OT: Carseats - Do you use one for your toddler, or do you use a booster?

[ogreenlee]

This young mother in my friend's neighborhood is about to have her 4th child. She called my friend to see if she could pick up her son who attends the same preschool as my friend's daughter. Both kids are four. My friend tells her that she has no carseat for him. The other mom says, "That's ok.".

Well I happened to be in the car with my friend when she was asked. She was not comfortable with doing this, but agreed. She went to the school and the teachers doing carpool were not happy about putting this boy in her car with no carseat.

She dropped the kid off, and told the mom that she wouldn't be doing that anymore as it was illegal and scary. The other mom had no idea that it was against the law not to have your kid in a carseat at that age. Her oldest daughter isn't using anything at all, and her two other kids; 4 and 2, use those booster seats with a lap belt.


I was talkin' to the same friend about this again yesterday, and she said that more than not, it seems that people are a lot more lax about this kind of thing than she or I. For real? I mean.. I only have one DD. Maybe I'm overprotective, but I don't want to learn the hard way.

My DH says, "If ya got that many, what's one less?"



What do you use for your children, and how old are they?

 

[Kae]

DD willbe 7 in Oct & in K she uses a booster seat. But she will use the toodler seats that the grandparents have. DS is almost 10 so just a seat belt in the backseat. I hear stories of kids who just hate their carseats luckily my kids never had a problem with theirs.

Kae

 

[Minniemouse07]

I have to preface this to say that I'm a certified child passenger safety technician (CPST) so I practice what I preach to other parents!

Ds is 21mo and is rearfacing in both my and dh's cars in a 5pt harness. He will remain so until he outgrows his seats by weight or height, whichever comes first. We are actually looking at purchasing a new seat for him (he's using dd's old seat in dh's car and it expires in February) and are looking at options that will keep him rear facing longer.

Dd is 6yo and is entering first grade in a little over a week. She rides in a booster seat in dh's car but that is only in the last year, before that she was in a 5pt harness. We switched her in his car about this time last year.

In my car, the primary vehicle we use to travel in, dd rides in seat w/ a 5pt harness that is certified up to 80lbs. She will ride in this seat until she hits 80lbs or until she hits the height limit, whichever happens first.

My children always travel (by car or plane) in the safest way possible and as dd gets older.. any child in my car will travel the same way. I plan on having spare low back boosters available for any child that doesn't pass the 5step test to sit in the car's seat belt.

Dd will also bring a booster when she rides in other cars.

This is NON NEGOTIABLE...

Many kids at dd's school (k-3) aren't in boosters but most of the kids in my mom's group (around 100+ families) are similar to me and not only have their older ones in seats, but harnessed as well.

 

[pooh4evr]

The baby is in a rear facing 5 point - DD 6, and DD 4 are both in booster seats in the back of the van.

 

[thistle922]

Wow...just..wow.

My DS is 3.5 and still in his Britax Roundabout in my car, and in a convertible booster in DH's. He is big enough to be in a booster in my car, but I just feel more comfortable having him harnessed for as long as I can (he rarely rides in DH's car)

I can't even imagine just letting him ride without a booster alltogether! Yikes!

 

[ogreenlee]

My DD4 is about to outgrow her carseat. I want to buy the one that goes to 80lbs. I believe it's the Britax Marathon?


I appreciate your input, MinnieMouse07! I also believe these things are non-negotiable. I have left in the vehicle with the only car restraint, and told my mom that in case of an emergency, to just put her in the car, but only in an emergency. I would never leave my DD anywhere without a carseat if I were to be gone more than a few hours or farther than 30 minutes away.

 

[Juliet25]

DD4 is in a Britax Marathon, and will be until she reaches the maximum height/weight restrictions (speaking of, I need to check what those are!). Most moms I know are NOT lax about carseats. I too would not want to drive a 4 YO without a seat.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

In Indiana they have to be a booster until 8. That said, my pediatrician said they should be in one until a certain height - can't remember right off hand the measurement - which kids usually get to around 10. So my DS 8 still uses his booster.

My DD almost 6 is in a booster, and my DS 2 is in his Britax 5 point harness.

 

[WDW Traveler]

My DD turned 8 back in February and is still in a booster seat with seatbelt. We spoke with our local police department and they told us when the child sits up straight, back against the seat, and their knees reach the front of the seat (as in bend normally over the seat) they are tall enough for just the seatbelt. DD is short for her age so she'll be in her booster until high school!

I too see tons of people with younger children and no car/booster seat and just shake my head.

 

[TexasBee]

My kids are both in Britax Marathons (age 4 and almost 2) and will be as long as they fit them. However, at age 3, I started seeing a lot of the other parents at daycare using boosters.

 

[jodifla]

This young mother in my friend's neighborhood is about to have her 4th child. She called my friend to see if she could pick up her son who attends the same preschool as my friend's daughter. Both kids are four. My friend tells her that she has no carseat for him. The other mom says, "That's ok.".

Well I happened to be in the car with my friend when she was asked. She was not comfortable with doing this, but agreed. She went to the school and the teachers doing carpool were not happy about putting this boy in her car with no carseat.

She dropped the kid off, and told the mom that she wouldn't be doing that anymore as it was illegal and scary. The other mom had no idea that it was against the law not to have your kid in a carseat at that age. Her oldest daughter isn't using anything at all, and her two other kids; 4 and 2, use those booster seats with a lap belt.


I was talkin' to the same friend about this again yesterday, and she said that more than not, it seems that people are a lot more lax about this kind of thing than she or I. For real? I mean.. I only have one DD. Maybe I'm overprotective, but I don't want to learn the hard way.

