Question High Back Booster Question

[Unregistered]

Hello!

I am looking to replace a car seat on a short notice as my husband's car was in a minor accident and once I contacted the manufacturer (Safety 1st), they confirmed a car seat should not be used once it's been in an accident, no matter how minor. Hopefully the other driver's insurance will cover the replacement...

The "crashed" seat is a Safety First Complete Air and it's used as a secondary seat for either of our two sons in my husband's 2004 Honda Accord. Their main seats in my 2007 Honda Odyssey are (2) Graco Nautilus and they both actually still prefer to use the 5-point harness instead of the seat belt.

The boys are 8 and 6, the 8yo is 48" and 51 lbs, the 6yo is 44" and 46 lbs, so obviously I don't need another convertible car seat to replace the Complete Air and I am thinking I may even just purchase a high back booster and not another Nautilus since I feel they would now be just as safe in a booster. And this would be a good introduction to riding in a booster as well. Am I thinking in the right direction here?

If so, I definitely want a booster that latches in the vehicle, that's a must. Other than that I don't have any specific requirements. I checked your recommended boosters and the Britax Parkway is listed as first - does that mean that it's considered best among the recommended boosters? Or are all the boosters similar in quality and I should be more concerned with the fit in the vehicle? I would be comfortable with the Parkway's price tag (even if the insurance doesn't cover the replacement) if it means a sturdier, safer, and more comfortable seat...

Also, I noticed while looking online that there is a Britax Parkway SGL and Britax Parkway SGL G1.1 - is there a difference between those two?
And one last question - I've always purchased our car seats at local stores as I always wanted to check the manufacture day so that I wouldn't end up with a seat that's old...should I be concerned about that or not as much with a booster now?

I'll be thankful for any insight...I've come on this site several times in the past and I've always gotten wonderful advice, thank you so much for all the valuable information!

Jana

 

[wendytthomas]

Are their shoulders below the top slot in the Nautilus?

All seats pass the same safety tests, so with boosters the important things are fit to car and fit to child. Then of course, fit to your budget.

The G1.1 is newer, but googling the SGL brings up the 1.1. I think they've all been G1.1s since June-September 2014. So "newer", but not really something you need to worry about too much.

The Parkway is a great option. You could also look at the Graco Affix, Recaro Performance Booster (high back booster only), Diono Monterey, Diono Cambria.

Wendy

 

[aept]

A booster will have an expiration date just as a harnessed seat would, so if you are concerned with getting the newest one as opposed to one that has been sitting on a shelf for a while, then it would be good to check the date of manufacture in the store or to ask the online retailer about it.

That said, with children who are 6 and 8, you are not likely to need the high back booster all the way to its expiry. Your kids should be in no back boosters or just the vehicle seatbelt by then.

 

[cookie123]

You might find this post on carseatblog helpful.

http://carseatblog.com/342/the-iihs-booster-seat-study-the-best-booster-seat/

As Wendy said make sure that the Nautilus is fitting your boys correctly as they are at the age where they are outgrown. Make sure they are within the stated height and weight limits and that the harness is positioned at or above their shoulders.

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you so much for the input!

First, I checked the boys in the Nautiluses today and both of their shoulders are still lower than the current slot but my oldest is on the uppermost slot so I know he'll outgrow the harness in the next couple of months and we'll switch to the high back booster mode.

Reading up some more about boosters today, I came up with a few more questions if you don't mind, and I think I am leaning either towards the Parkway or the Affix. If the Parkway is worth the extra $$ I'd get two of those for my Odyssey and move one of the Nautiluses to the Accord. If not, I'd just get the Affix for the Accord and keep the Nautiluses in my car.

Since this new booster will be in my husband's car for occasional use only, I would like it to fit well both boys and have the back easily adjustable for height. They are both pretty short for their age (somewhere around 15th percentile) but while my 8yo (48" and 51 lbs) is pretty skinny, my 6yo (44" and 46 lbs) is more stocky. My 6yo can't wear hand-me-down jeans from my 8yo, totally different build. Would either of the 2 seats I am considering fit both of them well? (They both seem to fit well and like the Nautilus)

The other thing I didn't think about is how easy it will be for the kids to buckle themselves using the seat belt. It looks that the Parkway has an additional strap in the front, which seems like a neat feature especially for my skinny guy but is it pretty easy to use or will it just frustrate the heck our of them?? Is either of these boosters easier to use for the kids over the other?

Anyway, thanks so much again. I think we'll head over to BRU tomorrow after school and I'll have them try out a few seats and see. I just wish I could take one of you with me to help me figure out the best fit, lol...

Thank you,
Jana

 

[Unregistered]

Now I'm looking at the Dionos too...those look very nice too, so I am open to those as well...
Jana

 

[lgenne]

My 6 year old has been using the SG clip on his Parkway for 6 months with no issues. He was 5.5 when I booster trained him.

 

[Unregistered]

Ok, that's good to know.
Thank you so much!

 

[Athena]

My 6 year old has been using the SG clip on his Parkway for 6 months with no issues. He was 5.5 when I booster trained him.

My 6yo had no trouble buckling herself in her Parkway too, even with the SG clip.

With regard to children buckling themselves in boosters, my experience has been that the most important factor is how it fits in the car. If it's too tight against the buckle, then it can be hard to buckle even for an adult and nearly impossible for my kids, but if it's a good fit to the car, then my child can buckle it no problem.

As for easy adjustability, I think a lot of the boosters adjust by height fairly easily. Of those you're looking at, I can tell you from experience the Parkway is very easy. The current model is actually easier than the old 2012 Parkway model because the lever is now on the front of the head piece.

HTH. Good luck!

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you, Athena. That definitely helps!

 

[Nedra]

Maybe also check out the Turbobooster LX?

http://youtu.be/ZbDtaVINy_Q


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