Booster seat recomendations

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outnumberedby6

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #1

hi, im in a bit of a pickle. my son is 11 and 80 lbs hes approx 51 inches tall. we have a conversion van so the belts do not come out of the seat bite. in the back they come out of the side of the bench seat and in the captains chairs they come out of the floor with 12 inch stalks. we have him in a turbo booster right now and as he gets bigger the belt is not fitting easily around his legs the arm rest to the graco is in the way. i have been researching a few different seats and of course knowone has them in stock for me to play with. here are my choices so far and if u think of something different please feel free to share

sunshine kids monterery booster (i like having a back option he sleeps in the car alot lol)
recaro vivo or vivo lite (again i cant tell it looks narrow and the arm rests look pretty short)
evenflo confidence booster (though i thought i had read on the national highway insurance institue?) that it wasnt one of their favorites

thanks in advance!

 

Amaris

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #2

Not sure if you can find one near you to look at, but we have a Britax Monarch and we love it. The width of the seat portion is adjustable, but the shoulder area isn't. If his shoulders fit in it the turbo and it's just the bottom that is an issue then it may also work for you. It is taller than the turbo, but I don't think it's as tall as the Monterey.

 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants

• Jul 29, 2009

• #3

The Monarch was discontinued about two years ago so she is not likely to find one anywhere.

If he's outgrown a Turbo he won't fit in a Vivo much longer, I don't think.

I prefer the Monterey to the Confidence, but it's much more expensive.

 

myliljunebugs

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #4

Yeah, at his age and size I think the Monterey would be a better fit. DS has just recently outgrown the TB (yes, I know, he is huge) and the fit in the Vivo is fairly similar. A little taller (he has growing room in the Vivo, but it is pink so ummm...no LOL) but no wider. Not an issue for him since he is super skinny but if he was any wider through the bottom/hips I can't see it being comfortable.

 

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outnumberedby6

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #5

thanks everyone.

just one more question, does anyone know if the new parkway is any wider than the old?

 

Stresch

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #6

outnumberedby6 said:

we have him in a turbo booster right now and as he gets bigger the belt is not fitting easily around his legs the arm rest to the graco is in the way.

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I may be completely crazy with this question since I am neither a tech, nor very familiar with boosters, but can you explain that more? I understand that he could easily be outgrowing the Turbo, but how is it that the arm rest is getting in the way of the belt? You are routing the belt in front of the arm rests, right?

 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants

• Jul 29, 2009

• #7

I think maybe the child fills up the space between the seat and the armrest, making it difficult to route the belt under the armrests.

 

Stresch

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #8

Ah, that makes sense. I just asked since the belt behind the arm rests is something I have witnessed a lot, of course that was on smaller (ie too small for the booster anyway) children.

And, incidently, I hate that they make the belt guides red, since red to me means "stop! don't go here."

 

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outnumberedby6

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #9

chickabiddy said:

I think maybe the child fills up the space between the seat and the armrest, making it difficult to route the belt under the armrests.

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:thumbsup:

you got it.

 

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outnumberedby6

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #10

And, incidently, I hate that they make the belt guides red, since red to me means "stop! don't go here."[/QUOTE]

LOL YES! thought it was just me hehe

now, purple, theres a cool "come to me" color.

 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus

Staff member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #11

Stresch said:

Ah, that makes sense. I just asked since the belt behind the arm rests is something I have witnessed a lot, of course that was on smaller (ie too small for the booster anyway) children.

And, incidently, I hate that they make the belt guides red, since red to me means "stop! don't go here."

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I agree and have encountered a few relatives/parents who thought the same and misrouted the seatbelt above/behind or otherwise avoided the red area below the armrests instead of correctly over/through the belt path's red area. Red to them logically meant "Stop" or "Do Not" instead of "Route the seatbelt here," and I'm sure they're not the only ones who are misusing a booster along these lines. Of course, reading the instructions should ideally make it clear that red indicates it's the belt guide/path, but that doesn't always take place in reality. Why not make those belt guides/belt path areas green instead of red to avoid this potential confusion? Green = Go, right? :thumbsup: Oops, I'll get off my soapbox now, pardon the threadjack.

 

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outnumberedby6

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #12

JUST ORDERED THE MONTEREY I CANT WAIT!!

only 119.00 at hip monkey so not too shabby. thanks everyone, would like to know if anyone has compared old parkway to the new. would love to know if its wider. old was great we have it, but i would love it to be a bit wider or....adjustable!

 

myliljunebugs

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #13

Great! Could you post pictures of it? I'm considering it for DS to have in my mom's car and ex-husband's since they don't have headrests and he is getting close to outgrowing the PW

 

emandbri

Well-known member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #14

I think you will be very happy with the monterey. I did a poll and 92% of those who bought one said they would buy the seat again. Also one of the two who voted no sold it and has bought it again! lol I don't know if I've ever seen such a large percentage of people be happy with their purchase.

 

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LuvMyGirls

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #15

I have an 11 year old, 78 pounds and 56 inches, and we love the Monterey. I would definitely buy it again.

 

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outnumberedby6

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #16

myliljunebugs said:

Great! Could you post pictures of it? I'm considering it for DS to have in my mom's car and ex-husband's since they don't have headrests and he is getting close to outgrowing the PW

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yep i sure will ! hopefully i will have my camera back by the time i get my seat. one of 3 things that didnt come back home with us from our weekend trip to cedar point. at least they found it and are sending it back. i was in such distress cuz my 21 mo olds blanket got lost there in the hotel that i didnt notice my camera was gone til yesterday. still no blanket and the stupid thing has been discontinued. would have rather had the blanket back honestly. camera i can buy, more money sure but it was old anyhow and his blanket is priceless to him. :-(

 

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outnumberedby6

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #17

LuvMyGirls said:

I have an 11 year old, 78 pounds and 56 inches, and we love the Monterey. I would definitely buy it again.

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oh good to hear! William is a couple pounds more than her but i think a couple inches shorter lol

im going to be stalking the ups guy oops in this case, fed-ex

 

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outnumberedby6

New member

• Jul 29, 2009

• #18

emandbri said:

I think you will be very happy with the monterey. I did a poll and 92% of those who bought one said they would buy the seat again. Also one of the two who voted no sold it and has bought it again! lol I don't know if I've ever seen such a large percentage of people be happy with their purchase.

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wow that is surprising! maybe it will be like the MA? pretty much everyone i know who has them loves them. til their kid outgrows them of course.....and thats another story.