Question couple of things

This is my first time posting here. I have learned so much in the last few days from all of you!!

I have 3 kids
oldest DD is almost 9 and weighs 50 lbs. She's in a booster.
DS is almost 4 and is even with the top harness height. He's 35 lbs and his torso is 14.5 "
DD #2 is 15 months and 19 lbs. Still rear facing.

My first question is about DS. I want to get him a seat with a higher harness weight limit and i'm not sure if i'm better off going with something that I can use as a booster later, or something I can pass down to DD when she's ready for it (the way she's growing, she'll be rear facing when she goes to school )

My second question is about DD #1. She is turning 9 in a month and all of her friends that have recently had birthdays are now out of their boosters. Just wondering what kinds of things I need to look for to know she is ready to use a seatbelt only.

Thank you in advance!!

Hi and welcome to car-seat.org

I'm not sure that I can help you with everything, but I'll start you out.

First, for your almost 9 year old, there is something called the '5 Step Test'. This is a link to an article about it on car-seat blog. It's great and has pictures to really help you understand it.

Here are the steps (or questions):
1. Does the child sit all the way back on the vehicle seat?
2. Are knees bent comfortably at the edge of the vehicle seat?
3. Does seatbelt cross the shoulder properly? (it should be centered over the collar bone)
4. Is the lap portion of the seatbelt low – touching the thighs?
5. Can the child stay seated this way for the entire ride, every ride (awake and asleep)?
Bonus step – feet planted firmly on floor


For your son, you could go two ways. You could get him either a Graco Nautilus or a Britax Frontier which are both forward facing only seats and then convert to pretty good boosters. There are pros and cons to each. Someone with more experience with those will hopefully chime in to give their opinions.

Also, because you have someone to pass the seat down to, you could get him a First Years Truefit or a Radian and then get him a dedicated booster when he's ready to be in a booster (can sit still and in position for the entire trip). These seats both have high top slots and would also be great to pass down to your daughter.

I'm sure there are other things that you could do, but this is a start. HTH

What seats are the younger two currently riding in? That'll give us a better idea of whether or not a higher weight convertible seat or combination seat might be better.

DS is in a safety first seat a 3 in 1. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but it harnesses to 40 lbs.

DD is in a scenera. RF up to 35 lbs and FF to 40 lbs

Thanks!!!!

Thanks for the booster info. We're going to wait until after her birthday and then see how she fits in the adult seatbelt. She's not happy about maybe keeping her booster, but she knows it's safer so she'll do it if she has to.

Now to get the other kids organized!

You're doing great keeping the kids safely restrained! It can be hard to convince the older kids they need to stay in their boosters when all their friends are out of their seats, but YOU know what is safe and what is not, and luckily it sounds like she will grudgingly agree that it is safer to keep her seat if she doesn't fit the seatbelt alone. How tall is she? An extra point to keep in mind is that while she may fit the adlt belt in one vehicle, she may not do so in another, so you should look at her belt fit in all the vehicles she rides in before you do away with the booster.

Another couple of questions for you:
- what vehicle are you installing the seats in? Do you need to fit them 3 across? Some seats are much wider than others and it can make a difference in some cases.
- what booster is your older DD in and when does it expire?
- how tall is your DD2? How much shell does she have above her head RF in the Scenera?

In your case you really could go either way, depending on DD2's height. Since your younger DD might be a long time before she is out of the Scenera, especially if she is petite and not tall and skinny, you could just focus on a seat like the Nauti or Fronier for DS, and then hopefully have the Scenera last her for the next 2-3 years until he is ready for a booster and pass down his seat to her. If she is on the taller side though, and you think she will be out of the Scenera by height sooner than 2-3 years, I would go for a good convertible with a tall shell for him for now (he has a ton of growing room in any HWH seat - you could even RF him again in some if you wanted!) and pass it down when she outgrows the Scenera (RF to keep her that way longer or FF, your choice) and get him a Nauti or Frontier at that time....

Typing it all out, I think that would be my personal choice (unless maybe she is very petite as well as lightweight): get something like a 2010 Radian or True Fit for DS for now, pass it down when DD2 outgrows the Scenera, and get a Nauti or Frontier or a HBB or whatever is new and exciting and appropriate for him at the time.

We drive a 2007 uplander, so there's no 3 across. DD1 is in a Graco Turbobooster, which has 2 years left before expiry. We only own one vehicle, and DD very rarely travels in any other vehicle (maybe once a year), but we always make sure she is safely restrained.

DD2's torso is 17". She's on the second harness slot, and seems to have LOTS of room above her head. I'm prediciting she'll be in the scenera for at least 2 more years, maybe 3.

I spent the morning researching 6 different seats and I think we're going to go with the Nauti, but we have to go to the store and try DS in it, and hopefully it will fit on the seat in the van.

Thanks again for all the info, I'm sure there will be many more questions to come!

Did you measure DD2 bum to top of head? (you must have) Usually when we mention torso height here we mean bum to shoulder, but for the issue at hand the seated height gives a measure of how much room there is over her head - lots, as you say.

Glad you seem to have settled on a seat, I hope it works out well. I haven't heard of any major install issues with the Nautis. Hope that DS likes it!

yes, i did measure to the top of her head. I thought there was something not right and figured it out late last night. Her torso is 11". Thanks for all the info