how many of you use a NON-booster car seat for your 7+yo kids?

[Jennifer in MI]

Wow! I feel so out of it! :lol: When we bought our last car seats (3.5 years ago), none of these seats you are mentioning were out. At least, I don't think they were! My 9.5 yo is still in a booster with the "wings" on it. It's a Britax. He'll be in it until he outgrows it in height. I think he still has 2 inches on it. Luckily, lots of his friends still use them too.

 

My 4 yo dd is still rear-facing in her Britax Boulevard. She still only weighs 25 pounds, so she'll probably be rear-facing until she's 6 or so!! The seat goes rear until 36 pounds (I think!). Then, I can turn her around front-facing in it until 60 pounds (I think - I really should re-check these!!).

[mom2jjka]

 

My 4 yo dd is still rear-facing in her Britax Boulevard. She still only weighs 25 pounds, so she'll probably be rear-facing until she's 6 or so!! The seat goes rear until 36 pounds (I think!). Then, I can turn her around front-facing in it until 60 pounds (I think - I really should re-check these!!).

 

That's wonderful! Just make sure that there is at least an inch of the seat's shell left above her head. (If her head is coming out of the shell she is too tall for that seat, and she could get injured in a crash.)

[gardening momma]

How do you know if your child has outgrown a carseat? (besides exceeding the weight limit)

[Melinda in VT]

How do you know if your child has outgrown a carseat? (besides exceeding the weight limit)

 

In my son's case, I can't fasten it if he is wearing both his coat and his snow pants, and there's no other adjustment we can make. (Everything is in the highest/longest position.)

[Mommy22alyns]

Rebecca will be 7 in March and is still happily riding in a 5 point harness (Britax Regent). Sylvia's in the same seat.

[mom2jjka]

In my son's case, I can't fasten it if he is wearing both his coat and his snow pants, and there's no other adjustment we can make. (Everything is in the highest/longest position.)

 

A child should NEVER wear a bulky winter coat or snowpants while riding in a carseat! The jacket can compress in a crash and the child could be ejected.

 

I took photos of my daughter wearing a coat, and then I took the coat off...look at how much slack was in the straps!

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/CPSTblog/628327/

Edited February 17, 2010 by mom2jjka

[mom2jjka]

How do you know if your child has outgrown a carseat? (besides exceeding the weight limit)

 

If the child has exceeded the manufacturers recommended weight and height limits,

if the child has less than an inch of shell above his/her head while rearfacing,

and on most carseats ( not all - check your instruction manual!) if the child's tips of the ears reach the top of the shell while forward-facing.

 

Also - in a forward facing carseat - the straps must be AT or ABOVE the child's shoulders. If they child is taller than the highest slot height - the carseat is outgrown.

Edited February 17, 2010 by mom2jjka

[Melinda in VT]

A child should NEVER wear a bulky winter coat or snowpants while riding in a carseat! The jacket can compress in a crash and the child could be ejected.

 

I took photos of my daughter wearing a coat, and then I took the coat off...look at how much slack was in the straps!

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/CPSTblog/628327/

 

That's not really practical around here.

[mom2jjka]

I live in WI - below zero temps are the norm.

Being safe is more important than being practical. ;-)

 

Warm up the car beforehand, dress your child in light layers, and a fleece jacket is okay (Colombia and Land's End sell some nice ones for fairly inexpensive)

Edited February 17, 2010 by mom2jjka

[KidsHappen]

The easiest thing to remember is that every step "UP" in car seats is a step "DOWN" in safety.

 

Rear-facing is the absolute safest way any child can ride. It is now recommended that children ride rear-facing to the upper most limits of their car, seats (and most carseats on the market today will allow a child to rear-face until 30-40 lbs....which means that most/many kids can make it to 2 or 3 rear facing!) [/url]

 

This is making me miss my station wagon with the rear facing seat. My kids loved riding in the way back. :tongue_smilie:

[mom2jjka]

That's fine if you live in a relatively temperate climate but in some places that would mean completely undressing the child to ride in the car and then redressing them to get out again. That's not really practical and could actually be harmful since you would need to have the door open to help the child and they would end up exposed to severe temperatures.

 

Sometimes you have to make a less than perfect decision. Life isn't safe you know.

 

 

I live in WI where the temps dip below zero quite frequently.

My kids have never complained about freezing in the few seconds it takes to put on a coat. I would rather have them be exposed to the cold for those few seconds than be unsafe while riding around in the vehicle.

 

Life can be unsafe - but when we make educated, well informed decisions it can be much less so.

 

I am a certified Child Passenger Technician.

In my training class we listened to the testimonies of emergency and medical personnel who work in emergency rooms, and they said that they have seen numerous cases where children were ejected from their seats because they were in bulky winter clothing. I will do everything in my power to make sure that my kids are as safe as possible while riding in a motor vehicle - and to help inform and educate other parents how to keep their children safe, as well.

