How many of you lock the belt with boosters?

[jillianrose]

I'm just curious. I have two girls in boosters now. 7 year old in a Monterey. 5 year old in a Bodyguard. I am extremely uncomfortable with leaving the seatbelt unlocked so I always lock them both which makes me feel better when we are driving, but it's a serious hassle when we get out. The seatbelts don't retract far enough when they unbuckle so they get stuck. It's driving me crazy, but I feel that they are unsafe if the belt is not locked.

How many of you with kids this age still lock the belt?

[houseofboys]

I generally don't unless I know they are going to be falling asleep in the car. Very rarely my youngest needs a reminder not to lean out of place and I'll lock it for that one trip. It is not safer to lock the belt unless your kids aren't sitting properly in the booster - in which case it would be better to harness them.

[Patriot201]

I do, but it is because I am so uncomfortable with using boosters over harnesses (since most the children I transport are still WELL within the harness limit on my seats).

[momof3boys541]

I do when my 5 yr old has to ride with my Mom he has to sit in a booster and I feel better knowing it is locked. And with my stepson I lock it because he will not sit right, He doesn't even have to use a booster in his Mom's car so doesn't understand not to put the belt behind his back (she tells him to in her car)

[Kat_Momof3]

I do when I have the option (Dh's car, other people's cars with locking retractors).

I've actually never had a problem with the belt unlocking when the seatbelt is unbuckled and it retracts.

For the 7yr old, you probably don't have to worry about it... and the reason for my locking it (keeping the lapbelt snug as it is with a lightweight locking latchplate, to help reduce chances of submarining) is moot with the 5yr old because of the Bodyguard having built-in lockoffs.

[Mama!]

I do. DD prefers it and does it herself if I forget. Granted, her booster trips are few and far between, but she likes it locked.

I've heard some argument against it, but until she's older and can sit properly 100% I suppose we will.

[o_mom]

I lock it on my 5.5 yo the times he is in a booster. He uses a PW and it retracts enough in our Hondas to unlock without taking it out of the belt guide.

[MustangMama]

I have a 5.5yo too and I lock her belt when she rides in a booster.

[*Spoiledinmyhouseofblue*]

Michael locks his own-he says it keeps him safe (LOL).
My 6 year old daycare girl locks her seatbelt too.

[ks1978]

my kids do and they are 10 and 7. I recently gave them the option of not doing it, but they say they feel safer locking it.

[Thanksgiving_Twins_Mom]

My 7YO twins always lock their belts and complain if I start the car before they're done!

[joolsplus3]

I used to go to great lengths to make sure to NEVER lock the belt in the Bodyguard, because it's SUCH A PAIN to undo it once it gets locked. The memory is making me shudder even now, and I haven't owned that seat in well over 4 years, lol.

Honestly, I wouldn't lock them unless they are acting like they need to be locked. (leaning out of place or falling asleep), it's not known to be any safer, and it can be a pain. Usually the threat of being locked was enough to make my kids sit properly ;)

[jillianrose]

Hmmm....it looks like I'm not alone! I seriously thought I was the only one locking the belt. I would feel fairly comfortalbe not locking my 7 yr. old's belt, but the 5 yr old still squirms some and I think she still needs it. It's just such a pain with the lock off's on the Bodyguard. I wish I could have kept her in the Radian, but I just can't get it installed in my car.

Intellectually I know it's not any safer to lock the belt, but it feels safer, iykwim. Thanks everyone.

[Judi]

I do. Tyler is in a Start, so I use its lock off. he forgets to stay in position if I don't.

[CDNTech]

My personal thoughts... if I feel the need to lock the seatbelt, then they still need to be harnessed. :twocents:

My nearly 7 year old is in a Parkway (and has been since July), and has never had the seatbelt locked on him.

Either way... read your vehicle owner's manual *before* you lock your seatbelt. Some vehicles do *not* allow you to lock the seatbelt when using with a booster.

[papooses]

At seatchecks, I teach parents to use the option of locking the shoulder belt as a tool for behavioral issues in the car -- Leaning around? Loosening the belt? Backseat bickering? etc. > "Don't make me pull over & come back there to lock you in!" :whistle:

My daughter always locks her own. This started because, like Patriot201, she was originally still within the limits of many harness seats yet also within the requirements of the Parkway booster (she was still harnessed in my vehicle). She continues to lock her own belt whenever possible now that she has almost outgrown the Husky/Regent simply because she prefers the snugness of a harness or her Ride Safer Travel Vest. She is also being tracked in preparation for an evaluation (Aspergers diagnosis likely, already unofficially Dx'd by 1 MD) & enjoys wearing a weighted vest in the classroom.

:twocents: Most kids in boosters (especially 7 year olds without any special needs) do not need the snugness of a locked shoulder belt & can learn to ride properly positioned without the Switchable Locking Retractor being engaged on a constant basis.

[jillianrose]

I'd love to put my 5 year old back into a five point harness seat. Is the Wizard any easier to install with the seatbelt than the Radian? I still have two Wizards in my husbands car which we almost never use. I don't think they are expired, but I will check.

Thanks everyone.

[scatterbunny]

I never had the option to lock shoulderbelts until last summer, when I got a 2003 Focus. We try to never lock the belt, because it's a PAIN the next time dd needs to get in the booster. We have to totally remove the shoulderbelt from the booster belt guide, let it fully retract, then re-thread it back into the belt guide. H doesn't need a locked shoulderbelt to stay put. If I had a child with us who had to sit in a booster for whatever reason, and could not sit still, I wouldn't hesitate to lock the belt. I just wouldn't do it on a regular basis, WAY too fiddly and irritating. :p I'd assume, like a previous poster mentioned, if locking the belt had to be done on a regular basis, the child needed a harnessed seat.

