My perfect petite booster rider...

My DD is 4 and 40lbs (has been 40lbs consistently for several months now since about the time she turned 4). I got her a TB to begin booster training. Her first ride was out of unplanned necessity. She rode great in it, was very proud of herself too. After breaking the ice w/ her first booster ride, I started letting her ride in it sometimes, on very short trips on 25mph roads, or if she was wearing a poofy dress. lol those are a pain, come on... She started asking if she could ride in it more so I started using it a little more frequently. Then my mom was visiting so we put DD's radian in her car (lap belts only in the back & no TA) and she got to ride in the booster when we took mine, rather than move the radian a lot. We went on the higher speed roads, for longer distances. She has sat and behaved PERFECTLY every time. She even fell asleep once and still was fine.

I have to say... I was really hoping she would do badly so I could be like, "See, this is why I don't let you ride in it all the time." But she does great! Everything I ever read about boostering on here was that 4 year olds aren't old enough to "behave" in a booster & I am so surprised that she does so well. I'm not going to booster her full time for quite a while yet because it's just more convenient to harness at this point! But just thought I'd share.

I am wondering, though, if all these milestones are met (belt fits great, she's 4, she's 40lbs, she sits still and doesn't wiggle around or dive for toys) is it now an option to booster full time? (Like I said earlier, I'm not planning on it bc it's still easier for our family to harness, but hypothetically...)

mamakc said:

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I have to say... I was really hoping she would do badly so I could be like, "See, this is why I don't let you ride in it all the time." But she does great! Everything I ever read about boostering on here was that 4 year olds aren't old enough to "behave" in a booster & I am so surprised that she does so well. I'm not going to booster her full time for quite a while yet because it's just more convenient to harness at this point! But just thought I'd share.

I am wondering, though, if all these milestones are met (belt fits great, she's 4, she's 40lbs, she sits still and doesn't wiggle around or dive for toys) is it now an option to booster full time? (Like I said earlier, I'm not planning on it bc it's still easier for our family to harness, but hypothetically...)

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First, it isn't that 4 year olds aren't old enough to "behave" it is that MOST aren't mature enough to "behave" and ride correctly everytime. :twocents:

Second, IMHO, there are WORSE things you can do, but meh... I'm having a hard time FFing my 3y4m child... :duck:

And really, it isn't hypothetical if you're doing it.

The full time part is what is hypothetical.

It all depends on the kid. MOST 4 year olds aren't mature enough to stay sitting correctly in a booster 100% of the time. There are some that are....but IME, the majority aren't ready. My now 5.5 year old has been riding in a booster part time since she turned 5. I have no doubt she would have done fine when she was 4...especially once she was 4.5. On the other hand, my just turned 7 year old is currently in a harness because she could not stay sitting correctly in her booster. I told her we'd try her in a booster again once she turned 7, but she hasn't mentioned it again. Once she does, I'll try again and I think she'll probably do well, but it took her until 7 to get to that point...

But, to answer the question, if a kid is 4 year old, 40 lbs, the seat belt fits well in the booster, and they stay sitting correctly 100% of the time, even when asleep, then yes, boostering full time would be an option if the parent chose to do that. My personal minimum for full time boostering is 6 years, but I really don't have a good reason... Just my personal feelings.

Totally depends on the kid, if she fits well and sits well and stays sitting correctly? I see no reason not to use the booster for other people's cars or in situations where moving her carseat is an issue. I am hoping to RF my oldest to 4.5 or 5 and then booster him but we will see what he does growth wise.

I don't think that most 4yos aren't mature enough to ride in a booster, but I do think most 4yo go through phases where they turn into alien creatures from Mars at the drop of a hat and their booster maturity goes right out the window the instant that happens. They can be great for months, then WHAM, 3 weeks of trying to figure out where your sweet cooperative kid went.

your daughter is the exception, not the rule... she's mature for her age, plain and simple... which is GREAT... this means you won't have to worry about how she'll do on emergency situations or, as she gets older, when it's a spare seat. I totally get what you mean about the poofy dresses... I'd probably use it those times, too.

