davisdenyel
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2006
I am thinking about taking a towncar or limo from mco to the port. My 2 youngest kids will be 5 and 7 at the time we go. What is the carseat laws in Florida? Will I need a carseat for them?
You can request a car seat from the limo company. Some include it for free. We didn't chance it and used one for my 4 year old.
We were very surprised to learn that in Florida, once kids reach age 5 (regardless of height/weight), they only require a seatbelt. In Ontario, Canada, where we live, kids have to be in a carseat with 5 point harness til they reach 40 lbs, and in a booster until 80 lbs. That said, our DD is very small for her age (5 years and only 34 lbs), so she still uses a carseat at home. During our last trip to Florida, we brought a high-back booster instead (smaller and easier to pack) and she was pretty happy to ride like a big kid while we were there I found a very reasonably priced Cosco brand one at Walmart that comes apart into two pieces and includes a heavy plastic carrying case for travel.
We were very surprised to learn that in Florida, once kids reach age 5 (regardless of height/weight), they only require a seatbelt. In Ontario, Canada, where we live, kids have to be in a carseat with 5 point harness til they reach 40 lbs, and in a booster until 80 lbs. That said, our DD is very small for her age (5 years and only 34 lbs), so she still uses a carseat at home. During our last trip to Florida, we brought a high-back booster instead (smaller and easier to pack) and she was pretty happy to ride like a big kid while we were there I found a very reasonably priced Cosco brand one at Walmart that comes apart into two pieces and includes a heavy plastic carrying case for travel.
COLOR="Red"]Booster seats are required for children under the age of eight, weighing 18 kg or more but less than 36 kg (40-80 lb.) and who stand less than 145 cm (4 feet-9 inches) tall.
A child can start using a seatbelt alone once any one of the following criteria is met:
child turns eight years old
child weighs 36 kg (80 lb.)
child is 145 cm (4 feet-9 inches) tall.
QUOTE]
Yes - I forgot to mention the 8 years old bit... of course, at the rate she's growing, DD (who's now almost 6), will probably be 8 years old before she hits 40 lbs, let alone 80!! Anyway, I was just surprised that in Florida, they are allowed to start using seatbelts alone at 5 (and that there doesn't seem to be as much of a distinction between booster vs carseat...). However, we just weren't comfortable going with the minimum allowed under the law, and opted to bring the booster (plus a carseat for the baby)... Once we were onboard our cruise, we just stuck them in the closet, which had ample room to store them.