New Carseat for My 4 Year Old

I know it is a bit pricey, but I got my daughter the Britax Frontier because we had the same issue. You can use the harness up to 80lbs if you would like but it also converts into a booster when you are ready. It also has good side wings by her head for extra protection! We are very happy with the carseat and definitely would recommend it!

We used a Cosco highback booster with the 5-pt harness . Then it converts to a booster to use with a seatbelt. I think we paid about $40. We just recently went to a backless booster ($20). I have heard about a Graco 3-in-1 that goes from a 5-pt harness, to highback booster then to a backless booster - they're a lot more expensive ($170) but they also cover him up to 100 lbs. Good Luck!

The Graco Nautilus would be your best bet. It will harness to 65lbs and most kids can use it by height until age 6 in the harness. Then it turns into a good hig hback and eventually a no back booster to 100lbs. Its $150 and this seat will last him until he no longer needs a seat. Great purchase. You are right, he's not big enough for a booster seat.

www.seatcheck.org to find a free, local seat check inspector near you.

Take him there and have his current seat evaluated with him in it.

Five point harnesses are best!

My 3.5 year old and 5 year old are both in the Graco Nautilus. For them, it seems a lot more like a booster than a carseat (has a cup holder and a cubby to keep stuff in they both love!) For me, it still has the five point harness (can be used up to 50 or 60 lbs I think if I remember right) and can use latch. When you have reached the limit it can then be used with a regular seat belt. I also didn't like the idea of just having a seatbelt yet, it just didn't seem very secure to me with such little people!

Call The Toledo Hospital and ask for the Safety First Car Seat Program. They sell brand new, brand name car seats for a 1/3 of the price in a store like Babies R Us. I got my Graco booster seats there. I wish I had bought all of my car seats from them. The only condition is that you go to the hospital and they install it for you. They will also let you know which seat is the best for your child. Look up the hospital's number in the phone book or online.

Our little guy turned 4 in February and was about 35 pounds and 38 inches. His doctor (which we love & totally trust!) said we need to wait. He had to go back a couple months later and had hit the 40 inches (wahoo!) but was 37-38 pounds, and they still said that we really need to wait. Thankfully, he's not fighting us about switching seats --even though big sister is in a booster. He's being totally great about it! He can buckle his harness & we're all good with waiting. (We have a Graco, by the way.)

Keep your tiny tot safe! :)

I always thought the child needed to be at least 40 pounds for a booster seat to be safe (regardless of age).

Here's a link to a website that list out the carseat laws by state:
http://www.elitecarseats.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageNa...

General rule: Rear facing car seat / infant car seat until 1 year old and 20 lbs. Car seat until 4 years old and 40 lbs. Booster seat until 8 years old and 80 lbs. (If I read it correctly, it says in Ohio, the child has to be at least 40 lbs before moving to a booster.)

I think my daughter (4yo) uses the Eddy Bauer car seat. Not sure if this is it, but this model says it has a "5-point harness with up-front harness adjustment fits children up to 50 lbs". (good luck!)
http://www.albeebaby.com/eddie-bauer-deluxe-3-in-1-conver...

We didn't put our son into a booster until he was 35 pounds. My son is 4 1/2 and in a booster. I won't use the back-less booster, but they make booster seats w/ a back and side-impact protection. The seatbelt does go over him, but he's a tall boy so he fits well in it. Eventhough the backless booster seats are okay for 40 lbs - I feel he's safer w/ the full booster. We just bought one from Target for $35.00 or so and it's an Evenflo brand. At 40 lbs they are usually getting too big for a carseat.

I can't say enough positive things about the Graco Nautilus. My son has been in his since 2 1/2 as he outgrew his convertible in height first so we needed something else. This harnesses to 65 lbs (he's 4 1/2 and only 38lbs, so we have a way to go), then a high back booster, then a backless (which I'm NOT a fan of). I'm not a fan of Britax as I think they are really overpriced. According to dh whose co-worker is a CPST (Car seat tech), they have to pass the exact same safetly standards to be put on the market, they just come with more bells and whistles that aren't really necessary. We've travelled in our mini van with ds in his Nautilus and he LOVES it. He loves the head rest, the slight recline, the cupholder and the 2 cubbies for this sunglasses and toys.
I have a friend that put her 3 yr old (JUST turned 3 in May) who is barely 30lbs (teeny tiny little boy) in a booster because she didn't like the hassle of a harness. I'll stand in a rainstorm or a blizzard and harness my son any day over putting him (illegally in the state of Ohio) unsafely in a booster before he should be.
Check Walmart.com for Nautilus. They are in store there and Target, but sometimes Walmart.com has lower prices. In the summer of '08 when I bought mine, they were $140 + tax and the store and my store didn't even carry it. I paid $127 online with FREE shipping using "Site-to-store" and had it in 2-3 days..can't beat it.

