Advice on Booster? - Canadian

Hi:

I was rear ended yesterday and my insurance told me to go out and buy a new seat for my son. Luckily the kids were not in the vehicle with me at the time. My 8 year old son is 43 lbs and is 47" tall and when seated 24" from bottom to top of head. He was in an Apex Safety 1st seat. While this seat is ok I find it heavy and cumbersome to move from one vehicle to another and i hate that i have to keep readjusting the height of the headrest of the apex because it slides down after a while. He does use it as a booster and not with the restraints although technically he could. I was looking for something maybe a little less cumbersome to move around but still something comfortable as he will likely be in it for a while yet and can't stand to be uncomfortable as he is high functioning autistic. The insurance company will pay for something of like value to what I had so likely up to about $150 Canadian.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Lynn

If it has to be a booster, then I think either the Britax Parkway SG/SGL or the Sunshine Kids Monterey would be a good one to replace the Apex. Alternatively since he is only 43 lbs and if you would still want to give keep him in harness, the Britax Frontier XT or Graco Nautilus would be as harness and convertable into a booster seat for later. However the Nautilus and Frontier are more expensive than $150.

I find the Parkway to be much easier to move around than the Monterey so that would be my top choice, provided that it positions the seatbelt correctly on him.
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Where can i get the britax parkway or sunshine monterey? I live in hamilton, on and have pretty much all the major retailers here Walmart Zellers Toysrus etc

My son loves his Monterey and finds it very comfortable but I didn't suggest it last night when I saw this b/c it is heavy and with the old-style UAS hooks it is not easy to move back and forth if you are switching vehicles. We also just bought this seat in the past year so we didn't use it when James was younger. I have heard from a lot of people that the Monterey doesn't fit smaller booster riders well; that it is too big. My son is about 10 inches and 30 pounds heavier than yours. I would be concerned with him being overwhelmed with the size of the Monterey. When James was younger we used the turbo-booster and it fit him wonderfully plus it is light and easy to move. The model that we had offered little to no comfort padding though. We had the "sport" model I believe. The ones on Babies R Us look much more padded. Does anyone have opinions on those?

I think that the PWSG would be a great choice as well. It is lighter than the Monterey and also at just 43lbs it has the SG clip to prevent submarining and may fit better - my son is 42lbs but not as tall, and his shoulders were too narrow in the Monterey in our car (2007 Civic). The shoulder belt was just too close to the edge of his shoulder though the lap belt fit was fantastic. Both adjust very tall, and the PW can turn into a backless as well. The PW"SGL" and the Monterey are both latchable which is nice if you have UAS available in the vehicles.

Toys R Us carries the PW, not sure about the Monterey. I'm pretty sure neither Walmart nor Zellers carries either, or at least they don't here. SnuggleBugz (they sponsor this forum) has a store in Burlington and carry both, check them out at snugglebugz.ca. The owner is a tech and they should be able help you test out the seats in your car. :thumbsup:

Does your son sit well in the booster? No issues with leaning out of position or falling asleep, etc? If you do have concerns, I would look at the Frontier or Nautilus as suggested.

The TB is great especially for smaller kids but won't last as long by height - maybe that wouldn't matter. It would be a decent option as well.

Info from the car seat data forum:
TB
Measurements:
Lowest Belt Guide Height: 14 in.
Highest Belt Guide Height: 19.25 in.
Tallest Internal Seating Height: 28 in.

PWSG/SGL
Measurements:
Lowest Belt Guide Height: 15 in.
Highest Belt Guide Height: 21.5 in.
Tallest Internal Seating Height: 30.5 in.

MTY
Measurements:
Lowest Belt Guide Height: 15.5 in.
Highest Belt Guide Height: 21.5 in.
Tallest Internal Seating Height: 30 in.

If you are in Hamilton, check Snugglebugz in Burlington out (www.snugglebugz.ca) . It carries both models, you can try them in your vehicle, with your child, etc. I believe the store has certified techs on hand to help.

Thanks for all your advice everyone. I am leaning toward the parkway slg if it fits him well. I will be going out to snugglebugz to check it out this weekend. For now I have my sister's booster that she keeps just for my child.

DD#1 loves her Monterey. She likes it MUCH better than the Parkway, which she says is not as comfortable.

I'm also in agreement about giving the TB a try. I've tried to like the parkway SG a few times, but am just really disappointed in the seatbelt fit with it from what I've seen so far. Your son is petite for his age, but I have heard of complaints with the SG strap being uncomfortable for boys, and I wouldn't rely on it to properly position the belt anyways - if it's not good without the clip, then it's not good.

I know some stores up here carry a few boosters that are less talked about around here. I believe one is made by Chicco and isn't too heavy - but it's got awkward belt guides and would be difficult to buckle. I'm not sure what the belt fit is like in it as I never tried it with my dd - the belt guides made it impractical for us. But if you're helping your son buckle already, then it may be an option.

How long do you plan on using a high back for him? What is head support like in your vehicle and does he need the extra containment the high back provides? I ask just because if he has 1.5 or 2" growing room in the turbobooster that may be plenty to get him until you're ready to have him use it backless. So I wouldn't rule a booster out based on the height of the back if you plan to move him backless in a year from now.

If there is a chance that you think he'll need a harness, then I agree that the frontier XT might be a good option, it's just way more expensive than the others. I don't think you'd get a Monterey for $150 for that matter either, but even if you could, I really don't know how it would fit your ds - some thin kids are fine in it, others aren't - it depends on seatbelt geometry.

So all that to say I'd try the turbobooster first.

I called my insurance company the other day and they gave us about $200 to spend. We went out to snugglebugz today and he hated the way the parkway felt to sit in so we didn't event try it in the car. We took the SK Monterey out to try it in the van and it fit him perfectly. The belt sits exactly where it should on him and he says he feels comfortable. He really likes the headrest as is closer to his head than in his old Apex seat. He also likes that the sides can be closer to him than his old seat as well. He likes the feeling of "containment" as he's high functioning ASD. Thanks again everyone for your great advice.

:thumbsup: Awesome, so glad you got the $$ to cover it and found a seat he fits and is happy in!

That's great news that you found something for him that works. I know my dd has liked her Monterey and I love the way the seatbelt fits her. She sleeps great in it too because of the shape of the headwings.