car seat to Booster Seat

[all4fun]

You'd show a little kid CRASH TESTS!

That's just over the top extreme.

Extreme? It's not like they're real people. They're crash test dummies.

 

[npmommie]

I told my dd I was going to get her and her brother new seats, she said why? i just said to keep you more comfortable and safe in the car, and she just said "ok". no fuss no muss. surprised me because she is just happy to be riding like a big kid.
i weighed and measured her, she is just under 50" ( about 49 3/4") and she is 72 lbs.
so she is beyond harnessing on most seats except for the regent i guess. and she is getting close to that one.
maybe i will try the monarch booster for her, it looks really nice and says up to 60 inches.
i will get ds the regent.

 

[jodifla]

Extreme? It's not like they're real people. They're crash test dummies.

Why project an adult's car seat hysteria on to little kids? They don't need to be thinking about crashes, for heaven's sake.



Oh, and
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I know of ONE person who has a Britax seat, and it was used. The rest of us are getting along just fine on much less expensive seats.

 

[npmommie]

Here's a really great site that shows a child sitting in several different boosters that are commonly available now. http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/Boosterfit.aspx
it also shows how he doesn't fit correctly in the vehicle seat w/out a booster.
I like that it shows how different boosters fit kids both for leg support and height wise. I also recommend reading the shopping guide section which I think it really informative. Doesn't tell you which seat to buy, but what to look for. The most important thing is it fits your child and your vehicle.

I am all for keeping kids in a harness seat well past age four but I also think that a 7yr old riding in a High Back booster is totally appropriate especially if she's well past 40lbs as well. Riding in a booster will give her a lot more protection in a crash. High back boosters provide 70% more protection in a side impact than low back or no booster.

hth!

Thats a great link, thanks, the shopping guide is very useful!

 

[npmommie]

Britax Britax Britax Britax Britax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax Britax

I know of ONE person who has a Britax seat, and it was used. The rest of us are getting along just fine on much less expensive seats.

The britax monarch booster I am thinking of getting only costs a few dollars more than the cosco summit seat I am replacing. and i bought the cosco seat a few years ago.

 

[all4fun]

It's hardly hysteria when the leading cause of accidental death in children under the age of 14 is car crashes.

And as far as Britax goes - well there's a lot of options out there now that are very good and don't cost as much. The Regent still happens to be the one with the tallest top harness slots and highest weight limit. Unfortunately for kids like my ds who have a long torso the regular (and often less expensive seats) just don't work all that well. Most have 15" top slots and he had a 15" torso when he was 32mos and only 27lbs. Not nearly big enough to be in a booster.

 

[thepeach80]

Why project an adult's car seat hysteria on to little kids? They don't need to be thinking about crashes, for heaven's sake.

I've said it before on this board and I'll say it again, I didn't become a carseat tech b/c I buy into some hysteria. I became a carseat tech b/c I care about my children and helping other parents make sure their children doesn't die due to one of the top killer of children. Why shouldn't children know why they are safe the way they are? My son is 4 and is very safety conscious. He knows it's not safe to not wear a seatbelt or to not be in a carseat and now he knows why he's safer in his harness than a booster. It's not like crash tests are blood and gore. I bet a lot of the children on this board see worse things on tv and in movies. BTW, I didn't show him crash tests to prove a point. I was looking at some for someone and he wanted to see more so I showed him ones that were appropriate for him, that would be the harnessed ones and the booster ones.

