Need Some Recommendations for Booster Seat for My 4 Year Old...

Hi P., You don't need to replace your car seats unless they have been involved in an accident or they have been recalled and not fixed. As far as boosters, graco has a nice booster for about $20 (at Walmart) that has cup holders, easy to clean and is comfortable for road trips (at least that's what my daughter said!). Best wishes.

Your older 1 can sit in a booster. On the side of the seat it should have info with an expiration date.

As others have said, I wouldn't really recommend a booster for your older daughter based on her age and size. Other posters have given you some great links on that issue, so hopefully you can make a good choice based on those recommendations. The Graco Nautilus is a great seat for all the reasons given (harnesses to 65 lbs with tall harness slots and converts to a really nice booster once she outgrows the harness).

On the other note, MOST car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture (not when you bought the seat or started using it). The date of manufacture is stamped somewhere on the base of the seat itself - either on a sticker or imprinted into the plastic. So while you're seats may not have expired yet, they're probably getting close, so it would be a good idea to find out the exact date so you know how much time you have left.

The reason car seats expire is that the plastic can break down and degrade over time. This website (http://www.epinions.com/content_###-###-####) has some great information about car seat expiration, as well as some crash test footage.

Hope that helps!

Britax Regent will take your child up to about 80 pounds and the safety on them are amazingly great! They are much roomier. Go to the Britax site and check out the measurements from shoulder to rump and so on. They run about $200-250 but it will be the last one you will buy and will last for years!

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat
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P.,

After researching a booster seat for my 3-year-old 40lb daughter, the research shows that a booster seat isnt safe for her. It stated that a 5-pt harness is safest...With that said, there are now a few on the market to chose from. I chose the Radian 80 from Sunshine kids and it is good upto 80lbs. It also rear faces so it is great for your 10 mo too! They cost about $250 but for me it was a no brainer. I also have a britax marathon and love it but geez is that seat huge! LOL....

Also, Car seats expire b/c the materials they are made from can deteriorate over time, especially in a hot car. That is why they want you to replace them. Britax is 6 years. Radian 80 is 8 years.

Hope this helps. This changed it all for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2kO8AxKbrM&feature=re...

Very scary to me!

Take care! A.

go on the website NHTSA which is for the national highway and traffic safety administration. they can answer questions about car seats and which kind you should have. if you are worried about car seats expiring you can always go to you local firestation or police department and they can help out with that.

here is a website for CHOP...they did a study on car seats and have videos that help...I give this address to everyone who asks about car seats because it's so good and they have lots of great info...I work for a company that helped with the study and the researchers are awesome and parents too.

http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/injury/educational_advoca...

We have a Graco Nautilis and we love it! My son is 43 lbs and 42 inches and fits great. We got this after trying a booster seat that he kept falling out of when he fell asleep. I highly recommend this seat!

You can purchase a car seat/booster at like sams clubs or walmart and such for like $40.00. The one I have is a full seat so that you can buckle them in the entire seat, then when you are comfortable, the top comes off and then its a booster from the wait down. If your seat is 5 or more years old, replace it.

To be perfectly honest with you, I think your 4 year old is still too small for a booster seat. I think the current guidelines are at least 40lbs and 3 years old. I found a few booster seats with a 5 point harness that switches to a belt positioner for when your child is big enough.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1943168
http://www.target.com/Evenflo-Chase-Deluxe-Booster-Seat/d...
Check the back of your current carseats. There should either be an expiration date or a manufactured date. Car seats shouldn't be used for more than 5 years due to the aging of the plastic. It becomes more brittle and won't protect as well in a crash. Please rethink putting your daughter in a traditional booster until she's a bit bigger. I don't mean to preach, but car seat safety is very important to me. I hope that helped you out a little.

I agree that she is too little for a booster. She should be in a 5-point harness until at least 40 lbs (if not more). If you are not convinced, try searching on youtube for the videos of people who lost their children because they moved them to a booster too early. It is heartbreaking! It's even sadder because if they'd been in a 5-point harness they would be alive today. I am not a fanatic about this, but I just want you to make an informed choice. I moved my daughter to a booster too early, and I cringe every time I think about what could have happened to her. The booster said 30 lbs and up, but the body of a child of that size can not withstand the impact on the seatbelt (or they can slip out of the seatbelt). My daughter was 4 1/2 and about 36 - 38 lbs. Too little for a booster. My youngest is 4 1/2 now, about 35 lbs, and I bought him a Graco Nautilus. It harnesses up to 65 lbs, and then can be a booster up to 100 lbs. It converts to a high back booster and a backless booster. It has had some great reviews.

Here is a link:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8112222

You can buy it from places like amazon.com and other online stores also. Some Baby Depot and Wal Marts carry them in the store. My Wal Mart didn't carry them in the store, so I ordered it online and did the in-store pickup to avoid shipping charges. The other options for higher weight limit 5-point harnesses were much more expensive. (Britax Marathon for example runs over $250, although it has one of the best safety records.) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an option.

As far as the car seats expiring, the standard expiration is 6 yrs after manufacture date. The date should be on the car seat somewhere. The plastic breaks down and cannot withstand the impact of a crash. Think of the plastics you leave out in the hot sun and extreme cold too much. The weather extremes in the car cause the same effect on a car seat. If you've had your current seat for 5 yrs, chances are it's about to expire if it hasn't already.

I hope I helped a little. :)