Please advice car seat for 4.5 years old
04-05-13, 01:39 PM
#1
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Please advice car seat for 4.5 years old
Our grandson is coming to visit us from Europe and we are looking for the best car seat for our 2012 Lexus ES350. Car seats weren't required when we raised our daughter and now we are totally confused with the different types and options.
We are not limited in budget (at least to some reasonable extent) and safety is a primary factor in our shopping.
I would appreciate it if experienced Lexus Moms and Dads could give me and my wife some head ups.
We are not limited in budget (at least to some reasonable extent) and safety is a primary factor in our shopping.
I would appreciate it if experienced Lexus Moms and Dads could give me and my wife some head ups.
04-05-13, 01:51 PM
#2
we have britax marathon and i think they are rated pretty high on safety. they are on the bulky side but should fit in the es350 no problem.
4.5 is tough, depending on size, maybe a booster will work too and give a bit more space. to be safe you can always get those booster with 5 point harness for more protection. my friend has britax as well and like them a lot
4.5 is tough, depending on size, maybe a booster will work too and give a bit more space. to be safe you can always get those booster with 5 point harness for more protection. my friend has britax as well and like them a lot
04-05-13, 03:47 PM
#3
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04-05-13, 06:15 PM
#4
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We have 3 of
, for our currently 67lb, 4' 2" five year old--he's been in them for about 18 months or so, and likes them quite well.
You can easily spend a lot of money on car seats (and we did for the first 3 phases), but there's also plenty of great mid-priced stuff as well.
You can easily spend a lot of money on car seats (and we did for the first 3 phases), but there's also plenty of great mid-priced stuff as well.
04-05-13, 08:03 PM
#5
Lexus Champion
Check your state laws
The use of child safety seats is regulated by the individual states in the USA. The type of seat -- infant seat, rear-facing seat, forwarding-facing seat, booster seat, etc. -- to be used may be dependent upon age, height and/or weight of the child, depending upon the regulations in your particular state. Your 4 1/2 year old child MAY be able to use a booster seat (to sit him up higher so that he may safely use the normal adult lap-and-shoulder seat belt in the rear seat) but he may have to use a proper LATCHed-in forward-facing seat, depending upon his height and weight.
Check your local state regulations (Virginia?). Check also if you can rent the appropriate one for the period that your grandson will be visiting so that you do not have to go out and buy one to use for only a very short period of time.
One starting point may be: http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/l...fety_laws.html
Or google "car seat regulations".
Check your local state regulations (Virginia?). Check also if you can rent the appropriate one for the period that your grandson will be visiting so that you do not have to go out and buy one to use for only a very short period of time.
One starting point may be: http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/l...fety_laws.html
Or google "car seat regulations".
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04-08-13, 01:17 PM
#8
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I would recommend looking up safety ratings and simply ordering the best rated. My wife and I have two little children and we just get the best stuff we can to keep them safe. Next up will be a new Infiniti QX56 to keep them even safer
12-04-13, 11:39 PM
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go for a combination seat
Since the seat would not be used on regular basis, I would recommend Evenflo SecureKid LX. Its got safety features like IIHS Best bet- which provides good lap and shoulder belt fit for typical 4 to 8 year-olds in almost any car, minivan or SUV; five point harness; 2X crash test standard.
You can use it as a FF harness or a belt-position booster (since your grandson seems to be old enough to be in a booster seat). It isn't very expensive either so that makes it a good choice for you.
If you're looking for something sturdier.. try Britax Frontier.. That is a combination seat too so you can use it as FF seat or a highback booster.. Its got high weight/height limit .. and safety features like energy absorbing base and energy absorbing versa-tether..
On the flip side.. it costs a lot more than Maestro.
Here are the official sites to these seats in case someone wants to check out the features:
http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/frontier-85
http://www.evenflo.com/product.aspx?id=315&pfid=6601
Hare a few more relevant matches that I found using this car seat finder....the search is based on an average 4.5 year old's weight n height
You can use it as a FF harness or a belt-position booster (since your grandson seems to be old enough to be in a booster seat). It isn't very expensive either so that makes it a good choice for you.
