My girlfriend “L” wrote me last week, “Quick question: have you  moved from a car seat to a booster seat for your older kids yet? Our son’s feet are touching the back of the front seats, so I’d like to move him, but he’s not quite 40 pounds, which is usually the booster-seat starting point. I’m researching it online and coming up with contradictory info. If you have switched, please let me know your advice!”

My son’s feet are not only touching the back of our front seats, they are resting on either side of the head rest. Comfortably. So, though I hadn’t thought about a booster seat yet, it made sense to start considering one. Not so fast……

As it happened, that same day, this blog’s Safety Expert, Baby Bodyguards, sent in an article about the very subject. I felt like such a pal when I sent “L” their review. She was ecstatic to have someone cut to the chase and just give her the scoop. SEE THEIR REVIEW BELOW….but first!

To help those of you out that are thinking about this option: Baby Bodyguards is giving away a Britax Frontier along with one of their complimentary car seat installation lessons by their Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician.

Giveaway Details:

in order to enter, you must:

1-Become a fan of Baby Bodyguards on Facebook (just click the Facebook icon on the top of their blog)

2-For an extra entry you can become a follower of Baby Bodyguards on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway!

Winner will be picked randomly and announced on Facebook March 19th.

Good Luck!

And, now for Baby Bodyguards thoughts on what to do when you think your child has outgrown their forward facing car seat.

The transition from forward facing to booster

by Baby Bodyguards

As many of our clients know we really refrain from recommending one model of car seat over another. As we tell everyone, in terms of safety, all child passenger safety devices all created equal. They all go through the same tests and have to pass the same safety regulations. We break our policy of not recommending one seat over another when it comes to the Britax Frontier. It lacks the Britax ease of installation and adjustment but really excels, in my opinion, in safety.

I’ll go into why we like the Frontier in a moment but first a little back story on booster seats for those not up to the booster seat phase of childhood yet. Once your child outgrows their forward facing car seat you’re going to need to transition to a booster seat. Yes you will need one more car seat: that is, if you choose wisely, otherwise you’ll need two more. Contrary to popular belief, your child is not ready to use the vehicle seat belt upon outgrowing their forward facing car seat. New York State law states that all children under the age of six must be properly restrained in a booster seat when traveling in a vehicle (excepting exempt vehicles such as taxi cabs and school buses).

We all remember riding in the car and the shoulder strap of the seat belt would sit firmly on our cheek. This is where the booster seat comes in. Booster seats come in three main styles.

• One- what is essentially a padded “phone book” for the child to sit on which lifts them to the correct height for the vehicle seat belt to fit properly. This is for children older than six.
• Two- a booster seat with a back and “belt positioner”
• Three- large seats with a five point harness such as Britax Frontier.

We always recommend that when a parent transitions to a booster seat that they choose one with a five point harness. The other types of seats while perfectly safe to use, in my opinion, should be reserved for older children. While they are a safe option they are not necessarily the safest option.

Whichever seat you choose for your -just graduated from a forward seat- child make sure it is one with a seat back. These come in two flavors, those with a five point harness and those without.  The models without the five point harness have a clip called a “belt positioner” around the child’s chin area. The vehicle’s seat belt goes through this clip on the booster seat and is thus held at the proper height to fit your child correctly (no more uncomfortable and unsafe seat belt on the cheek or neck). What I don’t like about these seats is that unlike your rear facing and forward facing car seats, there is nothing holding this seat in place other than the weight of your child and the seat belt.

Britax Frontier

One of the things we really like about the Frontier is that it is both types of booster seat. When your child is over two and between 25 and 80 pounds and 30 to 53 inches tall you can use it much the same way you did with your forward facing car seat. You can use the latch anchors to hold it in place or the lap and shoulder belt and it has a five point harness just like your last car seat. When your child outgrows those parameters it is good until over 100 pounds and 60 inches tall (five feet) as a plain booster with “belt positioner”.

I love the age group that this seat covers and I love it’s safety features but it does lack the ease of installation and adjustment that most Britax owners will be accustomed too. This is a seat that you will have to install several times. Adjusting the seat requires you to uninstall it so that you can reach the straps at the back of the seat. Installation in some cars can be tricky and in a few models can only be done in the third row (Honda Odyssey).  It’s definitely not my favorite seat to install but it’s far from the worst. Personally, I buy car seats primarily for safety, comfort to my child and lastly ease of use.  This seat excels enough in the first two that I can forgive its shortcomings in the ease of use category.

Britax has installation videos on their site showing the different ways to install the Frontier.  If you’re considering purchasing one you may want to contact Britax (they’re really helpful) and ask if there are any known issues with installing this seat in your particular vehicle. This seat when properly installed is in a league of its own.

Related Posts:

1. Booster Seat Tests: Best and Worst (December 22nd, 2009)
2. Baby Proofers (October 21st, 2008)
3. Car Seat Expiration (October 14th, 2008)
4. New Britax Boulevard CS Is the BOMB! (September 18th, 2008)
5. Is YOUR car seat installed correctly? (March 28th, 2008)