Question switching to booster

[Unregistered]

I currently have a nine year old in an Evenflo Big Kid booster with the back off, because she got too tall for the back. It is an older model than those currently being sold, but does not expire until 9/17. I have an almost 5 1/2 year old who is in a forward-facing car seat. She is over 40 lbs as well, as I think she can handle sitting properly in a booster. I want to go ahead and switch her to a high-back booster due to the cold weather/big coat issues. My initial thought was to put the back on the Evenflo Big Kid and give that to my five year old, and buy a new backless booster for my nine year old (i.e. cheaper way to go). But since it looks like the Evenflo model has changed, I wanted to check and see if there were any safety concerns with the one we have. Also, just in general see what you would recommend in terms of our safest options for both girls. My nine year old still has several inches to go, before she can be without a booster, so it will be awhile. I'm not prepared to dole out a ton of money for a top-end new high-back booster, but we do want to do whatever will be safest. We drive an old car - an 1995 Buick Park Avenue. Thank you for your advice!

 

[wendytthomas]

Hi there.

Kids can't wear thick jackets in boosters either. Nor can adults in their seatbelts. For the same reason, it will compress and be an ejection risk.

There's nothing wrong with your seat, so you can pass it down until next year, and buy a backless for your nine year old.

Wendy

 

[Baylor]

I would get a backless for the 9 yr old. A simple coat solution in the cold is to just open the coat and strap them in and then close it over the straps if needed..
But the belt and straps should be against their body..

I do the same when driving in the cold. I just open my coat and lay seat belt against my body.

 

[LISmama810]

Do you have headrests in the back? If so, a backless is fine for the 9-year-old, and it's fine to pass down the highback to the younger child.

 

[MelodyoftheForest]

I have too long of a torso to sit in the back of my MIL's 2003 Buick sedan, and I am 5'7" with a bit of a long torso. It just had rounded parts outboard that are barely above the rear console, so I am guessing you don't have real headrests either. I would second Baylor and make sure your older daughter's ears are below the top of the seat back. I don't know if the highback mode requires headrest support or not, hopefully someone else does.


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[wendytthomas]

The Evenflo doesn't require support from the car.

Wendy

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you all for your comments! Very helpful! I did not realize that coats were an issue with the seatbelt as well, and appreciate the tip about unzipping and zipping around the seatbelt! We will start implementing that!

I also had not even thought about head support! What was I thinking!? The major downside of having a cheap old car. I checked my 9 year old today and she has zero head support using just the base of the Evenflo booster! I looked into the Incognito backless booster, but I think that might still raise her too high for decent head support. At least she couldn't grow anyway. :/ So, it sounds like if we are going to have head support for her, we have to go back to a high back booster until she doesn't need one or we get a different vehicle. Correct?

On the Evenflo the top of her head was over the plastic height adjustment thing even on the highest setting. So, it seems like we still need to pass that down to my five year old, and get a new high back booster with a taller back for an older child?

Is this sound correct to you all? And if so, what recommendations would you make for a low-profile high back booster for an older child?

Thanks so much!

 

[wendytthomas]

Her head can go over the top, but not her shoulder over the top belt guide height, or the top of her ears over the top of the headrest.

The Britax Parkway is the tallest booster that doesn't require a headrest behind it.

Wendy

 

[Unregistered]

Can cars be modified to add headrests?

Is there a high back booster that is tall without needing a headrest support behind it that is cheaper than the Britax?

 

[mping]

Recaro maybe? Definitely not low profile though.


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[joolsplus3]

Maybe check our carseat swap section. Sometimes people sell tall boosters (Parkway, Frontier, Recaro) that are barely used, uncrashed, and a good deal (way cheaper than new, though Albeebaby.com sometimes has screamin' deals).

 

[Athena]

What's your budget? Today the Parkway SGL is just $108.80 at diapers.com when you use promo code NEWGEAR and they're shipping is quick, so you might have it by tomorrow and have your child riding safely. Given you have a child to hand it down to and it sounds like your children aren't particularly tall, you'll likely get many years of use. I find if I think about how little the cost is per year, the price tag is less intimidating.

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you all for the feedback! For some reason I thought we had the back on the Evenflo all the way up before we took it off. But we put it back on, and were able to raise it quite a bit making it still safe for our nine-year-old. Hurray! She is not offering much resistance to the idea of putting the back back on, so I think we're good to go!

I do still need to purchase a new highback booster for my 5.5 year old, now though since it looks like the nine year old still be sticking with hers for awhile. So, I need recommendations along that line now. Because our car is old, we don't need LATCH. I looked on this websites list of 2016 recommendations and they seem to be upgraded models using LATCH. Seems like I could save some money by getting the not-LATCH models for example Graco Turbobooster vs Graco Affix? Or Britax Parkway SG vs SGL? I am also wondering about the Evenflo Big Kid Amp. I know it is one of the cheapest, but at the time that we bought our first Evenflo booster it had good safety reviews. As far as recommendations, please also keep in mind that we do not have head restraints in the back seat so we need high back boosters that can handle that, and that will comfortable work up to at least 57" if not a bit more.
Appreciate the recommendations and thoughts on the graco vs britax vs evenflo!

 

[Unregistered]

Athena, missed your post on the one day sale. :/. Thanks, though!

 

[Unregistered]

In some reviews of the Graco Turbobooster as well as the Britex Parkway SG I am seeing complaints about the shoulder strap not flowing smoothly through the positioning device. Any comment on that?

 

[MelodyoftheForest]

I think that has to do with the specific vehicle. Even the height to which the belt guide is adjusted can make a difference. You would probably have to try them and see.


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[Athena]

If I didn't have latch, I'd save my money and stick with the non latching models too. Good idea!

Athena, missed your post on the one day sale. :/. Thanks, though!

Sorry for the confusion, but it wasn't a one day only sale. In fact, it's still on today! I just don't know when it ends. They have the Parkway SG and the 15% newgear code would bring it down to $91.07 with free shipping (before tax), but it only comes in one fabric and you could get a turbo for half the price or an evenflo big kid for even less. I'm seeing some good prices on amazon too with other fabric options.

The downside to the less expensive Graco and Evenflo boosters is they won't grow as tall for you kids, so you'll have to think about when you'll be getting a car with head rests and if these boosters will make it until then and maybe they'll be the perfect answer for you for a lot less money.

All 3 of these brands allow use without vehicle head rest support, but you'll want to avoid Dorel brands and Diono.

In some reviews of the Graco Turbobooster as well as the Britex Parkway SG I am seeing complaints about the shoulder strap not flowing smoothly through the positioning device. Any comment on that?

Vehicle incompatibility is possible with any booster. Anytime I'm buying a booster I have not tried yet, I buy somewhere I can return just in case it doesn't fit my kid or my car well.

HTH!

 

[Unregistered]

Very helpful! Thank you!!