Car Seats - Mc Cordsville,IN

Hi T.. I just wanted to let you know that I have the Evenflo Big Kid Booster seat. It has a back on it that's removable for when the child reaches 40 pounds. It's easy to put together and it has cupholders and snack trays on both sides. We got it at Walmart for $35 i think. I hope this helps!

M. S.

The law does not make a difference between when to go from carseat to booster seat! It just says a kid has to be in a child restraint system until age 8. The decision to switch from carseat to booster has alot to do with the child's maturity, not physical size. Some kids are 40 lbs and not mature enough for a booster (they squirm around, might undo the seatbelt, slouch when sleeping so belt isnt' in position, etc). On the other hand, I know kids who are 35 lbs and mature enough to sit still, not slouch, not undo the seatbelt when moving, etc who do just fine in a booster.

We like the Graco Nautilus. You can use the harness straps until 65 lbs and as a booster (either highback or remove the back for backless booster) until 100 lbs. It's not as wide as many of the other carseats/boosters out there so it fits better in most cars, especially if you have more than 1 child in a booster/carseat. Beware of the ads on booster seats that say something like 30-100lbs... that doesnt' tell you the limit of the straps. That could just mean the harness straps go to 40lbs and then booster to 100lbs. If you want a higher harness weight make sure you read the fine print.

If the coat is the only problem, then just do what you did in past years and take off the coat when strapped into the harness seat (I'm assuming you did that since that is what everyone I know does... the extra fabric from coat causes 'give' to the straps in an accident and they arent' tight enough). Have a small blanket for her to cover up with in the carseat.

My son will be 3 in January and I did research on car seats that converted to a booster seat a few months ago. There are really only a few to choose from. I opted to go with the Britax Frontier. I am pleased with my decision. The straps are plenty long for larger children and/or winter coats!

Here is some informaiton about the car seat that I copied from Albee Baby (they usually have good prices on car seats):
25-65/25-80 lb. harnessed weight capacity
8 harness height positions
3 buckle strap positions
True Side Impact Protection, also recognized for sleep support

One-hand headrest and harness adjustment for easy and accurate adjustment
Rotating soft-touch armrests
Retractable cup and snack holders
Product Weight: 23.5 lbs.
Product Dimensions (HARNESS MODE) 19.5"W x 26.5"D x 22"H
Carton Weight: 28 lbs.
Carton Dimensions: 20"W x 19.25"D x 26.625"H

The Frontier Harness-2-Booster seat featuring True Side Impact Protection is a combination booster seat that includes best-in-class forward-facing five-point harnessed weight capacity and also serves as a vehicle belt positioning booster. Loaded with comfort and convenience features, the Frontier is the ideal seat for the child graduating from their convertible car seat without compromising safety. For proper fit, your child must fall within the weight, standing height, and seated shoulder height ranges listed for this product.

Good luck!

I put my son in the graco high back turbo booster at 2 1/2 because he was too tall for the convertable car seat. The graco turbo booster is for kids 30 - 80 lbs. Cosco makes a similar product as well. But if your daugter is in a front facing car seat and the strap outlet is below the level of her shoulders the seat is no longer safe and you need to move her up to a bigger seat.

The highest rated on Consumer Reports was the Eddie Baurer High-backed booster so that's what I got. Still safer than a basic (cheap) booster because it has a 5-point harness, but larger than a convertable.
She's really not old enough for a booster that you use the car's seat belt with to strap her in.

It's on sale here:
http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Eddie-Bauer-Booster/dp/B...

This is the same seat but no arm rests:
http://www.amazon.com/Cosco-High-Back-Booster-Seat/dp/B00...

Check out www.hipmonkey.com

This is a great car seat website. I know the owner personally and she has done intense research on all the seats they sell. They are high in safety ratings.

Best part is there is no shipping on orders of $100 or more and all the proceeds go to a foundation in honor of her son who was killed in a car accident and the foundation donates car seats to families who otherwise might not have seats for their kiddos!

We have a Bratix for my son who is almost 8. It's a 5 point harness and will hold him to at least 80 lbs. Now, he will outgrow it in height before weight but it's keeping him safe and that's what is important!

Happy shopping!!

CM

You want to buy a Graco Nautilus and keep her harnessed until she's at least 4 years old and 40 pounds. Now, if she reaches those limits (must be BOTH!!) and is still not mature enough to sit in the booster properly 100% of the time, keep her harnessed. When I say properly, I mean do not touch the seat belt, do not lean over and reach for a toy, do not slump forward or over when asleep. The child must remain in the upright position 100% of the time, or they're not in the correct position and it could be deadly in an accident. You also want to make sure that when you convert to a high back booster that the seat belt fits properly. The lap portion of the belt should never be on the tummy, and should lay across the upper thighs. The shoulder portion of the belt should lay flat across the chest and over the shoulder, never on the neck. A belt on the belly or the neck could be DEADLY. Trust me, we're going through this with my 5 year old cousin who is in the ICU at a children's hospital suffering from "seat belt syndrome" from her mom not having her restrained properly. It's a sad sad thing, and no one should ever be put through this.

