Booster Seat Confusion

We are g.parents of a 4 yr old, tall grandson, and a 1 yr. old g.daughter. Even though our convertible car seat specs state up to 80# and 48" (I think), our g.son is far under the 80# and only 42", but we think the head support has reached it's heighth limit for him.
The parents really want a harness system for him but we aren't able to afford such an expensive booster seat. Safety is first for us, but we want to be able to re-convert the convertible for use of the 1 yr old w/all the safety features available as we used for her big brother.
Has anyone else had this dilemma where the heighth/weight restrictions are well within the recommended range, but perhaps that child may have overgrown it?
What kind of SAFE boosters are out there that are affordable? My husband feels that because they have all gone thru safety tests that we should just be able to take our g.son and let him test a few.
We are limited w/the one seat and need to be able to provide a seat for both.
I think we all know how hard it is to take seats in/out of a vehicle. A very hard job.
Thank you.

How much does the 4 year old weigh? If he's 40lbs or less, I would consider the Maestro. It's a $80 harnessed seat that converts to a booster when needed that has a 50lb harness weight limit.

Hi there. Thanks for coming here with your questions! First off, how heavy are your grandchildren?

Next, about the carseat that you have. If you look closer at the stickers on the side, or at the instruction manual you will see that your seat can only be used with the harness till 40 lbs. Also, if you look at the back of the carseat (this depends on the model), there may be a warning about the top position for the headrest only being for booster mode. These seats tend to be outgrown very early (as young as 2 or 3 years old), and they make very poor boosters.

How much are you able to spend on a seat? The Evenflo Maestro is a great seat that has a harness limit of 50 lbs, but can be used as a booster after that. I think it costs around $75. If you are not able to afford that then I guess your only option would be a booster. Personally I would go with the Graco Turbobooster, as it fits younger/smaller children quite well.

As for the little one... have you heard the recommendation to keep children rear-facing past their 1st birthday? It is about 500% safer to keep children rear-facing until they are 2 or 3 years old. Now, you should check the stickers and manual with your carseat to make sure it can rear-face. If it can, that would be the best option. If it can't, I would probably purchase a new seat that can, such as the Cosco Scenera which is $40 at Walmart.

I wanted to second the suggestion of buying the Evenflo Maestro for your 4 year old grandson. If he is 42lbs, he'll have some growing room since the Maestro has a 50lb limit and tall harness slots. Most 4 year olds do not have the maturity to sit properly in a booster seat, which is why the harness seat is usually the safer option. When your grandson is 5 (preferably close to 6), he will be mature enough to safely sit in a booster seat.

Then you can continue to use the convertible you have (which I assume is a Cosco 3 in 1 seat or a Eddie Bauer 3 in 1 car seat) for the baby. The baby should use the convertible car seat rear-facing until she outgrows it. She'll outgrow it when she hits the rear-facing weight limit (35lbs, I believe) or when she has less than 1 inch of hard shell above her head.

Please let us know if you want more information about why we recommend that the 1 year old rides rear-facing in your vehicle.

When your 4 year old grandson outgrows the Maestro in a year or two, then you can buy him a booster seat and pass the Maestro to the baby to use forward-facing. (I'd strongly recommend NOT using the Cosco/Eddie Bauer seat as a booster as it fits most children poorly.) As you pass seats along, remember to keep an eye on the expiration dates. Most seats expire after 6 to 8 years.

I also agree with the previous person that the 3-in-1 convertible/forward-facing/booster combination seats are outgrown very early. All of the boosters seats have passed the testing, however some seats do not fit different sized children very well. The testing and the guidelines that say it's for a child over x years and x weight doesn't take into account a child's maturity level and whether they can follow the rules about how to sit in a booster seat all of the time.

Melanie

Thank you so much for your replies and suggestions! I do agree that our g.son - 32#, 42" g.son has outgrown our combo and it will work for our 1 yr old. YES to forward facing and it does work, well, after I pull my hair out and fuss and fume and finally get it as level as possible. I see that I am not alone. My husband & I thought we were the only people who had problems installing an infant seat. Your support and comments help so much.
Although our daughter and son-in-law bought 2 Britax, I cannot expect them to buy us one!
Going to check out the Evenflo Maestro now!
Safety is our priority with our g.children, I don't want to sound "cheap" and that money is more important.
I feel so much better now knowing that I am not alone.
Thanks, guys.

Hasn't the Maestro been recalled?

It was. Any you buy now will have the fixes in place.

Wendy

Thank you!
Have you reviewed the Evenflo Generations 65 Harness Booster Car Seat ? It is a bit more expensive but I have read the reviews and feel comfortable with the harness weight restrictions on it as well.
I just shared your info w/my husband and he feels more comfortable as well.
This forum has been exactly what I needed! I appreciate your insight.

The Generations has top slots that are nearly two inches lower than the Maestro. Since you don't need the extra weight, the seat will simply be outgrown about two years earlier. If you had a 52 pound grandchild, not 32 pound one, I would recommend it over the Maestro. But not at 32 pounds.

Wendy

If it's any help, my 4YO (small guy 10% for height/weight) has the Maestro for daycare, we sat him in both the Maestro & the Generations & he was on the top slots for the Generations, but had 1 1/2 harness slots left on the Maestro & 12#s.

Not all the Maestros were recalled, just the ones made early in the year. And, all manufactures have had recalls over the years, including Britax, just a part of improving safety!

tam

Also you can go HERE (<---click the link in the word) you can find a local to you Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician to teach you how to install your seat properly or answer any questions you might have.

That link is the Technicians that are on this site.

HERE (<--again click the word) is a Nationwide list in case you don't find one on our list) Put your city or state in and it will come up with a great list. If you do not live in a big city, entering just the state may be a better way to look, as the Tech may be in the next town or city over.

I just wanted to remind you that your 1 yo grandbaby should remain rear facing for another year or so. Kudos to you for being such a wonderful grandmama and making sure those precious little ones are safe!

Thank you! Our priority is safety and we love those babies. Yes, the little one will remain front facing for quite some time.

Unregistered said:

Thank you! Our priority is safety and we love those babies. Yes, the little one will remain front facing for quite some time.

Click to expand...

I hope you mean rear!

Wendy

oops, of course the baby rear facing! Sorry.