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

[ptmmg]

ds 3 will be 4 in Oct. is in a britax marathon
dd who will be 6 in Nov is in the safe guard go a 5 pt harness in my car, she does have graco turbo booster with the back for dh's car she is in my car 90% of the time

 

[squirrlygirl]

DS11 uses a seatbelt in the backseat only
DS6 and DD4(almost 5) use high-back boosters
DD 9 months rearfacing harnessed-planning to rearface as long as possible

 

[moparop]

My 3yo is in a Sunshine Radian. My 16 month old is RFing in his Roundabout.

 

[LilGMom]

I'm not sure what state you are in but it might not be technically illegal for her 4 yr. old to be out of a child passenger seat (carseat or booster). Some states are very lax about what age they stop requiring actual seats. The Government recommends that a child be in a seat of some type until they are at least 4'9" because until then they can not sit with their legs and backs against the seat properly to give enough protection should an accident happen.

To answer your question... My 2 yr. old is still in a five point harness and will be until he is at least 50 lbs (the limits of our seat) and then he will go into a booster seat. My 6 yr. old (who is4'5") is in a high-back booster seat and will remain in that as long as the seat will properly fit him.

 

[thepeach80]

I'm a tech too. AJ is 4/43# and is harnessed in a Radian 65 and an Apex. Evan is 2 (3 in Dec)/25# and rfing in a Boulevard and Scenera. Ilana is 9.5 mos/17# and rfing in Evan's Boulevard now tilll her new Safeseat comes from Graco.

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?

She would need something like this instead of a booster. http://www.ezonpro.com/index.shtml

 

[Colinsmom]

He is in a Britax Regent car seat (5 point harness). He will be in it as long as possible. (And I want to get him a Radian 80 for DH's car because it is slimer then the Regent but still goes to 80 lbs)

You have a long skinny guy, too, like my oldest. Your DS will outgrow the Radian 80 by height much too soon for it to be worth it. Look at the Radian 65 instead - same seat, just a lower weight limit, and $100 or so cheaper. Because the shoulder slots are so much lower than the Regent, it won't last nearly as long as the Regent, but at least you didn't spend as much on it as a Radian 80!

 

[lclark0621]

You have a long skinny guy, too, like my oldest. Your DS will outgrow the Radian 80 by height much too soon for it to be worth it. Look at the Radian 65 instead - same seat, just a lower weight limit, and $100 or so cheaper. Because the shoulder slots are so much lower than the Regent, it won't last nearly as long as the Regent, but at least you didn't spend as much on it as a Radian 80!

Yeah he is a tall skinny one...LOL!

Really about the Radian?

I am planning on keeping him 5pt harnessed as long as I possible can.

I will have to look at the 65 to.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

DD 7, 50#, Britax Parkway high back booster
DS 10, 82# Graco backless Turbo Booster (took the back off because he was too tall)
DS 14, 100# regular seatbelt, stopped using a booster at 10.

I keep some backless boosters for when I am traveling with other kids. Many times these are kids who haven't used boosters in years (even DD's friends who are physically smaller than she is ) and tell me they don't 'need' them, I just tell them that in my car, all kids need them!

 

[tanyaandallie]

Yeah he is a tall skinny one...LOL!

Really about the Radian?

I am planning on keeping him 5pt harnessed as long as I possible can.

I will have to look at the 65 to.

Thanks for the advice.

The top harness slots of the Radian 65 and the Radian 80 are the same height. Since most kids outgrow the seats by height before weight, the 65 makes more sense for MOST kids. I know that my dd is 36 lbs and 4 years old. She gained 6 lbs in the last year. If she continues at this rate it will be many many years before she hits 65 lbs. She will outgrow her marathon by height in the next year or so. Most kids follow this same pattern. However, if you have a chunky kiddo then the 80 is worth the extra $$.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Well, after reading everyone's posts here, I not so sure that my girls are really safe in what I have them in. I am a young mom and don't really know a lot about the different carseats and stuff, but I thought as long as I followed the hight/weight requirement on the seats than I was fine. But from what all you say, I am not so sure. I have a 3 and 4 year old girls and 22 weeks pregnant and we have one truck in the family, it is a extended cab with the 4 doors. My 4 year old completely out grow her carseat, so we go her a booster seat (w/out the back part, because we couldn't find it, it didn't come with the seat, and the store didn't sell it)But on the label, her age/height/weight was ok, to be like that. Plus this help make room in the back seat of the truck, so we can fit another carset back there in a few months. My 3 year old has a booster as well but is too small for it without the back piece according to the label, so she is using her carseat with out the straps that came with it, because they were too low for her, but it has places for the seatbelt to hook to it, so that is what she uses. I know it is legal here in Florida for them to be in what they are in, but I am now just hoping they are SAFE!?!?!

Your 3 and 4 year old would be much safer in a 5 point harness. However, at the very least I would get your 3 year old back in a harnessed seat (just make sure she fits the height and weight requirements) and get your 4 year old in a high back booster. She is much more protected in a high back booster than in the booster with no back.

Many parents think their kids are safe if they just follow the labels on the car seats. But that is just not case.

I second the recommendation to visit the babycenter car safety board for seat recommendations.

 

[PrincessasMommy]

My 4 1/2 year old and 3 year old were "upgraded" last year to Apex Seats - 5 point harnessed until 65 pounds (80 pounds in USA I believe)! My baby is rear facing of course and my oldest, at almost 12 sits in the backseat - never in the front despite her constant requests.

