Car Seat Recommendations for 3 Y/o?

I love Recaro as well, and my husband loves it because they also make the best race car seats. :) It's perfect for my daughter who is long and thin. Recaro has the narrowest seat I can find that gives my daughter enough side protection.

I'm in a similiar situation... I've been comparing carseats because my 4 month old will be out of the infant seat in a couple months. She's going to get my daughter's carseat so I need something for my 2.5 year old. She's already 36 pounds and her current seat goes to 40lbs with the harness.

We're going to get the Apex for our middle child. Its harness is good to 65 lbs. There's only a few that have a harness weight of more than 40lbs and that's the more affordable one I've seen.

I also purchased the Apex 65 recommended below ...we bought this for my son about the time he turned 3 cause he outgrew his triumph in my husbands car. It is very cost effective, and keeps them in a 5 pt harness up to 65 lbs and then converts to a backed booster, which is safer than a backless one and you don't have to buy another seat. The only catch with this seat is that you have to have the high seat backs or the adjustable headrests in the back seat because the entire seat needs to be supported/backed by the seat of the car. The car safety site a previous poster gave is excellent and I used their advice there when I bought it. The Britax seat is good too but I have heard it is hard to install and of course very expensive.

I have never read anything that says you can't reuse carseats.....unless they have been in an accident or are older than 5 or 6 years old (I can't remember the exact amount of time) because by that time the plastic has deteriorated too much for it to be as strong as it needs to be. I plan on reusing the triumph we had for my son and his old infant seat with the new one I am carrying because they are not older than that.

Check out the Recaro line. I'm about to get a Recaro Signo (for my 7 month old) and two Recaro Young Sports (for my 4 & 2 yr olds). It's about $250, but I've found it online for $219 & free shipping. It holds up to 80 lbs...so this will be the car seat until the end. When they're old enough to do away with the 5-point harness, it becomes a toddler seat.

A friend of mine told me about it b/c of the safety ratings & weight/height aspects.

I would continue to put him in a 5 point harness as long as possible (that's the safest), and the best seat to do this is the Britax Regent car seat. I switched my son to this around when he was 3.5 years old for the same reason. He is almost 5 now, and we still love it. It is a nice big seat that he can stay in with a 5 point harness until he is 80 lbs. Plus, since you have a Britax already, you are aware of their good reputation for safety and quality. So that will last you a long time (well, car seats all expire at around 5-7 years). I just bought a Recaro Signo car seat (it comes tomorrow) for my 2 boys as a second car seat that we occassionally use for Dad's car or Grandma's car. I think it is a nice seat from what I have read, but I worry about how long my older son can last in it since it sits on a base. That adds a lot of extra height to the car seat which I don't like. Plus, it only goes to 70 lbs., so the Regent will last you much longer. There is a new seat that is supposed to be out in January called the Compass True Fit (they have it on preorder on amazon.com). That looks like an awesome seat and I think it is a big rival to the Regent. If I was buying a seat now (I bought the Signo a while ago before the True Fit was even mentioned) for a 3+ year old, I would certainly look at that one and the Regent. The True Fit looks nice because it has really deep sides, which will protect more in a side impact crash than the Regent. I could go on and on about this....Read these boards if you need any further opinions:

www.car-seat.org

I don't have any recommendations for booster seats(over 40 lbs. where you use the seatbelt and no harness) as I think kids should be in a 5 point harness. Good luck!

I just looked it up on Consumer Reports for ya. Their top recommendation is the Eddie Bauer High Back Booster (by Cosco).

Let me know if you want the names of the next few as well.

I cant recommend anything, but for your 6mos old, you arent supposed to ever re-use car seats. There are recalls you may have missed, safety updates, not to mention the usual wear and tear that can affect how well the seat works. Up to you, but that's what you are supposed to do.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND a 5 pt harness
apex 65 Alpha Elite Apex Booster in Bridgewater

5 pt harness to 65 pounds

depends on his height and weight. If he's ready for a booster (at least 30 pounds and I THINK 40 inches tall) I'd suggest the Graco line -- I just got my daughter the highback booster, which converts into just the seat when she weighs over 40. She loves it, it's easy to deal with and should last her forever. Cost about $40 at Target.

I have a 3yr old nephew that know sits in a booster seat. The car seats have a weight limit to them. He weights enough he can sit in a booster seat. He seems to like it better.