I thinking of switching my 3.5yr old to a booster. She is currently in the Britax Marathon and we love it. I would love to hear what you like/dislike on boosters.
Please view this video on youtube.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ
My daughter will be 5 in August and is still in her Britax Marathon car seat. She never complains that she is uncomfortable and I will be keeping her in that until her weight gets too high to be in there...
I'm not there yet, but we just visited a friend who loves her daughter's Britax booster. She said Britax had the highest safety ratings in boosters (just like infant seats), and she said it's very easy to use. We took it in and out of two cars, and it was easy to transfer and secure when she was in the seat.
Contact your local Highway Patrol. The carseat saftey inspection office can tell you all the laws about booster seats (tall with backs or no backed ones).
I am opinionated on this one! The graco full back booster comes apart when you pick it up!!! It's a pain! The Britax booster, I've heard many mamas say is very narrow. After all the research we did, we bought the one from Compass for our daughter. It is a belt positioning booster and adjusts for the child's height. The bottom folds up for when not in use and fits easily in a trunk. The new model (which we bought for our son and Target actually shipped us 2!!!) has larger head "wings" and more foam and our daughter says it's actually more comfy than the old one. They love them. I don't know that it is available anywhere except Target online or maybe in the Target Greatland stores. The covers come off easily for washing (a godsend as my kids get carsick occasionally), and you can remove whichever piece you need to wash, it's not all or nothing.... easy to put back on and wash like a dream. I can't say enough about it! :)
We love our Safegguard Go. My oldest was in a Marathon before this seat and I love the fact that he can maneuver the harness himself - all the hardware is identical to Britax because this company is who provides it to them. It has the look and feels of a BigBoy seat with the important benefits of LATCH and the 5pt harness. I love how lightweight and portable it is - it has it's own carrying bag and has been with us for out-of-state jaunts twice now. Our 2nd trip we were also hauling the Marathon for BabyBrother and boy was I glad to not be hauling a 2nd big, heavy carseat for my older boy!
a
Hi L.,
We have the Graco Nautilus and it's great!! It has the 5-point harness system that is removable once your child no longer needs the harness, an then you can eventually remove the back of the seat so it's a regular booster once your child is old enough to no longer use a car seat.
Our son is four and he transitioned happily from the Britax Marathon to the Graco Nautilus. It's also nice because it has a cup holder and two little cubbies inside the arm rests.
Good Luck!
A.
3.5 years is a bit young for a belt-positioning booster - remember that each step 'up' in car seats (rear facing to forward facing to booster) is a step *down* in safety. If you're moving her out of the Marathon so her brother can use it, I'd recommend a "combination" seat (forward facing seat that can be used with 5 pt harness or without harness as a booster). The ones most frequently recommended by child passenger safety techs are the Graco Nautilus (harnesses to 65 lbs. or approx. 18" torso height, then can be used as a high-back or backless booster) and the Britax Frontier (about the same harness height limit as the Nautilus, maybe a bit taller, and 80 lb. harness weight limit, then converts to high back booster).
Most other combination seats on the market have only a 40 lb harnessed weight limit and aren't very good as boosters.
I got my 2.5 year old son the graco nautilus and he loves it. The harness goes up to 65 pounds, the back rises really high for when they get taller (that is what sold me on this carseat in the begining my son is in the 85% for height), and it can become a backless booster when they are older. His favorite feature is the large cupholder on the right, it makes him feel like a big boy.
We have had Cosco Alpha Omega car seat since she moved out of the carrier. She is 7 1/2 and still in that as a booster. The five-point harness system was great and we used that until this school year. This summer I took the base and five-point harness off and now we use it as just a booster, but it still has the high back and side wings, which are great for napping.
We bought one for each car and grandma's too. All are still in use the same way.
Someone gave us a Greco Turbo booster seat, but it's impossible for her to nap (sits in the middle seat to keep her way from side impact airbags) that she HATES it. She'll ride in that for short trips (running to a class or the store), but on a trip more than 10 minutes, she climbs in her Alpha Omega.
Stephanie
I also have a 3.5 year old. I too have the Britax marathon. I am not even considering putting my daughter in a booster until she absolutely has to. The Britax is designed for up to 80 lbs. and is safer than any booster seat out there.
I actually have the same situation, thanks for posting this.
