When do you switch from a convertible seat...

brewcitybride · August 2012

..to a booster? DD is 3.5 and very tall for her age.

penguingrrl · August 2012

You could move now to a combination seat, which is a 5 point harness that converts to a booster. But a 3.5 year old doesn't have the bone strength and usually doesn't have the maturity, to sit correctly in a booster.

You can move to a booster when a child is minimum 4 years, 40 lbs and has the maturity to sit. This means no slumping in their seat (that will reposition the lapbelt exactly where it can't be), no leaning over to pick up a toy that fell, no unbuckling themselves, no putting the shoulder belt behind their back. And they need to be able to stay upright even while sleeping (a high back booster is far better for this as there are sides to kind of hold them up).

Also, if she's very tall make sure she hasn't outgrown her current seat by height. A seat is outgrown for height either when the tops of the shoulders go above the top harness straps or when the tops of the ears are level with the top of the shell, whichever comes first.

smilejenn · August 2012

penguingrrl:
You could move now to a combination seat, which is a 5 point harness that converts to a booster. But a 3.5 year old doesn't have the bone strength and usually doesn't have the maturity, to sit correctly in a booster.
You can move to a booster when a child is minimum 4 years, 40 lbs and has the maturity to sit. This means no slumping in their seat (that will reposition the lapbelt exactly where it can't be), no leaning over to pick up a toy that fell, no unbuckling themselves, no putting the shoulder belt behind their back. And they need to be able to stay upright even while sleeping (a high back booster is far better for this as there are sides to kind of hold them up).
Also, if she's very tall make sure she hasn't outgrown her current seat by height. A seat is outgrown for height either when the tops of the shoulders go above the top harness straps or when the tops of the ears are level with the top of the shell, whichever comes first.

Great advice by the above poster. We moved my son to a five point harness booster type seat when he was about 4 years old. He's around the 110% for height in the growth chart and had outgrown his convertible car seat. I personally feel that the five point harness seat is so much safer than the shoulder belt booster. I plan on using it until he outgrows the maximum height.

brewcitybride · August 2012

Basically, I'm trying to figure out if I should move my 9 month old son from his rear-facing infant seat, into her convertible seats (still rear facing of course, for the baby). He is outgrowing his infant seat, which only goes up to 25 pounds, which he will easily be at in three months, and he is tall, too. Her seats are good to 50 pounds, but he needs her seats, or I have to buy two additional convertible seats for him (one for each car). OR, if she can be moved into different seats, either harnessed boosters or convertible seats with higher weight limits, maybe that is the way to go, and then he can have her seats.

I'm so confused right now:)

AgrippaRidesAgain · August 2012

When DD needed a convertible seat, I moved DS to a Graco Nautilus, which is a harnessed booster that converts to a high back then a low back booster. He will stay harnessed in that until he's too tall for the harness. The harness is good to 65 lbs, then the booster is good until 110 lbs. DD went into his old convertible seat. Our second car has a Graco Nautilus in it that will eventually be DD's when she's ready for it, but for now is set up for DS if we ever have to split the kids up to go two different places.

mrsseguin · August 2012

brewcitybride:
Basically, I'm trying to figure out if I should move my 9 month old son from his rear-facing infant seat, into her convertible seats (still rear facing of course, for the baby). He is outgrowing his infant seat, which only goes up to 25 pounds, which he will easily be at in three months, and he is tall, too. Her seats are good to 50 pounds, but he needs her seats, or I have to buy two additional convertible seats for him (one for each car). OR, if she can be moved into different seats, either harnessed boosters or convertible seats with higher weight limits, maybe that is the way to go, and then he can have her seats.

I'm so confused right now:)

We came to this point too. I wasn't going out to buy all new seats, so DS went to the Britax frontier and DD got his convertible seat. If they both fit in the next seat they would be in, save some money and switch them as opposed to keeping them in their current seat until the max limits.

penguingrrl · August 2012

Definitely get a combination seat for your daughter and pass her convertibles down! We'll be doing that when the new baby is ready to move to DD2s radians. I figure that there's no point to spending money on convertible seats if a kid is already forward facing and you'll be spending money to only use half the function of the seat!

dutchgrl678 · August 2012

We got the Britax Frontier for DH's car and the Graco Nautilus for my car. I prefer the Frontier. The top slots are higher and the slot at the bottom can be moved further out. But I like the fact that the Nautilus converts to a backless booster when she gets older. Right now (she is 4 yrs and 3 months) she is definitely not ready for just the seat belt. The other day she managed to get out of her shoulder straps while I was driving and I was mad at her. We were almost home and on our small cul-de-sac, but still. I wouldn't trust her with just the seat belt.

regenab · August 2012

At 3 1/2 we were in a car accident and the seats had to be replaced. It didn't make much sense to buy convertible seats again at that age. So we bought the 5 pt harness combination booster seats. They will be in the harness until they are at least 5 years old. They are average on height. It is not about size for me, but about maturity. At 4 they are not mature enough to sit up properly in the high back booster with seat belt only. They will lean over, or put the belt behind their backs. I tried it one time in my BFF's car, we drove only 4 miles to the store and they would not listen. So I plan on keeping them harnessed for a while. I am hoping to have them changed by 5 since they will start Kindergarten and be using car circle for drop off and pick up and are not assisted getting in and out of the car. But if they are still giving me problems they will be harnessed and I will park and walk them into school. Whatever keeps my kids safest in the car. After being in that accident I saw first hand how important car seat safety is. My children came out without a scratch because they were properly restrained in their seats with the seats anchored in.

brewcitybride · August 2012

Of course safety is my top concern! My point is - I either have to buy two new convertible seats for DS if DD is going to stay in hers, or put him in her seats, or any of these other things posters have said.

macchiatto · August 2012

Yeah, you'd be fine to get a harnessed booster at this age. Here's a good article with info on boosters and when to move to the belt-positioning booster mode:

https://thestir.cafemom.com/big_kid/109817/few_booster_seats_are_safe

Angela814 · August 2012

brewcitybride:
Basically, I'm trying to figure out if I should move my 9 month old son from his rear-facing infant seat, into her convertible seats (still rear facing of course, for the baby). He is outgrowing his infant seat, which only goes up to 25 pounds, which he will easily be at in three months, and he is tall, too. Her seats are good to 50 pounds, but he needs her seats, or I have to buy two additional convertible seats for him (one for each car). OR, if she can be moved into different seats, either harnessed boosters or convertible seats with higher weight limits, maybe that is the way to go, and then he can have her seats.

I'm so confused right now:)

I'd definitely go with harness to booster seats. My top picks right now are the Britax Frontier and the Recaro ProSport. We have two high back boosters from Recaro for our 6 yo, and I love the seats. They both fit her well and seem very sturdy. From what I've heard, the Frontier tends to make a good booster fit for most kids too. The others have a spotty booster fit - they work for some kids but not others. We have a Graco Nautilus (harness to booster), and I didn't even attempt to use it as a booster for DD1. DD2 is now using it occasionally in grandma's car. (She's rfing in our cars still.)

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