Is a booster safe for tiny 6 year old

U

Unregistered

Guest

• Jun 20, 2007

• #1

Hello I am new to this board and am hoping I can get some much needed advice. I have a daughter who just turned 6 a few days ago. She is extremely thin and only weights about 28lbs fully clothed and is 45.5 inches. We currently have 2 regents for her one in my car one in dh car. She will be starting grade one in september and me and another mom will be carpooling 3 days a week. She will drop off and I will be picking up. My husband and I are thinking of getting dd a booster to use because putting a regent in the carpool moms car is not an option she doesnt have enough space in her vehicle and she would need to leave the regent at school with my daughter. We recently tried dd in her cousins parkaway for a test ride and she sat great in it. I would be buying a Compass B510 booster though because it does fold and you can buy a carry case so it would be really easy for the other mom to drop the seat off at school with my daughter. I know most boosters say 40lb min but my dd is 6 and average height so I figure if we go by weight dd wont be able to use a booster till 10. So what do you all think is it safe to have my daughter sit in a booster as a spare seat it would be no more than 30 minutes a week she would be in it and she will still always be harnessed in our cars.

 

scatterbunny

New member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #2

No, because there are no boosters that allow a child under 30 pounds to use them.

What vehicle does the carpool mom drive (year, make and model)? What other kids/seats does she have in the vehicle?

Are you POSITIVE she's just 28 pounds?

 

Morganthe

New member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #3

Even if she was 30lbs, I would not recommend a Compass for her. They're wider built on the inside and probably would not provide enough side support for her.
If she is 30lbs, Britax and maybe even a Recaro Start might work. They're a little more supportive and narrower.
The Start is used in Europe from 20lbs up in conjunction with an Impact cushion to 40lbs. But you are required to use a top tether with the Start.

just some thoughts.
good luck

 

J

jennsmile

New member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #4

How about a Radia that you just leave in the carpool mom's car? Depending on Torso your daughter might still fit that.

Jenn

 

H

henrietta

Well-known member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #5

I, too, would try out a Radian. They also fold and are narrow. You can order one from www.albeebaby.com for $169 right now.

hths

henrietta

 

G

Gypsy

Senior Community Member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #6

Until she is 30 pounds she simply cannot ride in any booster on the US market.

And that is 30 pounds fully dressed, it's not an arbitrary number, it's a safety requirement.

How tall is she?

 

supercrunch

New member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #7

wow!
and everyone thinks my 39 lbs 45.5" dd is a stringbean

A booster just isn't an option at that weight.
I would check how much room she would have left in a Graco Cargo or Evenflo Chase. You should be able to find either at a Babies R Us or Target.

If she is too tall, the Radian would be the best option.

 

ThreeBeans

New member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #8

As everyone else said, nope, it's not an option.

 

Connor's Mom

New member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #9

Even if it where OK by law to use a booster, I don't think that I would feel comfortable placing a child with her weight/height proportions in a booster. Being that she is almost half the average weight of a 6 year old when she is fully clothed and at normal height I would think that she would be very fragile. I think that she defiantly needs the 5-point harness and the amount of time that she spends in it a week is of no matter. The other mom is as subject to an accident in that short a distance as anyone else is at any other time. I don't now about others, but I would also think that rear facing would be a better option as well because she is so thin. I guess that I am finding it difficult to picture a child with this weight to height ratio would have much muscle mass either.
I with scatterbunny, I would have to know what the other mom drives and how many other seats have to thought about before I could make a suggestion other than the Radian.

 

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NatenMaddiesMommy

Senior Community Member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #10

I would say go with a Radian b/c it is so narrow and folds up like someone else mentioned. An Apex65 is another option, but they are pretty wide.

 

Suzibeck

Active member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #11

What about the Safeguard Go? I hear it is very easy to install, if the carpool car has LATCH, and it has it's own carry case.

 

skaterbabs

Well-known member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #12

Susan in MI said:

What about the Safeguard Go? I hear it is very easy to install, if the carpool car has LATCH, and it has it's own carry case.

Click to expand...

That's a good idea, as long as there is proper head support.

 

ThreeBeans

New member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #13

The Safeguard Go has a 30 lb minimum.

 

Suzibeck

Active member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #14

ThreeBeans said:

The Safeguard Go has a 30 lb minimum.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I didn't know that! I guess I figured as a ff harnessed seat it probably started at 22#, like most of the others.

 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #15

And I thought Aiden was a stringbean! He's 5 yrs, 35lbs, 44in, 16.5in torso... he's still got 1.5 - 2" of growing room left in his Radian.

I think a Radian would be a great choice for your daughter.

Definitely NO booster... she's no where near big enough.

 

MumtotinyM

New member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #16

Thank you all for your helpful replys. I know I have an extremely small daughter. She did weight about 34lbs but recently got sick and went down to 28lbs she so active that its hard for her to gain weight but Im hoping she will gain some soon the doctor says she healthy though. I will go this weekend with my daughter and she what harness seats might work I will definatly check out the radian. The mom I was going to carpool with has a 2006 Mercedes car Im not sure the exact model. If I can not find a good spare seat I guess I wont be carpooling. Thanks again for all your advice I greatly appreciate it.

Makenzy~6~riding in madison and onyx regents

 

skaterbabs

Well-known member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #17

ThreeBeans said:

The Safeguard Go has a 30 lb minimum.

Click to expand...

I didn't realize that - thanks.

 

scatterbunny

New member

• Jun 20, 2007

• #18

MumtotinyM said:

Thank you all for your helpful replys. I know I have an extremely small daughter. She did weight about 34lbs but recently got sick and went down to 28lbs she so active that its hard for her to gain weight but Im hoping she will gain some soon the doctor says she healthy though. I will go this weekend with my daughter and she what harness seats might work I will definatly check out the radian. The mom I was going to carpool with has a 2006 Mercedes car Im not sure the exact model. If I can not find a good spare seat I guess I wont be carpooling. Thanks again for all your advice I greatly appreciate it.

Makenzy~6~riding in madison and onyx regents

Click to expand...

Can you tell us her torso height? Sitting against a wall, mark where her shoulders are, where harness straps would be if they were exactly even with her shoulders, then measure and tell us the number. Also, what set of slots is she using on the Regent, and how much space does she have until she is even with those slots (make sure to stick your finger through the cover and feel for the slots in the seat shell; the ones in the cover sometimes don't line up perfectly)?

Knowing her torso height will help us figure out which harnessed seats she'll have any torso room in. The Radian has the tallest top slots other than the Regent and the Safeguard child seat (not the Go). If she's shorter-torsoed, something less expensive like a Graco CarGo or Evenflo Bolero or Generations might work very well. The Recaro Young Sport could also be a contender, since it has very high top slots (taller than the Graco and Evenflo seats, I believe; not sure how it stacks up compared to the Radian), AND it converts to a fabulous belt positioning booster.

 

MumtotinyM

New member

• Jun 21, 2007

• #19

Ok so I measured my daughter this morning and she is 44.5 inchs I made a mistake in my original post and put her at 45.5 inches and she has a 15" torso. I currently have her at the 3rd slots in her regents. So the suggestions I have seen so far are the radian, safegaurd go, and Apex 65. Out of all these seats which is the lightest and easiest to transport.What about just the regular safegaurd seat is it lighter and smaller than the regent.

 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member

• Jun 21, 2007

• #20

You have already received wonderful suggestions, so I don't have anything to add. I just noticed that I have the same name as your DD and it's even almost spelled the same way! Mine is Mackenzy. It's rare to see it spelled with a Y at the end!