Recommendations please

I need a recommendation for car seats. I have a 2001 Toyota Sienna.

DS (6)- weights 40 lb and is 46 inches
DD (4)- weighs 32 lb and is 36 inches
DS (12 weeks) weighs almost 15 lbs and is almost 26 inches

DS(6) is in a highback booster (Century Next Step) in the last row. After reading everything, he should be back in 5 point harness- only we got rid of the harness about 8 months ago- he has lost 2lbs in the past year rather than gaining. The local tech here told me it was safer for him to be restained by the car seat belts than a harness.??? Her reasoning was that the seat belts are tested up to 500lbs but my booster seat was rated to 40 or so pounds. She was skeptical of me keeping a kid in a 5-point that had a higher weight limit when I sugested getting a higher weight rated 5 point.

DD (4) is in a Britax Wizard in FF position in second row behind driver.

DS (12 weeks) is in an infant Evenflo seat that goes to 26inches in the second row behind passenger.

We were planning to get a BRITAX WIZARD for the baby in the next month. But then after reading, there seemed to be a few other seats being recommended. I am probably one of the few happy Wizard owners. DD has never complained about the head protection. We were wondering if it made sense to move the baby to the WIZARD and get a different seat for DD that would be easier to move between cars. (Right now she uses a super basic EVENFLO car seat we got from a car seat check- we moved from the UK 5 yrs ago and our UK BRITAX was deemed unsafe.)We don't have to move her often, but sometimes DH takes two of the kids with him on errands. The WIZARD is in so tight we have no desire to move it between cars.

So what car seats for which kids?

Putting the harness back into the Next Step isn't an option because that harness is only rated to 40 pounds and your ds is 40 pounds now. At 46 inches he is probably close to being too tall for most harnessed seats as well. Can you adjust the Wizard to its highest setting and put him in that to see how much room he has to grow before his shoulders go over the harness slots?

How does he do in his booster? Does he stay seated properly at all times? Does he leave the belts where they need to be? If so, he's probably fine in a highback booster, but you may want to choose one with an adjustable back and deeper wings for more side impact protection. He will outgrow the Next Step by height (tips of ears over top of seat shell) and still need a booster, that's why ones with adjustable backs are better, long-term. The Britax Parkway is my favorite highback booster.

The Wizard is no longer made, it was discontinued and replaced with the Boulevard. The changes are wider-spaced headwings and a removeable infant padding insert. I would not get a Wizard for baby simply because they have been discontinued for awhile and you will get an older date of manufacture. Since they are only good for six years, and since most kids really do last that long in these seats, I would not get one for the baby because you will have to toss it out before she has outgrown it.

As far as getting a different seat for your dd that is easier to move between cars, I'm not sure if that is possible. Britax convertibles tend to be the easiest around because of the built-in lockoffs. However, if your kids ride in other vehicles often, I would get seats (at least harnessed seats) to keep in the secondary vehicle(s) if at all possible. Uninstalling and reinstalling often increases the risks of having a seat improperly installed.

Some good seats to consider for your dd (as a secondary seat, or as a primary seat if you pass the Wizard down to the baby) are the Recaro Young Sport, another Britax convertible (Marathon, Decathlon or Boulevard), the Evenflo Bolero/Generations or the Graco Ultra/Platinum CarGo.

I think if it were ME, I would get a Britax Parkway for the oldest, provided he can sit properly at all times (if not, I would go with a Britax Husky/Regent), keep the middle child in her Wizard and get a Britax Marathon, Decathlon or Boulevard for baby.

Rear-facing is inherently safer than forward-facing, so if you choose a seat without side impact protection for baby, don't feel bad. The forward-facing child needs the side impact protection of the Wizard more than the rear-facing baby.

The tech you spoke with sounds misinformed to me. Yes, she is right that the Next Step's harness is only good to 40 pounds (the ONLY seats that do harness above 40 pounds are the Britax Marathon/Decathlon/Boulevard, the Britax Husky/Regent, the Sunshine Kids Radian and the Cosco/Safety 1st Apex), BUT harnessing is definitely safer than not harnessing, especially in side impact crashes.

If you look at a few other posts from today, there are crash test videos comparing a harnessed seat and a booster.

"DS(6) is in a highback booster (Century Next Step) in the last row. After reading everything, he should be back in 5 point harness- only we got rid of the harness about 8 months ago- he has lost 2lbs in the past year rather than gaining. The local tech here told me it was safer for him to be restained by the car seat belts than a harness.??? Her reasoning was that the seat belts are tested up to 500lbs but my booster seat was rated to 40 or so pounds. She was skeptical of me keeping a kid in a 5-point that had a higher weight limit when I sugested getting a higher weight rated 5 point.

DD (4) is in a Britax Wizard in FF position in second row behind driver.

DS (12 weeks) is in an infant Evenflo seat that goes to 26inches in the second row behind passenger. "

What is your budget???

Also see if you can find a new tech---I'm not a tech, but I know better than to give you that info.

For the 6 year old---you may want to consider a Regent that can later be passed down to middle sis. The Regent will harness to 80 pounds---after that your oldest may be able to handle just a backless booster or just go into the seat belt--re-evaluate at that time.

The 4 year old---good choice...if you're happy and she's happy why mess with a good thing. The seat will expire 6 yrs after the date of manufacture though.

The infant--that seat will go to 20 pounds and an inch of SHELL above the top of babies head. It also expire's 6 yrs after date of manufacture, in case it's the one that DC #1 used. I think you could get either a Cosco Scenera and then see what your needs are when that is out grown or go ahead and get a larger britax now.

Susan

thanks for the recommendations. It gives us a good place to start.

