What do you mean when you say "Booster Training"

mish

New member
Most people on here recommend booster training before a child sits in one full time. I think though that people have different ideas of what training is. If it is very extensive, my opinion is that the child isn't ready.

When I think of booster training I think of a few car rides where the parent can pay attention to how well the kid is doing. Maybe giving them some reminders about how to sit properly and not move around too much. If it takes more than that they might not be ready.

So what do you think?
 
ADS

Lea_Ontario

Well-known member
For Bug, it was basically just allowing her to use a booster in our secondary vehicle. Short rides, fairly infrequently, and where we could really just pay attention to make sure she was doing okay.

She was fine, and rides in a booster in that car all the time now.
But she's still in a harness in the van, because she still fits in it, and I prefer the harness through the winter.

For Boo though - it was VERY different.
He was extremely close to outgrowing his harnessed seat.
We picked up a booster, put it in the van beside his regular seat - and if he was fooling around or out of position, he went back into his regular seat.
Took a long time before he was sitting well enough in the booster for us to feel safe putting it into the car for him.
We eventually bought a booster for the van too, because we had no other choice with his torso height outgrowing the Nauti.

BUT - Boo has Asperger's Syndrome, and changing the way we do something (ie - ride in the car) takes a long time for him to accept / accomodate / get used to.
 

cookie123

New member
I agree. Give them a talk about their responsibility. Put them in the booster for a few short rides where you can teach them what's what. If after that they don't comply, it's likely they're not ready.
 

mish

New member
For Bug, it was basically just allowing her to use a booster in our secondary vehicle. Short rides, fairly infrequently, and where we could really just pay attention to make sure she was doing okay.

She was fine, and rides in a booster in that car all the time now.
But she's still in a harness in the van, because she still fits in it, and I prefer the harness through the winter.

For Boo though - it was VERY different.
He was extremely close to outgrowing his harnessed seat.
We picked up a booster, put it in the van beside his regular seat - and if he was fooling around or out of position, he went back into his regular seat.
Took a long time before he was sitting well enough in the booster for us to feel safe putting it into the car for him.
We eventually bought a booster for the van too, because we had no other choice with his torso height outgrowing the Nauti.

BUT - Boo has Asperger's Syndrome, and changing the way we do something (ie - ride in the car) takes a long time for him to accept / accomodate / get used to.

Oh, I can see how in some situations it would be more difficult. iI was thinking for an average kid without any kind of disability(I don't know how else to say that, I hope it wasn't offensive).
 

crunchierthanthou

New member
I agree. I've never been a fan of the term. For most kids, if they aren't ready after the first or second short trip, they aren't ready at all. Ds did great from the very first ride. That's not to say he never leaned to the side to play with his sister, or forward pick up a toy, but one little reminder for each, and he was back to staying in position.
 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member
When I think of booster training I think of a few car rides where the parent can pay attention to how well the kid is doing. Maybe giving them some reminders about how to sit properly and not move around too much. If it takes more than that they might not be ready.

So what do you think?

This is my thought, as well. It's having an extra person in the car to keep an eye on the kid and remind them to stay in position. M rides in her Turbo in grandma's car, which we only take when all of us go somewhere, and I never drive to I can watch her and remind her to stop trying to unlock the truck, or turn on the light, or whatever.
 

ConnorsMommy

New member
I agree. I've never been a fan of the term. For most kids, if they aren't ready after the first or second short trip, they aren't ready at all. Ds did great from the very first ride. That's not to say he never leaned to the side to play with his sister, or forward pick up a toy, but one little reminder for each, and he was back to staying in position.

:yeahthat: This is a big reason why I feel my son will be nowhere near being ready to booster train when he turns 4 in a few months. Besides the fact that he doesn't like to sit still, he is still stubborn and has to be told something several times before he will listen. I do not want to have to nag at him the whole ride to keep in the right position. Its just not worth it. Putting a child in a booster is in essence putting the responsibility on the child to keep himself safe (staying in the right position, not putting the belt behind him, etc.) and my son and many others like him are just not ready for that responsibility.

A friend of mine put her barely 30 lb 3 year old in a hbb. I tried talking to her about it and explaining that she should wait until at least 4 years old, but she said it was just easier. She did say that when she first started using the booster she had to keep reminding her to sit on her bottom instead of her knees. To me, that would be a good indication that the child wasn't ready!
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
I'm just going to c&p my main thoughts from the other thread.

I don't buy in to the whole booster training thing. They're either ready or they're not. Expect a few reminders to be needed, but nothing more than that IMO and experience. If they need more than an occasional reminder, than they're just not ready, and I don't believe in having that kind of stress in the car for anyone if it can be avoided. Because whether we think about it regularly or not, it is stress on the child too if they're having difficulty staying in position and facing constant reminders to do something they're struggling to do - and I think it's even harder for "our" kids because they're exposed to such a strong "safety-in-the-car" attitude both directly from us and in the household in general, that they understand the importance and probably feel more stress than other kids if they have difficulty with staying in position. (our meaning techs and c-s.org parents and anyone else who is careful and proactive with car safety.)

