which booster seats

[kris10]

My dd is not old enough for one yet but she will be 3 this year later on, i am just curious for in a year and a half when i have to get one... DOn't know when she will reach 40 lbs either as she's only about 28 now.

Which ones are better/safer, i have seen the boosters without a back and ones with the back...unless the ones with the back are actually car seats,but they say booster? or is it just a matter of preference?

[Zonny]

Some car seats do convert to boosters after a certain weight (40-48 pounds, depends on the seat). I had an Eddy Bauer seat like that, you remove the straps once the kid reaches the weight where the straps are no longer safe, and use the seat as a booster with a seat belt. I think mine went up to 80 pounds as a booster.

At our childrens hospital they have a service that will help you with car seat installation, etc., and I asked them if there was a benefit to the full back boosters vs the backless ones. She said it gives a little more protection in an accident if there were say, glass flying around, there's a bit of coverage on the sides. But it's not a huge difference according to them. I used the big seat if we were going on a long trip, but for shorter trips we used just the little backless booster. Now my DS is too tall for the car seat, we use only the backless one.

In NS they have to be in the booster until they're 9 years old or 4'9 tall, likely different in your province.

Z

[kris10]

Thank you!! That is a good idea,some aren't that expensive either,maybe i will do the same for the short and long trips. Pretty sure our car seat does not turn into a booster.

[mdutka]

this is a pretty good booster seat, i just bought it for my second car. ideally it is safest if you can keep your child in a 5 point harness for as long as possible. this seat keeps them in the harness till 47 pounds and then converts to a belt positioning booster till they are 100 pds or 57 inches.

http://www.evenflo.com/product.aspx?id=315&pfid=3452 ($130 approx)

or there is this one which i have in my main car. ($299 approx)
it keeps your child in the harness till 65 pounds and then a belt positioning booster till 120 pounds.

http://www.britax.ca/car-seats/frontier-xt

here is a pretty good thread on a car seat forum discussing highback vs backless boosters.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?p=236356

[ninna]

this is a pretty good booster seat, i just bought it for my second car. ideally it is safest if you can keep your child in a 5 point harness for as long as possible. this seat keeps them in the harness till 47 pounds and then converts to a belt positioning booster till they are 100 pds or 57 inches.

http://www.evenflo.com/product.aspx?id=315&pfid=3452 ($130 approx)

or there is this one which i have in my main car. ($299 approx)
it keeps your child in the harness till 65 pounds and then a belt positioning booster till 120 pounds.

http://www.britax.ca/car-seats/frontier-xt

here is a pretty good thread on a car seat forum discussing highback vs backless boosters.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?p=236356

I have the evenflo one like the poster above and I love it.

We used a booster for our oldest child--it had a removeable back, but she was always uncomfortable with the back attached to it so finally we ditched the back on it and just used the booster part.

The thing I like about the bigger car seats like that evenflo one is that if the kid falls asleep while you're driving, they can lean their heads on something and there's something around them. Also a fan of the 5-point harness as long as possible, as I read somewhere that it's much safer in an accident

The backless boosters are super easy to pull out if you need to...(like if you're frequently moving the seat from one car to another), but falling asleep in them looks really painful and awkward.

I've heard nothing but amazing reviews of the Britax one. If I had to do it all over again and knowing what I know now, I would've invested the money in the Britax one right from the start.

[BCSparkyGirl]

I have all Britax for my main mode of travel, and Graco for backups/secondaries used in my mom's car when she's over there, etc.

[Insane]

I have 1 in an infant car seat and one in a forward car seat. My 2nd is not ready to go to a booster seat yet. She'll be 4 soon, but not quite 40lbs and honestly, I totally don't trust her not to get out of her seat if she gets mad! So I want to keep her in a car seat longer. I was thinking of putting the baby in my daughter's car seat (since it can go rear facing) and buying my nearly 4 year old a new seat. I've been looking at the Graco Nautilus. I like that the back can come off later if I want but it isn't as bulky looking as typical car seats.

I can't bring myself to buy a britax. They seem just so overpriced.

[BCSparkyGirl]

^ maybe so, but if you look through Consumer Reports and other places, they have the number one crash rating. I think it is worth the extra 100+ that other seats go for.

[Insane]

^ maybe so, but if you look through Consumer Reports and other places, they have the number one crash rating. I think it is worth the extra 100+ that other seats go for.

I guess it depends on your car. I drive a van with side impact air bags. I don't think they are worth it for us. To me, the car's safety rating is much more important. A car seat's job is to keep my child in their seat so that my car can do what it's supposed to do.

One advantage to the Britax though is they have higher weight ratings so if you have a taller or heavier child then it may be worth it for some.

[pinkfish]

My dd is not old enough for one yet but she will be 3 this year later on, i am just curious for in a year and a half when i have to get one... DOn't know when she will reach 40 lbs either as she's only about 28 now.

Which ones are better/safer, i have seen the boosters without a back and ones with the back...unless the ones with the back are actually car seats,but they say booster? or is it just a matter of preference?

OOOH I love these questions!! I sell car seats for a living !!

Britax and Sunshine Kids both make a really good booster seat... The Britax Parkway SG has a belt positioner basically making it a 4 point harness and it also prevents submarining....
The Sunshine Kids Monteray expands widthwise and height wise and has a memory foam base so its super comfy!!!
Both of those seats use only the vehicle belt but the Monteray DOES have the latch system for a more secure fit!!
Clek makes an excellent booster as well, they make a no back booster called the olli and a high back booster called the oobr...these both latch right in to the car as well...


Now you can also go the route of "harness to booster" seats
The Britax frontier is excellent, the child stays in a 5 pt harness until 65 lbs then uses the vehicle belt until 120lbs!!

There are a lot of cheaper seats out there too(graco,evenflo,safety 1st) but I dont know too much information about them, we only sell high-end gear in my store... Cheaper models tend to have a lot of recalls and the biggest complain I hear from customers is about the straps twisting!! Ive had too many to count customers who come to buy a Britax because the twisting straps are driving them crazy!!
If you have any more questions please feel free to ask!!

[pinkfish]

I like highback boosters better than backless for the added side impact protection, its good not only if you are in a crash but for when the child falls asleep in the car!!