Car seat for 3 yr old??

sarbieb · February 2014

I'm buying new car seats bc my almost 8m old is moving into the convertible car seats. My daughter is 3 next month, 32 lbs. can she move into a high back booster with 5 pt harness or should she stay in the convertible as well?? I'm trying to decide if I need to buy the baby new convertibles or my older daughter the high back booster instead (handing den her convertibles to the baby).

RachieTK · February 2014

We were rear ended and had to replace DS's carseat. He is 2 months short of 3. We bought the britax frontier, which is the 5 point harness booster. He weighs 34lbs.

Xath · February 2014

You could get a Radian if you still want her to RF. That'll last you until she's out of seats for good; it goes from RF to FF with 5-pt harness to booster, and you can fit 3 of them across in a sedan.

sunnyday016 · February 2014

If your child is already FF, then there is no reason to buy another convertible.

TiffanyBerry · February 2014

gertiebarden said:

You could get a Radian if you still want her to RF. That'll last you until she's out of seats for good; it goes from RF to FF with 5-pt harness to booster, and you can fit 3 of them across in a sedan.

Even the newer Radians generally won't actually last you until she's out of car seats. Why? Because the shoulder straps for the 5-point harness is low enough that many kids will outgrow the seat while they still need a 5-point harness. My daughter is going to outgrow her Radian in not too long. Whether or not she'll be ready for a belt-positioning booster by then is unclear (she's got a little more space, and she's a 4-yr old rule-follower, but that doesn't mean she's mentally ready for a belt-positioner anyway). That is the old Radian, not the new, but it really depends on your kid's height and torso to overall height ratio. Basically, it looks better on paper than it performs in real-life as far as longevity for many kids.

We need another carseat for her even though she's going to continue in the Radian until she outgrows it (other cars). We are going with a Britax Frontier 90.

sarbieb · February 2014

Well I was gonna buy another convertible not for her, but for the baby. I just figured if the 5pt booster was cheaper I could buy that for my 3 yr old and hand down her convertible to the baby to save $. I know many boosters are $75 vs $200 convertibles. I need two need seats either way. Just seeing who would get them if my 3 yr old was able to go FF in a high back booster.

sunnyday016 · February 2014

sarbieb said:

Well I was gonna buy another convertible not for her, but for the baby. I just figured if the 5pt booster was cheaper I could buy that for my 3 yr old and hand down her convertible to the baby to save $. I know many boosters are $75 vs $200 convertibles. I need two need seats either way. Just seeing who would get them if my 3 yr old was able to go FF in a high back booster.

This plan would work. It's exactly what we did when DS needed a convertible. We handed DD's down and bought her the Graco Nautilus.

sarbieb · February 2014

Thanks!!

ThatWasAHoot · February 2014

I've read 40 lbs 40 inch minimum for boosters. Don't know if that helps you.

Edit: without a back and harness, I mean.

sunnyday016 · February 2014

ThatWasAHoot said:

I've read 40 lbs 40 inch minimum for boosters. Don't know if that helps you.

Edit: without a back and harness, I mean.

Age and maturity are the main criteria for boosters, but of course they have to meet the physical minimums too. Most kids do not have the maturity for a backed booster until they are 5-6 years old, and the backless a bit later.

LinnyAnne10 · February 2014

We just ordered the Evenflo Chase Lx Booster Car seat for DS. We already have a convertible (my ride 65) planning on giving that one a good cleaning and using that for the next kiddo, as I'm just going to skip the infant car seat, cause that crap was annoying with putting in, taking out, and crap like that. I will be baby wearing A LOT more with the next one.

dmurrie · February 2014

The AAP recommends the convertable car seat until age 5 or until they max out your convertible's weight.

That being said, check your local laws and don't plan on traveling out of state too much if you switch to a booster. Forward facing car seats are required by law until age 4 in Wisconsin, and we're not the only ones.

JENandJEH · February 2014

dmurrie said:

The AAP recommends the convertable car seat until age 5 or until they max out your convertible's weight. That being said, check your local laws and don't plan on traveling out of state too much if you switch to a booster. Forward facing car seats are required by law until age 4 in Wisconsin, and we're not the only ones.

The AAP recommends keeping children in 5 point harnesses...that can be in a convertible seat OR a combination seat which has the ability to be used with the 5 point harness OR as a belt positioning booster once the harness has been removed.

The OP said she was interested in a high back booster with a 5 point harness so I'm guessing she's not planning to put her 3-year old in a booster with the regular seat belt just yet. A combination seat (5 point that can convert to booster) is just as safe as a convertible seat when using the 5 point harness.