So yeah, short talk - importance of keeping the seatbelt in the right place and not moving around. Look back periodically the first couple trips and give gentle reminders if needed, but if you're reminding regularly and repeatedly, then they're not ready.
 

fyrfightermomma

New member
I guess I never really "trained" Evelyn. I told her the rules and we took a few scattered rides when it was just us to try. SHe did fine and that was that. We used it as needed after that


So to me, booster training means trying it out a few times and if they can do it, they can use it. If they can't do it, then back in a harness for a while. I don't have time or energy for constant reminders or to be watching her. The first time we tried it I had to tell her like 3 times and that was it. She went back in a harness. The 2nd time I don't think I told her at all, so she could use the booster.
 

rodentranger

New member
I totally agree. I bought a hb TB for ODS as an emergency backup. I let him use it once on the way home from school just to see how he did. HE was freaked OUT! He was terrified! He still needs the "embrace" of the harness. HE flat out told me, "Mom. I'm scared. This is scary. I am NOT safe. I want you to pull over and let me ride in my red seat." The belt fit really well. It just didn't feel right to him-I imagine it would be similar to me trying to ride without a belt at all. I'm not going to push him-the TB went back to DH's car as the "OMG, the world is crashing around us and the other seats are crashed/lost/unavailable and DH has to transport the kids RIGHT NOW" emergency seat.
 

Chely7425

New member
T1 has another 1.5 years before I would consider letting him ride in a booster an OMG emergency seat (he will be 3 in a few months) but we may have to start booster usage sooner rather than later. He has a ridiculous long torso and giant head. Anyway, when he gets close to outgrowing the harness we will start using a booster on short rides with 2 adults in the car. He is a very mature kid (for an almost 3 year old) and is all about the "rules". But at the same time.. I want him to have a chance to get used to it and the feel of it before he uses a booster full time.
 

tarynsmum

Senior Community Member
For me, the main reason for pulling out the booster for DD was to know how to sit properly, and how the belt should go. I was thinking about the handful of times she might need picked up from school from someone who's not me or DH (like if we're sick, or something happens, etc), or if she were to have a playdate after school some day.

I've been letting her ride in the Turbo to and from school for the past few weeks (literally a 3 minute drive, lol) and a couple trips to gymnastics (15 minute drive). I pretend like I'm... not me, I guess :eek: and I buckle her in. Sometimes I do it right, sometimes I do it intentionally wrong (over the armrest, belt not through the belt guide, belt twisted, etc), and then I ask her if it's right or not. Usually she gets it right off, the one thing getting her in the under the armrest part (usually because her arm's in the way :rolleyes:).

She's so funny, "the belt's flat on my lap, and not my belly, it's smooth over my body and through the red thing" :ROTFLMAO:

For me, it's more training her to double check the adult, I guess, on buckling properly. It's less the drive and more the parking lot, lol. She's naturally not wiggly, and sits fine - I've only had to remind her a couple times to not lean over DS who's right next to her.

I plan on putting her back in a harness for a while and then pulling the booster back out when she's 40lbs consistently (she hovers around 36 now).
 

Baylor

New member
I guess when I came here was the first time I heard it too. I never thought about it. I just waited until he outgrew his harness and told him this was the way he had to sit. That was it. Although this kid likes to do things by the book. My little one I am sure will not be so easy.
 

scatterbunny

New member
I'm someone who does buy into the "booster training" idea. :) My daughter definitely needed a lengthy process to learn to sit properly in a booster at all times. We started with short trips to the corner market, about 3 minutes in each direction. Longer trips didn't work; she'd do fine for awhile, then get wiggly and lean out of position, or she'd fall asleep and slump. Back then, we made a number of quick trips around town, but also a number of longer road trips (1.5-2.5 hours each direction). So, we would "booster train" for some of the shorter trips around town in the secondary vehicle, and use a harnessed seat for longer trips and road trips-basically, anytime we'd be in the car longer than a few minutes. Gradually dd became able to handle the longer trips in the booster. She went into a booster full-time shortly after her 6th birthday, after roughly 2 years of using a booster on occasion. For us, it was essential for her to be able to use a booster at least for short trips because she was so big for her age that we had a Britax Husky/Regent seat, which did not install well (or at all) in some of the secondary vehicles (dad's and friends) she rode in.

For reasons like mine, I think some kids really do need booster training-using a booster for very short rides at first, gradually working up to longer rides. My daughter was a perfect angel in the booster at first, because of the novelty of the whole thing. She was excited to be granted this extra freedom. However, very quickly the novelty wore off, and she got fidgety when she got bored. It took a long time, with repeated practice, for her to gain control of herself enough to contain that fidgety, bored energy.

