Best booster seat for tall five year old?

[Bella_mezzo]

B is getting close to outgrowing his Radian. It is the 2010/11 model and I don't think it converts to a booster.

Any recommendations?

We are planning, hoping to have a third child in the next two years and have a Prius, so something narrow is ideal.

E is in a Britax Pavilion 70, we have the radian, and we need a booster that would ideally fit three across in the back of a Prius with those two seats.

B REALLY thinks he's too big for a car seat. We REALLY want him to be safe So bonus points for something safe, affordable, and that feels more "big kid" than a car seat...

 

[Kunzite]

I think it depends on what you want to spend. The Graco Turbobooster is a popular choice because it's inexpensive and still provides a good belt fit. If you want to spend more I really like the Britax Parkway SGL. The reason I currently like the SGL is because it has latch clips so the booster is secure when not buckled and it has a belt clip to prevent submarining. The SGL is an inch or so taller than the Graco but also an inch wider. When B is really for a low back booster if #3 is arriving the Saftey 1st Incognito would be nice and narrow

 

[Logan Sapphire]

How tall is he? Just curious because my son turned 4 on April 11 and has a Radian, so I'm wondering at what he might outgrow that seat. He's 43" with a long torso and I estimate he has about 2 more years in the Radian given that torsos are supposed to grow an inch a year.

He also has a Britax Frontier which is a harness to booster but there's no way that would fit with two other seats in your car. My daughter has the Turbobooster that Kunzite mentioned as her spare seat; for cars that are used on a daily basis, I too prefer a booster with LATCH as you're supposed to keep the booster buckled in when no one is riding in it so it doesn't become a projectile.

With the Radian, Diono allows the child to keep using it FFing after the shoulders are above the highest harness slot, as long as the overall weight, height, and too of ears don't exceed the shell. Some people aren't comfortable with that though (and neither am I), but it is allowed by the company.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Thanks Kunzite and Logan!

We are traveling this week, but I'll check his height when we get home...I think it was 48 inched, but I'm not sure.

B's growth is a little different than other kids, since he likely experienced malnutrition during his first almost 3 years. In the past 2 1/2 years he's grown over a foot and he has uneven growth spurts, usually during the summer. If he gets another growth spurt, he's definitely going to be out of the radian as right now his shoulders are even or slightly above the straps, but his ears are still within the shell.

I am hoping we can make it his his 6th birthday in October, but that could be a stretch.

I was looking at the Clek Olli and the graco affix (which I think is the turbo booster but with latch?), as well as the bubblebum which I think I am going to get either way for travel...but I am really confused about the benefits or increased safety, if any, of high backed boosters versus backless boosters...

 

[Loves2Laugh]

Hi Bella- I also have a very tall 5 year old, 47" and he's pretty solid. We went with the Graco TurboBooster and love it. It has the high back and goes up to 57" or 100lbs. I like that it has a belt guide to better fit him. I'm not sure how narrow it is compared to others but I can see it easily accommodating enough room in our backseat for another seat. (We have a bulky convertible seat back there right now for my 2 year old DD) I have to tell you it was very beneficial for us to take DS where he could sit in the seats and we could "play" with them to see how comfortable he was and how solid we felt the seat was. Good luck!

ETA: DS loves the look of his "big boy" seat. Nothing very baby about the booster and it definitely was a time that the added thought of being a big boy compared to his baby sister was an added ego boost! LOL!