How important is weight to move to a booster?

Unregistered · Feb 5, 2010

I have an extremely tiny 7 year old. He is only 34lbs and currently harnessed in a radian.
There have been situations that have come up where he is unable to go with friends/family on outings because he needs a carseat and it is a huge pita to get his radian out of the car (we have a 3 across setup) and he doesn't want to be teased by his friends for still being in a baby seat. In addition, there is not always a top tether available for his seat. A booster would be so much easier and I know this situation is going to keep cropping up as he gets older.
As it stands now, he probably will not hit 40lbs for at least another year (he hasn't gained any this past year at all- we are seeing a ped. about his growth but since he is growing height wise they don't see a problem).
Thanks for any help.

Jennifer mom to my 7 · Feb 5, 2010

At 7 years old and 34 pounds, it would be appropriate for him to ride in a booster for occasional rides. It is because of children like him that they rate most boosters from 30 pounds and up. I would be sure to use a high back booster. I think the turbobooster would probably fit him pretty well.

hipmaman · Feb 5, 2010

Weight limit in any seat is quite important. That basically what the manufacturer is saying that based on the crash-test dummies used in safety tests, these seats peformed w/in standards and certified for use. Anything outside of that weight range is risky to your child because no one knows how the seat/booster would perform.

That said, boosters in Canada has the minimum weight limit of 40 lbs while the same one has limit of 30 lbs in the US. And we don't have dynamic tests on booster seat, so some might argue that since the booster is only to prop him up, perhaps he is older and presumably mature to sit in a booster, even though he is only 34 lbs.

But does he even fit a seatbelt (with a booster) properly? ie. shoulder portion not too high to be at his shoulder and across the chest instead of the neck or the face. And keep in mind that not all vehicles have the same seatbelt configuration - some might have higher location, some might have further back, etc.

If you make a leap to booster for him, then the important issue is fitment of the seatbelt on his body.

featherhead · Feb 5, 2010

Unfortunately in Canada (I'm assuming OP is in Canada) all boosters only start at 40 lbs. I really don't know what I'd do in that situation. My oldest dd is on the skinny side, so I'm really hoping she will hit 40 lbs by 6 or so, so that she is able to use a booster occasionally.

hipmaman · Feb 5, 2010

Original poster - you are in Canada, right? Booster is 40 lbs and up, legally.

tiggercat · Feb 5, 2010

Unfortunately in Canada the lower limit for booster use is 40lbs. In order to comply with the law, he must ride in a harnessed seat.

Jennifer mom to my 7 · Feb 5, 2010

I'm sorry. I never knew/read that. Learn something new every day. THank you for informing me.

QuassEE · Feb 5, 2010

The problem here is this.. If he's normal height for a 7 year old, and only 34lbs (that's scary

..) then he's going to be too tall for just about every harnessed seat on the market, if not all.. And if he isn't already, he will be before he hits 40lbs.

-Nicole.

Unregistered · Feb 5, 2010

Yes I am in canada.
And yes, I do suspect that he will outgrow a harnessed seat before 40lbs. He is on the low side of average for height but his height is through his torso.
It really sucks to be such a tiny 7 year old boy. He is more than mature enough for a booster. It breaks my heart when I tell him he can't go skating with so and so, etc. because he has no way to ride safely there.

QuassEE · Feb 5, 2010

Have you tried out how he fits in a booster?

It's a really tough situation, since I personally look at booster fit and maturity before I look at the numbers. The reason that there's a 40lb minimum is because people try to put their 2 and 3 year olds into boosters. But if you look at the growth charts, on either end of the spectrum there are parents who are having to make the decision to do something illegal. If your son's shoulders are at the top harness slots in a reasonably high seat (Radian, Frontier, Nautilus, etc) you probably have a good argument for moving into a booster. But until then, be glad that he's small and not a 66lb 3 year old, you know? Inconvenient, yes, but at least he has options to keep him safe.

-Nicole.

Unregistered · Feb 5, 2010

I haven't put him in a booster yet to see how he fits. He rides in a radian now and has a bit of room to grow, I have no intention of moving him out of the radian in our car until he outgrows it by height. I just measured his torso length and it is almost 18 inches.
He would only ride in a booster on occasions where he has been invited to go somewhere with a friend and I can not take him myself.

hipmaman · Feb 5, 2010

Unregistered said:
I haven't put him in a booster yet to see how he fits. He rides in a radian now and has a bit of room to grow, I have no intention of moving him out of the radian in our car until he outgrows it by height. I just measured his torso length and it is almost 18 inches.
He would only ride in a booster on occasions where he has been invited to go somewhere with a friend and I can not take him myself.

Btw, watch out for the new Britax Frontier which apparently has much higher top harness slots and goes to 65 lbs (in Canada). Hopefully, it would come when your ds needs it.

snowbird25ca · Feb 5, 2010

I contacted somebody within TC regarding this situation because it's such a tough one. I specifically asked about the risk of submarining with an under 40lb child in a booster seat, and whether that risk would be lessened with a child who is 7yrs old - since it's my understanding that that's the primary risk of having an under 40lb child in a booster. Apparently there is more to it than that:

I'm more worried about the seat belt locking up in collision. It's possible, without the weight of 40 pounds, that this may not happen. Keep him in the Radian for as long as possible - maybe they may need a seat for handicapped or at least an E-Z-On Vest.......

