Booster seats

addison_clark · January 2012

DS weighs 40 lbs and is 4 yrs old. I would like to switch him to a booster seat rather than his carseat once my third baby is born. Do you think this seems too young? Any recs on booster seats? The reason I want to switch him is bc he will be moved to the third row in my Expedition and he will have to buckle himself in and out as I can't get back there. He isn't able to buckle himself in his carseat, I thought using the lap belt with a booster would be easier for him.

April37 · January 2012

Your DS is exactly the age and weight minimum for being in a booster. I moved my DD to a booster about 2 months before her 4th birthday. We got the Britax Parkway SGL and we love it. It's a highback booster and I love that it has so many extra safety features (Latch system, secure guard, etc). My DD can buckle and unbuckle herself with no problem.

https://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/parkway-sgl

pea-kay · January 2012

We have the boys in these Harmony boosters.

https://www.harmonyjuvenile.com/details?pid=160&cid=30

penguingrrl · January 2012

We moved right at 4 because my daughter outgrew her radian for height (she's tall with a disproportionately long torso). Age and weight are definitely factors in moving to a booster seat, but the biggest factor in deciding when to move a child is whether they have the maturity to take care of their own safety. They need to stay buckled, not slouch or move out of position, not lean over the pick up a toy that dropped, not move the belt behind their back, and be able to stay upright if they fall asleep. Some kids are mature enough at 4, others are 5 or even 6 before they're ready.

Also, my daughter can only buckle herself in correctly about half the time. I always have to check to make sure the belt isn't twisted anywhere and it pulled tight enough. I plan to get a 3 row SUV before having #3 but also plan to put 3 kids across the middle row for day to day and only use the third row when we have company or friends riding with us.

alake · January 2012

My four and just turned six year old are still in harnessed car seats. We moved from Canada, to Miami in September. I was fine with allowing my six year old to booster full time, but did offer her the option of harnessing. She stated she wished to stay harnessed. We had Frontier XT's in Canada.

S. (6) is 45 pounds, stands forty five inches tall, with a fourteen inch torso. She will harness until she doesn't want to any more. My two minimums for her were, going into grade 1, and over forty pounds. She is very mature for her age, and sits well in a booster. While in Canada, she boostered with our sitter. I am a stay at home mom while we are living in the States.

L. (4) She is 33 pounds, stands 37 inches tall, and has a 13.5 inch torso. She is forward facing, due to motion sickness. She is nowhere mature enough to ride in a booster, nor do I intend on boostering her until at least 6 years old.

They ride in Frontier 85s in my husbands Chevy truck, and Prosport Harnessed to booster seats, in my truck. L. has a Evenflo Maestro for when we travel by plane, which is often.

The thing is at four years old, children are typically not mature enough to sit, and stay positioned in a booster seat. They will lean out of where they should be sitting, and this becomes a serious danger. It is now recommended that they Harness until 7 years old, and then booster until 100 pounds, even if this is after 10 years old. They should be able to pass the five step test to ride without a booster. I do recommend going to the car-seat.org website, they have great information.

Also, a booster seat must, and I do mean must be used with the lap and shoulder belt. The lap belt only is extremely unsafe even for adults.

howleyshell · January 2012

alake:
The thing is at four years old, children are typically not mature enough to sit, and stay positioned in a booster seat.

This.

Just because they CAN doesn't mean they should.

My recommendation would be to borrow or buy a high back booster and try it out to see how it works. If it doesn't work you can use it later but stay in a 5 point harness.

The thing that drove the maturity thing home for me was watching a friend's then almost 5 yr old slide down in his booster until the lap belt was around his neck and his butt was on the floor of the car. His mom had no clue he was doing this. Had we been in a serious accident he would have likely been decapitated.

I've had my 5.5 yr old ride in them from time to time. He's my kid who usually does exactly as he's told and follows instructions well. He can not stop playing with the shoulder harness and it's often not positioned right while he's riding.

I know that if we were in it daily and I was harping about it on a regular basis he would eventually get the picture but are you really going to be able to keep an eye on the 4 yr old in the 3rd row to make sure he's not screwing around back there and making himself unsafe?

I've had both my boys in 3rd rows in their 5 point harness seats. My youngest could do both closures by himself at 3. I think your safer bet is to work now on training him how to close a 5 point by himself (it's easier if they do the crotch "click" first and then the chest click. They can loosen and tighten the straps with the pull cord between the legs if they need to). I've also reached over the back of the seat from the trunk area to do their "clicks" for them.

I know it's not ideal but neither is an unsafe situation for a child in a car.

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