If you're looking for something sturdier.. try Britax Frontier.. That is a combination seat too so you can use it as FF seat or a highback booster.. Its got high weight/height limit .. and safety features like energy absorbing base and energy absorbing versa-tether..
On the flip side.. it costs a lot more than Maestro.
Here are the official sites to these seats in case someone wants to check out the features:
http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/frontier-85
http://www.evenflo.com/product.aspx?id=315&pfid=6601
Hare a few more relevant matches that I found using this car seat finder....the search is based on an average 4.5 year old's weight n height
12-05-13, 05:51 AM
#12
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My kids are 4 and 6. All they've needed for the past two years are simple booster seats. You can get them for like $20 each. Yes laws do vary by state though, so check your state's laws as the others have suggested.
We have the basic Britax ones which had removable backs, and we just use the seat base now. That's all they need.
There's a nicer one, forget the brand, European company, for around $100 which has REALLY NICE PADDING and are much better for long trips if you're planning to road trip at all. It has rigid fixed LATCH anchors which are nice, but the problem is that half the cars I've put them into the rigid LATCH anchors end up interfering with the seat belts and there a complete PITA to work with. They work fine in my wife's X5, but are unusable in my 335i, and the new F30 3-series, and the F10 5-series (loaners). They're even a pain my parent's 2012 Camry. If you're getting anything fancy, best to try it out in your specific car, or check the ES forum for "car seat reports". LOL.
I'm not kidding, ask a store clerk if you can take a display unit car seat out to your car just to make sure it works well. Cars and car seats really are that picky sometimes. They even tweak the designs from year-to-year. One Brittax Roundabout we had was fine, but the one the next year was so ridiculously "tamper proof" that it also become parent proof. The LATCH anchors were so difficult to get to that it became pointless. I nearly went all Office Space on that seat and was sooo happy when my kids finally outgrew it and didn't need it anymore! haha
Good luck and have fun!
We have the basic Britax ones which had removable backs, and we just use the seat base now. That's all they need.
There's a nicer one, forget the brand, European company, for around $100 which has REALLY NICE PADDING and are much better for long trips if you're planning to road trip at all. It has rigid fixed LATCH anchors which are nice, but the problem is that half the cars I've put them into the rigid LATCH anchors end up interfering with the seat belts and there a complete PITA to work with. They work fine in my wife's X5, but are unusable in my 335i, and the new F30 3-series, and the F10 5-series (loaners). They're even a pain my parent's 2012 Camry. If you're getting anything fancy, best to try it out in your specific car, or check the ES forum for "car seat reports". LOL.
I'm not kidding, ask a store clerk if you can take a display unit car seat out to your car just to make sure it works well. Cars and car seats really are that picky sometimes. They even tweak the designs from year-to-year. One Brittax Roundabout we had was fine, but the one the next year was so ridiculously "tamper proof" that it also become parent proof. The LATCH anchors were so difficult to get to that it became pointless. I nearly went all Office Space on that seat and was sooo happy when my kids finally outgrew it and didn't need it anymore! haha
Good luck and have fun!
Last edited by SteVTEC; 12-05-13 at 05:55 AM.
12-05-13, 07:48 AM
#13
A child needs a FOUR-POINT HARNESS until they are 40 lbs. They need to be in a booster seat with a shoulder belt until 80 lbs. Laws may differ, but what's been proven safest for children does not.
IIHSA & NHTSA do not evaluate car seats in crash tests. They look at how the belts fit and call it good (or not). Well, the way the belt fits is dependent on the car, as many cars have different slopes in their seats and seat backs, as well as many car seats having different shapes which fit into the seats. Your best bet is to go to your specific forum and see what people use.
IIHSA & NHTSA do not evaluate car seats in crash tests. They look at how the belts fit and call it good (or not). Well, the way the belt fits is dependent on the car, as many cars have different slopes in their seats and seat backs, as well as many car seats having different shapes which fit into the seats. Your best bet is to go to your specific forum and see what people use.
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