We bought the Marathon too, for the overly simple reason that it's built in Europe, where the cars are less safe so the baby seats are more safe. That was pretty much all I had to hear, and I was sold.
We're going to keep Max in it for as long as we can jam him in there, commonly known as the so-far-so-good school of child safety. The thought of a booster seat makes me anxious beyond all compare.
We have the kids in Britax Huskies (they're now sold as the Regent) and we're happy to keep them in those. If I'd been smarter, we would have bought the Marathons and not dealt with these (it's a saga, involving 3yos who were too tall for their Evenflo Convertible seats but too light for boosters). Anyway, we found that buying backless boosters at Target for use in rental cars was far cheaper than renting them -- about $15 a day rental versus $15 on sale for the seat.
We carry three boosters with us in a large duffel when we fly, which admittedly isn't often. I DO feel more nervous seeing them in those boosters (if we'd gone with the Marathons, the kids would be riding in the high-backed booster that Britax makes now) but all the stats suggest they are perfectly safe in them. It's an acceptable solution for long trips, for us.
I am reminded at times of our different car seat philosophies. I had Son1 in a booster on his fourth birthday, and I am counting the days until Son2 hits his first so I can turn the seat around.
I think parents all sort of pick the thing they're gonna freak out about. I am continually convinced my kids are going to get lead poisoning in our old house. I wipe down the window wells every single time I open the windows. And I neurotically watch the floors for errant paint chips JUST IN CASE.
Um. We just got back from Mexico where I rode in the back of a pick up truck with my baby in my lap. Seriously. it had benches and a plastic canopy and everything. (Mexican Minivan!) I SWORE I would not do it but funny thing, they don't actually use car seats down there and not one person batted an eyelash. In fact, EVERYONE rides in the back of pick-ups with their babies on their laps I did get admonished by a mother for not putting socks on her, because that is how a baby catches a cold. (Sorry!)
I'm with Prurient - I think everyone has their thing. Maybe it's germs in public places, maybe it's food, maybe it's TV (ahem, FS).
When you do move Petunia over to the booster, you may find there are good things about it. Son1 can now unbuckle himself and exit the car without any assistance from us. He still needs help getting buckled in, but it's amazing how that little bit of independence is great for all of us. And, it's so incredibly portable -- we're always swapping it car to car or to grandma's car.
We got the Graco TurboSeat. In full disclosure, we did zero research on it. We walked in the store, it was on sale, done. But what I really like is that there are options -- starts out with a high back, and you take away pieces of it, so eventually they just have a backless booster.
ya, i too have faced a lot of problems similar to the one you have mention. As you have decided i too own a "Britax Marathon" since it was comfort for the kid and it had also lasted long enough so that i did not spend more money on that. It is still looking good but my kid has grown a lot so now i have just removed that from my car. Hoping that it would be useful for my 2nd child...expecting soon....
Alex
http://www.buyingadvice.com
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