I have one husband, three children, one Saturn and one back seat. It sounds like an Algebra problem gone horribly wrong.

I stopped in at a car seat check a few weeks ago, and had our current child restraints investigated by a certified car seat technician. I realized that my son was right at the edge of the weight limit for his convertible car seat, but what I had forgotten was that the straps were supposed to be adjusted at or above his shoulder height. They weren't. Not only was he too heavy, he was too tall for the car seat we had been using.

Three children, one back seat. The middle seat is lap belt only, no shoulder restraint. No American manufacturer will retrofit that middle seat with a lap belt. While the technician told me it was legal to place a child in this seat, since it's all that was available, it certainly was not safe. In an accident, the upper body of a child restrained only by a lap belt will whiplash forward and back, probably causing severe internal and or spinal injuries. In our car, it's quite likely the child's face would have abruptly impacted the center divider between the front seats. In a serious accident, they'd have a broken neck. In a minor accident, a broken nose. Absolutely unacceptable, legal or not.

The car seat technician told me there were two choices, the Britax Marathon, or the Britax Laptop. The Britax Laptop has been discontinued, but with luck you can find back stock in a few specialty stores. The Laptop is under $100, and the Marathon is $250, so we took a look at the Laptop.

The Britax Laptop is an energy absorbing seat constructed of EPS foam, similar to bicycle helmets. The child sits on the seat of the car, the Laptop sits across his lap, with the shield directly against the breastbone. The car's seatbelt fits snugly over the top of the Laptop, effectively pinning the child to the seat.

I was curious as to why the Laptop was safer than shield boosters sold a few years ago. The shield boosters had a terrible record, and are no longer recommended. The difference is that the Laptop is directly against the breastbone, there is no impact, and it's constructed of an energy absorbing material. I found no crash test results of the Laptop in a web search, but Britax does have a record of producing safe products.

I visited the only local store that still stocked the Laptop, and gave it the kid test. It did install easily, and it did hold my son snugly. Very snugly. Snugly like a straight jacket. He was so snugly he immediately started protesting. Loudly. I think he just isn't a candidate for snugly. My 3 year old son is 41 inches tall, and 40 pounds. The Laptop is recommended for children 30-60 pounds, as long as their ears aren't higher than the top of the car's seat back. He falls within those limits, but the Laptop was just not a good choice for us.

It would definitely have been better than allowing a child to sit in the center section restrained only by a lap belt. It appears to be a safe seat, and it will fit a larger child than most conventional car seats. It might be a good choice for a spare seat, or for a child more accepting of firm restraint. I think my oldest daughter might have been fine with it at that age, but my son seemed to find that level of restriction torture.

I would recommend the Britax Laptop as an alternative to a child restrained only be a lap belt. I'd recommend it for its price. But I can't recommend it for comfort for long periods for a child who finds restraint uncomfortable. I definitely do recommend having your current child restraints examined by a certified car seat technician, and trying any car seat before you buy it.

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 70
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years