Booster seat installation question

[torinsmom]

Sometimes we have to give up a little convenience to prevent injuries or even deaths. NC just went to 8 years or 80 lbs last year. I am a preschool/kindergarten teacher and I had many a parent come in before the law changed with a tiny 4 year old with no seat for field trips. I told my principal I would get fired before I put a child that age in my car in just a seat belt!

I kept my son in a booster until he was 8 and that was BEFORE the law changed. A shoulder belt that falls across the neck instead of the shoulder can break a child's neck in an accident. They can also slip right out of the seatbelt because they are not made for a child. The lap belt also does not fit right on a young child and can cause internal injuries. I brought in brochures for all the parents in our building before the law was passed and many more children in our school were in boosters after the parents saw the information.

There are a lot of things in life that are legal, but that doesn't mean we should do them. And when it comes to my child, I will always err on the side of caution.

Marsha

 

[jodifla]

Sometimes we have to give up a little convenience to prevent injuries or even deaths. NC just went to 8 years or 80 lbs last year. I am a preschool/kindergarten teacher and I had many a parent come in before the law changed with a tiny 4 year old with no seat for field trips. I told my principal I would get fired before I put a child that age in my car in just a seat belt!

I kept my son in a booster until he was 8 and that was BEFORE the law changed. A shoulder belt that falls across the neck instead of the shoulder can break a child's neck in an accident. They can also slip right out of the seatbelt because they are not made for a child. The lap belt also does not fit right on a young child and can cause internal injuries. I brought in brochures for all the parents in our building before the law was passed and many more children in our school were in boosters after the parents saw the information.

There are a lot of things in life that are legal, but that doesn't mean we should do them. And when it comes to my child, I will always err on the side of caution.

Marsha

ANd what do you do when you get caught without a car seat? An emergency happens and someone without car seats has to pick up your child/children...

I just don't see turning all parents into lawbreakers. It's fine to educate and convince, but skip the Big Brother routine of making EVERYTHING a law.

And so, those kids didn't get to go on field trips because you made a decision for the parent?

And of course, there's the public transportation issue, including taxis....none of them have car seats.

 

[welovedis]

DS 5 has a high back booster seat and he just outgrew the 5 point harness (he's on the small side). I've been reading the manual about converting it to a booster to use with a shoulder belt and I'm confused about a couple of things.

- can/should you use the top tether?
-can/should you use latch when it's used as a booster?

I read the manual and it doesn't mention these things at all in the booster seat section. I'm going to call the manufacturer (evenflo, thanks local police officers!) tomorrow, but already took the straps off and he may need it tomorrow morning.

We have a similar Graco seat, but it's in DH's car which doesn't have a top anchor point or LATCH.

TIA!

Hi-CPS tech here!
Neither the tether or the latch should be used unless the mfr specifically calls for it. If in doubt, give Evenflo a call & be certain.

The reason is because in the early testing that was done for LATCH, the dummy flew forward & down & had extensive injuries to the abdominal area. Unfortunately more companies have not done recent testing to be certain that this is still the case or if there is some better way to deal with it.

I recommend that you call the company and ask them whether or not they recomend it, and if they don't ask them why not? Even the so-called experts can't figure out why it isn't safer (according to the mfr) and more testing isn't happening now.

Not every vehicle has the "switchable" retractor that Lisa mentioned, some cars have different types. Check out the CPS website for more info on those. I recommend it if your child is particularily wriggly, however, some children really fight against it and the belt ends up cutting into their abdomen too tightly.

GL with your booster!

 

[all4fun]

jodifla,
I used to feel the same as you. But then I started thinking about about it - unfortunately parents often won't do something unless they're "forced" to by law. Also for parents who do try and keep their kids in car seats & boosters as long as possible, children often feel the peer pressure from other kids their age who aren't riding in car seats and then in turn pressure their parents to not have to ride in them any more. (I have a friend who recently was going through this with his daughter). If all kids were required by law to ride in boosters until they were 8yrs & 80lbs then there would be fewer kids not in them and this would be less of a problem. I want to keep my ds as safe as possible. At his current rate he'll pbly be seven before he's 40lbs so I dread the day he tells me he doesn't want to ride in a booster any more. If it were the law though, I could just fall back on that and tell him he has no choice.
But normally I'm with you - I don't think everything under the sun s/b law. Just when it comes to children's safety I don't think it's such a bad thing. Just my 2cents...

 

[torinsmom]

My son was one of those "But Mike doesn't have to sit in a booster!" kids for awhile there. I just stuck to my guns, like I do when we talk about drugs, smoking, staying home alone, etc. "Well, Mike is not my kid, you are, and I want you to be safe, so you need to sit in the booster." I don't mind sticking to my guns when it comes to safety.

 

[torinsmom]

ANd what do you do when you get caught without a car seat? An emergency happens and someone without car seats has to pick up your child/children...

I just don't see turning all parents into lawbreakers. It's fine to educate and convince, but skip the Big Brother routine of making EVERYTHING a law.

And so, those kids didn't get to go on field trips because you made a decision for the parent?

And of course, there's the public transportation issue, including taxis....none of them have car seats.

I'm not in the situation anymore, because my son is 11 now and well over the 80lbs as well. As far as emergencies, I never had that happen, but if it did, that would be a different story. I guess I would just pray that we didn't have an accident. I don't know what would happen if someone in that situation was stopped by the police, if they would give the person a break or what.

