5 Pt Harness Booster Recommendation for 3 year old

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AZGreenMomma

New member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #1

I am feeling stuck as to what to do because it appears there are no clear cut answers as to what seat will keep my kids the safest. I thought I could come here and give my situation and at least you all could make a better informed recommendation for me.
I have a 2003 Acura MDX. My 3 yr old son is FF in a Britax Boulevard behind the driver's seat and my 3 month old daughter is RF in her Chicco Keyfit infant carrier. I am wanting to move her into the Boulevard RF, which will mean we have to move it to the middle position and buy my son a new seat.
My considerations were the Britax Frontier (which I was set on til I read Consumer Reports), Graco Nautilus (not a big fan of the brand but the reviews seem good so I am unsure), Sunshine Radian or Recaro ProSport. After looking through them all, we felt like maybe the Recaro would be the most secure, especially since it meets European standards until I read reviews about kids outgrowing them far too early for the manufacturer recommendations. Help!
My son is 35 lbs, 38 in tall and when he sits he is 17 1/4 from bottom of his butt to top of his head. I feel like his shoulders are fairly wide at 10 1/2 inches across.

 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

Staff member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #2

Welcome.

Why do you need to move the Boulevard to the middle? You can sit it more upright than 45 degrees once your little girl has head control.

The Radian doesn't convert to a booster. It's a convertible seat, and a great option if you wanted to turn your three year old rear facing.

It's only his butt to shoulder height we're worried about. That tells us how long his torso is. His head doesn't get strapped in.

The Recaro has 18" top slots, the Nautilus 18.5", and the Frontier 85 has 20" top slots. The Recaro is outgrown soonest by torso height, but last by weight. The Nautilus is outgrown in the middle, and the Frontier will last kids the longest harnessed and boostered.

At only 35 pounds you could also look at the Evenflo Maestro with 18" top slots and a 50 pound harness limit.

Consumer Reports is terrible when it comes to carseats. I don't know what they say about the Frontier, but I don't trust it anyway. They happened to get the Keyfit right.

Wendy

 

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armywife12

New member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #3

Are you sure his butt to head measurement is only 17.5 inches? That's pretty small for a 3 yr old. If its the correct length, I'd choose the maestro, nautilus, or prosport. The frontier is my favorite but would be overkill for a child that size.

 

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AZGreenMomma

New member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #4

My husband tried to flip the Boulevard RF behind the driver's seat last week and it was literally straight up and down. Maybe he did something wrong? When my son was in it RF he was the only child, so naturally, he was in the middle seat.
I measured from bottom to top of shoulders and he is currently 14.5 in.
My questions is sort of two part I suppose as we just purchased an Evenflo Triumph Advance for my husband's Honda Accord as my son outgrew his Roundabout. If this seat is as safe as the Keyfit, should we possibly put that into my car RF for my daughter and keep my son in the Boulevard as he could obviously stay in it much longer? Or, we could have the Nautilus and Triumph in the Accord as our good, but cheaper seats since they don't ride in that nearly as often.
From what you said, the Radian is out. The Recaro LOOKS more cushioned and safe than the Frontier, but maybe they are comparable? If that is the case I would think the best choice would be the one that will last us the longest.
I'm feeling totally overwhelmed.

 

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AZGreenMomma

New member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #5

Armywife, no, I must be wrong on that because to his shoulders was 14 inches so I'm sure he doesn't have a 3 inch head. He is a little bigger than most of his buddies. Just having a hard time getting him to sit still to measure.

 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

Staff member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #6

The Evenflo will last longer than the Boulevard. It has higher top slots. But yes, I'd use the seats that are capable of rear facing for your daughter and get your son forward facing seats. No sense having him in something he'll only use half of. Or you could rear face him in the Triumph.

Did your husband put it back in the recline mode when he put the Boulevard rear facing? And switch the LATCH connectors back to rear facing?

Between the Frontier and ProSport I'd usually go with the Frontier. Same money, more seat. But the Nautilus fits slim kids well, is half the cost, and harnesses as long as necessary, and boosters as long as necessary too.

Wendy

 

jess71903

Ambassador

• Mar 31, 2011

• #7

I did a little review of the ProSport here. . I actually found it to have 18.5" top slots, so same as the Nautilus. You can see pics in my review with my 38lb 3.5 year old.

I have also used the Nautilus with a friend, and really like it too. If budget was a real concern, I think I'd go with it. Otherwise, I really love the ProSport much more than I anticipated.


All seats on the market pass the same minimum requirements. Beyond that, we don't know if one seat is safer than another. If the seat fits your child, fits your vehicle, and you can install and use it correctly EVERY time, then it is a safe seat.