 

[npmommie]

Show her these crash tests. I showed them to my 4.5 yo yesterday and he is more than happy to sit in his harnessed seat. Even he can see which one is safer.
Harnessed seat
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_...videos/test2002/frontcrash/maxicosipriori.mpg
Booster
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/videos/test2002/frontcrash/maxicosirodi.mpg

At the very least, I'd get your 7yo a better seat. She is probably too tall for the Summit (tops of ears have to be below the seatback) and it's not the best booster anyways. Maybe look at the Britax Monarch? I really like the looks of that one. Here's is how you can tell if she's ready for a regular seatbelt and I doubt she is at 7. A highbacked booster will also offer much more side impact protection than a no back booster. http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm

Thanks for posting this, I looked at those videos. The information you posted is most helpful. I always thought I was on top of things safety wise. but even a few years ago there were not as many options for harness above the 40 lbs.........
i have one other question........if it says 80 lbs and 53 inches for instance, is it when they reach both or one or the other?
which is more important as far as taking them out of the harness into a booster, the height or weight? i am guessing height,but am wondering for instance if they reach 80 lbs and are only 52 inches would they have to come out of the harness?
hope that makes sense!

 

[thepeach80]

Thanks for posting this, I looked at those videos. The information you posted is most helpful. I always thought I was on top of things safety wise. but even a few years ago there were not as many options for harness above the 40 lbs.........
i have one other question........if it says 80 lbs and 53 inches for instance, is it when they reach both or one or the other?
which is more important as far as taking them out of the harness into a booster, the height or weight? i am guessing height,but am wondering for instance if they reach 80 lbs and are only 52 inches would they have to come out of the harness?
hope that makes sense!

A Regent is outgrown when the child hits 80# or the shoulders go over the top slots. The top slots are about 20-21" tall. You might have your dd sit against a wall and measure from the floor to her shoulders to see how much time she'd even have left in a Regent. Overall height is really not a good guide when deciding when a seat has been outgrown since kids come in all shapes at the same age. Moving to a booster really has more to do w/ maturity and age (assuming child is the right weight to use it) than weight or height. At about 6 all the bones are pretty well hardened and formed and the pelvic area is better formed to not only handle the stress of the belt in a crash, but also better able to keep the seatbelt in place when using a booster. 6 is my personal minimum for my children to use a booster full time, assuming Evan can get to 30# by 6. He's so little. By then most kids are mature enough to know how to sit still well and can handle being in a booster. If they cannot, they need to be harnessed till they can.

 

[jodifla]

It's hardly hysteria when the leading cause of accidental death in children under the age of 14 is car crashes.

And as far as Britax goes - well there's a lot of options out there now that are very good and don't cost as much. The Regent still happens to be the one with the tallest top harness slots and highest weight limit. Unfortunately for kids like my ds who have a long torso the regular (and often less expensive seats) just don't work all that well. Most have 15" top slots and he had a 15" torso when he was 32mos and only 27lbs. Not nearly big enough to be in a booster.

Oh, it's HYSTERIA all right. As witnessed by the fact that now some parents are refusing to take ME because they can't install their car seats.

And it's the constant drumbeat of posters like those on this thread that whips them into this kind of fear.

And there's the endless stream of misleading YouTube videos that make so many parents lose all their critical thinking skills and immediately rush out to try and reharness their 10 year old kids.

The dumbest thing I've heard is that kids aren't supposed to fall asleep in the car because then they aren't positioned correctly. Uh yeah, right.

 

[thepeach80]

Oh, it's HYSTERIA all right. As witnessed by the fact that now some parents are refusing to take ME because they can't install their car seats.

And it's the constant drumbeat of posters like those on this thread that whips them into this kind of fear.

And there's the endless stream of misleading YouTube videos that make so many parents lose all their critical thinking skills and immediately rush out to try and reharness their 10 year old kids.

The dumbest thing I've heard is that kids aren't supposed to fall asleep in the car because then they aren't positioned correctly. Uh yeah, right.