Actually, I was only in that situation with my classroom once, and I used my son's booster. After that, I made it clear to my parents that preschoolers needed car seats for the field trips. If I hadn't had a booster and noone else was willing to take the child without a car seat, the child would have missed the field trip, because safety comes first. Now, it is law and if a child doesn't have a car seat, we call the parent and if they can't bring one by, the child has to stay in another class.

I don't really know what the laws are with taxis? I have never had to use one with my son. I know buses are not required to use car seats, because of their size.

For some people, they will not do something unless it is a law. They would say, if its so bad, why is it legal? I don't believe in legislating everything, but to me, the safety of children is something we need to protect. Unfortunately, we can't depend on every parent to do this themselves.

I was in an accident with my son when he was 7. I rearended someone on the freeway going around 30mph when I hit. Almost totaled my car. Other than being shocked that we stopped so quickly, my son was fine. I don't even like to think what would have happened if I had him in just a seatbelt.

Marsha

 

[Nicolepa]

ANd what do you do when you get caught without a car seat? An emergency happens and someone without car seats has to pick up your child/children...

I just don't see turning all parents into lawbreakers. It's fine to educate and convince, but skip the Big Brother routine of making EVERYTHING a law.

And so, those kids didn't get to go on field trips because you made a decision for the parent?

And of course, there's the public transportation issue, including taxis....none of them have car seats.

I have never been w/o a carseat. I, as do most parents I know, have an extra carseat or two for emergencies/carpooling. In the rare instance that the extra carseat is not available I have always been able to get one from a friend/neighbor. If I could not find an extra carseat then I would go and wait with the child until someone w/a carseat could come and get them. There is no way I would drive a child, especially not one that is mine, w/o a carseat.

Also I can't believe any preschool/daycare would allow a child on a field trip w/o a carseat. In my dd's school if you do not have a carseat and the parents can't bring it, you can't go on the field trip. We have drive thru pickup and the staff is not allowed to put the child in a car w/o a carseat/booster. The staff is not allowed to use a carseat other than the childs w/o the parents permission.

 

[torinsmom]

I have never been w/o a carseat. I, as do most parents I know, have an extra carseat or two for emergencies/carpooling. In the rare instance that the extra carseat is not available I have always been able to get one from a friend/neighbor. If I could not find an extra carseat then I would go and wait with the child until someone w/a carseat could come and get them. There is no way I would drive a child, especially not one that is mine, w/o a carseat.

Also I can't believe any preschool/daycare would allow a child on a field trip w/o a carseat. In my dd's school if you do not have a carseat and the parents can't bring it, you can't go on the field trip. We have drive thru pickup and the staff is not allowed to put the child in a car w/o a carseat/booster. The staff is not allowed to use a carseat other than the childs w/o the parents permission.

That's the way it is now, but this was when the NC law was 4 years or
40 lbs. I don't know what other teachers did, but I insisted that the 3 and 4 year olds brought car seats and strongly suggested that the kindergarteners had a booster. In the case I mentioned, the parent was called and I got permission to use my son's seat.

Another question for someone who has more knowledge of seats than me. At what age(or weight) is it okay to be in the no-back booster? We have a very small 4 year old that brings one of these. I'd love some info to give the parents on what is safest. I never used the no-back, only the high back.

Marsha

 

[Gillian]

Another question here. I recently took a good look at the no back booster my mom keeps for DS5 for emergecies. I noticed that it had this "extra strap" with a red thing on the end. It looks like you could thread a seat belt through it.

Is that what it's for? I've never seen anyone use it before, but it seems like a good idea! I am going to have to check the graco website on this one, because I'm sure my mom doesn't know where the manual is! I think it's a Graco turbo booster.

 

[Gillian]

We are now own 6 car seats! 2 in my car, 2 in DH's car and 2 in my mom's car. It's getting confusing, as they are 4 different types. It was much easier when we had 1 kid and 2 Britaxes.

Now we have 2 britax, 2 graco cargo-type convertible boosters, 1 evenflo booster, and the graco no back booster mentioned above.

Add to that 1 car with no latch, no tether anchors, 1 with an anchor no latch, and 1 with both, and we're going crazy!!

 

[jodifla]

I have never been w/o a carseat. I, as do most parents I know, have an extra carseat or two for emergencies/carpooling. In the rare instance that the extra carseat is not available I have always been able to get one from a friend/neighbor. If I could not find an extra carseat then I would go and wait with the child until someone w/a carseat could come and get them. There is no way I would drive a child, especially not one that is mine, w/o a carseat.

Also I can't believe any preschool/daycare would allow a child on a field trip w/o a carseat. In my dd's school if you do not have a carseat and the parents can't bring it, you can't go on the field trip. We have drive thru pickup and the staff is not allowed to put the child in a car w/o a carseat/booster. The staff is not allowed to use a carseat other than the childs w/o the parents permission.

Maybe you've never been stuck without a seat, but it happens....like when the Disney Wonder came into a different port than where we left from because of a hurricane. So we didn't have our car, and we didn't have our car seat that was in the car. But we were in our home city of Fort Lauderdale. The only friend who could pick me up didn't have a car seat....and, because of the hurricane, stores weren't open to go get another one on her way.

 

[torinsmom]

Another question here. I recently took a good look at the no back booster my mom keeps for DS5 for emergecies. I noticed that it had this "extra strap" with a red thing on the end. It looks like you could thread a seat belt through it.

Is that what it's for? I've never seen anyone use it before, but it seems like a good idea! I am going to have to check the graco website on this one, because I'm sure my mom doesn't know where the manual is! I think it's a Graco turbo booster.

Yes, its for the shoulder strap to make sure it fits properly. I think its a great idea! A few kids in my class have this type.

Marsha