My son has outgrown his forward facing booster seat. He is 40 inches tall and weighs 40 lbs. He just turned 3 last month. I am not sure what kind of carseat to get him now, because all the information that I have found says that he needs to be in a 5 point harness until he is 4, but I can't find any 5 point harness systems that go up above 40 lbs. All of the convertible carseats say over 40 lbs needs the shoulder harness instead... Anyone have any info about this? I have found some that will go up to 65 lbs with the 5 point harness but they are too expensive for our budget ($150 and up)
The Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 is GREAT! Totally worth the money for my two big boys. Target had them on sale for $125 last week, and I found one online for $119.
Graco nautilus! My soon to be 6 year old still fits comfortably in his
Graco! Bought for both our daughters. Think of this; if it costs $100, and they need to grow 4 more inches, it could last for up to 2 years. That's $50 per year. Recent surveys show that Starbucks junkies pay at least $28 per month.
The booster seats not only give them added security, they can also see out of the windows better.:-) My six-year-old is 47" inches tall and knows that she needs to be 48" to graduate out of the seat.
We have a britax boulevard and evenflo triumph.
I think they are both up to 65 lbs. The evenflo was around 140 and rated well in safety.
The regular car boosters are just fine. The position the belt properly and that is the whole point of the booster. Try to find one with a back to aid on comfort. It will give his little head somewhere to rest when (and if) he naps in the car.
I got a Britax that goes up to 100 lbs off Craigslist for $40. It's made of molded plastic, no styrofoam that could break down, so I'm not worried that it was used. You might want to keep your eye out for a deal like that. Britax is the safest car seat available.
The Graco Nautilis....hands down. And is on sale through today at target.
Safety is much more important than $50! Can you find something else to cut for a month to make up the money??? Britax makes a Frontier85 that is GREAT!!! (We prefer it to the Natilus.)
We have the Evenflo generations 65. It's only $100 and goes up to 65lbs with the 5 point harness.
Graco Nautilus is perfect for your son. I saw them on sale at Target yesterday for $125 (can't remember exact amt-definitely less than $130) or you can do site to ship at WalMart for $138
This seat goes up to 65lbs in the 5pt harness and then converts to a highback booster then converts again to a backless booster.
It should be the last carseat you will use.
We just bought it for our 3.5year old and she LOVES it :)
Best of Luck
R.
Graco Nautilus ($150) will harness to 65lbs and booster to 100lbs. its $125 at Target and target.com right now.
Evenflo Generations65 ($99) will harness to 65 and booster to 100.
Evenflo Maestro ($79) will harness to 50 and booster to 100.
And you are right, he still needs the harness. a 3yr old is not physically or mentally mature enough to ride in a high back booster seat.
We have the Evenflo Generations 65. It sells for $99 at Babies R Us, and if you sign up for their rewards program, you will occasionally get 20% off coupons emailed to you. We have one of those seats in each of our cars, and with the coupons, we paid only $80 for each of them. The coupons come out every few weeks, so we bought the one for my car when we got the first coupon, and for my husband's car when we got the next one. We bought it for my older daughter who is so tiny--she's only 39 lbs at age 6, but we're afraid that even when she turns 40 lbs, she'll slip out of a booster. My son is NOT small for his age, so I'm glad we have them because he might be too young for a booster when he's 40 lbs, and he can use them when she outgrows them.
Good luck!
We JUST went through this last week with our son, who is 40 lb and 4.5 years. We bought him the Graco Nautilus a few days ago and could NOT be happier, it is a GREAT carseat! We're going to get his little sister the same seat next week!!!
Here are a couple of sites that contain car seat ratings that you might want to check out:
http://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa_eou/info.jsp?type=combination
http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/boosters/best_bets.aspx
You may hate me for sharing this with you, but you may also want to check out this website: http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/
It's a heart-wrenching story, but for me it is was THE deciding factor on what type of carseat to buy.
We have Britax seats. Yes, the are more expensive, but in my opinion, they are worth every penney. Is there anything more important that your child's safety?
I would say Graco Nautalis but it seems everyone has beat me to it. I wouldn't go with Evenflo because oh how cheap their materials are. Graco is the ONLY American brand that I"m willing to buy for my son.
