Mom Review of the Britax Parkway SG Seat

Britax launched a new safety seat called the Parkway SG. This convertible belt-positioning booster seat will fit children from 40 pounds and 38 inches up to 120 pounds and 63 inches. This week (9/12-9/16) is Child Passenger Safety Week, it's a ideal time to take stock of what your family's needs are and consider upgrading your car seat. Picking the right high back booster seat is an important purchase for any family with a car.

I've been able to test out the new Parkway SG ($119.99) seat first-hand. It can be used as either a booster or a high-backed seat. The Parkway is designed to work with you car's seatbelts. Simply feed the seatbelt through the designated belt guides and you are in business.

Initially, I set the seat up as a high-backed booster seat. Assembly is easy. It took but a few seconds to slide the top and bottom parts together. The kid-friendly head restraint height is adjustable with a squeeze of a handle. Lifting the seat into the car was relatively simple as the seat weighs just less than ten pounds. Once set to my child's height, it was a snap to guide the car's seat belt into the upper belt guide.

Let's talk about fit for a second. You'll need to decide if your child is big enough for the seat. Britax's new seat is a two-in-one seat meant to grow with your child. The Parkway SG can be used for children 120 lbs. or less. Your child will also have to be tall enough so the vehicle shoulder belt guide places the belt in the proper position and the top of your child's ears are below the top of the head restraint.

When used with the seat back, the Parkway SG provides Britax True Side Impact Protection. Safety experts, such as Dr. Laura Jana, agree that side impact protection is crucial in a car seat. The Parkway has deep sidewalls and "head wings" made from energy-absorbent material. This seat is engineered to transfers energy away from the child during a side impact crash.

After assessing the high-back option, I checked out the booster alone (remember the booster is never to be used on a child weighing less than 40 lbs). Once again it was easy to slip off the top portion and transform the seat. Thanks to the SlideGuard clip that helps keep the seatbelt in place you'll get a secure fit for your young passenger. The booster is quite portable, weighing just over 5 lbs. as a solo booster.

Overall, I liked the wide seat (13"), but found the strap (they call it the "SlideGuard" on the SG model) that goes between the child's legs short. My kid tester deemed the seat to comfortable, but I observed the armrests to be low. The retractable cup holders are a nice touch-but basically impossible for a child to reach when belted in.

One place to improve upon the seat would be updating the seat cover selection. As it stands the seats are in dull gray, black and brown. On the plus side, the fabric will likely look cleaner over time.