If we made it to 4yo before buying new carseat...

CD+AL

why would a 5-pt harness booster (probably the Britax Frontier) be better than a high back belt positioning booster for my very big DS? 

From what I'm reading, it mostly has to do with their ability to sit in the seat correctly for the regular belt to stay in position and fully protect them.  Am I missing anything else? 

Just trying to weigh the cost/benefits of the Frontier (b/c it's the biggest seat I could find) with the alternatives.  I'll likely go with the Frontier anyway b/c I'm not sure we'll make it to the end of Jan before he maxes out his Boulevard by height, but just hypothetically...

angelakh

I think a 5pt harness is safer than the belt.  Also, depending on your LO there may be issues with not behaving/sitting properly in the belted booster. 

schnappycat

CD+AL:

Just trying to weigh the cost/benefits of the Frontier (b/c it's the biggest seat I could find) with the alternatives.  I'll likely go with the Frontier anyway b/c I'm not sure we'll make it to the end of Jan before he maxes out his Boulevard by height, but just hypothetically...

I know nothing on this subject yet, but realize I need to start figuring it out. Do you know what the height limit on the Boulevard is? DS is also in one and will be 4 in January. But he's only average for height, so I assume we have so more time, but I have no idea. I'll have to dig out the manual. 

howleyshell

schnappycat:

Do you know what the height limit on the Boulevard is? DS is also in one and will be 4 in January. But he's only average for height, so I assume we have so more time, but I have no idea. I'll have to dig out the manual. 

I just learned on this board (thank you!) that it's when the top shoulder harness slot is below their shoulders and/or their ears are at the top of the shell.

My 5 yr old is still OK in his Britax but we bought the Graco Nautilus for our 2nd car seat (DH's car).

What sold us on it was it's ability to stay 5 point for quite a while then convert to a high back booster using a seat belt and then convert to just the "bootie booster"  (as we call them).  It's literally the last seat we'll need to buy for him. 

penguingrrl

This depends on your kid and is mostly a parental decision. There is no evidence that a properly used booster is less safe than a 5 point harness and there is a school of thought that because the harness seats are so restrictive that for a larger child they may keep the torso still while putting all the load of an accident on the head and neck rather than it being spaced through the entire spine the way it would be in an adult seatbelt with a properly fitting booster. So there is no reason to keep a child who has the maturity to ride in a booster properly harnessed IMO. By properly I mean they need to sit correctly, not slouch or lean forward out of position, not unbuckle themselves, not put the seatbelt behind their back. And you need to trust them to do this even while upset even while sleeping.

That said, my 4 year old is in a booster full time. The frontier did not fit in either my only vehicle or my budget. She's ultra tall and all torso and outgrew her radian by height and a nautilus would only have given her 6 months after the radian was outgrown, so wasn't worth it for me. She has been in it for over a month and is perfect in it, so I have no regrets or worries. 

CD+AL

penguingrrl:

That said, my 4 year old is in a booster full time. The frontier did not fit in either my only vehicle or my budget. She's ultra tall and all torso and outgrew her radian by height and a nautilus would only have given her 6 months after the radian was outgrown, so wasn't worth it for me. She has been in it for over a month and is perfect in it, so I have no regrets or worries. 

Thanks so much!  This is my big concern.  I can probably make the Frontier work $$ wise, and it will fit in our car.  However, I hate to spend that much on the seat when another seat would (in a hypothetical sense) would work too. 

FTR, I think he is ready to follow directions and sit properly.  The only two times I'm not 100% sure about are on long trips, which we do take every few months or so, and when he's sleeping.  We'd definitely have to do some trials before any long trips.

I took him to BRU, and tried out the Frontier.  He's already over 1/2 way up in the adjustment for it too.  Granted, it goes up quite a ways, but still, it's a lot of money for something that might not be necessary.  Grrr...I hate tough decisions like this.

jsugrin

I don't have any other advice to add but wanted to say that Allbee Baby has awesome deals on carseats and free shipping, here are links to convertibles and boosters.

https://www.albeebaby.com/closeout-covertible-car-seats.html

 

https://www.albeebaby.com/closeout-booster-seats.html

penguingrrl

CD+AL:

penguingrrl:

That said, my 4 year old is in a booster full time. The frontier did not fit in either my only vehicle or my budget. She's ultra tall and all torso and outgrew her radian by height and a nautilus would only have given her 6 months after the radian was outgrown, so wasn't worth it for me. She has been in it for over a month and is perfect in it, so I have no regrets or worries. 

