Too Old?

U

Unregistered

Guest
This sounds silly (and I think I know the answer) but I have a friend with a ten year old daughter weighing 65 pounds and a six year old son weighing thirty pounds. They are tall and thin. But my question is, should she spend the money on a Husky and a Marathon (or similar seat) to harness the 10 year old and RF the six year old? She also has a two- almost three- year old who is harnessed in a combo seat but he's a big boy probably about 38 pounds. I'm not worried about him needing a harness past 40 pounds because of his age since he already has experience riding in a BPB and does fine. The daughter fits fine in a regular belt. It rests correctly and her knees are at the edge of the seat. But because of her weight she is in a booster and her mother and I are debating the Husky. The son is fine in a booster as well but he is so skinny (and fits in the Marathon height-wise). So she was thinking get a Husky now for the daughter and have her ride in it until the almost three year old hits 40 lbs (but that may be a while since he's starting to grow taller and not gain) then move him into the Marathon and the six eyar old into the Husky. But then she was thinking is it THAT much safer? They are in a bit of trouble money-wise and since they all do fine how they are now, should they spend close to $500 on new seats?

We're a bit confused on what we should do.

P.S. The six year old rides in the combo booster using the harness when his brother isn't in the car but they had origionally bought two BPBs for the ten year old and then realized the convertible seat they were using for the youngest was expired and moved him to the combo and the middle child to the extra BPB.
 
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j4m4d8

New member
If you please let us know how tall the kids are and how far below the top harness slots the two boys shoulders are in the combo, we could likely give you better information.
Julie
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Heights

The youngest has about 1.5" below the top slot but he's getting more height on his legs now. The other son has about 1" and hasn't grown much lately so I don't know if that means they should be expecting a growth spurt? It's a Century Brevva (or something like that... can't think how to spell it right now.) and expires in about six months. As for height I'm not positive but I'm thinking the ten year old is about 4' 10" or so? She's on the taller side. She is VERY long legged and her torso height is about 16" give or take a little. I think that answered all of your questions but I'm sick so if I missed one I'll respond in a second post. Thanks a lot for helping us out!
 

j4m4d8

New member
I am not a tech, but here is my opinion.
For the 10 year old I am not sure about a Husky. It is only rated up to 53 inches. If she's very long-legged she still might fit, but imo it wouldn't be worth it since money is an issue for your friend. It sounds like the daughter is fine in the booster she has, and really, once the seat belt fits correctly that is a very safe choice. (I will note that I am 5' and some seat belts fit great, for others it would be nice if I could use a booster.)
For the 6 year old I'm really torn. If he does well in a booster, at his age a harnessed seat is not near the priority. But he's so small. I'm thinking of my friend's 30-pound 5 year old in a booster and it worries me. I wouldn't worry about a convertible seat for him right now, though, unless your friend is planning on another baby soon. At this age he could easily put on 5 pounds overnight and not be able to use the seat rear-facing anyway. I think the Husky (about $200 on close-out) would be my choice for him if your friend can afford it and it would fit in her car. If it doesn't fit or money is tight, I'd keep him in the Breverra until it expires and then buy another high-slotted combination seat to replace it. You'll have to ask others about what would be best as I am personally still shopping for one, but a new one can be found in the $80-$100 range.
For the 2 year old I would definitely recommend a Husky if it fits, or a Marathon if not. I know you said he does fine in a booster, but kids this age can suddenly go through unreasonable, stubborn streaks. It's asking a lot of a kid this age to sit still in a booster. (I have a 2, almost-3 year old who is WAY easier than her brother and still, I wouldn't put her in a booster. She is very tall also.) Since he is also getting close to the 40-pound weight limit on combo seats, for him I would get a Britax seat. The Husky is cheaper and he would get more use out of it so that would be the best option if it fits. One thing to consider, though, is that the Husky must be tethered for kids over 50 pounds. If there is no place to tether or the Husky doesn't fit, the Marathon would be a better choice.
If she can really only afford one seat right now, I would buy the Husky for the 2 year old. That still gives the 6 year old a harnessed seat to use for six months. Maybe then he'll have grown a bit where using a booster isn't as scary. The one disadvantage of waiting is that the Huskies may all be sold out by then, and then she would need to buy the more expensive Regent ($240). But it does spread the spending out a little bit, so it might be easier.
By the way, no kid is too old for the car seat that fits him properly. ;) Unfortunately some kids are too young for the car seats that fit them properly. :( I hope someday there'll be a cheaper option for big little kids, but right now only Britax makes appropriate seats for them. At least they're well-made and worth the money.
HTH,
Julie
 

joyride

Member
My personal opinion:

a Husky for a 10yr old and rf for a 6yr old doesn´t make sense to me, when money is an issue. I haven´t seen any pics or posts with kids that ages and I beliefe it makes a sense.

