Looking for a High Back Booster Seat for a LONG Roadtrip to Minnesota

I LOVE. Love. Love my Britax Frontier. My son is 3, and is 43" tall, and 42lbs, and he is SMALL in this seat, and LOVES it. It has an adjustable high back, and also has 5 pt harness for up to 60lbs I think. The seat goes up to 80lbs, but then is used as a booster seat with the car belt. Unvlievable seat, well worth the money!! I got mine off Target.com, and got free shipping in a few days. It is priceless for big boys. My son sleeps in this seat in a heartbeat, and always comments on how much he likes it. Also, kiddos like the fold out cup holders, and moving arm rests..

Good luck!

I just bought my daughter the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 and love it!!!! I got it at Target and it was on sale. It goes from a 5 point harness car seat to a booster seat to a backless booster seat for older children. It goes from age 1 to 10 and the head rest pulls up pretty tall and the shoulder strap extend really high. Check it out!!!

Britax. Expensive but worth every penny.

Hi L.,

In the last 4 months we have made the drive from PA to TX then back to PA then back to TX. We have the Cosco booster seat with the extending back. It is for my 3 year old. I will be honest and tell you that he was miserable. We had tried several kinds in the store, Let him sit in them and tell him to pretend he was sleeping. what we ended up doing was giving him two very fluffy pillows to put on his lap so that he could lay his head on them to sleep. We drove about 12 hours per day only stopping to potty and swing through a drive through.

Good luck with your trip, having a DVD player in the car saved us more than I can ever tell you. Our total drive time between all four trips was about 168 hours. We have a 3 year old a 22 month old and a 8 month old. I feel for you and will keep you in our prayers. Long trips with tiny ones can be hard.

R.
www.roxannebruce.pureromance.com

The Britax Regent is GREAT. Basically a large car seat with a five point harness that goes up to 80 lbs. VERY comfy and safe. We will be taking a long road trip soon, and both our little ones (6, almost 4) will be riding in this seat. OUr two older ones will be in the Britax star riser comfy but I don't recommend this at all. Safe (as far as boosters go) but will not be comfortable to sleep in.

We LOVE both the Britax Regent and Britax Frontier (this is the newer version of the Regent & Monarch) We just added the Frontier for our second son (really tall/stout 1yr old). Our older son (3 1/2yr old) wants the Frontier too, it has true side impact head rest and two cupholders. It has a nice padding and is washable. But, I think my favorite new feature it that when you need to adjust the straps, you just move a little lever in the back up and down. There is only one pair for straps that move on a tongue & groove slide. It's AWESOME. My boys both sleep in both seats. I agree that with the Regent a little neck pillow helps cause it's kinda wide from side to side.

Try elitecarseat.com.

We purchased the Britax Monarch last year and have used that going between here and south Florida. They have redesigned the seat (too many wanted 5-pt harness) and in doing so, it is now called the Frontier. It is a high back booster that has quite a bit of room to adjust and then can turn into a backless booster. My son is right around your son's height and is around 48 lbs and he has not had any issues with the seat. The head rest "wings" come out far enough that he has something to rest his head on when he falls asleep but yet he can still see without a major amount of blockage.

I always thought Britax was a brand you paid way too much for and didn't have any difference from other brands. Now I am sold on Britax and will never own another brand of seat! We've got the Marathon, the Parkway booster and now the Monarch booster and I feel safe with my children in all of them.

We use that graco and take LOTS of long trips. The nice thing about that booster is that it can recline. The seats of my car recline so when I want him to sleep, I recline the seat a little.

Their little tushies do get sore, but I don't know that there is any safe way of combating that. Frequent stops are a must anyway. Find a park or something where he can run around and have lunch or something.

When we went from TX to FL, we packed a cooler with bread, lunchmeat and cheese and fruit and drinks. We would stop at state parks or city parks and make sandwiches and let our boys (3 of them) run around for a while. It made the trip all that much better and when we got in the car, they were ready for a movie or nap.

Good Luck!

L.,

We have the Britax Regent and love it. I would also recommend a neck pillow. The U shaped kind that they can put around their neck. Try to find one that is squeshy, not a true pillow. The one we have has small little bean bag beads in it and we bought it at Walgreen's or CVS, one of the two.

H.

We have Graco Turbobooster and have driven from TX to SD with it. I think you'll find that a neck pillow and/or a small bit of foam padding will help with comfort. And while comfort is important, isn't safety ultimately more important? If, God forbid, an accident would occur between TX and MN while you were driving, wouldn't you want your child in the safest seat possible? Please don't sacrifice safety for comfort!

can you recline the car seat itself? that helped my big kid get comfy and sleep on a 16 hour road trip.

We have the graco turbo booster. You are right it is good for safety. But not the best for sleeping. My daughters head always fell forward. I found a neck pillow for kiddos that has worked great. They look like different animals they have them at Target(in the baby section). Also onestepahead.com sells things that are great for traveling. The tray w/the cup holder is great for crafts and snacks. Good Luck

L.,

We just got back from a trip to Florida a few weeks ago. My 5-year old has a TurboBooster, and we were a little concerned about her comfort. Before we left, she mentioned that sitting in it for a long hurt her bottom, so as we got ready to leave, we grabbed one of those small camping pillows, and shoved it between the booster structure and the cover. She said it was so much better, and she slept for quite a while, both there and back.

Have a great and safe trip!
M.

We have the cosco Alpha that reclins and my 6 year old is still in it. We love it! He rode in it 16 hours to GA and did great!