Some kids absolutely "get it" when you explain the responsibility and give a few reminders. I don't think it means the booster is inappropriate for any circumstances if the child can't handle the freedom of movement the booster allows on each and every trip, including long road trips. Just my own experience with my admittedly quirky child, though, YMMV. :cool:
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
ditto to what Jenny just said.

Also, I think it's not as much "training"... as it is practice.

It's practice for them to learn how to sit still in something that just does not hold them still the way a harness does, practice for them to not just go limp and let the harness do the job of keeping them from slouching, slumping, etc.

Also, it's practice not to lean over for something that is dropped, now that they could if they wanted to, but aren't supposed to.

It's practice in knowing how to buckle, how the seatbelt should look and be, no matter who is driving, things like that.
 

stephcali

New member
So I'm glad I found this thread, I've been reading up on booster training (or "practice") lately since my DD1 just turned 4. I must admit that I am quite nervous about the whole booster idea, but since she is 48lbs and about 44" tall (she's on the 2nd to last notch of her FR80, probably will move up to the last one within the next 3-4 months) I think we'd better start soon.

So what would be a good booster for this purpose? Are some boosters are easier to sit in than others? I know without a doubt that she is not ready for a booster full-time, she is very very wiggly, but she does like to make sure she is safe in the car so that is a good thing.

I think I've talked myself into the fact that we need to get a FR85 soon (probably when DD2 turns FF). But a full-time booster will probably not be too far off after that.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
while I wouldn't even have her using it as a spare seat long-term until she hits the last slots on the frontier (or outgrows her current spare), I would definitely take the time to get her familiar with boosters... I'm one who thinks that, as soon as the possibility of a child HAVING to ride in one due to an emergency arises, the kid should be booster trained (even if they never ride in one again for a year or longer)

I like the Graco Turbo or Evenflo Big Kid or Harmony Dreamtime (though this is the shortest booster) for booster training... they have easy to navigate buckling, they're inexpensive, lightweight (so not a hassle to buy or store), and they fit most kids well.

which one will depend on your vehicle.

I'd probably just pop it in the spare vehicle.

If you don't have a spare vehicle, I'd pop it in the main vehicle for short trips, and put her harnessed seat back in for longer trips.

Once she has the booster down, you can just leave the harnessed seat in there until you have to switch (but the frontier makes SUCH a great booster, I'd be using that as her booster unless one of her siblings needs to inherit it as a harnessed seat).
 

tiggercat

New member
I think for some kids, it is as simple as putting them in a booster, explaining booster rules and doing a few test rides. My eldest did great in a booster and it didn't take long to feel comfortable with him using it fulltime. For others (like my current 5.5 yr old) it seems to take practice and effort. She rides perfectly in a booster for short rides with no one else in the car, but as soon as you add a living distraction (a.k.a brother) or drive for more than 15/20 mins, she just can't do it. She is one that I think will need to practice for a while, and since she is too big for standard (read affordable) CRS, we do use boosters in certain circumstances where we feel she is able to sit appropriately and safely. I don't think she is unsafe in a booster, but she is still definitely "in training" and I wouldn't chose to use a booster for her on a long trip or in a full car. I feel like if I don't actively teach her, we will be in trouble when she outgrows her harnessed seats (one or two good growth spurts away) and still can't ride safely in a booster.
 

mimieliza

New member
I view it more as a booster trial - put the kid in, explain the rules and hit the road for a few short drives. If they can't stay put, they aren't ready, and it's back to the harnessed seat for a few months.
 

stephcali

New member
while I wouldn't even have her using it as a spare seat long-term until she hits the last slots on the frontier (or outgrows her current spare), I would definitely take the time to get her familiar with boosters... I'm one who thinks that, as soon as the possibility of a child HAVING to ride in one due to an emergency arises, the kid should be booster trained (even if they never ride in one again for a year or longer)

Thanks for your reply. The problem is that the only other car seat we have right now that she fits in is the XTSL, which is being used by DD2 since that is the only seat she can RF in. It is very frustrating (and expensive!) to have big kids! So that is really why I have been leaning toward getting her a booster for emergencies only. We do have a 2nd car so I may just let her ride in it for a few short trips and then leave it as our back up until she has fully outgrown everything else.

I'm thinking that I'll get a FR85 this summer and then DD1 will use that until she outgrows it and then she'll use the FR80 as a booster full-time and DD2 will get the FR85. Luckily we have an Odyssey and only 3 kids (for now) so we do have plenty of room for the time being.

I saw that Target has the Turboboosters on sale this week for $35 so I may just pick one up and have it for when I get enough courage to try her out on a short trip (probably just around the block ;))
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,655
Messages
2,196,895
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top