# best car seat for a five year old



## momofmine (Jan 8, 2007)

Hi all,
What would you say would be a good car seat for a five year old, 41 pounds, 43.5 inches?

Thanks!


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## Juvysen (Apr 25, 2007)




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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Are they mature enough to sit correctly every time in a booster? A booster is a good choice for a 5 yr old who can sit correctly (in position, not move strap, not reach to floor, etc)

If they are not ready for a booster, a nautilus or a frontier would be good choices.

-Angela


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## momofmine (Jan 8, 2007)

My inclination is to think that he's not quite ready for a booster yet, mainly because he still naps often in the car. Thank you so much for the reply!

Is there a point at which they need to be in a booster? I mean, if some of these five point harness seats go to 65 pounds, that is a long way away. I realize he would get too tall for it first though probably.

Thanks!


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

They need to be in a booster when they don't fit in a harnessed seat









There is some argument about whether harnessed or boostered is safest (for a child old enough who can sit correctly) There is info on both sides and what it seems to come down to is that harnessed may be safer in certain crashes and boostered may be safer in certain crashes. They're about equal it seems as long as the child fits and is sitting correctly.

Both the nautilus and the frontier convert to good boosters when outgrown in harness mode.

-Angela


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## emilysmama (Jun 22, 2005)

One year ago, we were in your shoes.

Dd is usually in a Britax Regent. URL for Regent We bought a Radian 80 for travel and spare. URL for Radian 80 We are happy with the Regent, but I wish we had gone with the Radian 80 for regular use, in addition to for travel.

We also had to buy a booster for day care. We bought the Recaro Vivo, which is a high back booster. URL for Recaro Vivo

All of the above are fantastic.

Dd's school does a lot of field trips, and because the children are transported to the field trips by other parents' cars, she is expected to bring a booster to school on field trip days. My dd is one of the few children who rides a school bus to school, and she is too little to carry the high back booster to school. So on the field trip days that neither my husband and I can't drive the field trip (hasn't happened yet), she will bring this backless booster to school for field trips. URL for Graco backless Turbobooster


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## SweetPotato (Apr 29, 2006)

We have an Evenflo Maestro for our dd (4.5 yo, 38lbs, 40in.) She loves it, it's easy to travel with and install, inexpensive (ours was $67). It harnesses to 50 or 55 lbs- I don't remember now which- and then converts to a high-back booster to 100lbs (though I'e heard that many kids might outgrow it by height before they're ready to be done with a booster). For the price and travel convenience, we feel like it was a great choice for us-- it should get our child safely to 6yo+, when I think we'll be comfortable buying an inexpensive but safe Turbobooster. We tried a Nautilus, but I didn't like how my tiny dd was already sitting on the crotch strap-- that one might be worth trying out in person if you can before buying if you decide to go that route.


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## MJB (Nov 28, 2009)

My similar-sized 4 yr. old is in a Radian that he's had since 1.5, but I wouldn't buy one now. I love it and it's been great but it's not a good value for a kid who is already forward-facing. I'd go with a Nautilus or a high-back booster for a 5 yr. old. We'll probably put my 4 yr. old in a booster when he starts 1st grade in September of next year (the same time my oldest switched, although he was almost a year older than my little guy will be).


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## flitters (Sep 18, 2003)

Ds is about the same size as your son, and I suspect it will be another year before he is booster ready. We are very, very happy with our Frontier85.


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## momofmine (Jan 8, 2007)

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the good suggestions. I am glad someone suggesting sitting in a Nautilus, because I had him do it today at Target, and you are right about the crotch strap being very far back. My DS was sitting on top of it too. Also, and more importantly, is that the highest shoulder strap level was well below the top of his shoulders, so that definitely rules that one out.

I wish I had a way of trying out the Frontier, but that one I'd have to order online. I think I'm leaning towards that one though.

Can anyone speak to the shoulder straps on that one?

I like the idea of getting one that is convertible to the booster for later. We currently have a Britax Regent in the permanent car, which we are very happy with, and is very roomy, he still has tons of room to grow in that one. We aren't even on the top shoulder strap yet.

But I don't want to get another Regent, because it is so big and bulky and this is one will need to moved around some (not a lot, but I want it to be easy to take in and out). The Regent is actually pretty easy to install and get a good fit, it's just so big and bulky. And I'd rather go ahead and get something that can also serve as a booster a year from now. (If possible, that is, I would be fine with getting another regent if that's what it came to.)

So, can anyone speak to two things on the Frontier:
1) Shoulder strap height option?

2) Ease of install?

THANKS!


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## DoomaYula (Aug 22, 2006)

Here's a review of the Frontier85 from CarSeatBlog. They seem to like it. I'd get one (or two!) if money were no object!


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Did you raise the headrest all the way on the nauti? The highest slot height is usually under there and it's rare for a 5yo to outgrow it already. If he has outgrown the nautilus, then the maestro will be too small too and the only 2 harnessed seats that will fit him are the frontier85 or regent.


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## momofmine (Jan 8, 2007)

Aaah, okay. You know, I wondered if you could raise that part up, because it kind of looked like you would, but then I couldn't really see how to do it, and I couldn't feel any other slots under there. That was probably the reason though. Thanks! Maybe I will go back and try again. Although, there was still the strap part that comes between their legs, he was definitely sitting on top of that even though his butt was scooted all the way back.

The Frontier does seem pricey, but if it lasts until age 9 or so, maybe that would be a good choice.

I think I will start a new thread asking about how easy that is to install.

Thanks all!


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## liberal_chick (May 22, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DahliaRW* 
Did you raise the headrest all the way on the nauti? The highest slot height is usually under there and it's rare for a 5yo to outgrow it already. If he has outgrown the nautilus, then the maestro will be too small too and the only 2 harnessed seats that will fit him are the frontier85 or regent.

This.

Does your dc have a really long torso? My ds is in a Nautilus and is the same height as your child and we still have at least 2 shoulder slots left. I love our Nautilus, BTW.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

It is ok for them to be sitting on the crotch strap (it's been confirmed by graco). It's never been an issue with my kiddos.

I can't comment on the frontier install, but the graco is a piece of cake. And I only ever did it with the seatbelt!


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