Booster seat suggestions

My 7 year old sits in the middle seat where we've had the best luck (least battle) clicking him in.

No question, it's a giant pain. On an earlier thread I showed that my old booster seat didn't work at all (too wide, completely covering the seat belt), and I had to use a different one I had in my wife's car. Even with that one, the kids generally can't click themselves it, and I have to lift up or push the seat a bit to the side in order to get the seat belt locked in.

I know it looks cleaner in the back to not have the seat belts hanging out in the rear, but it definitely made things a lot easier in my old car (a Lexus) because I could slide the seat belt out from under the booster and the kids could easily click themselves in.

We have a 4, 7 and 9 y/o back there while we wait on the rear seats. We tried the narrowest boosters we could find a Clek Olli, but still covered the seatbelt fastener. So, we went with 2 "safeguard Go's", which attach to the Latch points but buckle into themselves (5 point harness). Our 7 y/o is fine in a regular booster, but honestly data says the 5 points are always safer as long as a kid fits em. Our 9 y/o is relegated to the middle for now, and almost doesn't need a booster but uses a bubblebum right now. We rarely have all 3 in the same car with all the driving around, so when we get the rear seats, we'll just use one safeguard for the youngest and move around the booster for whichever of the 2 older are in there. That is until we get the X (and I finally get the S!)

Good luck!

Mike_Schlechter said:

I'm finding getting the seatbelt clicked in with the booster (one is still in a full seat, so that is attached via the latch system) a real pain in the you-know-what.

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I bought one of these on eBay (they are also on Amazon). Works like a charm. My 4 yr old can now buckle herself in.

Rigid Click in Seat Belt Extender 8 Type A Black | eBay

I'm using these boosters (for my 3 kids: 6yo and 4yo twins) with these seat belt extenders while waiting for my jump seats.
So far, so good, and the kids are able to buckle themselves (not doable without the extenders).

In case you need two extenders, Amazon has a 2-pack listed for $29.92.

andrewket said:

In case you need two extenders, Amazon has a 2-pack listed for $29.92.

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Here's a picture of this extender installed along with a booster seat. Works great for my 6-year old daughter.

Here are pictures of my booster seat in a production model (in the Skokie Store).

If I were to put on my medical cap (and I always do), I prefer the full booster seat (contains back rest) to the ones that have only the bottom. The reason is that ones designed with backs typically have inserts to divert the chest belt away from the child's neck and properly position the lap belt. Many now have adjustable head rests with foam padding and some even have 5-point harnesses. The recommendations are changing for age and weight given that some recent evidence has shown a decrease in child injury while in booster seats for longer periods of time. Having said that, these are what I use for short trips.

For the curious: Rebekah Mannix, Eric Fleegler, William P. Meehan III, Sara A. Schutzman, Kara Hennelly, Lise Nigrovic, and Lois K. Lee. Booster Seat Laws and Fatalities in Children 4 to 7 Years of Age. Pediatrics, November 5, 2012 DOI:10.1542/peds.2012-1058

I went booster seat shopping today, and found two really good options (and a third option that comes out with a new version next month):

First off, is the backless option, with LATCH support. The Clek Ozzi. Looks good and comfortable, and has LATCH.
Amazon.com: Clek Ozzi Portable Booster Car Seat, Licorice: Baby

Next up is the rather expensive but totally awesome Diono Radian RXT. Highly rated by my kids, and matches well with the interior. Also has LATCH:
Amazon.com: Diono Radian RXT Convertible Car Seat, Shadow: Baby

The Diono guys also make this less expensive booster only seat:
Amazon.com: Diono Radian R100 Convertible Car Seat Booster, Shadow: Baby

And lastly, the one I think I may get (when the new version ships), the Recaro ProBooster:
Amazon.com: Recaro ProBooster High Back Booster Car Seat, Midnight: Baby

Pay attention to the back of the booster seat!

I've had this Graco something or another with the high back,



but the way the handle was constructed



and the way it sat against the seat meant the top part was rubbing against the leather headrest, resulting in this:



Service center asked an independent leather repair guy for a quote and to repair was $200, but a mark would still be visible, and to replace the seat would be something like $1k.

Ouch, Kip!

I have this in there and when I removed it for a bit a few weeks ago, I saw a depression in the headrest that slowly went away so, the leather seems resilient to pressure atleast.

Amazon.com: Britax Frontier 90 Booster Car Seat, Onyx: Baby