Question Should weather influence whether we harness or booster?

littleangelfire · Dec 8, 2009

Sounds like an odd question, but I realized this morning that it made me feel uneasy that my son was in a booster (5 yrs, 4 months, 55lbs, 46 inches, I think) when he's been using one off and on for several months now. Frontier mostly, he hasn't taken too well to the Monterey. He hates the arm rests. Anyway - its sleeting, icy, slippery here right now, but I still had to tak emy sister to school. Made me want to stop and take time to install his Regent again.

Should weather affect what seat he's in?

I was trying to figure out if he's even better off in the Regent since at this point he's so big and there's been some discussion before about how far the head flings forward for a bigger kid in a harness vs. the whole body flinging forward in a booster.

So, should I go out and reinstall the Regent till bad weather is clear? He sits in the booster well. I hate it when he falls asleep in it, but other than that, its fine.

menfusse · Dec 8, 2009

I was the same way for a very long time with A. Now she's too big for a harness at any rate, and at the time I'd never given thought to head excursion loads of an older child.

Now it's on my mind for E. She's little, but 4. She begged to FF and when she turned 4, we turned her. Now I worry about bad weather and having to drive in it with her FF over RF and was thinking of turning her back around until Spring.

Pixels · Dec 8, 2009

Why do you not like it when he falls asleep? Does he fall out of position, or are you just afraid he is going to?

If he falls out of position, then you should harness him when you expect it's likely that he will fall asleep. If not, I wouldn't worry about it.

littleangelfire · Dec 8, 2009

Pixels said:
Why do you not like it when he falls asleep? Does he fall out of position, or are you just afraid he is going to?

If he falls out of position, then you should harness him when you expect it's likely that he will fall asleep. If not, I wouldn't worry about it.

Nah, just his head falls. If he's not in a real deep sleep, he manages to keep his head in place. But those wings seem to push his head forward. Or, well, I guess its likely just the difference between the Regent being installed a recline b/c of the recline bar, whereas the Frontier has zip recline used as a booster in my car. I haven't seen his whole body fall out of position, though, just his head. I still prefer to have him harnessed if I anticipate him falling asleep.

thepeach80 · Dec 8, 2009

I thought about that yesterday, that I was so glad that Evan was back rfing! AJ is about out of his GN so has to have a booster soon. Agh!

mykidsmylife · Dec 8, 2009

The weather is the only thing keeping me from putting Seth FF. He is only 26lbs now but long and over 3.
He will stay rear-facing no matter what until the ice is gone. Late Spring he will go FF.

I kept Johanthon in his Apex through last winter and put him in his booster in the spring.

carseatcoach · Dec 8, 2009

I would not choose to booster-train in bad weather, heavy traffic, or other dangerous driving conditions.

But as far as full-time use -- if I was not confident that my daughter was safe in a booster even in adverse driving conditions, I would not have her in a booster (except for training, as above).

joolsplus3 · Dec 8, 2009

I wouldn't go out on the first day after a snow storm booster training, but a January Tuesday may actually be statistically one of the safest days to start... Saturday in August? Definitely a bad time to start... http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/21/car-accident-times-forbeslife-cx_he_0121driving.html

"The difference between August and January 2008 road fatalities were 3,612 versus 2,818.....
Researchers at Berkeley evaluated 1.4 million fatal crashes attributed to weather conditions from 1975 to 2000. They found that fatal crashes were 14% more likely to happen on the first snowy day of the season compared with subsequent ones."

Pixels · Dec 8, 2009

I thoughth that part of the reason that there are more fatalities in the summer is because there are more people on the road and more traveling for vacations, more miles driven, which leads to more fatalities. Is there a higher percentage of fatalities, based on the number of cars on the road or on the number of miles driven?

bobandjess99 · Dec 8, 2009

It may or may not be supported by evidence to back it p, but I do understand what yuo are saying. I feel the same way.
We took dd's GN out of the car a week ago, and put the turbo in for her to ride in (the nauti takes up too much room for another person to squeeze in next to her, whereas the TB allows a passenger to sit back there in the middle, and we had a full house for thanksgiving) and she's been riding that way for over a week, but now that it has snowed, i *feel* weird about it, so I'm putting the nauti back in before we go anywhere today, lol.

lovinwaves · Dec 8, 2009

You mean you didn't get the 4 inches of snow we got?

thepeach80 · Dec 8, 2009

4"? That's it? lol We have about 6" on the ground now w/ another 3-6" coming!

littleangelfire · Dec 8, 2009

Well at least I'm not the only one that's thought about it.

