Question about booster vs. 5 pt.

I

isis

Guest
Hi...I thought we were doing everything we could by following the guidelines they give you with car seats. My oldest was FF in a 5 pt at the age of 1...he's always been a big boy. He is now almost 6 1/2, very tall for his age, 60 lbs., and is in a booster seat. My youngest is 3 1/2 and he has been in a booster for a few months now as he is 40 lbs. They sit very well in them and know better than to ever touch the latch. Now that I have seen the Kyle video on You Tube though, I am concerned and confused!! Should I be putting both of my boys back in a 5 pt. car seat and if so, are there other options than the Radian and Britax because at $270 to $280, I am just not in a position to do that? I want my children safe though so what do I do??

My husband feels like what I've been looking at are just media scare tactics so I am trying to find reports that show which is safest and why.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
 
ADS

MagnificentMama

Senior Community Member
I'm not understanding why your husband thinks a youtube video is a "media scare tactic". It's a public service annoucement that a family put out to educate and inform the public. Which is exactly what it's doing.

Your 3 1/2 year old should be back in a 5 point harness. The Apex, Radian, Regent, Marathon, and FP Safe Voyage harness past 40 lbs. I understand it's a lot of money, but it's your childs safety were talking about.
 

momtoBrennan

New member
Well, generally we feel 3-1/2 is too young to be in a bpb so I would recommend putting your younger dc back in a harness seat. What is his torso height, sitting, bum to top of shoulder?

Your older dc sounds like he is mature enough to stay in a bpb, IMO. What is his torso height?

Torso height is important because harness seats are outgrown by height when the tops of the shoulders go past the top harness slots OR when the tips of the ears are even with the top of the shell.

The Marathon/Decathlon seats have 17.5" top slots, as does the FPSVD, the Britax Blvd has 17" top slots, the Cosco/Safety 1st Apex has 17" top slots, the Radian has 18" top slots, the Regent has 20" top slots.

Hth.
 
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CatSanders

New member
I would probably be OK with my 6 1/2 year old in a booster (although my just turned 6 year old is in a Regent-but she is tiny - only 38lbs). My DD is definetly mature enough for a booster- but just not big enough.

As far as your 3 1/2- i would definetly harness him. I have a Regent and I love it! It can harness up to 80lbs and like the previous posts said, it has very large top harness slots. I know you wouldnt be disappointed with it- assuming you can find one online :rolleyes: .

I have also heard great things about the Radian which is a bit cheaper than the Regent.

Cathy,
DD: 01/25/01- Regent
DS#1: 06/06/03- FF Titan
DS#2: 01/16/06- RF Scenera
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
At 3 1/2, your younger child is absolutely too young for a booster. There are several different seats on the market that will keep him harnessed for a while, starting with the Cosco/Safety First Apex at around $100. Keep in mind, however, that this seat requires the vehicle seatback/head rests be above the mid-point of your child's head at all times, so you'll need something like a captain's chair or a seat with an adjustible or high headrest. The Apex is also easier to find right now - the Regent is out of stock pretty much everywhere.

Your oldesr son is well within the recommended age for a booster. Harnessing him would be safER, but having him in a booster is not UNsafe.
 

scatterbunny

New member
Watch these crash test videos comparing a harnessed seat and a booster seat, and note how, in the booster seat, the dummy moves around quite a bit more:

(harness) http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_...videos/test2002/frontcrash/maxicosipriori.mpg

(booster) http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/videos/test2002/frontcrash/maxicosirodi.mpg

Kids under age 5-6 have a higher rate of head injury and death if they are in a booster instead of a harness. This is probably because younger kids have larger heads in proportion to their bodies. As a child grows the body "catches up" and the head is then smaller and not as heavy compared to the rest of the body. A smaller kid with a bigger head compared to the rest of the body will have more stress being put on the vulnerable neck.

My dd outgrew her convertible carseat by height at 2.5 years old and 35 pounds. She hit 40 pounds at 3.5 years old. We put her in a Britax Husky (same as Regent). She is now 5.5 years old and has 3+ years left in this particular seat. It is an amazing seat. Before buying it, I had no clue seats of this quality existed.

There are other, cheaper options, though. None that will last quite as long as a Regent, but still should get a 3.5yo (even a big one) harnessed to age 6.

If you could tell us what five point carseat you had for him, and let us know where his shoulders are in relation to the top slots of that seat, it will give us an idea of his torso height. That is actually the biggest factor in how a child will outgrow a carseat. Most kids get too tall for a seat (shoulders over top slots) before reaching the harnessed weight limit. If a child is short-torsoed and long-legged that's a great thing for fitting a harnessed seat longer.

What vehicle (year, make and model) will the seat be going in?

What booster is your 6yo in?
 

becca011906

Senior Community Member
Also since you were conserned about price (i know how you feel here i was too). here's some prices...
Apex can be as low as $99 (depending on your childs torso lenth, it also changes to a booster, harness up ot 65lbs)
Fisher Price voage delux $140 (made by britax up to 55lbs)
radian $179 (if it is compatible with your car harness up to 65lbs)
Marathon as low as $219
Britax regent are kinda hard to find right now but run the most expensive at $269 although they will last till a child is 8 years old or so, and till 80lbs.
 

twokidstwodogs

New member
Is your 3.5 year old tall too? If so, I'd go straight for the Radian or Regent. My 97th percentile daughter was too tall for the Marathon top slots shortly after her fourth birthday. If your son is similar, there's a good chance you won't get much use out of some of those seats.
 
