Question Safest booster seat for tall, slim 4 year old?

[NCmommy]

Hi, my 4-year old has outgrown her Britax Roundabout, and I need to get her a booster seat this weekend. I am confused about whether to get that kind that uses the car's seatbelt (& if so, high back or low back) or the kind with a five point harness. She will be five in July, she is almost 39 pounds, and she is 44.5 inches tall. We are struggling financially, so inexpensive would be very helpful if there is not a large difference in safety. Any advice would be appreciated greatly. Thanks in advance!!

 

[wendytthomas]

Hello NCMommy.

All carseats pass the same tests, so if you need inexpensive then fine! No problem. You're not sacrificing safety in the least.

Under $100 you have the Evenflo Maestro and Harmony Defender recommended. They both have about 18" top slots but the Defender goes to 65 pounds and the Maestro goes to 50. Given her weight I don't know that that's important either way. The Defender is a taller booster, and a backless when the time comes. But it has a short crotch strap.

In the $100-$200 range you have the Evenflo SecureKid, Graco Nautilus, and Graco Argos. All have about 18"-18.5" top slots, the SecureKid and Nautilus harness to 65 pounds, the Argos to 70 pounds. The Nautilus and Argos are harness, high back, and backless boosters as well. The SecureKid is harness and high back.

HTH

Wendy

 

[NCmommy]

Wendy, thanks very much!!
Is it ok to use a backless booster now? Or is a five point harness safer? (and if so, how much safer is it?)
Thanks!

 

[Keeyamah]

Here we like kids to be harnessed until 5 years of age at a minimum, then we are ok with most kids beginning to booster train in a High Back Booster (HBB). That is because having the back often reminds kids of being in a harness and helps them to sit properly.

8 years old is often considered a minimum for a No Back Booster (NBB). Again, its is a maturity issue and often a belt fit issue. The belt needs to go across the shoulders (not low on the arm and not across the face) and low across the hips/thighs (touching the thighs is best). With smaller/younger kids that often doesn't happen in a NBB.

All of the seats Wendy recommended to you start as a 5pt and go to a belt positioning booster. Those of us here feel that is what would be safest for your little one.

 

[wendytthomas]

There is no "how much safer" for harness to booster. If a child can sit properly 100% of the time and they fit in the booster then they're both safe.

Most 4.5 year olds can't sit properly 100% of the time. They're just not wired that way yet. Ask her to sit on your sofa for two hours. Can she do it? Kids generally get the impulse control and maturity to understand the consequences around their sixth birthday.

And then a high back booster gives a child a place to rest their head (so they don't slump when asleep), positions the shoulder belt, and gives them shell around them to remind them to hold still. It's preferred for a young booster rider (5/6-8ish) to have a high back booster.

Then the backless is used for the last several years (8-12 years old) until a booster is no longer needed.

Wendy

 

[henrietta]

Hi, my 4-year old has outgrown her Britax Roundabout, and I need to get her a booster seat this weekend. I am confused about whether to get that kind that uses the car's seatbelt (& if so, high back or low back) or the kind with a five point harness. She will be five in July, she is almost 39 pounds, and she is 44.5 inches tall. We are struggling financially, so inexpensive would be very helpful if there is not a large difference in safety. Any advice would be appreciated greatly. Thanks in advance!!

Your dd is pretty tall! Was it a Roundabout 50 she outgrew? By height? That gives us a good idea of how tall her torso is and how much longer she'll fit in different seats. All of the combo seats Wendy mentioned have 1.5-2.5 more inches of torso growth over the Roundabout 50. Any one of those seats will probably keep her harnessed for another year or two, depending on how fast she grows. Personally, for her main seat, I'd keep her harnessed for another year if possible financially. You can spend from $30-50 more for a seat that will keep her harnessed over a high back belt positioning booster. An Evenflo Maestro has a harnessed weight limit of 50 lbs, but she's not going to gain 10 lbs in a year anyways, so it's more than adequate. And I thought the Harmony Defender 360 at Walmart for $100 was really a nice seat.

If $80-100 is too much right now, I'd look into the Harmony folding booster ($50 at Walmart), Graco Turbo booster, or Evenflo Amp highback (not the Big Kid confidence, big kid Sport is okay).

I would avoid a backless for the time being. She's tall enough that belt fit would probably be decent on most of them, but it is harder to use correctly if you end up needing the shoulder belt positioner. And a high back offers some additional support and side impact protection, plus helps them stay in position better.

 

[NCmommy]

Thank you so much for all the input!! It was a regular Roundabout that she was in, I'm pretty sure. She had just reached the top of the shoulder straps. Yes, she is really tall!

This was very helpful information.We had been heavily leaning toward a non-harnessed high back, but I hadn't thought about the maturity issues. We ended up buying an Evenflo Maestro yesterday.

Thanks again!