Tiny kid on a bus with seatbelts questions

We have been skiing at a resort here and they have a free shuttle bus that drops off/picks up right from my front door. Last year it was a big regular school bus with no belts but now its a special resort one that is the size of the smaller school busses (looks just like them but a different color), but it has lap/shoulder seatbelts that they require that you use (driver walks through and checks everyone).

Its a 10-15min ride, slow speeds, but mountian roads with snow. The bus is designed for use in the snow though.

And ds 3.5 and is very tiny and doesnt fit at all in the seatbelt (across his belly/neck).

So my question - would it be better to:

- not put the seatbelt on him and rely on the egg carton thing
- use the seatbelt with a poor fit
- get a cheap backless booster and hope it improves the fit a little (a pain b/c I have to carry all of our ski equipment around the resort, we have a sled to keep stuff in but it did get stolen once, and he is under the weight limit by a lot)
- get a RSTV and use it under the weight limit (or hope he is 30lbs by spring when we are here again, very unlikely)
- not take the bus at all (which might mean walking a looooong way home in ski boots carrying a ton of stuff, or just not getting to ski as much as we would like to, we share a car with 4 adults and I would have to coordinate drop off and pick up)
- something else?

For the rest of our trip my options are seatbelt, no seatbelt or dont go unless we get the car. But I'd like to figure out what to do for the spring when we will be back for more skiing!

I'd take the bus. I'd use the seat belt. Whether you use the seat belt with a child restraint I think is up to you. If the RSTV fit I wouldn't loose sleep about using it slightly under the weight limit in that situation (ditto for a backless booster). But, really, buses are extremely safe (yadda yadda yadda ) however I would use the belt since they are requiring it (even if they weren't I'd probably use the l/s belt even on a small child, but not a lap only belt, but anyway you look at it you're both SO safe to start with).

This is assuming it's actually a bus, and not, like, a van masquerading as a bus.

CelticLabyrinth said:

This is assuming it's actually a bus, and not, like, a van masquerading as a bus.

Click to expand...

I know busses are super safe, thats why last year I had no issues with him on the big school bus thing they had. They did have one of the shuttles go off the road years ago though, and the weather is sometimes scary (snow, ice, windy roads up/down hills...) so I worry more b/c of that then on normal roads.

The seatbelt looks sooo uncomfortable and just wrong on such a tiny kid (um esp sense I didnt take off all his ski gear b/c they have no heat... ), I was thinking the RSTV would at least make it more comfy (and I could put it in my backpack while skiing), plus we would get use out of it for travel in the future (in a car, I wouldnt use it under the weight limit)

They do have actual busses (like the real small school busses), AND they have the "pretending to be a bus but actually a large van" type things. So far, we have only been on the actual bus, but thats just random b/c the van/bus thing is also used on the same route. WWYD in that vehicle? Just wait for the next bus? (they come every 30min)

I'd use an RSTV or booster in that situation. Depending on which one made the fit better.

I'm not sure a rstv would fit. My son just grew into his at 39" and 39 pounds. If your son happens to have a baby belly still (mine literally has had a six pack since about 9 months), he might fit better but it might be too big in the waist still at his tiny size.

He has a tiny waist, he is skinny looking for his height and just overall a small kid.

But they dont expire right? So I could get one and if he is too small just save it for when he fits.... it will be nice for traveling when he is bigger (if the kid ever grows!)

That's right, they don't expire.

If it doesn't fit I'd probably choose a Harmony LiteRider if you go with a backless, they tend to fit kids who are really too small for boosters really well. And of course you'd be RIGHT next to him to make sure he doesn't wiggle. Is a booster really a good choice for a 3 year old? Never. On a bus, is it really that much of an issue? No. It's more of a comfort measure than a safety measure in this situation.

After skiing all day, he is pretty much asleep sitting up on the bus, and he isnt a wiggler anyway.

One of the reasons I was thinking of getting a RSTV over a booster is b/c there are a lot of other people with kids on the bus. Ds looks like a small 2yr old (esp with his winter hat and overalls and stuff on). I kinda feel like it 'looks bad' for me to be putting a tiny kid in a booster if you know what I mean, where the RSTV at least looks like a harness and more appropriate for a toddler. Plus the vest would be easier to carry around. Of course I'll be the only one on the bus with ANY sort of restraint beyond the seatbelt though.

For the price though, I might just pick one up when we are in Reno tomorow to use until I can get a deal on a RSTV (I dont have the $ for one right now anyway, I just paid for another radian), I could always donate it if the RSTV ends up working. He is at least within the height limit for the harmony.

I wish he would grow just a tiny bit! If he were 30lbs this would be easier!