One more reason to HATE the new Michigan booster seat law!

[jodifla]

I'd started looking around for more booster seats now that the booster seat lobby and the Nanny State lobbyist have paid off the state of Michigan to upping the age of kids required to ride in one to about age 25, but I realize now:

I CAN'T USE BOOSTER SEATS IN THE MIDDLE SEAT OF MY CAR! There's no shoulder belt, and one can't be added to the center seat of ANY car.

Ugh.

NEITHER of our cars has middle shoulder belts!

So now we're supposed to get two new cars to keep the Nanny State in Lansing happy?

 

[monkeyboy]

yep

 

[jodifla]

yep

Well, what was I thinking. OF COURSE the jerks in Lansing want me to buy two new cars!

Ain't gonna happen though!

 

[StrollPatrolMom]

I'm a petite person, so is my daughter...if they passed that law here she'll be taking her drivers test in a booster seat

 

[fan_of_small_world]

NEITHER of our cars has middle lap belts

I'm confused...if there are no lap belts in the middle seat, then you couldn't have a child sit there anyway, even without a booster seat.

And I'lls say again, as I did in the other thread, this recommendation was put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This happened LONG BEFORE Michigan adopted the law. It had nothing to do with anyone trying to make people buy new cars.

 

[DMickey28]

How old are your kids? Up to 80lbs they can still be in a five pt. harness. Cheaper than a new car!

 

[jodifla]

I'm confused...if there are no lap belts in the middle seat, then you couldn't have a child sit there anyway, even without a booster seat.

And I'lls say again, as I did in the other thread, this recommendation was put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This happened LONG BEFORE Michigan adopted the law. It had nothing to do with anyone trying to make people buy new cars.

I mistyped. There is ONLY a lap belt, no shoulder belt.

Guess the third child will have to walk through the busy traffic home. That should be safer.

 

[jodifla]

How old are your kids? Up to 80lbs they can still be in a five pt. harness. Cheaper than a new car!

My son is 6, and way too tall for any 5 point harness other than one of those monstrous Britaxes....and then the other two booster seats won't fit.

 

[DMickey28]

My son is 6, and way too tall for any 5 point harness other than one of those monstrous Britaxes....and then the other two booster seats won't fit.

Have you looked at the Radian80? It touts itself as the most narrow seat, more narrow than the Britax. You can fit three Radian's across the seat of many cars. Max child height is 53", same as the Britax Regent.

 

[DisneyPhD]

What time of the year do you live in MI? The law doesn't go into effect until July so from now until then it isn't an issue. When does your DS turn 8?

My van has a shoulder strap that detaches for the middle back seat.

Can you even get 3 boosters across the back seat? I know the most I could get in my old Malibu was 2. That is why we got the van when DD 2 was born. I could no longer fit both my kids and my brothers kids in my car. I can fit 2 car seats in the back of DH Civic, but no one can fit in the middle then.

 

[jodifla]

What time of the year do you live in MI? The law doesn't go into effect until July so from now until then it isn't an issue. When does your DS turn 8?

My van has a shoulder strap that detaches for the middle back seat.

Can you even get 3 boosters across the back seat? I know the most I could get in my old Malibu was 2. That is why we got the van when DD 2 was born. I could no longer fit both my kids and my brothers kids in my car. I can fit 2 car seats in the back of DH Civic, but no one can fit in the middle then.

To get three boosters in the back would be a squeeze. Two boosters and one kid sitting in the lap belt would work.

The more I think about it, I think one of the car pool girls actually turns 8 this spring, so that might work.

I'm in Michigan throughout much of the school year, and in FLA in the summer (I know, I'm doing it the wrong way!)

I've been reading a lot of parenting boards, and people throughout Michigan are realizing that this law is really going to screw them. They've got three kids under 7, and three car seats and or boosters won't fit in their back seats of their small sedan.

So what are those people supposed to do, exactly?

 

[DisneyPhD]

To get three boosters in the back would be a squeeze. Two boosters and one kid sitting in the lap belt would work.

The more I think about it, I think one of the car pool girls actually turns 8 this spring, so that might work.

I'm in Michigan throughout much of the school year, and in FLA in the summer (I know, I'm doing it the wrong way!)

I've been reading a lot of parenting boards, and people throughout Michigan are realizing that this law is really going to screw them. They've got three kids under 7, and three car seats and or boosters won't fit in their back seats of their small sedan.

So what are those people supposed to do, exactly?

Sounds like mini-van sales should go up. I guess Jenny just wants to boost the economy.

 

[sharlon]

This might not help, but we have had this booster seat law in NC for about 5 years, and guess what......No one follows it. Most kids I know came out of boosters when they started going over to friends' houses where the other parent drove, about age 6. We kept the booster for our younger DD in our car, but when she rode with someone else, no booster as long as the driver was okay with that (which most were). She stopped using it when she was 7.

 

[jodifla]

This might not help, but we have had this booster seat law in NC for about 5 years, and guess what......No one follows it. Most kids I know came out of boosters when they started going over to friends' houses where the other parent drove, about age 6. We kept the booster for our younger DD in our car, but when she rode with someone else, no booster as long as the driver was okay with that (which most were). She stopped using it when she was 7.

That's what a friend in New Jersey told me...that people pretty much blew it off.

 

[jodifla]

Sounds like mini-van sales should go up. I guess Jenny just wants to boost the economy.

Now, if anybody in Michigan had jobs so they could buy the mini-vans ....but Jenny often has major holes in her logic.

 

[maelstrom]

There are billboards around here (Disney-themed, oddly enough) that put the message out that you must be a certain height to ride in a car without a booster seat, with the height requirement being 4'9"... I'm 22 years old and I am only 4'11"... it's hard enough to drive as is now. When I got my new car, I had to search for one that had a zillion features to move the seats, so that I could somewhat comfortably reach the pedals and see out the windshield at the same time. It just so happens that I drive a station wagon now, haha.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

DH's 2001 Honda Civic has three shoulder belts in the back. Is it not standard on cars yet? I figured our car was pretty old in the car world.....not that I've even attempted to go anywhere as a family of 5 in it. I personally can't imagine not having a minivan with 3 kids anyway!

 

[HelenePA]

There are billboards around here (Disney-themed, oddly enough) that put the message out that you must be a certain height to ride in a car without a booster seat, with the height requirement being 4'9"... I'm 22 years old and I am only 4'11"... it's hard enough to drive as is now. When I got my new car, I had to search for one that had a zillion features to move the seats, so that I could somewhat comfortably reach the pedals and see out the windshield at the same time. It just so happens that I drive a station wagon now, haha.

What state? in Pa its age 8 OR 4'9

I have 3 kids in the back of my car, 2 boosters and 1 five pt. Its a squeeze but we had to make it work. Couldn't afford to go out and buy a new car because we bought the car 3 months before we knew ds was coming along. We would have taken a MAJOR blow with trade in value.

 

[720L]

So this law is going to happen for sure? My son will be so mad he has to sit in a "baby seat" (thats what he calls them). I wish I would have kept the booster instead of donating it!

 

[zulaya]

Edited to remove...an opinion seems to matter not when you don't agree with the majority.