My DH says, "If ya got that many, what's one less?"



What do you use for your children, and how old are they?

Not all states require boosters or car seats after 3 years old. Florida and Michigan for example. So it may not be "illegal" after all.

I switched my son to a high back booster when he turned 4 years old. He's quite tall, and and outgrown the top slots of all his seats by then.

A simple $15 low back booster could solve your friend's dilemma.

 

[Schmeck]

My old Dodge Caravan had a small, high third row bench - if my kids had been in booster seats back there, not only would the seatbelt hit in the wrong places, but their heads would have been up to the roof! The regular shoulder/lap belt crossed in all the correct areas, so at age 5, they rode back there with the seatbelts. Of course, that was 8-10 years ago.

If kids are supposed to be in booster seats until 80 lbs, my now 13 yr old would have been in one last year. Pulling up to the middle school to let her out to go to the 7th grade with her in a booster seat? We have used the adjuster shields to fix the shoulder strap so it crosses/hits the proper areas, especially in our conversion van.

I see that it's becoming more normal to have kids in booster seats in the elementary schools, but I don't think I've ever seen a 5th grader show up at our middle school in one.

 

[wrighter]

My DS4 uses a Britax Regent - he will be in it until he's OLD! I like that it has the five point harness.

My DD2 is in the Britax Marathon, which she'll be in until she maxes out the height or weight limit.

When we travel, I do allow my DS4 to use a no-back booster with the lap and shoulder belt. But I only allowed this once he was of proper height and weight. The Regent is too big for travel.

 

[ogreenlee]

It is illegal in Georgia for kids under 6 not to be in a booster or carseat unless the kid exceeds the height/weight limit.

 

[Befferk]

My son is nearing 5 1/2 and he is still in his Britax Marathon. I believe (someone asked above) that it is up to 65 lbs. My son is only 45 lbs. The one that goes to 80 lbs was the Britax Husky, although Britax probably has newer versions now. I am not ready to let him go to a booster yet. A relative on mine (after I gave fair warning) tried thier child in a booster @ 3 and it was a disaster. Kid would not sit still in the booster. I feel the longer I can keep my son in a 5-pt harness the better. Heck I wish we could all be in one

Beth

 

[Minniemouse07]

If kids are supposed to be in booster seats until 80 lbs, my now 13 yr old would have been in one last year. Pulling up to the middle school to let her out to go to the 7th grade with her in a booster seat? We have used the adjuster shields to fix the shoulder strap so it crosses/hits the proper areas, especially in our conversion van.

If my dd fits into the regular seat belt of the car, I have no problem allowing her to sit there w/o a booster...but...if she doesn't fit, then she's sitting in a booster seat...I don't care how old she is.

Dd knows this already and actually at 6yo she questions ME as to why her friends parents let their kids sit in the front seats of their vans w/o a car seat! "Mommy, don't they know that it isn't safe?"

Dd has heard me say this to her since she was VERY tiny:

Your safety is INFINITELY more important to me than your happiness.

 

[SalandJeff]

DD will be 4 in October and she is still in her carseat. She will stay there until her weight says otherwise. She's very small so I won't move her to a booster for quite a while.

 

[Colinsmom]

My older DS will be 5 in September. He's 44lbs and 48" tall - so VERY tall. He is in a 5pt Radian in DH's car, a 5pt Regent in my car, and uses a Parkway booster in my mom's car (very rarely rides there, and usually short, low speed 3-5 mile trips). He'll be harnessed until he outgrows all of the harnessed seats available out there!

My baby is 18mo. He rides in Roundabouts rear-facing in DH and my car, and a RF Marathon in my mom's car. He's outgrowing the Roundabouts by height though (34" tall but VERY long torso) so we need to switch to our Marathons very soon. He's about 25lbs, so has lots of RF time left in the Marathon.

I don't really care what the state law is (we live in Illinois); I'm more concerned about the laws of physics, and will keep my kids as safe as possible given their age/size and the seats available on the market at the time.

 

[clori]

I moved my dd from a harness to a high back booster seat when she was 5 and outgrew her carseat by height. At that time she met the weight requirements for a high back booster but not close to a lowback booster. My 3 year old is in a harnessed carseat. By current state law I think my oldest could be out of a booster seat since I think it is just age 5 and 40lbs but there is no way I will allow that yet.

What makes me laugh is that just because we only have one car people assume my kids are not in carseats. Umm, no, we leave carseats with various people. For instance my brother who lives about 20 minutes away has a set of seats for either emergencies or planned trips with them. My parents in another state have a set so when we visit we don't have to change seats around etc. Even my old college roommate who lives 5 hours away has a set for when she comes here/we go there etc. At home I have an extra set just in case I go in someone elses car. Of course we also have seats in dh's car.

I do have one question regarding booster seats for height. DD uses a high back turbo booster and it is recommended by the ped to use until she is around 4 feet 9inches. She has a friend who is under 57 inches yet over 100lbs. Are there any booster seats that are designed for her weight or does the extra weight somehow override the height issue?

 

[riggins]

My girls are 4 and 6 and they primarily ride in Britax Regents. We use Britax Parkway boosters when they're not in our van. We were in a very serious car accident on our way home from Disney World last year when the girls were 3 and 4. I'm convinced that their Regents saved them from serious injury. I don't care if any one else thinks I'm crazy or over-protective for having a 6-year-old in a 5-pt harness carseat. You never know what's going to happen out there on the road!!