I know from other conversations that part of the risk of kids putting shoulder belts under their arms or behind their backs is that it can cause the seatbelt to either not lock right away, or not lock at all. So it would make sense that lower weight of the child could also contribute to whether or not the seatbelt locked properly - if at all. (Seconds matter in a crash, so it's also possible the belt may still lock, just not as quickly as it otherwise would.)

This person has a much more in depth understanding of crash dynamics and in-depth workings of seatbelt systems in real life crashes (including crash reconstruction when fatalities are involved,) than I do, so I'm inclined to trust that this concern is a valid one with experience to back it up. :thumbsup:

eta: The handicap portion of the suggestion isn't due to thinking that there is a handicap involved - it's just that special needs seats have higher top harness slots as well.

QuassEE · Feb 5, 2010

As much as I'd love to buy into that, and I know that the source is valid.. I have to say--if the Americans have been putting 30lb'ers into boosters since the beginning of time, there's testing on that weight, there is data on real world crashes on that weight..etc.. Just to advocate for Mr. Devil a bit.

-Nicole.

Qarin · Feb 5, 2010

I do not believe that it is weight pulling on the seatbelt which locks it... is it? Ever? I only have a vague idea of how emergency locking is accomplished, and I suspect my vague idea is just what I've surmised by how _I_ might design them (which would not involve ever being concerned about whether there is adequate load on the belt), because I don't think I've ever seen a document describing how they work.

If an EZ-On vest is an answer to this "might not lock" problem, then so would locking the seatbelt (with a switchable retractor) on a booster.

Unregistered · Feb 5, 2010

Thank you for looking into this. I'm hoping we can bulk him up over the next year, at least to get him as close to 40lbs as possible before moving him.
I'm thinking he may not have any options but to stay in the radian until he outgrows it and then perhaps moving to another harnessed seat that can accommodate him. I don't want to compromise his safety by putting him in a booster yet.
Thanks again for all the help!

snowbird25ca said:
I contacted somebody within TC regarding this situation because it's such a tough one. I specifically asked about the risk of submarining with an under 40lb child in a booster seat, and whether that risk would be lessened with a child who is 7yrs old - since it's my understanding that that's the primary risk of having an under 40lb child in a booster. Apparently there is more to it than that:

I know from other conversations that part of the risk of kids putting shoulder belts under their arms or behind their backs is that it can cause the seatbelt to either not lock right away, or not lock at all. So it would make sense that lower weight of the child could also contribute to the seatbelt locking properly.

This person has a much more in depth understanding of crash dynamics and in-depth workings of seatbelt systems in real life crashes (including crash reconstruction when fatalities are involved,) than I do, so I'm inclined to trust that this concern is a valid one with experience to back it up. :thumbsup:

eta: The handicap portion of the suggestion isn't due to thinking that there is a handicap involved - it's just that special needs seats have higher top harness slots as well.

snowbird25ca · Feb 5, 2010

QuassEE said:
As much as I'd love to buy into that, and I know that the source is valid.. I have to say--if the Americans have been putting 30lb'ers into boosters since the beginning of time, there's testing on that weight, there is data on real world crashes on that weight..etc.. Just to advocate for Mr. Devil a bit.

-Nicole.

I did have this thought... but how well do most 30lb kids fare in boosters in the US? We usually chalk it up to them not being able to stay in position, but perhaps there's more to it than that?

I really don't know - just passing on what I was told. (Though you already knew that, lol)

Devil's advocate in me wondered if choosing a super heavy booster would make a difference.

Qarin · Feb 5, 2010

snowbird25ca said:
Devil's advocate in me wondered if choosing a super heavy booster would make a difference.

Ha! I thought of this, too.

Nennib · Feb 5, 2010

As a safety nerd mom, I would want to be aware if I was transporting a child illegally.
What I mean is, I think it would be important that if you are going to allow your son to travel in someone else's car that you let him know he is below the weight limit for a booster seat. I would hate to end up with a ticket on my hands because I am driving an underweight child and I didn't even realize. The chances I know are slim but I think full disclose to the driver is important.

QuassEE · Feb 5, 2010

Nennib said:
As a safety nerd mom, I would want to be aware if I was transporting a child illegally.
What I mean is, I think it would be important that if you are going to allow your son to travel in someone else's car that you let him know he is below the weight limit for a booster seat. I would hate to end up with a ticket on my hands because I am driving an underweight child and I didn't even realize. The chances I know are slim but I think full disclose to the driver is important.

BINGO. This is my HUGE HUGE HUGE complaint with how we do fieldtrips here. Parents send expired, questionable, and inappropriate seats for other parent driver volunteers to use. I refused to drive other kids until they were old enough to go into MY boosters. Only now do I take a full load (7 kids + myself), putting my own child in front of the airbag.

Don't even get me started on lapbelts for fieldtrips..

I would never put another driver in a situation where they were liable or doing something illegal as a thank you to them for transporting my child. That's a horrible position to put someone helping you out in.

Oh well, they grow up eventually!

-Nicole.

How important is weight to move to a booster?

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