Moms of Older Kids-- can we talk car seats?

[onceinlovewithamy]

The monster is currently cruising along in the Britax Boulevard.  It's been great, no complaints at all.

However, because my child is incredibly big for his age, the straps are below his shoulders even on the highest setting.  In the state of PA, kids have to be in a car seat until age 4, and then they can go into a booster seat.  The monster just turned three, and honestly, I don't even know if I am OK with him in just a booster at 4 and 5 years old.

Do they make car seats  for "bigger" kids?  Any suggestions? I tried googling, and got completely overwhelmed, so I turned to my bitter snatches.  

[la79al]

Have you checked out csftl.org? It's a website dedicated to going over carseats.

[scattered]

I love to talk car seat safety!

What's your budget for a new seat? What's his height? There are some good options, both RF and FF only, for taller littles. Graco Nautilus 3in1 has a five point FF harness up to 43 inches I believe.

Also check out cstl.org.

[DawnLilly]

I have the same issue. He'll be 3 in June. He was 37 inches and 39 lbs at his apt in Dec. I have the MyRide 70 and really like it except that it's huge in my truck. I have one more knotch to go up on shoulder straps. His legs go half way up my console and I'll never be able to put it in there backwards as a convertable for #2. We are buying a new truck. Unless anyone has a better option or have heard something bad about the MyRide 70 I would suggest that one.

[CTri17]

Id look at the harmony defender, the graco nautilus or the britax frontier.

If he is ff and the straps are below that isnt safe because of the compressive forces in a crash ( they are different than rfing)

Or an evenflo sureride would last a long time ff and could be passed down but doesnt convert to a booster

[CTri17]

Jan 22, 2015 18:49:42 GMT -5 DawnLilly said:

I have the same issue. He'll be 3 in June. He was 37 inches and 39 lbs at his apt in Dec. I have the MyRide 70 and really like it except that it's huge in my truck. I have one more knotch to go up on shoulder straps. His legs go half way up my console and I'll never be able to put it in there backwards as a convertable for #2. We are buying a new truck. Unless anyone has a better option or have heard something bad about the MyRide 70 I would suggest that one.

For rfing in the new truck Id go with a chicco nextfit or graco mysize 65 or evenflo surerise, all will be more compact. The sure ride has a 40" rfing limit but has much higher ff slot heights.

[Deleted]

Mu son has a evenflow big kid car booster seat. He meets both weight and height requirements. He is 4. They have big boy carseats that I think would be more age appropriate for your son. Graco has a lot of models.

[honeylemon]

DS is four and has been in a Britax Frontier for almost a year. It's a great seat and converts into a booster so he'll be in it for a long time. He's still 5 point harnessed now and will be for a while.

[jil]

DD is still rear facing in a chicco nextfit. At her last dr's visit she was 39". I can't remember what the max height for forward facing is.
Sorry, I realize this may not be that helpful.

[onceinlovewithamy]

Oooo,thanks for the suggestions so far ladies, and I will check out that website!

As for Hunter, he turned 3 in October, about 41 inches tall and roughly 36ish pounds. He has been forward facing for quite some time, so I am not looking for rear facing.

[scattered]

If you're not looking at RF then I'd go for the Graco Nautilus. It goes from 5pt harness to high back booster to backless booster and I believe the weight Max is like 100 lbs. super long life!

[littlecookie]

My son is about the same size and age as yours. He's in a Diono Radian now and I'm really happy with it. It can be used as a booster, so he'll be in it for a while. It can also RF, so I will probably get more for when new baby is done with the infant seat.

[onceinlovewithamy]

awesome, thanks so much ladies. You all really helped me zone into some good options.

BRU is doing their Great Trade In event this weekend, so I might look into that. With a trade in, the Graco Nautilus is $127.49, the Britax90 is $251.24 and the Diono Rainier is $247.49. After a quick comparison, those look like pretty good prices to me. I think we will head over on Saturday and look at them in person.

Thanks again ladies!!!

[veenie]

We just got a Dino Rainier, and it is sooooo much better than our Britax Marathon. DD is over 38" It has a very small profile, so it fits better behind DH's seat. But, gives her more seat room. I wish I would have done better research and saved myself the $200!

We got it price matched from amazon, and it was around $225.