 

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AZGreenMomma

New member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #8

I bet he forgot to make the necessary RF adjustments.
Ok, so Nautilus for 2nd car and Frontier for primary should hold us for many years for my son and my daughter can move into the Boulevard and Triumph. Is there any reason to keep her in the Keyfit or should she be ok to move now? She is 3 months, 16 lbs with good head control.
Feeling less overwhelmed, thank you!

 

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AZGreenMomma

New member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #9

Jess, our boys are similar is size (mine is 35 lbs but just turned 3 last week) so I guess my question on the Recaro Prosport was whether it would get as many years of use out of it as the Britax Frontier as I see many reviews complaining of outgrowing much earlier than the limits.

 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

Staff member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #10

With a 14.5" torso, you might want to look at the Maestro for a second seat. It's $80 and will get you about 3.5 years of harnessed time for him then you can pass it down to your daughter to use. It's also a very narrow and lightweight seat, great for taking on airplanes.

There are no safety differences between the Keyfit and a rear facing convertible. If she fits in the Boulevard (she may not yet) you can move her. She'll fit in the Triumph, definitely. It fits newborns well whereas the Boulevard does not (much higher bottom slots).

Wendy

 

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AZGreenMomma

New member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #11

Sorry for all the questions but I really appreciate the answers! So would you consider the Triumph Advance a safe enough infant seat for everyday? Wondering if we could put that in my car for my daughter and leave my son in the Boulevard for awhile longer before going to a booster.

 

jess71903

Ambassador

• Mar 31, 2011

• #12

AZGreenMomma said:

Jess, our boys are similar is size (mine is 35 lbs but just turned 3 last week) so I guess my question on the Recaro Prosport was whether it would get as many years of use out of it as the Britax Frontier as I see many reviews complaining of outgrowing much earlier than the limits.

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No, the Frontier 85 has taller top slots than the ProSport and the Nautilus by about an inch. The Frontier also adjusts taller in booster mode. The benefit of the Nautilus is that it also converts to a backless booster when the highback is outgrown and the other 2 do not. The 80lb weight limit on the Frontier, and the 90lb limit on the ProSport are completely crazy. Kids will outgrow it by height before they get to those limits. The 65lb limit on the Nautilus is more reasonable. In fact, I know of an almost 5 year old that is nearing the 65lb weight limit on his Nautilus, even though he hasn't outgrown it by height yet.

 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

Staff member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #13

AZGreenMomma said:

Sorry for all the questions but I really appreciate the answers! So would you consider the Triumph Advance a safe enough infant seat for everyday? Wondering if we could put that in my car for my daughter and leave my son in the Boulevard for awhile longer before going to a booster.

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Yes, I do. I never used an infant seat.

He's not going to a booster. There are no safety differences between a forward facing convertible and a forward facing combination seat (that's what he's getting) with the harness in. Both are forward facing harnessed seats, just as your daughter is going to be in a rear facing seat, either her infant seat or a properly fitting convertible.

Do you know of the AAP's policy to rear face as long as possible?

Wendy

 

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AZGreenMomma

New member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #14

Oh yes, I know about the recommendation. It was ironic that when that came out we were actually discussing turning our son BACK around RF (we had turned him at 1) as I kept reading how much safer it is. Our daughter will RF much, much longer. That is why I asked about the Triumph Advance, actually, because I was thinking he might be less resistant to turning back around if they were both rear facing. I was just concerned the Triumph Advance maybe wasn't quite as secure as our Britax's based on price, which I'm sure is a silly way to compare.

 

Spam

New member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #15

The frontier also has a nine year life span vs the recaro's six year, so it will last longer harness wise and years. I also lost a lot of harness height when I installed the prosport. That varies from vehicle to vehicle, but my 2 yr old was using the top slots on the prosport. He's on the next to top on the nautilus and is three clicks down from the top on the frontier85.

 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

Staff member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #16

It could be argued that the EFTA is safer than the Boulevard. It allows for more rear facing time, and depending on how old your Boulevard is (before 2/08) it may have a higher rear facing weight limit as well.

All seats pass the same testing. There is no magical Britax bubble. Nor a Recaro one, Keyfit one, Peg, or any other expensive seat bubble.

Wendy

 

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mylittlet

Senior Community Member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #17

Do you still have your roundabout? If so, I would put baby in the bv in your car and roundabout in dh car. Get a frontier for 3y for your car and a meastro for dh. I would return the triumph. Its a nice seat, but you already have 2 convertibles.

Stefanie, cpst in iowa - mom to 4 great kids

 

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AZGreenMomma

New member

• Mar 31, 2011

• #18

The Boulevard was purchased in Oct of 2008, but I didn't check the manufacture date.
We don't have the Roundabout anymore, just using the Triumph in hubby's car for son and have a second Keyfit base in there for baby.