What car seats for 2 and 5 year old?

[ammiga]

We need to buy car seats for our second car, which is a CR-V.

I cannot figure out if my almost 5 year old should be in a booster or a 5-point harness. She weighs 40 lbs and just turned FF. I'm assuming my 30 lb 2 year old should definitely still be in a RF 5-point harness.

What is the best option for my 5 year old? And my 2 year old. We'd rather not spend a fortune on car seats, but safety is a huge concern. Amazon reviews are all over the place on everything.

Thank you!

[~Adorkable~]

have you read the reviews and best picks over on Car-Seat.Org? they have a lot of good info and really through reviews from folks that really know what their talking about.

its just great to hear you car about carseat safety! yippee for rear facing!  as a mom of twins that are about to turn 2 i have been really aware of the vast spectrum of attitudes on car seats, frankly it is shocking that more folks dont care at least a bit more,

im sorry i cant give you any advice on seats specifically, i am buying some pretty costly ones, but they RF till 50 pounds!! and that means the world to me after the crash tests i have looked at!  good luck, im sure the reviews over there will help you sort out options 

[Chloe'sMama]

Keep your 5 year old in the 5 pt. Britax frontier will last you the longest.

As for the 2 year old, just find a rfing seat that you like that lasts a long time. What did you have your other dd in that kept her rfing so long? I would go with one of those!

[brigala]

Originally Posted by ammiga 

We need to buy car seats for our second car, which is a CR-V.

I cannot figure out if my almost 5 year old should be in a booster or a 5-point harness. She weighs 40 lbs and just turned FF. I'm assuming my 30 lb 2 year old should definitely still be in a RF 5-point harness.

What is the best option for my 5 year old? And my 2 year old. We'd rather not spend a fortune on car seats, but safety is a huge concern. Amazon reviews are all over the place on everything.

Thank you!

Whether to put your 5 year old in a harness or a booster is really a personal choice. I personally prefer to keep kids harnessed longer, but it's up to you. Since you're on a budget, I'd probably choose between a Graco high back Turbobooster, for a booster, or an Evenflo Maestro, for a harness. 

For the 2 year old, I would take a look at the Safety 1st Guide 65 Sport ($79, Walmart) or one of its cousins, the S1 Easy Fit 65 or the Eddie Bauer XRS 65. Usually the Walmart version is cheapest, but sometimes a coupon at Babies R Us or a deal at bjs.com brings the other versions down to about the same price - and each model has different cover options so they're worth looking at to pick the one you like. 

Take Amazon reviews with a grain of salt. Remember that about 80% or so of car seats are used incorrectly, so do you really trust Joe Q Public to review a car seat? :) Look for reviews on carseatblog.com instead. Usually a google search for the car seat you're looking at plus the word "carseatblog" will reveal what you want to know.