Booster a 4 Year Old?

Jonah Baby

New member
Is there any odd scenarios where you would consider booster-training a 4 year old? Would you pick a specific booster for said child or any would weigh about the same for you?
 
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Angela

New member
I would consider booster training a larger 4 year old (over 40 lbs) if it would be needed in a 2nd car/grandma's car/back up seat/ etc. My suggestion would be the Turbo. It tends to fit small kiddos well.
 

Lea_Ontario

Well-known member
Yes, in many cases, I would rather see a 4-yr old in a booster that is being properly used over a 5-point harness that is not (or will not) be used correctly.

As long as said 4-yr old is over 40 lbs and is not a complete and total monkey, then boostering, or booster training, is a reasonable option.
 

Twinklefae

New member
Yes, in many cases, I would rather see a 4-yr old in a booster that is being properly used over a 5-point harness that is not (or will not) be used correctly.

As long as said 4-yr old is over 40 lbs and is not a complete and total monkey, then boostering, or booster training, is a reasonable option.


This.

I have booster trained and regularly ride one of my daycare girls in a Turbobooster. She does great - she's really well behaved for me and her mother, and she's 41lbs.

She rides in a booster in her mother's car as well - there was no way on earth for her mother to afford a HWH seat and she'd long since outgrown her old Scenera by height.
 

kittykate

New member
For me and my kids, not really. I honestly can't think of a scenario that would require booster training such a young child. If a 5 point harness isn't being properly used, I doubt a booster would be either. :twocents:

If I had to use a booster with a 4 year old, I would hope that they were at least over 40 lbs and I would use a Parkway SG to minimize the risk of submarining.
 

Lea_Ontario

Well-known member
If a 5 point harness isn't being properly used, I doubt a booster would be either. :twocents:

From the point of parental involvement, a booster is much more likely to be used correctly. There are less buckles involved, most kids can do up the seatbelt all alone even.

Not that they are idiot-proof, because as we all know once you make an idiot-proof product, along comes a better idiot !

But compared to making sure harness straps are laying flat, buckling up multiple buckles, ensuring the straps are tight - boosters are "easier".
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I would consider booster-training a mature, relatively placid, big-enough 4yo for occasional booster use use with people who use boosters correctly.

I would not trust people who don't use harnessed seats correctly to use boosters correctly, and would not allow my child to ride with them short of a life-and-death emergency.
 

Murphy's Law

New member
My dd was 4 y/o and 36ish pounds when I booster trained her to ride in the sitter's car. With 1/2 day preschool, the sitter would have had to install and uninstall seats 4x a day to accommodate her daughter in a booster (a 5 y/o who weighed close to 80) and my daughter in a harnessed seat. It was a small sedan and there were 3 or 4 kids, depending on the time of day. Rather than have her mess with that and increase the chance for error with all of those installs, I made the decision to let my dd ride in a highback booster that was shared with the other child. She did fine and I'd make the same decision again, under those same circumstances. She rode harnessed in my car until 5 years and 9 months and 42 pounds.
 

christineka

New member
I would not trust people who don't use harnessed seats correctly to use boosters correctly, and would not allow my child to ride with them short of a life-and-death emergency.

I tried letting my mom take my older kids who were in boosters and could normally buckle themselves. They had problems buckling because the seat was set in front of the buckle. Mom's solution was to buckle to the next seat over, so the seatbelt was stretched over two seats. If I didn't trust someone to do a 5 point harness, I also wouldn't trust them with a 4 year old in a booster. When my ds who was almost 5 was in a booster, I had to buckle him personally, each and every time.
 

Angela

New member
Is there any odd scenarios where you would consider booster-training a 4 year old? Would you pick a specific booster for said child or any would weigh about the same for you?

Instead of all of us 'arguing' about when would be appropriate/inappropriate time to booster a 4 year old.... Do you have a certain scenario that you're considering? Also what weight? That might help get some better suggestions. :)
 

nevaehsmommy

New member
I am thinking about boostering my daughter. She is 4 and 42 pounds. I will be moving to another city soon. I do not have a car. I don't see us riding in a car except for Doctor appts. I am not at peace with my choice yet. However she only has 1/4 inch left to grow in her seat. I can not fathom buying another seat for her. I want the next one to be her last one
 

mrs_teeee67

New member
Yes, in many cases, I would rather see a 4-yr old in a booster that is being properly used over a 5-point harness that is not (or will not) be used correctly.

As long as said 4-yr old is over 40 lbs and is not a complete and total monkey, then boostering, or booster training, is a reasonable option.

hahaha,, so true for so many of 'em
 

Mommy2Marcus

New member
As much as I hate to admit it right now, I am considering purchasing a high back turbo booster for my son to leave in my MIL's car. She is about to start having him more & more, so she will need a seat in her car again. I am going to talk to her about putting a seat in her car & leaving it, but I am also worried about it getting removed.