Thanks so much!  This is my big concern.  I can probably make the Frontier work $$ wise, and it will fit in our car.  However, I hate to spend that much on the seat when another seat would (in a hypothetical sense) would work too. 

FTR, I think he is ready to follow directions and sit properly.  The only two times I'm not 100% sure about are on long trips, which we do take every few months or so, and when he's sleeping.  We'd definitely have to do some trials before any long trips.

I took him to BRU, and tried out the Frontier.  He's already over 1/2 way up in the adjustment for it too.  Granted, it goes up quite a ways, but still, it's a lot of money for something that might not be necessary.  Grrr...I hate tough decisions like this.

I would say that as long as he fits in his current seat I wouldn't move him, but I might get an inexpensive booster to see how he does. Shortly before my daughter actually outgrew her seat we got a clearance evenflow big kid high back booster for under $40 to test and see if she was ready for the transition. We started out using it for really sort distances and switching between that and her radian then slowly used it for longer trips when she proved she was able to use it correctly.Once we have a second car I'll probably get a "better" booster (meaning better side impact protection and more comfy) for our main car and leave this seat in DHs car, but that this was the perfect way to cheaply see if she was ready.

fjaril

Just throwing out there an other rec for a seat.

We have a Recaro Prosport and I puffy heart it. It's a 5pt harness, easily adjustable and has a fairly wide seated area, yet doesn't take up a ton of width in the car.

5 Point Harness Usage: For a child 27 to 59 inches tall and 20 to 90 pounds; Booster Usage: For a child 27 to 59 inches tall and 30 to 120 pounds

So this should be the only seat we'll need for a very long while. 

June2007

CD+AL:

penguingrrl:

That said, my 4 year old is in a booster full time. The frontier did not fit in either my only vehicle or my budget. She's ultra tall and all torso and outgrew her radian by height and a nautilus would only have given her 6 months after the radian was outgrown, so wasn't worth it for me. She has been in it for over a month and is perfect in it, so I have no regrets or worries. 

Thanks so much!  This is my big concern.  I can probably make the Frontier work $$ wise, and it will fit in our car.  However, I hate to spend that much on the seat when another seat would (in a hypothetical sense) would work too. 

FTR, I think he is ready to follow directions and sit properly.  The only two times I'm not 100% sure about are on long trips, which we do take every few months or so, and when he's sleeping.  We'd definitely have to do some trials before any long trips.

I took him to BRU, and tried out the Frontier.  He's already over 1/2 way up in the adjustment for it too.  Granted, it goes up quite a ways, but still, it's a lot of money for something that might not be necessary.  Grrr...I hate tough decisions like this.

I would get the frontier, let your DS use it until he's a year or so older then you can use it for your DD and you DS should definitely be able to handle a regular booster by then and your DD can use the britax until it expires.

Jinsy80

June2007:

CD+AL:

penguingrrl:

That said, my 4 year old is in a booster full time. The frontier did not fit in either my only vehicle or my budget. She's ultra tall and all torso and outgrew her radian by height and a nautilus would only have given her 6 months after the radian was outgrown, so wasn't worth it for me. She has been in it for over a month and is perfect in it, so I have no regrets or worries. 

Thanks so much!  This is my big concern.  I can probably make the Frontier work $$ wise, and it will fit in our car.  However, I hate to spend that much on the seat when another seat would (in a hypothetical sense) would work too. 

FTR, I think he is ready to follow directions and sit properly.  The only two times I'm not 100% sure about are on long trips, which we do take every few months or so, and when he's sleeping.  We'd definitely have to do some trials before any long trips.

I took him to BRU, and tried out the Frontier.  He's already over 1/2 way up in the adjustment for it too.  Granted, it goes up quite a ways, but still, it's a lot of money for something that might not be necessary.  Grrr...I hate tough decisions like this.

I would get the frontier, let your DS use it until he's a year or so older then you can use it for your DD and you DS should definitely be able to handle a regular booster by then and your DD can use the britax until it expires.

 

This is what we're doing. DD2 is in DD1's old Marathon. Got a Frontier for DD2 this fall. We'll keep DD1 in the Frontier for another 1 1/2 years or so...