How do you talk to your 5yo about boosters?

Athena

Well-known member
I've been looking at boosters as an occasional/short distance seat for my 5yo. But I have not actually talked to her about it yet. :eek: -- Any advice? How do you talk to them about the added responsibility without it being scary? How do you know if they're ready? Thanks!!!
 
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babyherder

Well-known member
I keep it simple with the babysitting kids. I put them in the booster and remind them of how the belt is supposed to fit. The shoulder belt goes over your shoulder and it must stay on your shoulder. You cannot move out of it because then you will not be safe. End of story. Nothing big and scary. I have occasionally corrected slouching but moving out of the shoulder belt has been a more common issue in my car.
 

Dmcj13

New member
My DD brought it up first. Every time she saw a booster at the store or in someone else's car, she asked when she would be ready for one. We told her that once she was over 5, over 40 pounds, and showing responsibility around the house by not wining, not fighting with her brothers and helping when asked we would let her try the Nauti in booster mode. When that time came, we showed her how the belt should fit, and reminded her not to move the belt or lean out of position. She did really great and we have tried about 5 times. We will be picking up a tb really soon for her to use in her dad's/ grandparent cars.
 

ginny4

New member
whenever my DS gets in a booster (its only occcasionally). i just remind him the belt stays just like THIS! while laying my hands on his shoulder. now you are safe! & give him a smooch. he loves the smooch part best. i've been doing that since he was an infant whenever i got him in the car. lol
 

honeydew

Active member
My 5 year old nephew moved to a booster about a month ago. I explained that he needed to sit still, not move the shoulder belt and I showed him where the lap and shoulder belts should rest on his body. I saved the scary stuff for his mom. :p

Since moving to the booster, he's very concerned about adults wearing their seatbelts and making sure we're all buckled all the time. It's very cute.
 

VoodooChile

New member
I pretty much showed dd how the seat belt was supposed to be on her body, and showed her the harness to her Frontier, so she knew it could easily be put back into her seat if she didn't sit properly.
 

jennzee

Active member
Most kids like having an important job to do....when my oldest switched to a booster (and now that my younger two soon will), I explained it in such a way that I was giving him a big responsibility (which I really was) to make sure that he stayed safe in the car. I explained that his old seat was designed to do all the work for him once he was buckled in, but he is now old enough to do a good share of that work himself. I didn't feel it necessary to use scare tactics of what will happen if he doesn't follow the rules, just simply what his jobs were to make sure that he was safe in a booster seat. He really took it seriously and did a pretty good job of performing his "job"with minimal reminders (once he was mature enough....we had to go back to the harness for a short period of time when he was unable to follow-through with sitting properly in the booster).
 

cmm7

New member
I use the reminder of "back, tight and right." This means that the child is:

Sitting all the way BACK in the seat.
The seatbelt is pulled TIGHT across her thighs and there is no slack in shoulder belt.
The child stays sitting RIGHT the whole time, keeping the belts where they belong.

I found having a little saying was easy to correct anything, or for just a general reminder now and then. After explaining it a couple of times I could easily just say, "back, tight, and right," and the kiddo will have an easy reminder as to how she needs to sit.
 

jennzee

Active member
cmm7 said:
I use the reminder of "back, tight and right." This means that the child is:

Sitting all the way BACK in the seat.
The seatbelt is pulled TIGHT across her thighs and there is no slack in shoulder belt.
The child stays sitting RIGHT the whole time, keeping the belts where they belong.

I found having a little saying was easy to correct anything, or for just a general reminder now and then. After explaining it a couple of times I could easily just say, "back, tight, and right," and the kiddo will have an easy reminder as to how she needs to sit.

Great idea!
 

Athena

Well-known member
Thank you for the great responses! You've given me a lot of good ideas to work with. I like how you've avoided making it scary, made it easy to remember, and the idea of making them feel important by their important job. Of course, first I'll have to explain to her what a booster is. :D I hear about all these kids asking to be in a booster, whereas mine hasn't even noticed them. It's even possible she'll decide she prefers being harnessed and doesn't want to ride in a booster.
 

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