Carseat/booster gurus- a question

ilovemygirls

I have a bit of a dilemma & am hoping for some input so I can make a decision.  My oldest is 5.5 & 35 lbs, around 42-43".  She has about outgrown the height on her carseat in my parents car, who have her 2 days a week at their house.  They will be transporting her home from Kindy this next year on the days they watch her, which is probably 7 miles from their house.  I have her in a Britax Marathon in my mid-size SUV & honestly I think the carseat will expire before she outgrows it.

She's in my car the majority of the time, but wondering if I should transfer that to my folks' smaller car (even though she's not in it much) and get a 5 pt harness booster for my car.  Or, should I get a 5 pt harness booster for theirs & keep the Britax in mine?  Thoughts?

DandelionMom

I'm not a guru but for a few miles a couple of days a week for a 5.5 y/o I'd just get a high backed booster.  She is pretty light though so I can see how a 5pt booster makes sense.  I'd probably put the booster in their car and keep the more comfy seat in the car that she'll be in more. 

goodheartedmommy

I'd get something like the graco nautilus. Where are her shoulders in relation to the straps on the marathon? At her height, I'd assume she's close to outgrowing it by height. Most 5.5 year olds are ready for a booster, but she's awfully small. I think I'd rather her stay in a harness for awhile longer. I hear most techs say that a 35 lb 7 year old is fine, but not a 4 or 5 year old.

jlw2505

At my DD's 4 year well visit, my pedi told me to go by height not weight for when to move my DD - who will be in a 5 point for a long time yet as she is tiny.  She said that once she is over 4, wait until she reaches the height max of her 5 point and then move to the booster.  She will never reach the weight max (only 29 pounds now) but will reach the height max sooner.  We are in no rush to switch!  My niece is 8 and just reached the 40 pound mark in the last year and she has been in a booster since she was 5.  She reached the height max way sooner.

goodheartedmommy

jlw2505:

At my DD's 4 year well visit, my pedi told me to go by height not weight for when to move my DD - who will be in a 5 point for a long time yet as she is tiny.  She said that once she is over 4, wait until she reaches the height max of her 5 point and then move to the booster.  She will never reach the weight max (only 29 pounds now) but will reach the height max sooner.  We are in no rush to switch!  My niece is 8 and just reached the 40 pound mark in the last year and she has been in a booster since she was 5.  She reached the height max way sooner.

I think there's some merit to what she's telling you and it's good to see that some peds are paying some kind of attention, lol. It's true that most carseats are outgrown by height before weight, but you still have to pay attention to the weight limits (lower and upper). A skinny young child, whose hips are still not fully developed, has a much higher chance of submarining than a larger child, or a skinny older child. Sometimes kids need to be moved to a taller harness for this reason. 

shouldbworkin

If it was me, I'd get a 5 pt booster than can convert to a belt positioning booster for when she outgrows the harness. 

heyitsme

How is she maturity-wise? At 5.5 I would feel comfortable boostering your DD in the car she rides in less. We just recently booster-trained DD and she will be riding in a booster in DH's car a few times a week (he does 2 drop-offs and 1 pick-up). At her age and weight I would feel comfortable boostering her in a high-back booster as long as she is mature enough to sit up straight and sit still so that the seatbelt fits her properly.

If you choose to go the booster route, the Graco Turbobooster is a great affordable option that fits kids well. (DD is 5.5 and 43 pounds and riding in a Graco TB in DH's car. It really provides a great fit for her.) So is the Recaro Vivo (which is discontinued but can still be found at some Big Lots and online). The Britax Parkway is a more expensive option but it has the anti-submarining clip which can be a benefit for bigger kids who are thinner.

ilovemygirls

heyitsme:

How is she maturity-wise? At 5.5 I would feel comfortable boostering your DD in the car she rides in less. We just recently booster-trained DD and she will be riding in a booster in DH's car a few times a week (he does 2 drop-offs and 1 pick-up). At her age and weight I would feel comfortable boostering her in a high-back booster as long as she is mature enough to sit up straight and sit still so that the seatbelt fits her properly.

Thanks to everyone for your input- despite all that, I'm still undecided on which car to put the booster in!   I would actually trust her maturity-wise to sit appropriately in a high backed booster, but regardless, because she's so tiny I'm def. getting a 5 pt harness.  However, I'm not sure I want to go the Graco Nautilus route, which is fairly spendy.  I found an Evenflo 5 pt harness seat that I liked but was more in the $60 range.  We have SIX carseats for two kids between my car, my DH's & my folks.  I am hoping to get to the point *someday* where we can just transfer boosters in between cars....sigh.  btw, GHM- she has a bit yet height-wise before she outgrows her Britax so we'll be using it for awhile still.

goodheartedmommy

The evenflo maestro might be what you're looking at. It's the only one height-wise that will work for her. It doesn't make a great booster most of the time, though, so you're looking at replacing it later if you go that route. Still cheaper than a nautilus, but just keep that in mind.