5 point booster?

[MaxsFox]

My 3-year-old (27 pounds, about 35 inches) is in a Boulevard right now, and the straps are way below his shoulders, so it's time to get him into something bigger.  I'm on a tighter budget than I was when I bought his current seat, so we're looking for something in the $100 range, or hopefully less if possible.  We have an SUV right now, but will be trading it in for a car in the near future, and we're hoping for out next child to come along late next year, so we'll need to be able to fit a baby seat in the car as well.

Can he go in a 5-point booster yet?  Are there any of good quality in my price range?  Something that converts from 5-point to shoulder belt (or even to backless) would be great, so we can keep it until he's ready to be done with seats all together.

[DahliaRW]

If the straps are below his shoulders he cannot safely ride in that seat again!

Your cheapest bet woudl be the Evenflo Maestro (around $80).  Make sure he fits in it first!  You will need another booster in the future, but you can get an inexpensive graco turbobooster for under 50 usually.  And you'll have time to save for that.

[MaxsFox]

Don't worry, I haven't been putting him in it.  His father has been letting me borrow his seat (can't remember what it is - Triumph Advance, or something like that - but I know Badger fits in it) until I can get a new one.  Thanks for the recommendations.

[Maedze]

Good morning!

I hate to make absolute statements, but if a 35" child is too tall for a Britax Boulevard, I'll personally buy you a new seat 

What's likely happened is that the knobs you use to move the head rest roll up have come off their groove, making you feel like you can't raise the headrest/harness any higher.  

Uninstall the seat, look at the pole in the back the head rest rotates up.   You'll see it's connected and there are probably several inches of unused pole above the connection point. 

Go back to the knobs.  Fiddle with them, applying pressure, rotating back and forth.  Eventually the groove will catch again, and you'll be able to extend the head rest up.  

In fact, with your child's weight and height, s/he still most likely fits very well in the Boulevard rear facing, and that would be the safest way for your child to travel. 

[chickabiddy]

I'll chip in for that.  If he fits a Triumph, he probably fits in a properly adjusted Boulevard.  I have never seen a 27# child outgrow a big Britax convertible.

[dot1]

ditto that.  35" is not that tall.  Plus putting Britax rear facing could allow for more space for a seat beside it (compared to forward facing). Also rear facing harness should be at or below shoulders (which might buy more time to use seat in tall kids who don't outweigh the rear facing wt. limit).  Britax makes a wide seat....so if space is a primary issue, you might want to look into selling the Britax and using the difference for a Sunshine kids radian (which has one of the highest height limit I'm aware of in a 5 pt harnessed seat).  I love my Britax for ease of installation...but love the sunshine kids seat even more for its higher height limit, narrower and lower profile (allows me to see better in rearview too) and really easy to adjust harness straps.