JonandJennifer · February 2014

I would keep in the 5 point harness/convertible as long as you could. Don't ever base on weight, always on age and strength. For some reason mamas are forwarding facing their youngins when they reach the weight capacity to be transferred from the infant to a convertible. Your child has a better rate of survival in the event of an accident being rear faced until 2. Spend the money on a brittax or diono convertible. For me it's not a question, and honestly it comes from being the daughter of an EMT. You think the news is rough....

sunnyday016 · February 2014

JonandJennifer said:

I would keep in the 5 point harness/convertible as long as you could. Don't ever base on weight, always on age and strength. For some reason mamas are forwarding facing their youngins when they reach the weight capacity to be transferred from the infant to a convertible. Your child has a better rate of survival in the event of an accident being rear faced until 2. Spend the money on a brittax or diono convertible. For me it's not a question, and honestly it comes from being the daughter of an EMT. You think the news is rough....

There is a lot of misinformation in here. There is no safety difference between a FF convertible and a booster with a 5-point harness. Basing your seat choice on "strength" of your child is not wise- it doesn't really mean anything. Age is the only real indicator of when to move to the next step, whether that means from RF to FF (3-6 years of age is when the bones in the spinal column are solidified) or from FF harness to booster (5-6 years of age is typically when kids gain the maturity). Of course, you must follow the height and weight restrictions for your seat. Also, I'm not sure what you mean on spending money on Britax or Diono. They are not any safer than other brands. In fact, the Britax is known to have a shorter shell, so for longer torso'd kids the Britax would not be a good choice because it would be outgrown early.

JonandJennifer · February 2014

Actually there is not a lot of misinformation here. Did I say there was a difference between the two? Changing your position of your child based on weight from rear facing to forward facing is not wise. That was my point. I have seen 8 month olds forward facing because they made the weight requirement. I made the strength comment because of that reason. Just because they weigh enough to be in the seat doesnt mean they have the strength to withstand an açcident. With age comes strength. There are some stronger larger framed children who can handle a booster better than others. Perfect example my friend who's child is 75 pounds and 5 years old. Compared to my other friends 5 year olds that are still in 5 point harnesses. They are smaller framed and need to be in the 5 point harness. I have two Diono Radian RXT's. My daughter is long and therefore that's why we went with the Diono. However the Britax is an outstanding car seat. Read the consumer reports because I beg the differ with some car seats being the same in safety. The point of buying a convertible is to hold the younger child as well. My comment about rear facing until 2 comes straight from the AAP.

ASmallWonder · February 2014

JonandJennifer said:

Actually there is not a lot of misinformation here. Did I say there was a difference between the two? Changing your position of your child based on weight from rear facing to forward facing is not wise. That was my point. I have seen 8 month olds forward facing because they made the weight requirement. I made the strength comment because of that reason. Just because they weigh enough to be in the seat doesnt mean they have the strength to withstand an açcident. With age comes strength. There are some stronger larger framed children who can handle a booster better than others. Perfect example my friend who's child is 75 pounds and 5 years old. Compared to my other friends 5 year olds that are still in 5 point harnesses. They are smaller framed and need to be in the 5 point harness. I have two Diono Radian RXT's. My daughter is long and therefore that's why we went with the Diono. However the Britax is an outstanding car seat. Read the consumer reports because I beg the differ with some car seats being the same in safety. The point of buying a convertible is to hold the younger child as well. My comment about rear facing until 2 comes straight from the AAP.

Sorry but no, this is wrong. Skeletons mature at the same rate. If you happened upon a 200 pound 6' 2 year old, they'd still have the skeleton of a 2 year old. Larger frames are not stronger and smaller frames are not weaker. There are very clear guidelines on when it is safe to "step up" to the next seat. Children are typically not booster ready until approximately 6 because it's a maturity issue. There is no evidence that a child is safer in a harness than a high back booster IF they fit all the requirements, including using it properly 100% of the time. A small framed child, assuming they fit the physical requirements, is just as safe as a larger framed child.

JonandJennifer · February 2014

Still not getting the point-- smaller frame is going to do better in a 5 point harness than a seat belt. It would hold the child better in an accident. Forums are very hard to explain your angle. So you are telling me that all 2 year olds have the same skeletal strength? Seriously?

ASmallWonder · February 2014

Yes that's what I'm telling you. Strength and skeletal development aren't the same. In an accident it doesn't matter how strong a kid is. They don't have any ability to stabilize themselves so it's irrelevant. What is relevant is their spine's ability to withstand the crash and all children's spines develop at the same pace.

sunnyday016 · February 2014

JonandJennifer said:

Still not getting the point-- smaller frame is going to do better in a 5 point harness than a seat belt. It would hold the child better in an accident. Forums are very hard to explain your angle. So you are telling me that all 2 year olds have the same skeletal strength? Seriously?

Skeletons harden at approximately the same rate, so yes, that is what I'm saying. Although, obviously there would be a difference between a brand new 2 year old and a 2y11m year old. Almost a years worth of strengthening.

Want a personalized experience?

Car seat for 3 yr old??

Re: Car seat for 3 yr old??

Choose Another Board

Search Boards