I am looking for a booster seat for my 4 year old daughter. Does anyone have one that they recommend? I am thinking of one that she can buckle on her own yet all the reviews I have read for the highback boosters indicate that there is nothing holding the seat down (latch). Do they end up moving around the backseat without this? And is there enought padding behind the head if we were rear ended? Also, many of them have seats that are SO hard. Any insight/opinions are appreciated. THANK YOU!
Good Morning America recently did a test on certain booster seats and some were found to be unsafe, and not recommended to be used. If you go to this website http://www.iihs.org/ it tells you which seats are recommended and which ones aren't.
I hope this is a help
Definitely the Britax Regent- I have done all the research on it and finally bought it. It is great, it is five point harness that buckles in and latches/tethers to the car..my 50 pound tall son still gets the safety of the car seat with this seat...
There is a foundation out there that will fully or partially fund your britax regent, they started this because of their son's tragedy with using a booster seat....
google Kyle David Miller foundation
good luck!
Exactly what Amy said. The job of a booster seat is just that, to boost the child up so the shoulder belt lays across the shoulder and chest, and so the lap belt lays across the hips instead of the abdomen.
If your child is only 4yrs old, ESPECIALLY if she is under 40lbs and 40'' tall, please keep her in a 5pt harness. Even if she is right around 40lbs, you can pick up the Graco Nautilus for $150 at Wal Mart. It will harness to 65lbs, then becomes a high back booster, and eventually a no back booster, to 100lbs. My 6.5yr old is 50lbs and 52'' tall and can still use this seat.... he is still in a 5pt harness as well, the Britax Regent.
If you want to know why he's still harnessed, please send me a message and I'll let you know about the near miss that made me stop at Babies R Us one afternoon and purchase the Regent for him.
Keep her harnessed, buti f you do choose a booster for her, please choose one with a high back. A high back IS better than a no back (someone said they were the same, they are NOT) as a high back will offer side impact for her head in a collision, instead of her flying to the side she will be contained in the headrest of the high back booster. The Compass is a good booster. Remember that she needs to be mature enough to not sleep in the car, stay sitting up straight at all times, not put the belt behind her shoulder, and that YOU still hook her seatbelt to ensure that its clipped properly, pulled up tight, and laying in the correct spot.
A.,
Please check out the Graco Nautilus. Your daughter can be in a harness until she is 65lbs. We had our son in a high back booster using a seat belt and realized this would not keep him safe if we were in an accident. The seat belt doesn't protect a child of that age and size the same as an adult.
Just an FYI, my 11yr old is small for her age and is still in a booster, but without the back.
Spend the money and keep your child safe - its worth it!!!!!
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8112222
First of all good job asking for advice on car seats! It's a tough choice & there are so many different opinions as well as factors in deciding on a seat. Personally, I have a 6 yr old & a 15 month old. I have both of them in the Radian 65. By state law, my daughter is old enough to not need a car seat anymore. But I plan on keeping her in this seat until she's about 8. She's a little petite for her age, but after seeing a video on youtube about booster seats I'll never use one full time again (She does occasionally rides in one to grandpa's house, I'd say once ever couple of months). a 5 point harness is MUCH safer than a booster seat. Even though the booster seat may be easier & quicker, it's not safer. And really safety is what matters.
Again, I know it's hard to decide on one carseat, especially when they're at a transitional age. But I do really like the Radian 65 because it stays a 5pt harness, doesn't convert to a booster, & it also can fit 3 across in the backseat of most cars. There is also a Radian 80 that holds up to 80lbs, but that was wayyy out of our price range, & I also think that by 80lbs the kids shouldn't need a car seat.
Good Luck!!!
I'm also going with a graco nautilus. I really like the harness feature.
Hi A.....you sound exactly like me! I couldn't imagine not having my baby (5 years old now) not strapped into the car by anything. I really wrestled with this and ended up bying another car seat that has a 5 point harness (latched to the car)that was good until 60 lbs. The booster seats must pass safety regulations or else they couldn't sell them, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I brought my oldest to Babies R Us with me and they had 3 different car seats that used a 5 point harness until 60 lbs and only 2 of them "fit" him (he is pretty tall) and I let him try buckling them and we bought the one he was able to to by himself the easiest. I still have to unbuckle him, but that is not that big of a deal. Good luck and I will be anxious to read what other moms have to say!
I have always had the Ramsey County Sheriff's Dept install my carseats, just to be sure they are properly installed. They told me that 80% of all car seats are not properly installed. As for sliding around, he reccomended the rubber backing that you can buy for laying under area rugs or even the heavy duty rubber shelf/drawer liner. Many police or fire departments have carseat clinics where they will install them free of charge. It's so worth it!
If you can keep her in a harness I would because it is so much better and safer. As for the booster seats they are all pretty much the same thing. It isn't the seat that is going to do much of the protecting. Their job is to raise your child up so that the seat belt fits correctly across her lap and at her shoulder. That's it.
booster seats typically do not get 'secured' in the vehicle, like with latch. the child sits on them and they use a seatbelt. a high back isn't necessiarly any safer than a backless one - as long as there is something (the vehicle seat, head rest or the car seat) up to the middle of her ears so that there is that support behind her head. you can find some that are a bit softer, some with cup holders, arm rests, etc. the point of a booster seat is to "boost" your child so that the seat belt fits them correctly - across the hips, not their soft belly, and across their shoulder and chest, not their neck. Personlly, I have a high back even though it's not needed because of the extra cushion behind her head for longer trips, the arm rests, cupholder, etc. it depends on what you need. Also, most boosters are made for kids 40-80 pounds.
In Michigan and many other states, the law is that the child has to be 8 years old or 4 feet 9 inches tall before they can go with only a seat belt. check the law in your state as well to be sure.
Like lots of other shave said, please consider keeping her in a 5 point harness for a while longer!
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ
This is also a great cause to donate to this holiday season!