I would propose one Wizard, MA or Husky. The 10yo stays in her BPP, 6yo use the Century and the youngest the Wizard. And when the 6yo outgrows the Century (probably in some years) they can buy an high slot comboseat because of his low weight.

So I match with the proposal of Julie.

Joy
 

hkrok

New member
I would worry that you would not get much time at all with the 10 yr old in the Husky. Good for you to be so concernd though!!!

If you could find a store that sold them you could go put her in it and see with your own eyes just how much growing room she may have in it. You may be surprised and find out it may last awhile. And if you got one by the time she was done it sounds like it could be passed down.

For the 6 yr old I like the Husky idea. I had my 4.5 yr old rear facing in his Wizard until just recently, when we bought a Husky and gave and passed his wiz to dd. He also weighs only 31#.

I did have a problem not rearfacing but you are looking at spending a lot of extra money for a convertable. The Boulevard goes to 32# rf, and 65# ff but it does sit up higher than the Husky, which is good for kid to see out.
But another reason I got Husky is because it goes to 80# I think.
Also I think there is an issue with bigger, taller kids rf because of how the seatfalls to the side in a crash. I know there are some posts about it, so maybe if you use the search engine you can find them. They were in the last few months i think. I think from Papooses.

For the young one, I would deffinately keep him out of a booster even though his weight. That is where the Husky is great.

There is no way around the fact that 5 point harnesses are the safest method of travel. But you have to look at your money situation and how long you will get use out of them. You can start with one Husky for 6 yr old and work from there too. You don't have to buy them all at once. With one you can let the 10 yr old try and have it mostly for 6 yr old. Then if you decide you can go back and buy a second one.

But this is all coming from someone who has younger kids. :p
Guesss I let the post get long enough.
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Without much time at the moment, I'll just say if I were these kids' mom I'd get a Parkway or Starriser Comfy for the oldest, Husky/Regent for the middle kiddo & Roundabout or Marathon/Decathalon/Wizard/Bouelvard for the youngest.... Unless the oldest kiddo has some developmental issues, s/he should definitely be mature enough to use the booster & the middle kiddo will get the longest use out of the Husky & youngest kiddo needs the RF/FF ability of the convertible - perhaps by the time the oldest outgrows the booster, the middle kiddo will be ready for it (at least as spare) & eventually the youngest could get use out of the Husky/Regent (at least as an alternate seat).
 

joyride

Member
papooses said:
youngest kiddo needs the RF/FF ability of the convertible
The youngest has 38 pounds (and the middle one 6yo/30), so no way to rf any more! (same idea with a Roundabout). Forget to read all posts ? :D

A HBB for the oldest would be great and not too expensive!
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Wow... car seats are tougher than I thought!

Okay, I got some more information for you all! The ten year old is currently in a backless TurboBooster. The seat the six year old is in is a highback Voyager (Cosco I believe?). We went to Babies 'R Us with both of their vehicles to try out some seats and this is what we found...

1) They didn't have the Husky there but someone in the car seat section overheard us asking about it and said they have one in their car so we went out and tried it. It wouldn't make sense to get it for the oldest because she doesn't have much growing room. We tried it in both cars with a Marathon and in the extended cab it fit with just the Husky and the DD in a regular seatbelt or with a BPB on each side of it. In their main vehicle they BARELY fit together and there was no way their DD would be able to squeeze into it so getting both is out of the picture.
2) Their combo, a BPB, and a Marathon fit well in the car and truck but in the car it was difficult to buckle in the BPB. We had the combo rear-driver, BPB middle (there is a shoudler belt!), and Marathon rear-passenger. But after reading posts, I noticed you commenting that these seats sit high to it works as a puzzle so maybe if I switched combo and Marathon we would be able to buckle easier?
3) We saw the Graco CarGo seat at BRU and since it seemed smaller than the seat they have now (and I wouldn't mind buying it for them as they have done things for me in the past) we thought that might work better. Is it a good seat? What about when he outgrows the harness will it be okay to use as a BPB?

So, in conclusion to all this we think we are going to go with the Marathon for the 2 year old, CarGo for the six year old, and use the HBB that the six year old is currently in for the ten year old in their main car. In the truck they would put the combo they have now and the booster the ten year old is currently in plus I saw an Evenflo backless seat on sale somewhere for about $10 so we can get that for a third seat. So my questions are...
1) Will it be easier to buckle with the Marathon on the side where the BPB buckles in?
2) Does that seem reasonable? All the kids will be in a SAFE seat?

