Car Seat Tips

UPDATE! 9/9/07 I installed this seat in the Passat center with seatbelt. See review body.

UPDATE! 3/24/07 I installed this seat in the Xterra center with lapbelt. See review body.

Key Features
Car Seat Type:Booster
Restraint System:Tray Shield

Other Features
Weight Limit:30 - 80 lbs.

Miscellaneous
:20785733

Details

This auto booster seat accommodates children from 30-80 lbs, featuring a soft shield that rotates so a child can easily climb in and out of the booster. Shield booster with lap or lap/shoulder belt for 30-40 lbs Belt-positioning booster with lap/shoulder belt for 40-80 lbs LATCH equipped for 30-40 lbs only.

I want to say almost 2 years ago we purchased our Cosco Summit Booster Car Seat at Babies R’Us. Talia was growing and was now barely fitting in her Evenflo Triumph and it was now time to spend another $100.00 bucks or so on a bigger seat.

I got this car seat to use in my car for my nephew when he was about 1 1/2 years old. I have a pretty small car and a small backseat, but it fit pretty well. I have had 4 adults plus the car seat in the car at once without it being to horribly cramped. The buckles were nice to have somewhat complicated, because he has a habit of bucking things to understand how to unbuckle them, and this was no exception. But he never got the puzzle lock to work quite right. They were not so complicated that I could get him in before he let out the first scream at the injustice of being placed in a seat (every car seat, highchair, etc. is torture in his mind.

My main problem with this seat is that very soon after we installed it, the buckle became much harder to undo. I would almost bruise my thumb pushing the button. Finally, it got to the point that one day, the buckle would NOT unbuckle at all. I got him out after struggling with the straps enough to pull him out past the buckle. He found it very fun and tried to buckle the top back togther the entire time. Like I said, almost great.

Here’s the first booster I purchased. I had much to learn! I was lured in by the small price tag, a reliable brand name, and the thoughts of my son enjoying a bit more freedom while riding in the back seat. It came home with us, Ethan riding along trying to figure out whether or not he liked it. I decided by the end of the month whether I liked it or not. Read on….

Key Features
Car Seat Type:Booster
Seating Direction:Forward Facing
Restraint System:Vehicle Seat Belts

Other Features
Weight Limit:30 - 80 lbs.
Carry handle:No Carry Handle
Head Protection:No Headrest

Miscellaneous
:20709256

Details

Belt-positioning booster for children 30-80 pounds. 3-position belt guides on both sides. Removable cup/juice box holder on left side. Padded armrests for added child comfort. Roomy seat has comfort-support sides for napping. Polypropylene molded shell. Comfortable, padded fabric cover. Meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213, including crash testing head excursion limits. FAA regulations prohibit use on aircraft as belt-positioning booster.

The Touriva that I have is not the same as pictured but looked at the carseat to be sure and it is definitely a Cosco Touriva. My Touriva has the pull over bar. I really dislike this carseat for many reasons. I only picked this one because of my frugal nature and hate that I did so. My children live’s are far more important than saving a dollar!

After our son got too big for the carrying car seat, it was time for us to begin the hunt for the next stage in seats. But where do we begin… there are so many types at a wide range of prices. After checking out seats at 5 different stores, we came across the “Alpha Omega Elite Car Seat with LATCH: Hammer Print.”

The first thing that caught our eye was the fact that this was one of the few car seats that would grow WITH our child. Below are some of the key elements that went into our decision to purchase this seat.

We purchased 2 of these car seats for my 3 1/2 year old daughter who is 38″ tall and weighs 34 pounds. The seats are for her grandparent’s cars. Our daughter has been very happy riding around in her 2 Britax Roundabouts we have in each of our cars. I have been very hesitant to put her in a booster at all, much preferring the 5 point safety of her Britax. However, she was nearing the 40″ height limit on her Britax, and the top of her head was over the back of her car seat. I researched purchasing a larger seat to keep her in 5 point. Few choices were available, they were very expensive (Britax Husky $240.00) and her pediatrician said she was tall enough and weighed enough to graduate into a booster.

Shortly after our oldest turned one it was time to purchase her a convertible car seat. I did some research and headed down to our local baby store where I was a given a song and dance about the $200 Britax car seat. The sales woman looked shocked as I corrected the errors in her sales pitch and proceeded to buy the exact seat that I wanted, an Evenflo Triumph.