I dread telling him that I want him back in a harness for bad weather, and that's the biggest reason I haven't done it yet. For some reason he's going through a phase where he thinks SO manythings are for babies. He'll be sitting there playing something and suddenlyu ask "Hey, babies can'd do this, can they?" He only wants to be doing things that babies can't do. But I worry that slick roads up our chances of a wreck. I HATE the what if of it all! Trying to figure out whether he's better in a booster at his age and size b/c then his whol body can move together in an accident, or better in a harness. Assuming he sits correctly, which after these months of booster training. He is, generally.

So maybe I'll at least have him use his Regent for the next few days, first storm of the season? I dunno. I'd like to get some more use outta the thing, anyways, lol. He still fits - Almost on the top slots. In fact, I should check where his shoulders are while its out, b/c I think he needs to be on the top slots. I'm still really saddened they've discontinued the regent - there will always be kids who just need a bigger seat.

If he still wasn't able to sit properly in a booster, he'd be about too big for the Frontier's harness (we tried it before I took out the harness for booster use.), and therefore out of almost every other seat out there, too. The Radian would never have worked - way too narrow for a kid his size. The Regent gave him ample room. anyways - I'm rambling. Anyone else any thoughts on which is better?

lovinwaves · Dec 8, 2009

thepeach80 said:
4"? That's it? lol We have about 6" on the ground now w/ another 3-6" coming!

We have another 6-10 inches coming, so take that. I win, I win, oo ooo I win!

I'm jealous though. 6 inches would have been niiiiice. I can't believe you guys are only getting 3-6 more? Maybe the larger band is going to be more south of you?

littleangelfire · Dec 8, 2009

lovinwaves said:
You mean you didn't get the 4 inches of snow we got?

eek! You've got 4" already? You're only a half hour away or something, I thought. We've got nothin' except wetness. They said it was going to sleet, but there's no ice on the roads I went out on this morning/lunch hour. It melted as soon as it touched anything. huh.

Kat_Momof3 · Dec 8, 2009

yes and no... if it's weather that typically increases accidents where you are, or if you know that YOU are more likely to have troubles driving, AND the child is of an age and maturity where he behaves better in a harnessed seat, then I have no qualms about installing that harnessed seat for that season.

Heck, if our winters weren't so mild and all, I would be driving DH's car a lot more because on Mondays, he has to pick Ruthie up from school and run errands while I'm at the psych with the boys, so I would rather her harnessed than in a booster if it was bad bad weather... and even so, if it is freezing rain or something, I'll take his car and he'll take mine... just because it's easier...

Now if we were in Illinois, where people are used to driving in the most horrible winter weather, I probably wouldn't worry nearly as much... but that's because she sits so well in the booster, too.... she's fully booster trained.... and there is no other option for dh's car.

But in your case, with what you described... I'd put the Regent back in and leave it in till he outgrows it or until the winter is over.

And here's another wrinkle to think about..... a less frantic and worried driver is often a safer driver... and so really it's also about how you are going to feel driving him around... whichever is going to make you be able to concentrate more on the road and drive defensively is what is best.

littleangelfire · Dec 8, 2009

Kat_Momof3 said:
yes and no... if it's weather that typically increases accidents where you are, or if you know that YOU are more likely to have troubles driving, AND the child is of an age and maturity where he behaves better in a harnessed seat, then I have no qualms about installing that harnessed seat for that season.

Heck, if our winters weren't so mild and all, I would be driving DH's car a lot more because on Mondays, he has to pick Ruthie up from school and run errands while I'm at the psych with the boys, so I would rather her harnessed than in a booster if it was bad bad weather... and even so, if it is freezing rain or something, I'll take his car and he'll take mine... just because it's easier...

Now if we were in Illinois, where people are used to driving in the most horrible winter weather, I probably wouldn't worry nearly as much... but that's because she sits so well in the booster, too.... she's fully booster trained.... and there is no other option for dh's car.

But in your case, with what you described... I'd put the Regent back in and leave it in till he outgrows it or until the winter is over.

And here's another wrinkle to think about..... a less frantic and worried driver is often a safer driver... and so really it's also about how you are going to feel driving him around... whichever is going to make you be able to concentrate more on the road and drive defensively is what is best.

It doesn't bear much on how I drive, but there are more accidents here when we have bad weather. Despite the fact that we have bad weather every year. He sits well in it, especially b/c he so badly wants to sit in the big boy booster seat, lol. I keep him harnessed when he's in my mom's car, b/c she tends to drive faster than I'd like, and b/c I'm not there to make sure he's sitting appropriately. I did go ahead and put the Regent in tonight, and he did make a stink about it. To which I promised I would bring him on here tomorrow and show him pics of BIG kids in Regents. lol I told him there were lots of kids older and bigger than him still sitting in one sometimes, and they're not babies.I still wish we knew the answer to which is safer for a child mature enough to be in a booster: booster or harness.

Question Should weather influence whether we harness or booster?

littleangelfire

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menfusse

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Pixels

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