Also the fact that he has rode with her a couple of times when I forgot to leave his seat & he has to ride in a backless booster. I hate the thought of it, but a high back is SO much better than a backless. So, I am considering it. The only thing holding me back is that he is not 40lbs. Maybe I will just talk DH into letting me get him another Maestro for her car. The Generations 65 installs horribly in her car & I do not like it to terribly much for him in my car for everyday use.
 

ginny4

New member
i boostered my almost 4.5yo one time so far. he is over 40lbs & sat in a turbo. it fit him nicely. i needed my mom to take him to preschool cause i had to be at my other sons school for a field trip i was chaperoning early. so for the 5min ride he did fine. i wasn't OK with it totally but it was better than the 5 pt would have been. my mom just can't buckle & unbuckle his seat. it hurts her hand. i had to do the safest i could come up with & a booster it was. i don't even forsee another time i might need her to drive him but i have the extra booster just in case
 

Baylor

New member
I think you have to know your child. I think keeping them harnessed as long as you can is best but if you think they can sit right and are sure of a proper fit then try and see.

My kids are both harnessed in a nautilus. I love that I have both options with this seat.
 

Splash

New member
I see no reason to use a booster for a four year old. A booster for a average sized four year old is a safe, legal, manufacturer recommended option that should not present any issues. So long as the belt fits the child and the child can maintain position (which, honestly, most 4 year olds CAN), then it's completely fine. I've had two year olds in boosters before that fit perfectly and sat fine. Heck, Charlie fist gloriously in a TB at 2 years old, and was well over the minimum size. I didn't use it, of course, but I could have, and likely safely.

A four year old properly using a well fitted booster is a safe, legal, responsible choice.
 

finn

New member
I have been booster training ds, he is 3 years & 11 months old and weighs 17.5kg/38.5lbs. He isn't placid but does very well at following rules so long as he knows what they are. He has done very well both time he has ridden in his booster. I reminded him of the rules both times. This Friday he will be in a booster without me, but my Mum will remind him of the rules and buckle him correctly (she is more paranoid than I am :)).

He has a turbo booster/logico l it fits him beautifully :)
 

urchin_grey

New member
My 5yo still isn't heavy enough to even consider booster yet, but we will probably start booster training my nephew as soon as he turns 4. He'll likely remain RF in his mom's car, as well as mine, but his dad and his entire family are carseat challenged. :whistle: He goes with our parents sometimes as well, and they do really well with installing and using the seat, but my step-dad thinks its okay to use a thick blanket folded into fourths to protect his seat protectors (yes you read that right). :rolleyes: So yeah, nephew would be better off in a booster in those situations.
 

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Umm... DS was in a booster full-time at 4. :eek: (Granted, he had outgrown the Nautilus harness by height, and at 58lbs didn't have enough room left weight-wise to justify a Frontier (only a 65lb seat in Canada.))

Needs-must as the British say. :eek:
 

Jonah Baby

New member
Instead of all of us 'arguing' about when would be appropriate/inappropriate time to booster a 4 year old.... Do you have a certain scenario that you're considering? Also what weight? That might help get some better suggestions. :)

I wanted the general response first, or I wouldn't have bothered pressing the issue further.
J is about 40-42# with about a 15.5" torso. He is really close to the top slots on the MyRide, so close that he no longer uses it because I feel uncomfortable/it's outgrown.
The other seats available to him are his regular ride (FR85) and his back-up/Grandparent seat Wizard.
Our Wizard expires March 1st.
The FR85 is, from every attempt I've made, completely incompatible with my Stepmother's vehicle and just ridiculous if not impossible in MIL's van. I am reasonably pleased with this seat and do not wish to replace it, but MIL and Stepmother need something available for emergencies and Stepmother often takes J in her vehicle.
Besides incompatibility, my Stepmother is kinda incompatible with carseats. She would be happy to let him ride without a seat now. So, the simpler the better. 95% of the time I am able to install the seat and get it adjusted for her.
I'm not really looking for another convertible option, since A already has 3 seats for his use. Price shouldn't matter too much this time, since we have a while to save if necessary.

I'd personally prefer that he was harnessed until 5+, but I'm beginning to think that if he was booster trained soon, riding in a booster with my Stepmom would be safer than all the possible ways she could use a harnessed seat wrong. A booster is a fast, simple, easy to move back-up seat. I also considered an RSTV, but my Stepmom would not properly use that in a million years and so we'd still need something for her vehicle (that fits the car and J, a problem.)
Does this sound ok? Should I start doing short, quick trips with him using the booster mode on the FR85? Or am I sacrificing safety here?
 

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