As many of you know, I'm a tad obsessed with finding the perfect car seats and booster seats for my three children. I currently own a few with which I'm quite satisfied but somehow that doesn't cure my wandering eye. Good thing I don't have this same inclination when it comes to men (Hi honey!).

Actually, I could use another booster seat since I accidentally backed-over my old Cosco one (a well-deserved demise, in my opinion). Therefore, when my good friend told me I could borrow their BRAND NEW Fisher Price Safe Embrace Booster for a week while her family was on vacation, I literally jumped at the chance.

Features of the Fisher Price Safe Embrace Booster

The seat that I borrowed is the newest version of the Safe Embrace Booster. It comes with a blue seat cover with an attractive blue and red plaid pattern in the seat and head region. Apparently this seat comes with the cover off and you have to assemble it, so to speak. I'm not sure why Fisher Price wants customers to assemble this themselves, except maybe to quell any fears they may have about later removing it for cleaning. I didn't put the cover on myself but my friend assured me that it really was pretty easy and took only a few minutes.

Unlike any of the seats I've purchased, this is only an unharnessed booster seat. It is not permanently strapped into the car but is simply placed on the seat to literally "boost" the child up so that the lap and shoulder belt can fit them better.

~~ Weight and height specifications: This seat is designed for children between 30-80 lbs. (14-36 kg.) and whose height is between 37-55" (94-137 cm.). The upper weight range is a definite plus since research shows that kids are safest in booster seats until they are about 80 lbs. Many states currently require child safety seats until 6 years and 60 lbs. but there is a growing movement to adopt a stricter 8 years and 80 lbs. requirement.

Although it is designed for children as light as 30 lbs., most kids are much safer in 5-point harnessed car seats until they are 40 lbs.. Unfortunately, some children are very tall and light so that they exceed the height limit for many harnessed seats before they reach 40 lbs. This seat is ideal for those children.

~~ Height guideline indicators: One of the features that first attracted me to this seat when I spotted it in Toys-R-Us a few months ago is the minimum and maximum shoulder height guidelines which are clearly printed right on the seat itself. This takes the guess work out of knowing whether your child will fit in the seat.

~~ Adjustable shoulder belt positioners: Like most boosters on the market today, this seat has adjustable shoulder belt positioners that ensure that the seat belt goes across the child's shoulder and chest rather than their neck or face. These clips are on both sides of the seat and are very easy to use, though I can see how they might be the weak link in this seat if they were used as carrying handles (use the indented handle in the back for carrying instead).

~~ Lap belt positioners: It's also very important that the lap portion of the belt go low across the child's hips rather than across their vulnerable abdomen. All the boosters that I've tried have cut outs in the plastic frame that act like guides for the lap belt. The cut outs seem a bit larger and deeper on this seat, but not significantly so.

~~ High back: This is one of the taller booster seats available on the market, though there are even taller ones. The tall back is especially good for providing head and neck support for the child in cars that don't have high back seats and head rests (like many low bench-style seats in vans). For us, the high back is a necessity since all of my children have inherited their father's LONG torso (and short legs). Therefore, total height is not as good an indicator of a seat's fit as torso height.

~~ Cup holder: I believe this is a new feature with the latest Safe Embrace Booster model. This plastic cup holder fits on either side of the seat and is not too difficult to install or remove. It does hold sippy cups OK but I never tested it with soda cans since I won't allow my kids to drink soda in the car (especially not with a seat that doesn't even belong to us). Sorry, I already gave it back to the rightful owner or I would test this feature for you more thoroughly.

So What Did Dr_Steph's Product Testers Think About This Seat?

I guess my kids like to be measured because they all clamored to get into this seat and see where they measured up on the printed guidelines. My five year old came about two-thirds of the way to the upper limit, indicating that there was plenty of room for growth for him. My three and a half year old daughter just barely hit the minimum height. Of course, my 22 month had to sit in it next and he was clearly too small (in both height and weight) for this seat.

My son was the main product tester on the road since he can't use a harnessed car seat. He said that he liked the seat and, in fact, complained bitterly when we had to return it. When I asked him if it was padded enough for him (seems a bit thin to me), he had no complaints. Of course we never had a chance to take it on a long drive and see if it caused any "numb buns."

The thing my son liked the best about this seat is that he could buckle it in by himself. He always tried to do that with the Cosco seat but the sides were deeper and harder for him to reach around.

My daughter did a little on-the-road product testing with this seat too and, though she liked it initially, she soon asked to get back into her Graco Cherished CarGo seat (which is both a harnessed car seat and booster). She complained that the Safe Embrace seat was too hard and "up" for her (which I interpreted to mean upright or straight-backed).

And the Final Verdict Is…

My impression is that the Fisher Price Safe Embrace Booster is a pretty good option, especially for larger, taller kids. No, it's not particularly well-padded but it seems adequate. The side wings are minimal compared to other boosters I've tested but apparently that allows the seat belt to fit more closely against the child's body, rather than being held away from their body.

The back on this seat is also more upright than some seats. That feature, along with minimal side support on the top, means that a child who falls asleep in this seat will probably have their head flop forward. Although this looks terribly uncomfortable to me, it never seems to bother my kids in the slightest. The reality is that they won't have side head rests in a regular car seat either. Pillows or special travel head rests can be purchased (not associated with this seat) that can minimize the "head flopping" problem.

I was rather sad to have my friend come and reclaim her booster seat. I'm actually interested in getting one, especially for use with my son when he travels in other people's cars. However, I'm having a lot of trouble finding one at the moment. None of the stores in a 45 mile radius currently carry this car seat. Furthermore, I can't find many on-line stores that carry it right now. The best deal I could find was at dmartstores.com for $57.08. However, the $21 shipping charge dampened my enthusiasm considerably. I think I'll hold out and wait until a local store carries this seat or until I take a trip to a larger city. My friend bought her booster seat in Seattle for $59 (with a $10 mail-in rebate).

Safety Information: According to the manufacturer, this booster seat meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213 for child restraint systems. It should not be used on airlines or in seats that only have a lap belt (as opposed to a shoulder-lap combination). For more safety information on this seat, I'll refer you to the fine review by iowamommy, the true guru of car seats at Epinions!


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 59