Question Which is safer when both do not fit appropriately?

This is a long story, but I will try and keep it short (which is impossible).

I have a 2nd cousin (or is it called a first cousin once removed?) who 4 years old and 11 months, 37 inches tall, at 26 pounds. (I know she is tiny, but boy does she have a lot of energy). She is currently riding in a forward facing 5 point harness car seat, but the harness straps are just slightly below her shoulders. I know that while forward facing, they are suppose to be at or above. Well, anyhow, at first when she turned 4, her mom put her in a high-back booster seat and I did not think anything of it until I read about how booster seats were inappropriate restraints for children under 40 pounds. I told my cousin over a period of 3 weeks about how booster seats were inappropriate for any child under 40 pounds, but she wouldn't listen and she would never go out and buy one.

The booster fit her perfectly and she is one of those rare children who can sit in it without leaning over, etc; however, the booster was rated for use at 30 pounds with the back and at 38 inches of height.

I have tried installing the 5 point harness car seat with latch which provided an absolutely terrible fit. The seat belt installation provided a marginal fit, but it still tends to move more than an inch. I do use the top tether though and basically hope for the best (which is a terrible strategy).

Well, anyhow, I being a teenager, had to nag MY parents into getting a 5 point harness because her mom wouldn't. My parents would only purchase the cheapest one available which was Cosco brand.

Which is safer? Having a car seat with a marginal fit and the harness straps slightly below her shoulders or using the high back booster that she is 4 pounds too light for and an inch too short. I am at complete lost. I know she is not my kid, but I would like to know which one would let her have the best chance of survival in an accident.

HI, welcome to car-seat.org

Kudos to you for being concerned enough to try to find the safest option for your little cousin.

I, unfortunately, can't answer your specific question. But I am bumping this up so someone with more experience will see your question.

So she was riding in a cosco scenera and her shoulders were over the top slots correct? So her parents bought her a high back booster seat that is only used with a lap shoulder belt or is it one that also has an internal harness and can be used either way?
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That's a tough one. Neither option is safe.

The question is less about "which one is better" but "which one is worse."

With the booster at her size, she's at risk for being ejected from the seat belt, either partially or totally. She's also at risk for abdominal injuries from the lap belt not fitting across her lap properly, even if she doesn't get ejected.

With the car seat with straps below her shoulders, she is at risk for having the straps press down on her shoulders in an accident and causing the spinal column to compress. This could cause compression fractures along her vertebrae.

If I had to guess, I would guess that being ejected would be a bigger risk. I don't want to make light of the risk of compression injuries, though. I have two compression fractures in my spine from a car accident and they were very painful for many years. Compression fractures never fully heal. But given a choice between that and the types of injuries that can come from being ejected from a seat belt, I'll take the compression fractures. Since she is so light, one can hope that maybe the pressure on her spine in a moderate accident might not be too bad. The worse the accident, the worse the injury, though.

If I really had to choose the "lesser of two evils" here I would choose the harnessed seat until she hits 30 lbs and is tall enough for the booster seat. I really hate to see kids under 40 lbs in boosters, ever, but I also hate to see kids in outgrown car seats.

The best seat for her would probably be an Evenflo Maestro. Diapers.com has had them on sale recently for under $65, I think. Is there any chance you could find a way to get her one?

It sounds to me like you already have the makings of a good Child Passenger Safety Technician. You can take the class once you turn 18, if you're not there yet. Before then, you might be able to volunteer with your local Safe Kids coalition and help make other children safer in cars. You're never too young to learn about passenger safety. I was 19 when I got in that accident that caused my spinal injuries I mentioned earlier. My son was 3 months old at the time. He is almost 18 now thanks to the car seat he was riding in; he never could have survived that kind of accident without a car seat. I didn't know a lot about car seats back then, but thankfully I did already care enough to make sure my child was as well restrained as I knew how to make him.

That is a tough one, I guess I'd really be hoping she'd hit a growth spurt. Maybe you could check with local agencies to see if her mom could take her to a seat check where she could get a new seat? My local safe kids chapters give out Evenflo Maestros now, which have pretty high harness slots. I also wanted to say how great it is that you are so concerned and are already educating yourself at such a young age. That's absolutely awesome.

Almost 5 and only 26 lbs? Most likely that isn't correct. I'd start by weighing her on a different scale and take it from there. :twocents:

Kecia said:

Almost 5 and only 26 lbs? Most likely that isn't correct. I'd start by weighing her on a different scale and take it from there. :twocents:

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At 37" that isn't unheard of. J is 37" and 28 lbs. E was 28 lbs at almsot 5 and like 42". My nieces were never 30 lbs until age 6.

25-30 lbs seems about right for a 37" child. That's pretty short

A child who is almost 5 and is 26 lbs is below the 3rd percentile for weight. I certainly understand that there are some kids who are above or below the charts but IME it's much more likely that the parent or caregiver doesn't have an accurate weight. In this case, it seems prudent to suggest double checking the child's weight before offering opinions or making recommendations.

