Compass Booster Seat

I was in the same boat with my oldest daughter. We ended up buying a graco with the adjustable back/headrest so it grew with my daughter. You don't want to buy something he will outgrow too early and have to replace with something larger. also when you move him to the new seat remember to tell him what a big boy hs is and how proud of him that you are that he is ready for a new seat it will help make the transition easier

If at all possible, you want to keep him in his harness. He will be safest that way. There are a couple of seats that will let you do that... Britax and Rocaro are two, but they are pretty expensive. Safety 1st has one that you can get online for about $120...and it will allow you to keep them in the harness until 65 lbs...my very large 2 year old is in one, as is my 4 1/2 year old...and then converts to a booster. This seat has one extra slot for the shoulder straps, allowing you to keep them in the harness longer. Technically, with the law the way it is, they are supposed to be in a child restraint until 4 years, but the new booster law will keep them in a booster until 8 yrs and 4'8". A pain, I know, but a five point harness is the safest...

I know Michigan law is pretty ambiguous (only requirement is child restraint until 4 yrs, doesn't even say which way they have to face, or a weight!!!), but child safety seats are my passion...can you tell I work with a lot of patients who have been in car accidents??? :)

not exactly but I use the compass infant carrier and love it.

One of my girlfriends and I were just talking about this last week! She had to move her daughter to a booster within the last two months and I will have to move my son to one soon too (he is also not quite 3 years old and weighs 42 pounds and is a little over 3 feet tall). She said that she had the Compass and thought it was great for older kids, but returned it because hers did not have a 5 point harness. She ended up getting another one, but the 5 point harness only supported kids up to 40 pounds so she returned that too and finally got a Graco Nautilus. She has had that one for over a month and loves it because it adjusts up to 100 pounds but she can still use the 5 point harness for her daughter. I saw this installed in her car and it looks like it would be really comfortable for her daughter. I plan to look for one this month (although it is about $50 more than some of the competitors). Hope that helps.

I can feel your stress. Both of my daughters, at the age of 2, met all the necessary requirements to move to a booster seat. While we don't use the Compass, we do have two different ones that we are happy with. When our oldest was moving from her infant carrier to a convertible car seat we opted to purchase the Cosco Alpha Omega car seat, which can handle a child from 5 lbs to 100 lbs. For the 150 we never saw her out growing this one. Even with the new laws we seriously doubt it. We purchased one for each car. Now that both girls are in booster seats, both of the Alpha Omega's are in my husbands van and I have a another Cosco product that is just simply a high back booster seat. Good until they are 80 lbs. or 52". I WILL need to purchase a different booster seat eventually, as one daughter is already 44" at 4 and the other one is 40" (about 3 1/2 feet, at 3). My recommendation is to find one that will last you until your son meets the laws of your state. In Michigan it is soon to be 8 years old AND 4'9". If you can find a high back booster seat that will carry you that long, great, otherwise look for one like Graco has out where it is a high back but can convert into backless to allow the child to use it longer. I've been really happy with both of my Cosco products, we had a recall with our Alpha Omega's and they got us the replacement parts within 72 hours. If I were to have another child today, that would be the route that I would go again.

I don't know anything about the compass booster but my recomaondation is that which ever booster you decide to go with make sure that the seat belt fits snugly against his chest. Some of the boosters that convert from 5 point to booster do not do this. Good Luck and keep you little one safe!!
K.

Even for big children, they must be 4yrs old to be just with a set belt. It is 4yrs AND 40 lbs, not just one. You need something with a five point harness until he is four. I know, my kids are huge too :)

I didn't know about the new law, I bought the Compass for my 3 1/2 year old about a month ago. I like it because each side has a retractable cup holder (for whichever side of the car the seat is on). My son seems to like it, the back height is adjustable and it looks comfy for him. The only thing I don't like is that because it uses the seat belt you have to lean over the seat and around to buckle the belt everytime, sometimes by feel because you can't clearly see the buckle part. I miss the 5 point harness system where the seat is constantly buckled in. But overall, I'm happy with the Compass and Burlington Coat Factory has them where they are about $10 bucks cheaper than the other stores I looked at.

Actually you will still need to use a 5 point harness forward facing.. We used the Alpha Omega it goes up to 50 lbs 5 point then converts to an actual booster seat.

Michigan passed a law this year 5 point harness until 4 years old.

I have 2 large children and I use the Britax Regent for both. It is very roomy and holds a child in a 5 pt harness up to 80 lbs. It just seems more secure than moving to a basic booster.

Hi A., I currently have the Compass booster seat. I find it very reasonable and easily mobile. It folds right up and you can adjust the headrest to accomodate his height. My son is 46 inches tall and he's 3 1/2.

The only drawback that I have and I don't think any carseat maker can fix is when he dozes off he tends to sleep forward and his head shifts downward instead of to either side.

Good luck with your decision.