If people choose not to use ME, that's their decision, but I don't see that being a wide spread thing here and I'm pretty sure none of the techs here have supported that. We did not use ME b/c we didn't fly into Orlando, but we had no problems using the Disney Transportation while there and my children loved it. Yes, a carseat tech was o.k. w/ not having her kids strapped in. We did have problems getting Evan back into his carseat though. If you'd like me to take a look at all those misleading videos and tell you what I think, please give the links. So far all I've seen are a few videos of small children who DIED who could've been saved more than likely by using a 5pt harness. These are children who should not have been in a booster to begin w/. Like anything, people can take it to many extremes and sadly some people don't take it extreme enough. No, babies aren't supposed to sleep in their carseats b/c they are out of position and it does reduce oxygen to the brain, it's a proven fact, it's not all children. What you do w/ the info you're given is up to you.

 

[jodifla]

If people choose not to use ME, that's their decision, but I don't see that being a wide spread thing here and I'm pretty sure none of the techs here have supported that. We did not use ME b/c we didn't fly into Orlando, but we had no problems using the Disney Transportation while there and my children loved it. Yes, a carseat tech was o.k. w/ not having her kids strapped in. We did have problems getting Evan back into his carseat though. If you'd like me to take a look at all those misleading videos and tell you what I think, please give the links. So far all I've seen are a few videos of small children who DIED who could've been saved more than likely by using a 5pt harness. These are children who should not have been in a booster to begin w/. Like anything, people can take it to many extremes and sadly some people don't take it extreme enough. No, babies aren't supposed to sleep in their carseats b/c they are out of position and it does reduce oxygen to the brain, it's a proven fact, it's not all children. What you do w/ the info you're given is up to you.

And this, is the MOST UNREALISTIC THING EVER SAID ON THE DIS BOARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, you pull over every time one of your kids falls asleep in their car seat?

 

[all4fun]

Oh, it's HYSTERIA all right. As witnessed by the fact that now some parents are refusing to take ME because they can't install their car seats.

Don't lump us in with that crowd. We've used DME three times now. as a matter of fact, busses use compartmentalization to protect it's passengers, and have sheer size on their side. I'm pretty sure I've even posted that before. Riding in a regular passenger vehicle is a whole other matter though.

Oh and I've yet to meet a single tech who supports reharnessing their 10 yr old. Give me a break.

Lets not forget, the OP's child is 3 - a far cry from ten.

 

[tanyaandallie]

How on earth has this become such a debate? Why is it considered mass hysteria when we suggest that a 3 YEAR OLD CHILD remain in a harnessed seat? It's safer. Plain and simple. It is safer and there are seats out there that keep them harnessed. There are even reasonably priced seats out there that will keep them harnessed. Are there parents out there that have kids that outgrow their seats and simply cannot afford a bigger seat and move their 3 yer old to a booster instead? Sure. But, I don't think that is what we are talking about here.

If you can keep your child safer, why not do it? We are NOT talking about harnessing a 10 year old child here. We are talking about harnessing a 3 year old.

And no one here suggested that anyone needed to buy a Britax seat to keep your child safe. The safest seat is one that fits your budget, your vehicle and your child and is used correctly every single time. The reason Britax comes up in discussions like this is b/c for a long time they were the only option if you needed a high weight harness seat.

 

[tjmw2727]

And this, is the MOST UNREALISTIC THING EVER SAID ON THE DIS BOARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, you pull over every time one of your kids falls asleep in their car seat?

Only because you have taken it out of context. Infant carseats are meant for cars - they are not designed for babies to spend large amounts of time in them. There is a big difference between a baby falling asleep for a short time in the car and using the carseat as a stroller for hours at a time at a theme park, zoo, mall etc. That wasn't even a part of this discussion anyway?

TJ

 

[JennsBabySky]

Oh, and
Britax Britax Britax Britax Britax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax Britax

I know of ONE person who has a Britax seat, and it was used. The rest of us are getting along just fine on much less expensive seats.

I do understand your point. I have a Britax because it is easy enough for my husband to work properly! Seriously -- he has a tendancy to overlook the details and not twist the straps correctly, not check and make sure the seats are installed tightly, etc. It is worth the piece of mind to me.