[TnT's Mom]

I'd love to put my 5 year old back into a five point harness seat. Is the Wizard any easier to install with the seatbelt than the Radian? I still have two Wizards in my husbands car which we almost never use. I don't think they are expired, but I will check.

Thanks everyone.

I don't have a Wizard but we did have a Boulevard and I found it very easy to install with the seatbelt. In fact we never installed it with LATCH. The lockoffs really made it easy to install. I have never installed a Radian but heard they can be difficult until you get used to them. How tall is your daughter, specifically her torso length? My 4 and 1/2 year old son has outgrown his Boulevard by height...his shoulders are above the top harness slot. So I was just thinking that may be an issue with trying to put her back in the Wizard. The other thing is I think the Boulevard replaced the Wizard so you should definitely check the manufacture date on your Wizards to make sure they aren't expired.

Oh, and I always locked the belt for my now 8 year old when he first started riding in his booster seats. Now he doesn't need it but it always made me feel better!

[NannyMom]

We don't lock the seatbelts on the boostered kids. Not sure if we will when J moves to a booster, but that would just be for training, not permanently.

[jen_nah]

I never lock K1 unless she is failing a sleep. Then I have her lock it just to help keep her in position. Also if we are going on a long road trip she goes back in her Regent.

[joolsplus3]

How tall is your daughter, specifically her torso length? My 4 and 1/2 year old son has outgrown his Boulevard by height...his shoulders are above the top harness slot. So I was just thinking that may be an issue with trying to put her back in the Wizard. The other thing is I think the Boulevard replaced the Wizard so you should definitely check the manufacture date on your Wizards to make sure they aren't expired.
!

Good advice :) Surprisingly, the Wizard is like an inch taller than the Boulevard. It used to be a better buy than the Marathon for that reason...funny, huh? Smaller headwings, I guess.

[cookie123]

I haven't had any real booster experience. What is the purpose of the lock off on a booster seat. It is for the same reason as locking the seatbelt - keep kiddo in position, etc? Does the manual say to always lock is or only in some situations, or what?

[sparkyd]

My personal thoughts... if I feel the need to lock the seatbelt, then they still need to be harnessed. :twocents:

That is exactly what I was thinking while reading the posts here. My son is a long way off from being ready for a booster, so I don't have any personal experience with this. However, I just took my tech course a couple of weeks ago and I'm pretty sure we were told that you should NOT lock the seatbelt when using a booster for two reasons: (1) the belt can get tighter and tighter as you drive since it can inch in when you go over bumps etc., and (2) the belt isn't meant to be locked when being used as the restraint so it actually isn't functioning as intended in a crash if it is locked pre-crash.

Of course, this whole conversation presumes that we are talking about seatbelts with switchable retractors (emergency locking/automatic locking).

[jillianrose]

[QUOTE=TnT's Mom;770527]I don't have a Wizard but we did have a Boulevard and I found it very easy to install with the seatbelt. In fact we never installed it with LATCH. The lockoffs really made it easy to install. I have never installed a Radian but heard they can be difficult until you get used to them. How tall is your daughter, specifically her torso length? My 4 and 1/2 year old son has outgrown his Boulevard by height...his shoulders are above the top harness slot.

She's 42", 40 lbs., How do you measure torso? If I measured correctly her torso would be about 16".

My newest Wizard has a manufactured date of 4/05, so I assume it's not expired yet. Is the expire date on the seat? It's not in the manual.

Thanks.

[TnT's Mom]

"She's 42", 40 lbs., How do you measure torso? If I measured correctly her toros would be about 16".

My newest Wizard has a manufactured date of 4/05, so I assume it's not expired yet. Is the expire date on the seat? It's not in the manual."


I have my sons sit on the floor against the wall...making sure they are sitting nice and straight with their butts and back against the wall. Then I make a pencil mark at their shoulder level and measure that height. It sounds like you took a correct torso measurement. My youngest ds has almost a 16 inch torso but has outgrown his Marathon and Boulevards...sometimes when a seat is installed you lose some actual harness height. Jools mentioned that the Wizard has more harness height room than the Boulevard though so she may still fit.

As far as the expiration for Britax seats I am pretty sure it is 6 years from the DOM. Hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong.

You mentioned that you couldn't get your Radian installed well in your car...does your daughter still fit in the Radian? Their are some wonderfully knowledgeable people here who I bet could talk you through a Radian installation if you wanted to try it again!

[joolsplus3]

I haven't had any real booster experience. What is the purpose of the lock off on a booster seat. It is for the same reason as locking the seatbelt - keep kiddo in position, etc? Does the manual say to always lock is or only in some situations, or what?

The Lockoff on the Start clamps the belt at the shoulder. In Europe, I believe it is to prevent the seat from loading onto the child in a crash (it's heavy!), in the US, it's only mandatory for kids under 40 pounds. Our Starts must be top tethered (at least in my manual they must be, I would never recommend that seat if a car didn't have top tethers, personally), so locking the belt in the lockoff isn't as critical (the tether will hold the weight of the seat back, the lockoff won't be needed for that function). It's really a nice feature for younger or wiggly kids, especially if the car has locking latchplates instead of switchable retractors :)

[christineka]

I'm also of the opinion that if the child needs the seatbelt locked, they should be in a harness. I do not lock the belts on my kids at all and they sit very well in their boosters. 6 year old ds is still in a harness in the van because I would have to lock his belt if he were in a booster in that vehicle. he is fine, however in the car with no other kids, which is good, because the seatbelts don't lock.