My son is 4 and does beautifully in his booster every time he rides in it. In the end I gave him the choice between the booster, the frontier or the radian, he chose the frontier, because its comfy.

I wouldn't have any issues boostering him full time if he had chosen the booster but he didn't.

The booster lives in my Mums car & he uses it at least once a week, the radian is in dh's car & is his (& my) least favourite seat.

I will booster him full time at 5, I think it will be easier for school & I'm pretty sure he will have out grown the frontier by then, if he out grows the frontier before 5 I will happily booster him full time in my car.

safeinthecar said:

I don't think that most 4yos aren't mature enough to ride in a booster, but I do think most 4yo go through phases where they turn into alien creatures from Mars at the drop of a hat and their booster maturity goes right out the window the instant that happens. They can be great for months, then WHAM, 3 weeks of trying to figure out where your sweet cooperative kid went.

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OMG, yeah.
My DS is pretty big. He is almost 5.5 and has been boostered full time for a while now due to his size. Actually, I realized yesterday that his Turbo is on the highest setting. Anyway, when we started out at 4 & 54 pounds, he was great, a dream, the most well behaved perfect angel.
But a few days ago, I installed a RN in my car and made him use it over the top slots because I was losing. my. mind. He would not sit still in the car longer than a blink. And even he wanted a harnessed seat again so I wouldn't have to yell back at him to remind him sit up straight every 45 seconds.

mamakc said:

I am wondering, though, if all these milestones are met (belt fits great, she's 4, she's 40lbs, she sits still and doesn't wiggle around or dive for toys) is it now an option to booster full time?

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Is it an option? Sure.
But if a harness is available that everyone is happy with, I would store the booster in a closet for at least another year. 4 & 40 is a fine minimum if a harnessed option isn't easily / readily available.

*DS was still within the Radian weight + height limits. It is the only seat that allows forward facing use over the top slots.

My twins turn 4 next month. I bought a ProBooster to use for the larger twin as a spare seat in dh's truck (gets used MAYBE 1x a month) after his sister goes FF (in Aug) and I have to use his Maestro for her. I tried him in it 1x just to check fit, and he fits great and loves it. He asked for his booster seat for several days after it arrived and he has finally quit asking for it (he rides in a FR85)! I wouldn't use a booster f/t until he's over 5 at least...but the rare times he needs it, I'm OK with him in a booster. If he'll sleep, I want him in a harness to help keep him in position.

I had one of the freak kids who sat perfect at 4. Unfortunately she was well under 30 lbs but as soon as she hit 30 lbs at around 4 1/2 we started occasional uses. She did awesome and has never need a reminder. By the time she was 5 she was in a booster most of the time. By 5 years and like 3 months it was full time. I never had to "train" her. But she's super tall and had outgrown most seats we had

Sophia on the other hand is 4. There is NO way. We tried a few times when E was in the hospital but it sounds like it didn't go so well (i wasn't there)

Every kid is different!

We are in a similar situation. DD is 4.5, but only 37 lbs. However, she fits the weight requirements for the booster we have (Turbobooster) and gets a great fit with it. She has great booster behavior.

That said, we have used it all of 3 times. I finally decided that I would rather follow the AAP guidelines and keep her harnessed to the limits of her seat. We have a Complete Air and EFTA (50 lb. limit on both) that will keep her harnessed for awhile longer.

However, DS is rapidly outgrowing the Roundabout RFing by height, so I may need to pass the EFTA down to him at some point before DD outgrows it. When that happens, I'll reevaluate whether DD will use the Turbobooster, or whether I'll get her another harnessed seat. I'm hoping she'll be closer to 5 and 40 lbs. by the time we need to make that decision, but DS only has about an inch of torso growth until he reaches the limits of the Roundabout, so who knows?

I'm rambling, but I guess the upshot is that if you have harnessed seats that fit, I would keep your DD harnessed. At age 5, perhaps you could revisit the issue.