Question Car seat recommendation?

Hi everyone,

I hope someone can help recommend a car seat for me because I'm not sure what my best option is.

I have a 3 1/2 year old son who is 40lbs and 40" tall. He is currently FF in a True Fit in my vehicle (Hyundai Sante Fe) and in a Graco Nautilus in my husband's truck (Ford F150 full cab). I have a 4 month old daughter who will be outgrowing her bucket seat in the next month or two so she will use the True Fit RF. Now I need to find another seat for my son in my vehicle (both my husband and I drop off and pick up at daycare so we need a good seat in both vehicles).

I don't know much about booster seats but I know the minimum weight is 40lbs, is there a minimum age? Safety is the number 1 criteria for me, so I want to get the safest option, but at the same time I don't want to buy something I don't need. I definitely want him in a 5 point harness, but does the hbb have a 5 point harness?

My husband doesn't really like the crotch strap on the Nautilus so we were considering getting something different.

What are my options? Do I buy a high back booster? Do I buy a comination FF / Booster seat? And what's the best one to buy?

Thanks!

Hi and welcome

In Canada, all kids must be restrained in a proper car seat until 4 years of age, so although your son is heavy enough and tall enough for some of the boosters available, he's not old enough. And, chances are he's not mature enough to sit properly at all times anyway. 3yo's tend to be squirmy lil worms which doesn't bode well for seatbelt positioning.

High back boosters are not harnessed. A combination harness/booster is like you have - a Nautilus. There are a couple of others that would be options for you if you don't like the Nauti. A Britax Frontier is a harnessed seat that can also be used as a booster. It has high harness slots and in booster mode, 120lb weight limit on the XT models. The other option is an EvenFlo Maestro. It only has a 47lb harnessed weight limit, but can also be used as a booster.

Are you set entirely on a harness/booster combo? You could potentially get away with buying something like a Radian or Complete Air for him to use now and pass down to his sister once she's older? By that point, you may be comfortable with his age and maturity level to begin booster training him.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info Melissa

I definitely won't get him a booster yet because of his age. The reason I am looking into a combo/booster is because we have the True Fit which is good FF to 65lbs. So I figured that once my daughter outgrows that, she'll be in a booster anyway. But it's definitely something to think about.