Carseat help needed, please

tbabe

We just picked up a new Durango yesterday and the plan was to put my two girls (4 and 3) in the third row and the baby (5 months) in the middle.  With the carseats down, 60/40 this seemed to me like the best way to get everyone in and out.  Anyway, 3yo has a Britax Marathon (I believe) it fits in my car perfectly.  My 4yo has a Britax Frontier and we cannot get it to sit right in the third row so we're thinking about getting her a new seat.  She'll be 5 in June and is over 40 pounds, what's the best option for her?  Are backless boosters really safe for a child  her age/size? 

 

THANKS!!

goodheartedmommy

Backless boosters should not be used until around age 8. However, a high back booster is perfectly safe as long as she is old enough (she is), big enough (she is) and is mature enough to sit in it correctly 100% of the time (that's for you to decide!).

If you decide to go with the highback booster, some good options are:

graco turbobooster ($40). I'd only go with this if you are on a tight budget. It's not a bad seat, but there are ones with better headwings and also taller backs.

recaro vivo ($89). Great headwings, tall back, great for slim kids

sunshine kids monterey ($110ish). Also great headwings, better for bigger built kids. We have one and I love it.

britax parkway SG ($110+) I don't love it. I think it's a glorified turbobooster, though at least it does go a little taller.

Recaro probooster ($100+) Also great headwings, it's a lot like the monterey. 

Hope this helps! 

tbabe

Thanks for the help.  The backless boosters do make me nervous so I definately appreciate your recommendations. 

e got another question though :  What do you think about putting the baby in his infant seat in the thrid row with my 3 yo in her marathon and then the 4yo in the 2nd row in the Frontier? 

Is it safe to put a baby all the way in the back?  He's almost outgrown the infant seat so we will have to get him a convertible sooner rather than later, probably a marathon since that seems to work well, and continue to have him rear-facing. 

 THANK YOU!!

goodheartedmommy

Yes, it's safe to put the baby in the back but that can be a pain if you need to hand him toys or a paci, you know? Also, sometimes rear facing seats don't fit great back in third rows.