Re: the original poster - I can never get over the ignorance of some people when it comes to the safety of their children.

 

[strmtroopr96]

DD 7 (8 in October)...about 85 pounds...Backless Turbo Booster (she also has a Disney Princess Backless Turbo Booster in my parents' car)

DD 14 months...about 20 pounds...Rear Facing in a Britax Marathon (she also has a Cosco Scenera as a spare)

 

[bumbershoot]

My state law was just increased even higher...8 years old or 4'9" (although I would have sworn I saw 8 and 80 as an ad, but I can't find that online anywhere so maybe I made it up), they must be in a child restraint.

DS is 3. He outgrew his infant seat by height by the time he was 4 months old, and he went into a Roundabout. We also have a Scenera.

When he is done with those, by height or weight, we'll get one that goes as high in weight as I can find (Regent, Boulevard? is there another one, too?).

I'd prefer that we were all restrained like racecar drivers, with 5 point harnesses...or even that we were all rear-facing (it was a bummer day, in terms of safety, when he reached the rear-facing weight limit), but you can't really drive like that.

Even if I lived somewhere with lax carseat laws, I would still use safety as my guide, not what I can get away with legally.

 

[lil mermaid]

In Texas the law is ridiculous - once a child reaches 5 years old OR 36 inches, they are no longer required to be in a carseat or booster

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/Public_information/pr090705.htm

It is interesting to see from the link I posted that the Director of Public Safety seems to be insinuating that the law doesn't go far enough to protect kids.

Plenty of people around here seem to think it is fine - I see lots of little kids in cars in seatbelts or totally unrestrained and even in the front seat.

My DD 3 is in a Marathon and will be in it until she outgrows it or it expires, whichever happens first. After that, we will see what is out there on the market for seats and keep her in a 5 point as long as possible.

 

[jamesmommy]

In Texas the law is ridiculous - once a child reaches 5 years old OR 36 inches, they are no longer required to be in a carseat or booster

That is silly, especially with all the information that is out there today. Still not as bad as Florida. A friend of mine has a 3 year old in a backless booster, a 5 year old and 7 year old in a regular belt, and is perfectly within the law. I hate it!

My DS, who will be 5 in Dec., is in a Britax Husky. It will probably expire before he outgrows it (3 years left I think), then we will decide our next step up from whatever appears to be the safest options for his size. If Britax would put out a decent cover for the Regent (cotton type material) we would go ahead and upgrade now.

 

[ninaeve]

Here are a couple sites with the state breakdowns.

http://www.elitecarseats.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageName=car_seat_laws

www.inventiveparent.com/state-laws.htm

The AL state law changed in July 2006 to require forward-facing car seats until age 5 or 40 pounds, and to require booster seat use until age 6. Previously, I believe it was only car seat or booster until age 3!

Anyway, our 2 yr old(30 lbs) is in a 5 point harness, our 4 yr old(41 lbs) is in a 5 point in our van, and a lowback booster with the seatbelt adjuster in the back seat of the truck, our 7 yr old(52 lb) is in a lowback booster in both. I need to check our 5 point harness manual though bc I think it is not guaranteed to hold past 40 lb.

 

[Dannielle_1]

DS is 20 months (maybe 25-26 lbs.???) and still rear-facing in his Britax Marathon. I purchased the Marathon for the higher straps and weight limit with the hopes he will be in it for a VERY LONG time. I'm planning on him being rear-facing till he hits the 33 lb. limit.

Right now I have him on the passenger side and not in the center and it's making me a little nervous. I'm a worry wart. I need to move his seat back to center today. (I had purchased some bookselves the other day and needed to lower one side of the backseat to fit them in my Subaru.)

 

[Desnik]

My 4 and a half year old DS is in a Britax Boulevard. He is only 39lbs so I expect he'll be in that for awhile!(he was a premie!) DD is 9 and a half and just wears a seatbelt, always in the back seat. It also amazes me how many people don't have their kids properly secured. Not only is it important and safer to have them restrained properly, but it is even more important to have that carseat or booster seat installed properly!! My family and I were in a very severe car accident and we rolled over numerous times and if my DS's car seat wasn't installed properly he would've been severly injured. Instead neither of the kids had a scratch on them! The officers all thanked me for having my kids properly restrained. They said too many times they witnessed where the parents had their kids in seats but weren't installed properly and the whole seat would eject from the car!

 

[1daisy]

I just switched last month to a full-back booster seat for my DS4. He meets the requirements for one, but it certainly hasn't been easy. My babysitter took him one day somewhere and somehow the back has come off, just this week. It doesn't easily fit back on. This weekend I'm going to get my husband to fix it back. Just without the back, he is all over the place, leaning against the door, taking his seatbelt off before we get to where we're going. I thought it was age 4, 40 inches. And that's what he is. I don't know, I don't feel as comfortable, though. I want to switch back. I made a mistake, though. This week all I've said is, "If you don't stop, we're going to use the baby seat again." So now it's as if it would be a punishment if I go back. Don't know what to do. I've made a mistake, a huge mistake and then I made it worse!!

 

[tlbwriter]

My DD was in a 5-pt harness (Britax Roundabout and then Marathon) until she turned 5 years old, and then we started using a high-back booster. She's 8 and still in the booster, and will be until she's tall enough to wear an adult seatbelt correctly. I couldn't care less what any state law says - the only law that matters is the law of physics, which says she's too small to be properly restrained by an adult seatbelt. In many cases (including Florida), state laws are a bare minimum of safety. My child deserves more than the bare minimum. They all do.