What's a good booster seat for 6 y/o?

NanceXToo · May 14, 2007

So I have another question! Now that I've decided which new carseat to buy my 18 month old son (going with a Britax Boulevard; should have the money together to order it within a week, should have it here and installed in about two weeks), I've decided that I would also like to upgrade my daughter to a better/safer booster seat.

She is 6.7 years old. Back in December she was 45 3/4 inches tall and she weighed 44 1/2 pounds according to the BMI sheet the school nurse sent home.

She will be sitting in the middle of the backseat of a 2003 Toyota Matrix (there is a lap and shoulder belt, there is no headrest, and she will be sitting next to the Britax Boulevard carseat, rearfacing, and so the booster seat will need to fit next to that.

So with all that said...does anyone have any recommendations for me as to which booster seat would be best for her?

Right now she is in a backless Costco booster seat. I read that is is okay to use a backless booster seat if the seat is higher than the child's ears (which it is, as of right now, although it doesn't look like it will be if she grows much more!). But it seems like the seatbelt is a little too on her neck and that she maybe needs to be a bit higher for the seatbelt to fit her entirely correctly. Do the high back ones tend to make a child sit a bit higher up? Or does it really just depend on the seat?

Also I don't know if it would have made a difference to put her in the middle...it might, it seems like there's a very slight hump to the middle seat, but until I get my son's new carseat, I can't put her in the middle, the booster seat she has now and the carseat he has now (an Evenflo Tribute OHS) won't fit to sit close enough to each other for both seats to be in the right spot and buckled. But I think the Boulevard won't be as wide as the Tribute so that should be resolved soon.

Thanks for your help!

joolsplus3 · May 14, 2007

The Britax/Fisher Price seats are usually really easy to buckle next to other seats, like this one http://www.elitecarseats.com/Fisher-Price-Safe-Voyage-Booster.pro or the Parkway (no armrests makes it a breeze). They will fit her better than the Cosco you have now, because the shoulderbelt guide can be moved right to her shoulder for optimal fit). Highbacks also provide a lot more head protection in side impacts, so if you go with something like a Parkway or Compass B510 or Monarch, you could put it outboard if you want to

momof2kiddos · May 14, 2007

I would say the parkway. http://www.specialtybaby.com/br20pabocars.html
There is a cute girly one here on sale for $79.00.

I posted this in another thread awhile back....

Personally I would go with the parkway.It has true side impact protection,wings if he falls asleep,and it has No armrests which is better so people don't make a mistake when buckling him in.Plus it is one of the tallest height boosters on the market.
***Oh and I am just a HUGE fan of Britax ***

NanceXToo · May 14, 2007

joolsplus3 said:
The Britax/Fisher Price seats are usually really easy to buckle next to other seats, like this one http://www.elitecarseats.com/Fisher-Price-Safe-Voyage-Booster.pro or the Parkway (no armrests makes it a breeze). They will fit her better than the Cosco you have now, because the shoulderbelt guide can be moved right to her shoulder for optimal fit). Highbacks also provide a lot more head protection in side impacts, so if you go with something like a Parkway or Compass B510 or Monarch, you could put it outboard if you want to

Thanks for the recommendations, so far! Jools, the reason why I need to have the booster seat in the middle is because I have a 15 year old daughter who sits in the back, too, when my husband and I are both in the car, and I wanted to keep her outboard because people here mentioned she needs a headrest for whiplash prevention and I don't have a headrest in the middle of the backseat. I am learning a lot here!

joolsplus3 · May 14, 2007

Ah, the 15 yo...gotcha... the FP really is quite narrow...the base is a tad narrower than the cosco you have now (it dials wider, which is cool, when you have space), and the back is quite slim, so not uncomfortable for a big person to sit next to.

Simplysomething · May 14, 2007

My six year old (he'll be seven in July) is in a graco turbo booster. In my car, there is no issue with buckling next to another seat, because both of my children are outboard, and the center seat is not used.

However, in my mothers car, we have the 2 year olds scenera center, and the turbo outboard.

The scenera is installed with Latch (it's allowed, according to the manual for the sable). It is sometimes very difficult to reach between two seats to buckle the seat belt. Depending on how moody my oldest is being--he sometimes can and sometimes can't reach the buckle.

One thing I would recommend--if you are using a seat belt to install a carseat in the center, put the boostered child on the outboard seat that is opposite from the side that the carseats--seat belt buckles into. That way, boostered child won't accidently unbuckle the carseat. I figure that a teenager is less likely to accidently uninstall the infant/toddler seat.

Of course, if you are using latch (and it's definitely allowed, because it's not allowed in the center of many makes/models.)...it's not really an issue.

I hope my post made sense. lol

joolsplus3 · May 14, 2007

Simplysomething said:
My six year old (he'll be seven in July) is in a graco turbo booster. In my car, there is no issue with buckling next to another seat, because both of my children are outboard, and the center seat is not used.

