Help!

I just found this site while on a hunt for car seat info. There is so much information here and you all seem very knowledgeable. I hope that you can help me! What is the safest car seat for my 35lb, 37" tall, 2 year old? When he outgrew his infant seat we moved him into a Graco booster with 5 pt harness ( do not know the name). I am having some concerns that maybe I should have purchased a different seat with better safety features. Recommendations? Many Thanks!!!!

For a 2 year old it is actually still much safer to be rear-facing. Rear-facing till the age of 3 or 4 is the newest recommendation. Would you be willing to turn your 2 year old back rear-facing? What would your budget be for a new seat?

You can see in my siggy pic my almost 3 year old daughter, my 5 year old nephew, and my 14 month old daughter all rear-facing. The 5 year old does not normally ride rear-facing, but he fits, and he wanted to try it out

I would be willing to have him rear facing but I do not think that he will fit. He is very tall for his age (37"). I do not have a budget in mind....I just want my child to be safe.

If he fits the seat that he's in and it installs well in your vehicle and you find it easy to use properly, then there is nothing wrong with the seat he's in. I suspect that you have a Graco Cargo, but it could also be the Nautilus. They are both nice seats, though the Cargo doesn't make a good booster seat.

At 35lbs and 2yrs old already, I wouldn't stress about turning him rf'ing again. There are only 3 seats out there with limits higher than 35lbs anyways, so in most seats he would've already met the recommendation of "rf to the limits of the seat." (I'm counting the radian as 1 seat even if there are multiple models.)

Now if you decide that you do indeed want to replace the seat you have, and want to try him rf'ing, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that - you just don't have much in the way of choice since he's already 35lbs.

For your current situation though, provided the seat is a good fit etc, I don't see a reason to recommend replacing the seat unless you really want to. It's possible there's nothing wrong with your current set up at all and both the Graco seats are nice, safe, seats - no need to spend money to replace a perfectly good seat if you don't want to.

Yes, it is the Graco Cargo. It seems to be fine. I guess that I am concerned about side impact, etc. My son seems to be uncomfortable in it lately so I am considering replacing it. I have heard much about the Britax seats. Are they really superior?
Thank you for the info!

No, the Britax seats are not superior safetywise. All carseats must meet the same safety standards set forth by Transport Canada in order to be sold here. The Britaxes have some nice extras like different UAS clips, Velcro to hold the straps back so it's easy to get the child in, nice covers, etc. Not things that affect safety. At your son's age and weight, the only Britax I'd recommend for him is the Frontier. It's a combination seat, which means it harnesses forward facing and then turns into a booster. The Frontier can used as a highback booster only so you would still need to buy a backless when he's older (8 or 9). It's $299 regular price. If you do want to replace the Cargo, my top pick would be the Graco Nautilus. It's also a combination seat, but unlike the Frontier does become a backless booster as well. It's $239-$269 depending on where you buy (carried by Sears, Walmart, Zellers and Toys R Us). It's been known to go on sale for $199 or even $179 at Zellers. Hope that's helpful.

amyd said:

No, the Britax seats are not superior safetywise. All carseats must meet the same safety standards set forth by Transport Canada in order to be sold here. The Britaxes have some nice extras like different UAS clips, Velcro to hold the straps back so it's easy to get the child in, nice covers, etc. Not things that affect safety. At your son's age and weight, the only Britax I'd recommend for him is the Frontier. It's a combination seat, which means it harnesses forward facing and then turns into a booster. The Frontier can used as a highback booster only so you would still need to buy a backless when he's older (8 or 9). It's $299 regular price. If you do want to replace the Cargo, my top pick would be the Graco Nautilus. It's also a combination seat, but unlike the Frontier does become a backless booster as well. It's $239-$269 depending on where you buy (carried by Sears, Walmart, Zellers and Toys R Us). It's been known to go on sale for $199 or even $179 at Zellers. Hope that's helpful.

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It was on sale for $199 at Zellers just this week or last. If it isn't on sale this week, you can still ask them to honour the price as they will do that for 2 weeks.

mabey its just me but when I read this post I feel like the op is being encouraged to not RF her child because he is 2 and 35 pounds?

I dont mean to offend anyone but
The op said yes she has a seat for him but she doesnt really like it and has no set budget for a new seat. She is willing to get a new seat and is willing to RF again! So Iam wondering even if she got a 40 pound seat and it only lasted a year, wouldnt it be worth it if she could afford it? Or is it because he is so tall people think she may as well keep him FF now?

thanks for answering in adavance

Unregistered said:

mabey its just me but when I read this post I feel like the op is being encouraged to not RF her child because he is 2 and 35 pounds?

I dont mean to offend anyone but
The op said yes she has a seat for him but she doesnt really like it and has no set budget for a new seat. She is willing to get a new seat and is willing to RF again! So Iam wondering even if she got a 40 pound seat and it only lasted a year, wouldnt it be worth it if she could afford it? Or is it because he is so tall people think she may as well keep him FF now?

thanks for answering in adavance

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I think you'll find the vast majority of us advocating (and practicing with our own children) rear facing to age 3, and in some cases even beyond. But it also must be said for the purposes of being fair and honest, that a forward facing two year old, who weighs 35 pounds, has somewhat limited options in terms of rear facing again... though certainly there are options, providing cost really isn't an issue, and a Radian (for example) installs well in the OP's vehicle. Also, while a 2 year old is still better protected in a rear facing seat, a forward facing 2 year old riding in a correctly used/installed and top tethered seat is not unsafe, either.