time for a booster?

hey guys! you all were a big help to me when i was preggo with #3, and i'm looking for your expertise again. my oldest son is 50# and 49.5 inches. he is in a marathon now, but i believe that he is almost to the height limit. i would prefer to keep him in his 5 point harness as long as possible, but am i going to have to switch to a booster? if so, what are some recommendations? thank you guys so much!

There are definitely more options than just going to a booster. The Graco Nautilus, Britax Regent, and Britax Frontier all have higher slots than the marathon. There are some other that do as well, I just don't know what they are. Some other people will have to jump in with them. I personally have my son in a Regent, and he loves it, but when he outgrows his decathlon (that is in the other car), we will probably get a Frontier since it will convert to a booster later.

The Nautilus and Frontier have top slots approximately 1.5 inches higher than the Marathon; the Regent's top slots are 2.5-3 inches higher than the Marathon.

Where are your son's shoulders in relation to the top slots of his Marathon? My daughter was too tall for a Marathon (shoulders over top slots) at 46 inches tall, but your son may have a shorter torso and longer legs. This is very important to note, since a forward-facing harnessed seat is outgrown by height not so much at the written standing height limit, but when shoulders go over top slots or when tips of ears go over top of seat shell.

My daughter was too tall for a Marathon around 4 years, 9 months old, and she would have fit in a Frontier or Nautilus harness until about 6.5 years old. She'd fit in a Regent until about her 8th birthday, I'm guessing. So in general, I think the Frontier and Nautilus can last 1.5-2 years longer than the Marathon, and the Regent can last 3-4 years longer. There's a lot to factor in when deciding whether or not to continue harnessing or move to a booster, and a lot to factor in when deciding which option to go with. Hopefully knowing what higher weight harnessed options out there will work longer than your Marathon will help narrow down your decision. Post back with any other questions.

The vehicle (year, make and model) and current carseats/other children could influence what choice(s) might be better or worse, too.

happykell said:

hey guys! you all were a big help to me when i was preggo with #3, and i'm looking for your expertise again. my oldest son is 50# and 49.5 inches. he is in a marathon now, but i believe that he is almost to the height limit. i would prefer to keep him in his 5 point harness as long as possible, but am i going to have to switch to a booster? if so, what are some recommendations? thank you guys so much!

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How old is your son? Where are his shoulders compared to the top harness slots of your Marathon? If he's old enough, big enough, and mature enough (to stay in the correct position throughout the entire car ride every time), there's nothing wrong with moving him into a high-back booster once he's truly outgrown the Marathon.

max is 5 and a half. i checked his positioning and his ears aren't over the top of the seat. the top belts are even with his shoulders. we have a nissan quest, and he sits in the very back with his little sister, also in a marathon. our third kidlet is 14 months and sits in one of the second row captain chairs, rear-facing in a boulevard. we just got an older jeep tj, and we are looking into what seats to get for that, even though he as his sister won't ride in it often. i'm thinking that alex will take over max's old marathon in the jeep and max will get 2 new seats. using your suggestions, i think i like the frontier for the nissan as his main seat and a monarch for the jeep.

Just make sure the jeep has a lap/shoulder belt if you are going for the monarch in there.

it does; i believe it's a '97, so i guess it's not that old!