[gardening momma]

This is making me miss my station wagon with the rear facing seat. My kids loved riding in the way back. :tongue_smilie:

My grandparents had one of those. I loved riding in that seat. Without seatbelts, of course. ;)

[KidsHappen]

My children are all past the booster seat age. The youngest is 10 yrs. old, 5' tall and weighs 100 lbs. I just wanted to point out that the actual car seat design is important too. We have a Chrystler Town & Country. All of the rear seats are designed so so that they are tilted back slightly so that you butt is lower than your knees and you are learning back slightly. It is not terribly comfortable for an adult but if you come to a sudden stop the kids are less likely to slide forward. Of course, in a collison they could still be thrown up and forward but I am happy that is does provide some degree of saftey for less serious accidents.

[lea1]

I'm thankful this topic came up tonight. After researching it further I found out our car seats, which I thought were safe up to 80 pounds, are only safe up to 40 pounds with the 5 point harness, or to the point where the shoulder straps are no longer high enough. After that point you have to start using the car's seat belt to hold the child in, rather than the 5 point harness and they can ride this way up to 80 pounds, which I had already heard was not safe.

 

My husband and I just purchased 2 new seats for our two 4 year old sons, who are just at 40 pounds and are already too tall for the shoulder harness of their current seats. The new seats have the 5 point harness for children up to 80 pounds.

 

Thanks for bringing this up tonight.:001_smile:

Edited February 18, 2010 by Lea in OK
Edited for clarification

[Amy Jo]

I don't think it's just kids... as I understand it, even adults would be safer rear-facing in 5 point harnesses.

 

Driving may get a bit tricky though.

 

:cheers2: Thanks - you made my whole day.

 

But I'll add my kids: 7.5 is in a seat belt, 6 in booster, 3.5 forward facing, and baby rear facing of course. There is no other way to fit them in the car otherwise. Trouble starts in under a year when 3.5 outgrows his forward seat.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

My 4 year old, 45 lb DD is harnessed in a Britax Frontier. It harnesses until 80 pounds, and she'll stay harnessed until she's outgrows the seat. 5 point harnesses are much safer than regular seat belts, which is why race car drivers wear them. The force of an accident is distributed more evenly than if there is only three points of a seat belt holding a child in, not to even mention the possibility of internal injuries or ejection.

 

Call me crazy. I'm far from a helicopter parent, but this is one thing I do get crazy about.

[SonshineLearner]

Our son is 6.5 and still in a Britax. I like the Radian... and would want to get one if i could... We'll probably keep him in it about another year.... and then I'm not sure. My girls made it to about 8 or so.... Of course, the PS told my daughter when she was 7?? that she was big enough to go without a booster.... (and of course without a carseat) Gotta love the PS...

 

Carrie:-)

[muffinmom]

thank you, EVERYBODY, for all your replies--so helpful!

[Cera]

I live in WI where the temps dip below zero quite frequently.

My kids have never complained about freezing in the few seconds it takes to put on a coat. I would rather have them be exposed to the cold for those few seconds than be unsafe while riding around in the vehicle.

 

Life can be unsafe - but when we make educated, well informed decisions it can be much less so.

 

I am a certified Child Passenger Technician.

In my training class we listened to the testimonies of emergency and medical personnel who work in emergency rooms, and they said that they have seen numerous cases where children were ejected from their seats because they were in bulky winter clothing. I will do everything in my power to make sure that my kids are as safe as possible while riding in a motor vehicle - and to help inform and educate other parents how to keep their children safe, as well.

 

When we lived somewhere cold we made fleece knot blankets for each of the kids (2 layers of heavy fleece tied along the edges). They were their "car blankets" and were kept in the coat closet. When we went anywhere we just warmed the car a bit and they wrapped their blankets around their shoulders like a shawl and went out to the car carrying their coats. They kept the blankets to cover up with in the car and put their coats on when we got to our destination.

 

It was also nice because they weren't too hot while we were driving.

[2squared]

I don't think it's just kids... as I understand it, even adults would be safer rear-facing in 5 point harnesses.

 

:lol:

 

I think it's important to remember that safety is a continuum. The safest thing you can do is to not put your kids in a moving car. The unsafest thing you can do is to have them ride in the back of a pickup truck.

 

5 point harnesses are safer than boosters. No doubt about it. But, I wouldn't say that boosters are unsafe. They have their own spot on the safety continuum - safer than just a seatbelt and less safe than a 5pt harness.

[TravelingChris]

I guess my opinion is that while seatbelts may fail with a a booster they may also fail with no booster. Seatbelts don't fail as a general rule. That is why we have them. I can't say that I want my 13 or 16 yo to die anymore then when they were 6 or 7. THey use seatbelts with over the shoulder part and that seems very safe to me. THe usual car we drive has air bags galore, anti lock brakes, etc. The truck we have sits much higher and its weight would help in a collision (only front airbags there).

[fivetails]

I haven't read this whole thread, but I would LOVE to have our ds11 in a 5pt harness seat - he's our SN kiddo and is about the size of a skinny 6 year old... problem is, he's too tall for any of the seats I've found here... just by a few inches, but that's all it takes. I have no choice but to use a booster seat. [which, suprisingly, isn't even required by law here... Alberta doesn't have any booster laws like many places...just car seat...they have to be in a proper car seat up to 40lbs or 6 years old.]

 

[i know there's some fancy seat in the states that kids can use until they're nearly adult size, but you can't buy it here]