I do have to point out the irony of the Britax Britax Britax statement. Afterall, we're on the DisBoards where it is Disney Disney Disney.... I'm a huge Disney fan, so I'm okay with that. But Disney does so many things well, many other companies just don't compare. Britax (on a much smaller scale) just stands out from the rest because of their attention to details. Sometimes it is the little things that cause a company to stand out.

My frustration on this subject is because I know of so many people that have improperly installed or used carseats. And somehow I am terribly rude if I try to point that out tactfully. I don't always even say anything anymore, it depends on the situation. But I always wonder how I'd feel if there was a bad accident and child XX was in the car. Unfortunately, in this day and age it is all too common to place almost no priority on installing a carseat correctly. You can get your oil changed at almost any street corner, but you have to search for a seat check. With the misuse rates so high, that is just appalling!

And many people get along just fine with a misinstalled seat (and I'm not trying to imply that yours is misinstalled at all). Just that luckily, most people aren't in horrific accidents that test out their seat installation and usage. Since it is such a prevalent problem in the US, it requires lots of education and patience to get this fixed.

Personally, I started to get informed on proper car seat use and installation when I was pg with # 2. After doing some research, I realized that I had the straps on way too loose on my dd #1 when she was in the infant seat. By this point, she was long out of the seat. And I never had to find out the hard way that she would have been a projectile in a crash! The knowledge that my daugher would have been a projectile in a different situation was enough for me to start researching this subject on a much deeper base. After all, as parents, we want to protect our children as much as we reasonably can. I don't think it is unreasonable to buy a seat that my husband can use properly. Can he use other seats properly? Yes, but he will never take the time to make sure he follows all the steps. To make it worse, he is a paramedic and frequently sees the worst types of accidents. But he does not have the patience for the little details that are sometimes necessary for proper car seat use. That is why we have a Britax. And yes, we have had a couple types of seats and there could very well be another one that is less expensive than Britax that is just as easy to install and use. I have never tried them all. Just like I have not gone to every theme park in America before deciding that I really would like a return trip to Disney. Even though some of the other parks are less expensive than Disney.

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

I haven't read everyone's posts, but I wanted to add my vote with the Britax Regent. When my daugther turned 4, we went with a regular booster seat and it just seemed so flimsy. So, I went online and researched and purchased the Britax Regent. I love the fact that it's a 5 point harness to keep her safe. She's 6 and I plan on keeping her in it until absolutely necessary to take her out!

Good luck!

 

[jessica52877]

Why project an adult's car seat hysteria on to little kids? They don't need to be thinking about crashes, for heaven's sake.



Oh, and
Britax Britax Britax Britax Britax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax BritaxBritax Britax Britax Britax

I know of ONE person who has a Britax seat, and it was used. The rest of us are getting along just fine on much less expensive seats.

Britax is NOT my first pick, what so ever, but at my son's height and weight limit now, it is my last resort that will properly install in my car besides the Apex. It is just as important how it installs in your car as how your child fits in it. If someone asks for a recommendation 9 out of 10 times Britax is NOT my answer.

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

I just wanted to add that when I researched the seats, Britax was my ONLY option because of my daughter's height and weight and age. I wanted a 5 point harness. It was that important to me. Was the seat expensive? Heck yes! But, my child's life is worth $300 in my opinion.

Don't listen to the petty drama going on in this thread. It seems as if some people thrive on starting it.

At the end of the day, you need to do what you feel is right for your child and your family.

 

[5 for WDW]

We have the Britax Regent for our DD who is 4. For no other reason then we were 100% comfortable with what we knew about it, it fits well in our Suburban, and we were able to afford it without it being a large financial burden. We wanted our DD to be in a 5 point harness for as long as she was able. At the time, everything pointed to the Regent. It has nothing to do with what everyone else says.

There are lots of other options out there now for higher weight limits. Do your homework and make the decision that is right for you and your child.