OT - Calling all carseat experts ...

[camouseketeer]

I have read a lot of carseat advice on the DIS boards, and I know there are several experts out there. I have some questions about booster seats.

Everything I've read says boosters should only be used for kids age 4 and 40 pounds. Yet I own two boosters whose instructions say they can be used for children 30 - 100 pounds and 38 inches tall.

Why, if a booster seat is rated for 30 - 100 pounds, couldn't I put my 35 pound, 39 inch, 3 year 10 month old DD in one?

I have a Eddie Bauer Highback Combo seat (the kind you use with the 5 point harness until 40 pounds and then use it as a booster). When I place the seat belt adjustor on the lowest setting, it fits correctly across her shoulder and lap. She does not wiggle in her seat, move the seat belt out of her way, etc. This seat was safe for her with the harness as a car seat. If she fits in it with a seat belt, why couldn't the booster seat be a safe way for her to travel?

I also own a Graco Turbo Booster for my older DD5. Again the manufacturer info says it can be used for kids weighing 30 - 100 pounds. If the seat belt fit appropriately on her (don't know, as I haven't tried it) why couldn't I use that for her too?

These boosters seats would not be for DD3's everyday travel. She (and DD5) normally travel in their Britax Marathons. These booster seats would be for quick trips with grandparents, friends, etc.

I must assume that my seatbelts will not fail. I know about the videos of children being thrown from cars in booster seats where seatbelts failed. That does not convince me that carseats are safer than booster seats. (I now use a seat belt to tighten DD5's Britax Marathon since the LATCH supports only hold about 45 pounds.)

I am not debating the safety of a 5 point harness vs a booster seat seatbelt.

I just want to know why the experts recommend children to be 4 and 40 pounds for boosters when the boosters themselves are rated for children weighing 30 pounds.

 

[WantToGoNow]

You don't want to debate safety?

That IS the reason to keep your child harnessed. Every step DOWN in seat is a step DOWN in safety. Rear facing is the safest, harnessed forward facing is next, high back belt positioning booster, then low back belt positioning booster, then seatbelt.

Why would you even want to risk injury/death to your child when they could still safely be harnessed.

Go to the Kyle Miller Foundation website and watch what happened to their 3 y/o son while riding in a booster -- they were in an accident and he died.

I have a 3.5 year old daughter -- as long as she will fit in a harnessed carseat, she will ride in one. I bought her a Safety 1st Apex 65 seat so she can be harnessed until 65 pds. I wish I would have known that there were higher weight options when I moved my now ds6 to a booster as he would still have been harnessed.

 

[camouseketeer]

Go to the Kyle Miller Foundation website and watch what happened to their 3 y/o son while riding in a booster -- they were in an accident and he died.

I've already seen this. As I said in my OP, I know that there are videos where the SEATBELT failed.

My DD5 could just as easily be thrown in her Britax Marathon because it is now secured with a seatbelt.

Please, I do not want to debate. I just want my original question answered.

Why, if a booster seat is rated for 30 - 100 pounds, couldn't I put my 35 pound, 39 inch, 3 year 10 month old DD in one?

 

[WantToGoNow]

My DD5 could just as easily be thrown in her Britax Marathon because it is now secured with a seatbelt.

Yes, the seatbelt failed. But had he been harnessed he would have probably been attached with Latch. And even if not, the whole carseat with him inside of it most likely would not have been thrown from the van.

To answer your question - carseat manufacturers are just that -- they MAKE/SELL carseats and boosters. That weight recommendation just means that it's been TESTED with that weight, not that it necessarily would be safe with that weight.

 

[squirrlygirl]

Hi! Pardon me while I jump in with my first post on these boards! The booster seat must be used WITH its back for 30-40 lbs., and can be used backless for higher weights. My son is 6 and has the back on still because he hasn't yet reached that weight. The age (4) is more for maturity (will they stay seated properly, stay buckled, etc.) If you dd is 39 inches, check and make sure your daughter isn't too tall to be in the convertible used as a 5-pt. harness still. The top slots are usually for booster only.
HTH!

 

[camouseketeer]

Thanks for the responses and welcome Squirrlygirl!

The age (4) is more for maturity (will they stay seated properly, stay buckled, etc.)

I figured the age was a maturity thing.

How was the 40 pounds suggestion then determined?

 

[thepeach80]

There's no way to answer this post w/out a safety debate IMO. As a carseat tech, I will mention that 4 AND 40# is the bare minimum w/ regards to safety. A child will always be safer in a correctly fitting harnessed seat as opposed to a booster. It's also safer for them to have a carseat on the plane as well, even the FAA says use a carseat till 40# on the plane. Age 4 is when a lot of children are finally really gripping what their parents are saying as far as not wiggling in their seat, not leaning over to grab things, not falling asleep in the car, not unbuckling the seat etc. For a lot of kids, it's more like 5 or 6 before they can sit correctly in a booster for any real length of time. A 5pt harness also spreads out the crash forces more evenly instead of localizing them in 3 areas, making the effects of the crash less on the child. There are several videos out as well about 3yo children who died in boosters b/c of internal injuries from the seatbelt, it was too much pressure on their small insides and they basically bled to death from the inside. I also have crash tests of boosters and harnessed seats to show the difference during a crash.

ETA: Until recently harnessed seats only went to 40#, so after that kids had to use a booster, whether they were 4 or not.

 

[squirrlygirl]

Well, hello there fellow November mommy of a peanut!
Listen to Jennifer, she knows what she's talking about!

And thanks for the welcome

 

[all4fun]

Many kids outgrow car seats by height before weight. A lot of the 40lb weight limit seats have approx 15" top harness slots and when a childs shoulders go past the top harness slots OR the tips of the ears go past the top of the shell, then the seat is outgrown by height, regardless of what their weight is.

There are seats that have taller top slots like the higher weight limit harness seats, and some of the 40lb limit combo seats (harness to booster type) also have approx 17" top slots and many kids will fit in those up to at least 4yrs old.

Kids that are tall and slender though, like my ds, can outgrow seats by height well before they're 4 and 40lbs. My ds is 4yrs 2mos, 90th percentile for height, 34lbs and has about 1" of torso room in both of the car seats he uses that have 17" top slots. At some point he will outgrow these seats and I am 100% certain he will not be 40lbs yet when that happens. Of course I plan on keeping him in a harness seat as long as he fits in one but some parents either just don't know there are other options or just can't afford a more expensive, bigger, seat, so then the next best choice is to use a High Back booster (low backs often have a 40lb requirement and also don't provide side impact protecton).

I have also read that more recent research says that childrens bones don't fully mature (ossify) until they are 5 to 6 yrs old so that is another reason to put off using a booster w/adult seatbelt until later. As the pp Jennifer stated, a 5pt harness spreads the crash forces out more evenly across the body so it is safer than just using a seatbelt. Plus because a 5pt has a crotch strap, the child can't "submarine" under the lap belt portion of the harness which is a possibility when riding in just the lap/shoulder belt.

Just some thoughts.

hth

 

[jessica52877]

If I child is in a 5 pt harness and the seatbelt fails, the child goes flying with the seat, the seat hopefully protecting some still. If in a booster and the seatbelt fails, the kid goes one way and the booster another. So IMO it does matter even if both are secured with a seat belt and no latch.

My carseat specifically says they must be 40lbs to use as a booster, I know this is not the norm and often read what your question is as far as weight wise. I have no answer for that really beyond I am sure it passed the test at that weight.