However, in my mothers car, we have the 2 year olds scenera center, and the turbo outboard.

The scenera is installed with Latch (it's allowed, according to the manual for the sable). It is sometimes very difficult to reach between two seats to buckle the seat belt. Depending on how moody my oldest is being--he sometimes can and sometimes can't reach the buckle.

One thing I would recommend--if you are using a seat belt to install a carseat in the center, put the boostered child on the outboard seat that is opposite from the side that the carseats--seat belt buckles into. That way, boostered child won't accidently unbuckle the carseat. I figure that a teenager is less likely to accidently uninstall the infant/toddler seat.

Of course, if you are using latch (and it's definitely allowed, because it's not allowed in the center of many makes/models.)...it's not really an issue.

I hope my post made sense. lol

The Sable allows it, but does the Scenera? AFAIK, the Scenera requires exactly 11 inch apart LATCH bars, and the Sable's aren't necessarily 11 inches in the middle (Britax allows 11-20 inch apart bars, other brands do not).

Simplysomething · May 14, 2007

I don't see anywhere in the scenera manual that says that. I shall check again.

ETA:
The latch bars on the sable are all the same distance apart. (They are toward the center of the car. ) If I couldn't use them in the center --due to spacing, then I couldn't use them anywhere. Correct?

ETA again:
previous thread where we discussed center latch on the sable with the scenera:
The post with the bit from the sable manual. The entire thread where it was discussed.

(And your response to my post with the bit from the manual in it. lol)

joolsplus3 · May 14, 2007

LOL, good sleuthing

(I just have my mechanical red flags in my brain, sometimes they make it out of my mouth before I can process the full information including memories)

NanceXToo · May 14, 2007

By the way, is there any difference really between the britax parkway booster and the britax parkway express booster...?

bbygrl99 · May 14, 2007

I have a DD 6yrs old about 54lbs and I just got her the B10 Compass Booster. She loves it. It also folds up for storing and adjustable heights. Just a thought!

Jeanum · May 14, 2007

NanceXToo said:
By the way, is there any difference really between the britax parkway booster and the britax parkway express booster...?

There's no difference.

Some stores (BRU I think) just call the Parkway the "Parkway Express" for some reason (to confuse customers maybe?

).

NanceXToo · May 14, 2007

Jeanum said:
There's no difference. Some stores (BRU I think) just call the Parkway the "Parkway Express" for some reason (to confuse customers maybe? ).

lol! Okay, thanks!

NanceXToo · May 14, 2007

Hey...would anyone want to comment on this one for me?? Is it a good seat for a good price...??

http://cgi.ebay.com/Graco-Turbo-Boo...3QQihZ003QQcategoryZ66694QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

joolsplus3 · May 14, 2007

Jeanum said:
There's no difference. Some stores (BRU I think) just call the Parkway the "Parkway Express" for some reason (to confuse customers maybe? ).

That's the name for their BRU-exclusive cover

We call ours 'bumblebee' b/c of the black and yellow, lol.

joolsplus3 · May 14, 2007

NanceXToo said:
Hey...would anyone want to comment on this one for me?? Is it a good seat for a good price...??

http://cgi.ebay.com/Graco-Turbo-Boo...3QQihZ003QQcategoryZ66694QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I would have recommended it, if it would fit.

. It's really wide and hard to buckle in the middle next to other seats

NanceXToo · May 14, 2007

joolsplus3 said:
I would have recommended it, if it would fit. . It's really wide and hard to buckle in the middle next to other seats

Ah figures! So it's much wider than the FPSV or Britax Parkway boosters, then?

joolsplus3 · May 14, 2007

NanceXToo said:
Ah figures! So it's much wider than the FPSV or Britax Parkway boosters, then?

Yeah, a bit wider, but the shape of the armrests seems to really get in the way of easy buckling, mainly. You know you can try seats in your car at Babies R Us? You might find one that works just perfectly without having to buy it to try it?

NanceXToo · May 14, 2007

One more, this is the last one I promise lol...what do you think of this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-COMBI-YORKT...ryZ66694QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Re: babies r us, I would have to drive over an hour each way to get to one, so I COULD do it but I was trying to just choose and order one online without having to make the trip.

I'm curious as to thoughts on that Combi one I just linked to, but if you guys think that's no good, I think I'm going to just go ahead and order a Britax Parkway and go with that one!

Thanks again for all the help, I appreciate it!

momof2kiddos · May 14, 2007

If you order from ebay and they are not a retailer of the company then you void the warrenty on your seat if something were to go wrong with it.

If you order from BRU online then you can take it back is you see it doesn't fit your needs,otherwise you pay a restocking fee and shippping back to them.You could also try target.com.

What's a good booster seat for 6 y/o?

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