I

isis

Guest
If you could tell us what five point carseat you had for him, and let us know where his shoulders are in relation to the top slots of that seat, it will give us an idea of his torso height. That is actually the biggest factor in how a child will outgrow a carseat. Most kids get too tall for a seat (shoulders over top slots) before reaching the harnessed weight limit. If a child is short-torsoed and long-legged that's a great thing for fitting a harnessed seat longer.

What vehicle (year, make and model) will the seat be going in?

What booster is your 6yo in?[/QUOTE]

First, I want to thank everyone for their responses, especially you Jenny. As for my husband thinking what I was talking to him about was a media scare tactic, he thought that it was put out by a company that was basically trying to scare parents into buying their product. While he understood after the fact that it was a grieving parent, he still just doesn't understand what the difference is between him using a seat belt and our sons using a seatbelt in their booster seats. That's why I especially thank you Jenny for explaining about the weight of the head vs. the weight of the body.

Second, to answer the questions, my 3 1/2 year old appears to be about 14 1/2 inches in the torso while my 6 year old is about 19 inches in the torso. We have both the Evenflo and Graco boosters. They sit in each other's seats all the time. They are the typical $40 - $50 boosters you would buy at Target or Walmart. My 3 1/2 year old was in a Cosco Summit before the booster. Our car is a 2005 Honda Odyssey.

Looks like we are going to get at least one new car seat this weekend. :)
 

scatterbunny

New member
What vehicle (year, make and model) do you drive? That plays an important role on what seats are appropriate choices.

Are the boosters your kids are in the kind that can also use a harness, or are they highback boosters like these:

pr-Evenflo_Big_Kid_Booster_Booster_Seat-resized200.jpg
0004740606876_215X215.jpg


If so, the 6yo is fine in those.

Knowing your vehicle info will help narrow down the choices for the 3.5yo.

I'm glad the information helped your husband understand why the 3.5yo is safer in a harness for at least another 2 years.
 

Jordynsmama

New member
Aren't the radian's as good of quality or better than the regent? I know it doesn't last as long necessarily, but just it's material and everything....Is there any reason besides length of use to get a regent over a radian?
 

scatterbunny

New member
I don't think one is of better quality than another--they are both incredible seats. Both have EPS foam, both have nice padding, both have nice covers (well, the Regent's Onyx and Sahara center fabric is plasticky-feeling).

The Regent is a bear to handle, because of the dimensions of the seat, but from what I have heard, the Radian has more installation issues.

Unless someone needs a narrow seat for fitting three-across, I think a Regent is a better choice.
 

emandbri

Well-known member
Also the radian has a very flat back and the straps can get swished between the car seat and the seat of the car. It might depend on the vehicle but when I had one my 98 sienna I couldn't adjust the straps at all when the seat was forward facing.

I think in your situation I would look at the cosco apex, get the brown one that is "safety first" instead of cosco because it has energy absorbing foam.
 

AdventureMom

Senior Community Member
You've gotten some wonderful responses already... ;) But I'd like to add some more information about boosters and small children. An adult seat belt puts alot more force on their body during a crash. This is an important thing to know for several reasons:

- If the child is too short for a booster, then the belts still aren't going to be positioned in the correct place - across the top of the thighs/lower pelvis and across the shoulder/upper chest. If the lap belt shifts upwards for any reason and then is on the abdomen and over soft tissue rather than having skeletal support behind it, then it would crush the organs behind the belt. There is actually another YouTube video about a little girl named Belle in Australia who had this exact thing happen to her and was killed - she was 3 and in a booster. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2LFo8vVi04

- In younger children less than 40lbs, their skeletal frame may not be strong enough to withstand the force of an adult seatbelt. Even though your son is 40lbs, that is the bare minimum that he could fit in a booster. If he is 40lbs and you have a crash at 40mph, then he turns into a 1600lb force hitting that adult seatbelt. That's alot of force on a small child's skeletal frame which will concentrated across a smaller area with an adult belt than with a 5-pt harness...

- The other issue is he has to be seated correctly at all times. This is important b/c at the point of impact, if he's wiggling around or pulling at the belt or leaning over to get something, then the belt won't be positioned to work properly and the chances of him getting seriously injured increase. My son is 4 and not ready to sit still in a booster...! Even if positioned correctly, the video that Jenny mentioned also demonstrates that he could still twist and come out of the adult belt in a booster.

The 5-pt harness eliminates many of those issues. The harness spreads the crash force over a larger area and will not sit on an area that could crush internal organs or the skeletal frame. And a properly secured harness keeps a young wiggly child secured much better than an adult belt, even with a booster.

Hope this information helps ! :)

Maria
 

AdventureMom

Senior Community Member
I also wanted to add that the percentage of passengers being injured in crashes has greatly declined, this is true for all age groups EXCEPT ages 4-8. The reason could be that too many children are being places in boosters too early, too many children are getting out of boosters (or even bypassing them completely :( ) and into adult seatbelts too soon, or that many children don't sit properly in the booster...

Maria
 

scatterbunny

New member
Re-reading the thread, I can see I missed the vehicle info (2005 Odyssey). I think an Apex (Safety 1st Biltmore, the brown version at Babies R Us, is the best one because it has EPP foam and taller top slots) would be great for your 3.5yo.

The 6yo is fine in the highback booster.
 
I

isis

Guest
Thanks for all of the great responses. Actually my 3.5 year old sits in his booster perfectly I would say 99% of the time. My 6 year old has to be reminded to sit forwarded once in a while or not to bend over to get something he dropped but I NEVER have to tell my youngest that. Kind of backwards, huh? LOL
 

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