Definitely look at the Graco. It fits little ones from 20-100 pounds and the 5-point harnes works up to 65 pounds. The headrest is adjustable and can be raised to fit taller kids. My son is very comfortable in it and I have also put my 1 yo daughter in with no problems. I found it on walmart.com for about $150 with free shipping. I ordered Monday after the kids were in bed and it was on my porch Wednesday morning!

We'll son be getting a new car, so I have been looking for a new car seat, too, to replace our "back up" convertible, which may be going on it's last flight this summer (it was cheap to begin with and has been trashed from hauling around and flying.
They now make high back boosters with harnesses up to 85 lbs (Britax). I would definitely keep him in a harness for as long as possible.
Just be careful when you shop... many harnessed boosters only work until 40 lbs with the harness, after that you have to use the belt - so make sure you read the fine print.

I searched for a new car seat for my son when he was about 2 1/2 so I could transition my younger daughter into his old one. My son is now almost 3 1/2 and has always been tall for his age. We opted to go with the Britax Frontier. Using the 5 pt harness, it fits kids 25-85 lbs and 30-57 inches tall. It also converts to a booster with a back. The booster fits kids 40-120 lbs and 42-65 inches tall. It has 2 cupholders. It has the latch system but it not the easiest to get nice and tight. Once you figure it out, it is manageable. It is a big seat though, so you will need sufficient space in the car. We have been very happy with it.

I just purchased a new car seat yesterday for my son. He still fits in his current seat just fine but we need it for our 11 month old now. I bought a seat that holds a child up to 100 pounds and 54 inches. It has a 5 point harness but can also be used with the seat belt when the child is big enough. I bought it at Babies R Us for about $60.00. They have several to choose from ranging from $60 to $100+. Hope that helps!

5 point harness and Evenflo makes a seat that will cover his height, i just cant remember which one it goes to like 60".

Dont do seat belt/booster, there is no sense in risking his life for anything. When I learned they are safer in car seats till almost seatbelt only age ,I have not let my 3.5 yr old who is 43" and 47 pounds out of her carseat.

I had the same problem and did tons of research - and it it TOTALLY UNSAFE to have kids out of the 5 point harness until their feet can touch the ground and they don't need a booster period.
We went with Sunshine Kid brand, b/c my oldest is off the chart tall - and I didn't want her to grow out of it. I waited for it to go on sale and used a coupon on diapers.com and got it for $160. Not the cheapest. You can watch ebay or craigslist, but this was my best deal. We felt like for the $$ it would last her for years and had I known about it sooner - she could have been using it all along. My 2 year old is rear facing in her old seat, but as soon as he is too big - we will invest in a 2nd one of this brand.

As far as your son wanting to use the belt - tough luck! safety trumps a childs desire. My 5 y.o. is the only one I know that is still in a 5 point harness - and I just don't understand it. I found too many sad storied about children involved in accidents wearing the seatbelt and using a "big-kid" booster - not happy endings. Some stories had similar sized children in cars, but wearing a harness system who escaped unharmed.

Not worth it.

I recently bought a 5 point harness car seat (from Babies R U) that goes up to 65lbs. (Evenflo Generations 65 Booster Car Seat) The harness is much safer and my son is actually more comfortable than his booster seat. Check out this website...the reason I went out and bought a new car seat. http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/

He needs to be at least 40lbs. to be in a booster seat!
We love our Britax Frontier! I just saw it listed (somewhere online) that they dropped the price to $200 (it was $280).

We also have a Nautilus. It's ok. I don't love it. The Britax is definitely a sturdier, better made seat (imo). Also, the Britax seat is bigger-my child is not big, but I wanted as much room for growth as possible.

HTH! GL!

Btw-using the seat belt instead of Latch has proved far easier for us w/ the Frontier-our seat is super tight and secure.

I second BeckyW on the Graco Nautilus. We've had our son in it since he was 2.5 (~32 lbs). Our pediatrician was really big on using a 5 point harness as long as possible, and this is convertible to a booster as they get older.

I believe the law in Ohio is that they have to be in a 5-pt until 4 years AND 40 lbs ... and the law was just changed mandating booster seats for much longer. My oldest daughter is 6 years old and has only been using a booster with a seat belt for about 6 months. We have the Cosco Summit seats which have a 5-pt harness and then they also convert so you can use the seat belt when they're ready. I believe the weight limit is 100 lbs.