car, even on short errands, and her head falls to the side. the position she always ends up in looks so uncomfortable, to a point it looks like her neck is going to break. So what ever booster seat you find try to find one that supports your childs head. I f you find a good one to solve this problem please let me know about it, I haven't found a good one to prevent this yet.

Our son is six, by law still required to be in a booster. We have Graco Turbobooster and he is comfortable in it. It is backless but that hasn't been a problem. It has cup holders on the side, which is nice to put stuff in. We got it from Target.com for $19.99. I have 5 children and most of the major purchases for them have been Graco products, from strollers to car seats, toys and pack n plays. We have been happy with their products! Good luck!

Hey C....I have b/g twins who just turned 3 on the 11th of this month...I got them the high-back boosters at target...i got my daughter the pink one with butterflies, it was only $49 (i think most are around that or more $) I got my son the blue/black one...anyway, they love them...they're graco brand--go to www.target.com then click on baby, then click car seat, then booster seats and there are pictures of the seats and parent reviews...these, I think, got 4.5 stars...neway, i really like these seats for the kids...good luck! have a great week!
ps.oh, i forgot...i think they just came out with interchangable pads for these seats too, which i think is pretty cool...i think there is a camoflauge (spelling?) one and a traffic one, maybe... :)