QUOTE: "If you look at a few other posts from today, there are crash test videos comparing a harnessed seat and a booster."

We can't watch the videos- but from reading what everyone wrote after watching them is why I asked about my almost 6 year old. I showed the responses to my husband and we feel like the harness for the 6 year old will be the best. He is really wiggly and I am nervous when he falls asleep.

I had read another post about why not to get the Wizard (age of seat issue) so that was another reason I needed to post. I had just assumed I would get a WIZARD... but then.....

"What is your budget???"
Our budget is what ever we need it to be! We are happy to put the money into the car seats since we live in the middle of nowhere and everywhere we drive is at least 30 minutes away. Obviously, if there are good options that cost less, we don't have to buy the most expensive seat. This is the one area of our budget where we allow for extra to be spent.

We have decided to keep DD in her seat and just get a new one for the baby and the 6 year old.

As for a new tech- there is not a lot of choice. She has a hard enough time just getting people up here to use car seats! I had the first Britax seat she had seen ouside of her training classes.

I'm proud of you for being willing to put the money and effort into carseat selection! When I took our kids and seats into a seatcheck in our tiny town, the tech continually second guessed me for having an 18 month old RF and a 43# 3 year old child in a seat that harnesses past 40#! I was annoyed, but not so much for me, but for all the other parents that could have benefited from a better informed tech! If you are a fan of the Wizard, then another Britax seat seems like an awesome choice!

If you don't mind telling us what part of the country you live in, we maybe ableto help you find a tech familiar with Britax seats. Unfortunately most techs are not familiar with them, and often give uneducated advice as a result.
(For example, before I was certified, I went to a check and they totally messed up my installation of my Roundabout. I had to go home and fix it.)

Since you mentioned that all your trips are 30+ minutes and that your 6yo is wiggly and still falls asleep in the car, AND that budget is not a concern, I would definitely choose a Britax Husky or Regent for him. I don't think any of the other higher weight limit seats would offer him enough growing room, heightwise. Possibly the Sunshine Kids Radian, but there have been issues with seatbelt installations with this seat, and it's so new, I'm beginning to hesitate to recommend it.

For the baby I'd go with a Britax higher weight limit convertible, either the Marathon, Decathlon or Boulevard. Boulevard if you want the side impact protective wings like the Wizard, Decathlon if you want added infant padding and a push-button harness adjuster, Marathon if you just want the basic seat (if any Britax can be called basic, LOL).

If you DO want to save money, the Cosco Scenera is a good inexpensive convertible that rear-faces to 35 pounds, but it's sparse on padding and after owning Britax you may or may not want to go there.

"If you don't mind telling us what part of the country you live in, we maybe ableto help you find a tech familiar with Britax seats."

I live in the northern most part of NY. She was pretty helpful in getting the seat in but she didn't seem to think harnessing past 40lbs was necessary! It would be good to know of a good tech though as we will probably get a Bitax for the baby (depending on what we think of the scenera) and we did have issues getting a good rear facing fit in the bucket seats. She is going to check our baby seat this week. We first saw her her first year of the job. It has been 1 1/2 years since. She does this full time as her job. It is a paid position in our county. She does all the other tech training.

(also to answer an earlier question- only rarely do my kids ride in dh's car. Because he carpools with other teachers we cannot install carseats in his car. Only in rare cicumstances does he need to use his car. One example coming up is a bf training day- I will take the van and the baby. He will keep the older two. Same for a bf conference this summer.)

scatterbunny- thanks for the additional input. We are going to look at the Cosco Scenera. We do want to not spend a fortune if we don't have to- on the other hand we don't want to mess with safety. I do know that all seats are technically "safe." But if it is not being used properly and it doesn't fit properly then they aren't. We have had seats before that aren't easy to tighten and get a secure fit on the child (strap adjustor) and we want to avoid that. We hated the harness adjustor on the NextStep.

I really appreciate all the input.

I agree with everything Jenny has said & won't comment further on any of it since I'm likely to make another typo today But, I'm also in upstate NY - the Fingerlakes region ... we tend to tell *outsiders* that's "way up north" because if we don't everyone assumes upstate = barely out of NYC I've also had issues finding any techs up here that don't try to turn babies at the minimum 20 pounds & 12 months *SIGH* This is one reason I'm getting my certification in 2 months

I just wanted to come back and say that I saw the local car seat tech last week and she was fantastic. We talked and I realize that last time I saw her 1.5 years ago we miscommunicated on the harness vs booster question. She didn't realize I was talking about buying a NEW seat that could harness up to a higher weight limit. (I thought she did so that is why I posted what I did in my opening post. I was wrong.) Plus she has 1.5 years of experience to add to her knowledge. We had a great conversation- I used up over an hour of her time (eek- thankfully she is paid although probably not enough). She was able to check the fit of DS in his booster. She is really comfortable with Britax installation- she has recently done a bunch of decatholons- and told me if I had any other questions there is a cop in town who worked in Long Island for years and installed mostly Britax there!

So thanks again for all your help. I just want to vindicate my tech because I implied she might now know alot- that is WRONG. She is great and she has been really reading and researching. She is super knowledgeable. She recommeded the Yahoo CPSP list where I have now been reading and recognize many of the experts from here on there. I'll keep reading both places.

PS- I really really am way way way up north! (cheesy grin)

Hey, cool! I'm moving to the Syracuse area soon ... if you're anywhere near there feel free to send me a Private Message (click my screen name above) if you'd ever like to meet up

I'm so glad to hear your local tech is staying up-to-date!

ditto what the others have said - good to know your tech has improved her knowledge base.