What age/size for a booster with a seatbelt?

VTbride05

My brother has his 2.5 in one and although he is tall it seems like he is too young. Help me find a website with the laws.

smokenbogey

I don't know the website but that's way too young to be in a booster with a seatbelt,in new york it's a minimum of 40 lbs and 4 yrs old.I still have my 5 yr old in a 5pt harness and will be for another year at least.

VTbride05

I also have my son in a 5point and will for as long as he fits in it (It's a Frontier, so forever!).

How do I approach this with my brother?

VTbride05

Ok I am responding to myself...

VT does not have a law defining when a child should be in a 5point harness seat. But most organization recommend that kids are in a 5pt until age 4 or 40lbs. My nephew is 2.5 years old and probably just over 3 feet tall and around 35lbs. 

I am SO that "know it all sister" and my brother hates it. But I feel strongly about car safety. So.... say something? How?

shopgirl78

Actually some say 3 years/ 30 lbs, others Graco, Ollie, Evenflo say 40.  Here are some of the 30...

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Harmony-Juvenile-LiteRider-Backless-Booster-Car-Seat-Pink/10992661

https://www.leapsandbounds.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=537092&cm_ven=RKG_Nextag&cm_cat=NA&cm_pla=NA&cm_ite=NA&orderType=6&utm_source=RKG_Nextag&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_campaign=product&utm_term=Nextag&zmam=98172719&zmas=1&zmac=3&zmap=20925

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00313JA7C/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00192EWPW&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1VHG720EG9H6X0AVMSH1

I can see where people who don't look to the internet for everything and trust labels would be "oh, look my 3 y/o or 30 lbs + child is big enough."   

eta:  I am not saying its right (just that it is out there for 30 lbs) 

My 4 year (&1 month) mostly rides in a 5 pt however for his afterschool program (he got PreK3 to daycare) requires a booster for their minibus.  It's a 2 mile drive.  I am OK with it.   DD (6 yrs, 2 months) is in a backless booster. She has been in a booster since 4.5 years.   

 

SuperCuteBenz

Have him watch the Kyle David Miller video?

I know the KDM website has some good info on it. 

https://www.kyledavidmiller.org/

On the lower left hand side there are a bunch of links. 

jlw2505

It will vary from state to state  and not all have a law but more of a recommendation and you also need to read the instructions for the booster seat as those vary as well.  Most are 4 years and 40 pounds but height is also a huge issue with a booster seat with a strap (and it should have a back on it).  The strap needs to fit correctly on the shoulder and the child needs to be able to stay in the correct position at all times and not be moving around. 

LDQAM516

2.5 seems very young...unless he is the size of a 4 or 5 year old!  DS is 43 pounds and extremely tall...and we just switched him to the booster and seat belt about a month ago.

JillAly

I work in crash reconstruction and I've seen too many kids killed.  My kids would be in 5 point harnesses rear facing until they're 21 if I could! 

It's not just about size and weight.  There is much more to the decisions on when to put a child forward facing and boosters.   Age is only important because it relates to the other big issue- neck strength.   A 2.5 year old doesn't have the neck strength of a 5 year old, even if they were the same size.  Their neck will snap much more easily- that's why kids should stay rear facing until they're at least 2. 

Booster seats don't hold a child in the way the 5 point harness does.  Younger kids need that harness so they don't snap forward and then backwards. 

If your brother won't switch back to the 5 point harness, at least make sure the seat belt is in the right place.  It should be low (under the stomach and other organs) across the waist.  For the shoulder part, it should not cut across the neck.  That is the biggest problem- in a crash that could sever the Carotid artery or jugular vein.  A 2.5 year old may not be tall enough to have the shoulder belt go across the right place and that is just crazy dangerous.