New Seats after Accident

My sister and her kids were in a car accident last night. The other driver was determined to be at fault by the police. My sis needs to replace her kids' boosters. I've already told her to request reimbursement in the settlement.

She has no funds, so I will be buying the seats for her (like I did before).

She drives a very old car that almost certainly will be totaled out. She will end up buying another very old car that will likely still have no headrests in the back seat. She has no additional funds to purchase a newer car, so don't suggest it.

She has 3 kids; 2 of them are in boosters.

The oldest is 13, 5-steps, and rides in the front seat because her head is over the back seat (and the kids fight non-stop if all 3 are in the back). She is about the same height as her mom and only 1-2" shorter than me, so she is around 5'1"-5'2". I don't know her weight. She doesn't need a seat.

The second child will turn 12 in September. She is about 4-5" shorter than her older sister. I don't know her weight. She doesn't 5-step. The lapbelt goes up on her belly and the shoulderbelt is on her neck. In a regular booster, her ears go over the headrest-less backseat, so we had her in an incognito. That fixed both belts and put her ears back below the backseat. She likes the Incognito. I plan to buy her another one. Unless there is a better suggestion. . .

The 3rd child turns 10 in less than 2 weeks. She is 4ish" shorter than the middle child. She currently rides in a Britax Parkway SG (older model). She is considerably taller than my nearly 8yo dd, but is only 1 click higher on her hbb, than my dd is, or only about halfway up the available height adjustments. She is also relatively immature, and is not ready to ride in a backless full-time or she would be constantly out of position (she's the one we kept harnessed until she had maxed out her harnessed seat at 8.5yo b/c she couldn't keep herself in position in a booster). She needs a booster that can be used without headrest support and that will allow her to use it in hbb mode for the LONGEST time possible, as I suspect that she will not be ready to go backless for a while. Should I get her another (newer) Parkway? or would something else be better?

It is usually just the 2 younger girls in the back, but I believe that they do occasionally ride 3 across if my sis has a friend ride with her.

What seats do you suggest?

I'll be ordering from Amazon Prime so I can order today and I can send them to my sister ASAP. She lives 2 states away.

Thanks for any help/advice you can give!

child heights/weights: (she went to the ER with the 3 kids and has now texted me the info)

Second child: 148cm (58.3" or 4'10.3"), 52kg (114.6lb) - all legs, short torso
Third child: 139 cm (54.7" or 4'6.7"), 35.6kg (78.5lb) - all legs, short torso

I think the seats they had sound pretty much perfect, so I would probably just get another Incognito and a newer Parkway.

That's really good of you, by the way, doing so much to keep them safe. [emoji106]

I'm just glad everyone is okay!

I had to read the 13yo the riot act while she was here this summer b/c she kept getting out of position to chat with her sisters. We had a VERY serious conversation about how important it is to be in position 100% of the time b/c you NEVER know when an accident will occur. I had no idea how soon that lesson would be driven home. Mom and kids are all okay. Minor seatbelt injuries, muscle spasms, internal bruising/swelling, and whiplash, but no broken bones, no major injuries. I am so glad that everyone is okay and all seatbelts were in the right places.

I have bought my sister almost every single one of her car seats. I'm not going to stop now. If I had the funds, I'd get her safer/newer cars, but I can't do that. I can, however, make sure that my nieces are properly restrained.

As I've learned more, she has done more. She turned her kids back rear-facing when I told her about the benefits. She re-harnessed when I told her about how to check for booster-readiness (and she realized her kid wasn't ready) and she has kept her kids in boosters until they 5-step, long after all their friends are out of boosters. They talk about why, so the girls can all talk about it and none of them are embarrassed by it. They stand up for it. It's really neat. My sister has done a great job of helping them understand why she wants them to stay in boosters so they feel confident in standing up for themselves. Now, they all walked away from this accident. They are feeling very lucky right now.

I'm leaning toward just buying the same seats again. Incognito and newer Parkway (G1.1?). Any reason to choose different ones? Is there a taller hbb that doesn't require headrest support?

I went ahead and re-ordered what they already had (newer model in the case of the youngest); Incognito for the middle child and a Parkway SG G1.1 for the youngest.

I hoped for more input, but the order had to be placed today, so my sis could have the seats by the time she gets the rental.

Thanks again for your insight jwilliams!

I think it's wise to stick with what you know already works. And well done on taking care of your sis/nieces!

I think those are great seats for them and likely what I would have chosen.