Kate – the Marathon will not eliminate the need for a booster… after the Marathon is outgrown, your child will need one or even another harnessed seat (like the Regent, Nautilus, or Radian), depending on the age and size.

Heather – Booster seats originally all tested better if they were allowed to move WITH the child… that is why. Now, Heavier boosters like the Recaro start, for instance, which are more common outside the US, do typically have a top tether or Latch attachments.

But in the US, it has only been since companies have designed boosters to pass the tests as well as they do without these attachements that they have been introduced to the market.

Even so, the REASON for attaching them was not to increase safety for the child in them, but to prevent the booster becoming a projectile when it is not occupied.

Most people do not buckle their booster seats when no one is in them, but if they are not able to be attached by latch to the car, then that is exactly what needs to be done.

That said, of course, your 5yr old is safer in a harnessed seat until it is outgrown.

Oh… and the Sunshine Kids Monterey, which is latchable, also is the tallest booster on the market, though it is not a narrow booster, so may not fit in every seating situation… aka… may not be good for doing 3 across.

Andrea – another great article!!

Kate- thanks for the info!!

My 4 1/2 year-old daughter is still in her Britax Marathon car seat. The reason we bought that for BOTH of our kids is because it is supposed to eliminate the need for buying a separate booster seat. My daughter still fits perfectly in it and I feel like she is much safer in it than a booster seat.

I think what you guys are doing is great. I just emailed this info to a friend that has his 2 year old in a booster seat. Keep up doing this. I really think you should have her write about all the after market items like the bundle mes and head rests that are seen in car seats. Also the things in Dennis Quaid’s car seats for his babies. Many people think because celebritys have them they are safe and ok to use.

would like to know if you have any safety data on the Volvo’s that come with built-in booster seats?

Here in Europe, accordind to the European Union law kids have to use car seat until they’re 1.50 metres tall or 12 years old (because there are 12 year-olds taller than that)…I think that’s about 4 feet, 11 inches tal…

They do in fact have a handful of latchable boosters:

Sunshine Kids Montery – latchable
Graco Nautilus – latchable during booster stage (for harness latchable limits, see car and carseat manual for limits)
Britax Frontier – latchable during booster state (for harness latchable limits, see carseat and car manual for limits)
Recaro Young Start – Tether strap – no latch – but top strap available.

I’m sure we will see more of these come to market, as it’s a great way to keep the booster tied down while not in use, and keeps it from shifting around. Latch has limits when being used with harness because the weight of the child is pulling on the latch bars – but in booster mode, the latch bars do not feel the impact, the seat belt does.

My son is 5 and rides in a tripped out (I sewed racing and flame patches to it) Britax Regent. We had the Britax Monarch Racer and after 2 days I returned it. The seat was so heavy and floppy, and for it to not be secured to the seat with a latch or anything felt very unsafe. I have always been the car seat warden with my friends and family and have owned a few britax, and a sunshine kids seat. My truck is a Chevy Trailblazer and the Monarch Racer they have pictured was a terrible fit to my truck’s rear seat. Anyway, I did not jump on here to talk bad about it, I truly wished it worked but I feel so much safer with my son in the harness, though he would much rather a regular booster and seat belt lol I am curious though why boosters are not tethered to the car like a car seat. Wouldn’t it make less of an impact on the seatbelt in the event of a crash? As of now the seatbelt has to hold the child in place as well as the booster.

Great article, really informative. It would be great if you could archive this into a category called safety or something, it is a great reference.