We were so glad to come across this site because ever since she read an article with statistics of injuries and deaths in car accidents, she ahs been worried about her children's safety. Thanks a bunch to all of you who gave suggestions!
 

j4m4d8

New member
Ah, yes, the problem is they all have to fit!
I think the solution you have worked out sounds good. The 2-year old should still get lots of use out of the Marathon, and I think he is the one that really needs to have the extra protection of a harnessed seat.
I just recently ordered an Ultra CarGo for my daughter, but I haven't got it yet. I do know that if you need to use the shoulder-belt positioners when it's used as a booster, you need to make sure you get all the slack out of the seat belt. Also, you need to make sure your child doesn't tug the seat belt out of the positioner, because then it won't retract properly. I don't think that would be a problem with most 6 and ups. If the seat belt fits properly without the shoulder-belt positioners, you don't need to use them.
You'll want to make sure that the kids in backless boosters have proper head support. Also, many backless boosters are for kids 40 pounds and up. Some are for 30 pounds and up; they usually have a clip on a belt that is used to adjust the shoulder strap. Even so, in some cars a 30-pound kid doesn't get a good fit in backless boosters, so you'd want to make sure it would work OK. I would be very comfortable with the backless boosters for the 10-year old as long as she has good head support in the seats. For taller kids sitting back further is good as it reduces the chance they'll hit the seat in front of them. So I'm thinking you might want to use the Voyager in the truck for the 6-year old and leave the backless boosters for the 10-year old. On the other hand, if the 10-year old's ears are above the top of the seat in either vehicle, you will have to get a high-back booster for that vehicle.
I don't know how a CarGo is to buckle next to, but it is very easy to buckle next to my Marathon. It is definitely worth putting the booster next to it to try. Hmm, I see why you were thinking of putting the Voyager in the main car. It looks like it would be easier to buckle than a backless. I guess you'll just have to try and see. OK, I just checked, both the Graco and the Evenflo backless boosters are for 40 pounds and up, so you would need to use the Voyager with the 6-year old. Hopefully one of the backless boosters will buckle easily enough for the 10-year old. It might work better, too, once you have the CarGo in there. I have heard the Breverra is a wider seat.
By the way, make sure you get a CarGo with a harness adjuster on the front. If you can't loosen and tighten the harness when the seat is installed it's hard to keep the straps from twisting. I think only the Ultra CarGo and Platinum CarGo have them. Just check to be sure.
So the only change I would make to your plan is to make sure the 6-year old is in a booster in the truck that is designed for his weight and fits him well, probably a high-back booster. Then all the children would be in safe seats. The mom would likely feel better if she took the vehicles and the kids to a tech once you get all the seats in. They can show you how to check the installations, harness tightness, and seat-belt positioning better in person. After that, as long they're buckled every time they ride in the car, they are as safe as it is possible to make them. (Of course, then they grow, and you go through all this again. :D )
HTH,
Julie
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
The Ultra/Platinum CarGo is a great cost effective choice - pretty narrow & with high harness slots :) Used as a booster, it's better as a spare or alternate as opposed to using something with deep, protective & supportive head wings as the primary booster.... My cousin & I share a Platinum CarGo for our preschoolers to use in the harness & our big kids to use as booster while either of us babysits - use depends on which kids are together at the same time ;) It's easy & comfy & fits in various vehicles well.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Thanks!

Thanks everyone! We went out and boguht an Ultra CarGo, Marathon, and a highback TurboBooster today. We had to go to two stores since Target didn't have the Marathon but we had a gift card there so we boguht the CarGo and TurboBooster there. The ten year old has plenty of head support in both vehicles but we figure it will give her better support because they often go on long car trips. So the HBB Turbo, Marathon, and CarGo are all nicely installed (I'd been taught by a tech so we figured it is fine until there is a check here) in the main vehicle and backless and Voyager with the Breverra. We figure since the CarGo wouldn't be the best BPP when it the harness is outgrown we can switch the ten year old into the backless (the Voayager will most likely be expired because it is an older seat) in the middle, the six year old into the HBB on one side, and the youngest will still be in the Marathon (and if not the six year old would probably fit in it still and the youngest could go into the HBB and when the Marathon is grown out the ten year old won't need a booster and voila!). Thanks again for all your help and I know where to go now with any questions!
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Good to hear it all worked out & the kiddos are all safe :) It sure can be confusing/frustrating, but feels great well it's all figured out, eh? :D
 

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