Also, MAKE SURE THE FORWARD FACING CAR SEAT IS TO TETHERED. It's not required, but it's highly recommended as it reduces head excursion by up to 6 inches!! That's huge. Do not ever use a forward facing car seat without it being top tethered. If your vehicle doesn't have tether anchors, contact your local dealership as most cars can have them put in.

That being said, WINTER COATS ARE NOT SAFE TO WEAR IN THE CAR! Ever. Not even for adults. You can't get the harness (or seat belt) tight enough, and it gives parents the false illusion that it is. When you're in an accident, that coat is going to compress, leaving slack in the harness. Best case senario, the child is at increased risk of head and neck injuries because their bodies flies forward further before the harness "stops" them. Worst case scenario, the child is ejected from the harness and car seat all together.

What you need to do is put the child in the harness with regular clothes on. Tighten the harness properly (snug as a hug, no slack around the hips, try pinching the harness vertically at the shoulders, your fingers should slip off and not be able to pinch the harness). Now, take your child out of the car seat WITHOUT LOOSENING THE HARNESS. Put your child's coat on, and put them back in the car seat without loosening the harness. If you can buckle them in, then you're find. If you can't and need to adjust the harness, then you CAN NOT wear that coat in the caar seat. Ever. Period. It's not safe.

Look into getting a nice polar fleece jacket for your child. Fleece is actually super warm. And the great thing about it is that it's not bulky, so it's very safe for teh car seat.

You stated that you can barely strap her in with her coat. That is a HUGE red flag right there. NOT SAFE. DON'T do it! Seriously. We're taking serious injuried or potentially death.

Please visit www.car-seat.org if you have any further questions.

**Adding- The quality between the Frontier & the Nautilus is NOT huge. They're both very safe, and both pass the exact same testing. One is not safer than the other. And, the Nautilus will last longer, for half the price. No child is going to make it to 65 pounds in the Nautilus or the Frontier, unless they're super short. And even at that, there is no need to harness a 65 pound child, unless it's a 4 year old. The Frontier does not convert to a no back booster, but the Nautilus does. And the Nautilus' top harness slot is actually a little taller than the Frontier. There is no need to buy the Frontier, unless you just want a Britax. The Nautilus is very user friendly and easy to install, where the Frontier isn't as easy to install sometimes.

Also, the cheaper harnessing seats that convert to a booster (like the one made by Cosco) have very, very low top harness slots and your child has possibly already outgrown it by height. So the seat would be no good for you. My 4.5 year old has a very short torso, and has already outgrown this seat by height (my mom had one, but it has been replaced with a Nautilus-- we own 4!)

Add me as another one who loves the Graco Nautilus. We had a Britax Roundabout as a convertible car seat, and when my daughter outgrew that one, we switched to the Nautilus. She loves it, and I feel safer knowing that she can continue to stay in a 5 point harness until I'm sure that she can handle being in a booster seat. Since the Nautilus converts from the 5 point harness to a high back booster, to a regular booster, this should be our last car seat!

Also, as a previous poster stated, bulky coats shouldn't be used in the car seat. It's a pain in the winter, but ultimately much safer.

I think the law states that they have to be 4 years AND 40 pounds before going from a 5-point to a booster seat. We have Cosco Summit carseats which convert to boosters once the 5-point doesn't fit any more. The booster itself lasts to 100 pounds.

Hello! We have a Britax Frontier and a Graco Nautilus (in my mom's car).

If you can swing the money for the Frontier I highly reccomend it! It was certainly something we sacrificed for a few weeks to get and I believe worth it.

My only complaint w/ the Frontier is that the pull strap to tighten the harness does not work as well as other Britax seats, but I can deal.

The Nautilus is a decent seat. The price diffence between the two is big, but so is the quality.

I almost feel that my daughter is too big for this seat, she is just now 40lbs. (a long 40lbs.) so I know that can't be, the seat is just much more narrow than the Frontier.

I hope this helps! You will be relieved once your little girl is in a more accomadating seat still w/ a 5pt. harness! I know I was!

I would personaly try to keep her in the 5 point as long as possible. One thing I do is keep a blanket in the car and take the coat off and seatbelt my kids in and wrap them in the blanket. But my daughter who is 5 is still in the 5 point seat. She is on the last few months of it but we feel that is the safest. We just had her check up a few weeks ago and she just made it to the weight that we could put her in a booster seat which is 40 pounds.

Yes carseats are a pain but I want to keep my kids safe. I think it comes from us personally seeing that they do the job they need to when we were hit on a highway one time.

The carseats we have are COSCO brand.

We have the Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 for our 3 year old. He's used it for about a year, and we love it. We wanted one of the Britax because they are so well known for their safety, but it was cost prohibitive. So we went with the Graco, and we've had no complaints. He's 37 lbs, and it says the weight limit is up to 100 lbs. He loves thathe has his own cup holder, and there's plenty of give in the straps to accommodate winter coats. We had seen it at Target and then went online (Target.com and BabiesRUs.com to see what the reviews were)
Here's the link: http://www.gracobaby.com/Catalog/Pages/ProductListingPage...