Question child too tall

newman · Dec 11, 2010

Hello,

My daughter has outgrown her car seat in terms of height but is 4 pounds shy for weight for the booster. Can anyone give some advice?

Thanks.

Newman

wendytthomas · Dec 11, 2010

Hi Newman.

It would help a lot to know what seat she's outgrown, how old she is, how heavy she is, and what your budget is. Our recommendations will be very different for a two year old than they would be for a six year old.

Wendy

carseatcoach · Dec 11, 2010

Yes.

And is it a booster with a 30# minimum or one with a 40# minimum? We might recommend boostering a 36# child (in a booster in which she meets the minimums) under some conditions, but never a 26# child.

newman · Dec 11, 2010

Thanks,

She is 4.5 yrs, 36 lbs and has outgrown a intera 4 in 1 (Dorel) and a Prospect Highback (dorel), both of which reach their limit at 40 lbs. I have a costco traveller that only starts at 40 lbs (30 according to some websites).

wendytthomas · Dec 11, 2010

The Traveller starts at 30 pounds I believe.

However, I would try my hardest not to use it. It's not got adjustable belt guides, so if she's just outgrowing the torso height on the Intera and High Back, the belt probably won't fit her well in the Traveller. http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=73712

Also, your Intera starts as a booster at 30 pounds. Though again, it may not fit her as well as others, and it requires support behind it to the level of her ears.

But, if these boosters fit her well, and she sits properly in them, you can switch to a booster. For a 4.5 year old 36 pound child, though, I'd be most comfortable with them in a harness full time for a bit longer.

Wendy

flipper68 · Dec 11, 2010

Generally speaking, high back boosters have a 30lb min. No backs have a 40lb min.

At 4 yrs and 35 lbs., your child is the bare minimum of using a booster, both by size and maturity (do you really expect a 4 year old to remain properly positioned in a lap/shoulder belt?).

There are many high weight/high harness seats available that will easily work for another 2 or more years in a 5 pt harness. Many of them can be used as a booster once the harness is outgrown. Here's a few that come to mind:

graco nautilus
britax frontier
sunshine kids radian
evenflo maestro

wendytthomas · Dec 11, 2010

flipper68 said:
There are many high weight/high harness seats available that will easily work for another 2 or more years in a 5 pt harness. Many of them can be used as a booster once the harness is outgrown. Here's a few that come to mind:

graco nautilus
britax frontier
sunshine kids radian
evenflo maestro

The Radian isn't a booster at all. I'd take that out and add the Recaro ProSport to the list.

Wendy

newman · Dec 11, 2010

Thanks for the advice,

I'm not sure if Canada has different specifications but the Instruction manual for me says 40 pounds for the prospect and interra. Also the traveller says 40 pounds as well. You would think that they would build some sort of overlap. Why is U.S. Canadian different?

Newman

wendytthomas · Dec 11, 2010

Canada states a minimum for a booster is 40 pounds. Ok. I'll move you to the Canadian forum now instead of this one. She needs a harness, I believe, but our techs up north will know better than I.

Wendy

nutritionistmom · Dec 11, 2010

Yes, she needs to be harnessed until 40 lbs in Canada.

My 4 yr old is in the Graco Nautilus. It's on sale this week at Babies R US for $179.
There's also the Evenflo Generations. It does harness to 65lbs but like the Evenflo Maestro you'll probably need a dedicated booster after. It's also on sale at BRU this week.
Britax Frontier would be a great choice too.

canadiangie · Dec 11, 2010

newman said:
Thanks,

She is 4.5 yrs, 36 lbs and has outgrown a intera 4 in 1 (Dorel) and a Prospect Highback (dorel), both of which reach their limit at 40 lbs. I have a costco traveller that only starts at 40 lbs (30 according to some websites).

Hello,

Now that you've been 'brought over'

to Canada, let's get some legal answers for you...

Your daughter needs to be in a 5 point harness until she is at least 40lbs. All provinces require this.

If she has outgrown her current seat by seated height (shoulders level with the top harness slots of her seat), but is not yet 40lbs she will need a new harnessed seat with taller top harness slots, and by default a higher harnessing limit.

Seats to look at are the Britax Frontier XT and the Graco Nautilus. If those are out of your price range there are other harnessed seats with nice tall top slots we can also recommend, though they may not convert to a booster for down the road. Keep in mind the FrontierXT and Nautilus both convert to excellent booster seats, so the bit extra you spend up front buys you 2 great seats in the end (awesome long use harnessed seat, awesome belt positioning booster).

Does that help?

Question child too tall

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