My son in not quite 3 but he is big for his age (39 inches tall, 39 lbs.) and getting too tall for his convertable car seats. We have 1 Graco and Alpha and Omega seat and his head is starting to be over the top of each (otherwise these seats have been working pretty well for us). He is a wiggly, active child and I don't think he will do well in a booster seat with only a seat belt. I looked online and only found 2 kinds that have harnesses for kids over 40 lbs.--Britax (maybe more than 1 model) and a Graco Nautilus. Does anyone with one of these models have a bigger, taller child and how well is this seat working out for you? Does anyone know of another car seat that will do ths job well?
We went to Babies R Us to look at at seats in person and got the Graco Nautilus. I was leaning toward that one after reading responses here and reviews on another site. I like that it has the highest height adjustment (even though on Britax has a higher weight maximum). But my son had the deciding vote--he loved the Graco seat and refused to sit in the Britax one. We even had a 15% off coupon for it. I have not put it in the car yet but seemed okay to use when we tried it in the store.
I have a Britax Decathalon and love it! I have been using it since my son was little and now he is 36" tall 30 lbs - he will be two soon. This seat will fit him for a very long time as he has a lot of room to grow in it. The seat apparently fits a child up to 49" tall and 65 lbs. So we have a while. Britax gets the best safety ratings and my son is very comfortable in it. I would highly recommend this seat.
we got the cosco summit seat - not a booster but a toodler seat, all adjustable for height etc and really like it and was very affordable! not too bulky either :)
I recommend the Graco Nautilus. It is designed so you can use it with the 5 point harness until your son is 65 lbs. then as a booster then as a backless booster until he is 100 lbs. I just bought 2 at Amazon.com for my two daughters, 2 1/2 and almost 4. They love them and feel like such big kids in them. I researched a bit before making the purchase and this seat gets rave reviews. Hope this helps.
I have a Graco Nautilus, and I LOVE it. I actually got one for each of our cars. My 3 1/2 year old (35 lbs., 33 inches) has low trunk tone, and I knew a standard booster wouldn't work well for him. This works VERY well. And, fortunately or unfortunately, mine was tested in a car crash, and my son didn't budge (my husband was T-boned in my van - the van was totaled, my son was completely unhurt). The five point harness works to 65 lbs., it's got latch, and I like the fact that when my son gets bigger, I can convert it to a standard booster (like I'm using for my 6 year old). I found mine at Walmart, too - didn't have to order online.
My son is also big for his age, and at a carseat safety check we were advised that he was too tall for his seat. I tried a seatbelt-only booster and totally agree that it just doesn't provide the same support (especially when he fell asleep, bent at the waist!)
We bought an Eddie Bauer High-Back Chestnut. It has the harness we need, but with a super-high headrest that he can use for a few years. I got it at BJ's, but the one they now offer doesn't have the harness. It's at BRU for $109, which I think is pretty reasonable compared to the other seats you named.
Hope this helped!
My son will be 3 end of November, he is 40 pounds and 41 inches tall. We have the Britax car seat and he has PLENTY of room left.
The Britax Decathlon and Marathon go to I think, 48" and 65 lbs. I have those and absolutely love them. My sister just purchased the Regent which goes to 80lbs and she is very happy with it.
A.
I can't give you any good advice on which car seat to get but I can tell you that the police officer who installed my car seat told me that when I move my daughter to a booster car seat to get the kind where the child's back is against the back seat of the car, not the kind of booster that has a back. He said the 3-4 inches that your child is moved back really makes a difference.