Kecia said:

A child who is almost 5 and is 26 lbs is below the 3rd percentile for weight. I certainly understand that there are some kids who are above or below the charts but IME it's much more likely that the parent or caregiver doesn't have an accurate weight. In this case, it seems prudent to suggest double checking the child's weight before offering opinions or making recommendations.

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She is approximately the same height and weight as my 3 yr old. Somewhat thinner though. I see no reason not to reweigh her, but I think it's pretty likely she's under 30 lbs.

She is 2 pounds less than my DD and if it is a cosco highback harness booster I don't know why she wount fit in it, my GD use one until she was 41 pounds and she was 6 y/o, if it is a cosco scenera with that size she fits by the book, my DD fit in a scenera and she wasn't in the top slot, recheck her size and if she is really using the top slot of her seat.

lourdes said:

She is 2 pounds less than my DD and if it is a cosco highback harness booster I don't know why she wount fit in it, my GD use one until she was 41 pounds and she was 6 y/o, if it is a cosco scenera with that size she fits by the book, my DD fit in a scenera and she wasn't in the top slot, recheck her size and if she is really using the top slot of her seat.

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My 21 month old son is on the top slots with less than an inch to grow. I doubt a 6 yr old would fit in one.

Jessica61624 said:

My 21 month old son is on the top slots with less than an inch to grow. I doubt a 6 yr old would fit in one.

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My goddaughter did, in a cosco harness booster. She was 41 pounds the last day the she use it and the harness was at level with her shoulder

lourdes said:

My goddaughter did, in a cosco harness booster. She was 41 pounds the last day the she use it and the harness was at level with her shoulder

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Well I hate to tell you but your gd is either really, really small or you measured wrong. It is not at all unusual for the average sized 2yo to outgrow a cosco seat. I know my kids are big but the stats she's using my average 2yo is bigger than her, which which while not impossible, it's impropable unless she's got a medical condition.
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lourdes said:

My goddaughter did, in a cosco harness booster. She was 41 pounds the last day the she use it and the harness was at level with her shoulder

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Then she has an extremely short torso. The Cosco highbacked booster is the shorter than ALL other combination seats and almost all convertibles (I think only the Coccoro and ComfortSport are shorter). An average 3yo will not fit in it, let alone a 6yo. If your goddaughter fit, she is an exception.

One of my DBKs is the same size as the OP's (I've mentioned her brother on here before). The brother just outgrew the Scenera. He's 28lbs and MAYBE 40 inches. He'll be 6 in January. His sister is tinker than he is, will be 5 in December I think. Is 25lbs and still has about an inch in her Scenera. I don't know her height but she's about an inch taller than my DS.

While the OP could have mis-weighed the child in question, the height "matches" the weight to me.

carseatcoach said:

Then she has an extremely short torso. The Cosco highbacked booster is the shorter than ALL other combination seats and almost all convertibles (I think only the Coccoro and ComfortSport are shorter). An average 3yo will not fit in it, let alone a 6yo. If your goddaughter fit, she is an exception.

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Depending on the case, 2 of my church kids are newly 5 and 3 and they still fit in the harness of the Cosco Highback Booster. The 5 yr old is average torsored with long legs and she still has an inch in that. The 3 yr old is long torsored and she has the same amount. I'm getting both of them Maestroes soon but as of now they both fit in it just fine. So depending on the case.

On my faithful sidekick Don't text and drive... It may save a life!

mominabigtruck said:

Well I hate to tell you but your gd is either really, really small or you measured wrong. It is not at all unusual for the average sized 2yo to outgrow a cosco seat. I know my kids are big but the stats she's using my average 2yo is bigger than her, which which while not impossible, it's impropable unless she's got a medical condition.
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I did measured her right, she is the smallest of her class, her parents are not tall at all, she doesn't have any medical condition, they are big people, average people and the they are small or short people and that doesn't have to be abnormal, it depends on her parents size, her race, we are Hispanics are usually Hispanics are not big, so it can be a lot of things and not a medical condition....

Okay, but it's not right to assume an *average* 6yo will fit in a seat that the smallest kid in the class fits in.

carseatcoach said:

Okay, but it's not right to assume an *average* 6yo will fit in a seat that the smallest kid in the class fits in.

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I know but the OP is not describing an average size kid, that's why I include my GD example, with the descriptions that the OP is giving her cousin should fit in both Cosco car seats

But this is my problem, she's outgrown it heightwise but is only 26lbs. Lourdes is talking about a kid that was 40lbs just outgrowing the harness which means they're small to average weight with a very short torso. A 26lb child that has outgrown it by height has to be just skin and bones. I'm trying to picture this child and I just can't unless there is something else going on. I mean really, we're talking about a 5 yo that is the size of my 2yo, actually a bit smaller.
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