New Seat for 4 1/2 year old

Snorris2 · Jun 19, 2014

Hi all! I haven't been on in a while, but I want some suggestions. My 4 1/2 year old has been complaining that her Radian is now hurting her neck. We have the XTSL version and the headwings just make it unusable for us after a certain point. This happened with my oldest as well. I would like to get a new 5 point for my youngest. I would actually love to get a new 5 point for both of them.

I am looking at the Graco Nauti and the Britax Pioneer. Any opinions on these seats?
Any other recs?

If it helps, my 4 year old is 46 lbs and 43 inches. My 6 year old is 49 lbs and 47 inches.

Would you reharness the 6 year old? She will be 7 in January. If I don't reharness, I a looking for a new booster for her. Our Recaro Probooster is too tippy in the back.

TIA

Baylor · Jun 19, 2014

I would go with nautilus. Great seat, 10 yr exp and makes a great booster. and becomes backless.

I would not reharness a 6 yr old. I would get a great dedicated booster that becomes backless eventually.

tiggercat · Jun 19, 2014

My 4y9m old is about the same size as yours, he rides in a Britax Frontier CT (FR90 in the USA) and I really like it. I much prefer it to the Nautilus (my daughter had a Nauti previously and I liked it ok, but the Frontier is definitely a step up in comfort and ease of use). The pioneer is basically a stripped down version of the frontier, with older models having lower top harness slots, and none having the click tight feature that makes for a simple install. I find the weird belt path awkward to work with, and would probably chose a different seat for that reason.

I would probably keep the almost 7yo in a booster unless they can't sit properly in one. I like the Britax Parkway for a booster, my tall 9yo still uses one in high back mode and is quite comfy (71lb, 54.5in, I just measured her, lol).