Vent Well it is better than it was

yetanotherjen

CPST Instructor
Monday while unloaded the car from our weekend I noticed that our neighbors (we live a town-home so we park literally right next to the neighbor's car) had switched her GN's to backless for her 3.5yr old twin girls. We have talked car seats a few times so I was a bit surprised. I finally sucked it up and sent her a message today letting her know that she legally cannot use the backless booster in her car as Graco states 4 and 40, (and she has low seat backs) and linked her state law as well as many resources stating why they should still be harnessed. She messaged me back and asked if I would help her put the seats back together. Well she just wanted the back on and wants to continue to booster. I asked her if she looked at my links, she did. Blah. I showed her how to put the backs back on and how to feed the belt through the guide since she couldn't figure out what I was talking about.

Oh well she has the info right?
 
ADS

hrice

New member
Why would she spend that much money just to use it as a booster?! You would think people would want to get their money's worth.
 

java

New member
Why? I have a friend who just started using a seat as a booster for her JUST TURNED 4 yo. I get he is of 'legal' age now but I doubt he is of weight (though we don't have that law here). I honestly don't even think the carseat IS a combo seat, I think it is just a carseat. I wish I could post a pic here to ask, but that would break the rules here since the only pics I have are of him in the seat.

Why on earth would you want to booster 3.5 yr olds though? It's sad....when my dd is 3.5 she will still be rfing, years from boostering.
 

lovemy2kidstw

New member
This is the same thing as people who buy a convertible car seat that RF to 40lbs but then turn their 20 something lb 1 yr old FF.?
 

Keeks64

New member
My best friend bought a GN for $50 at Xmas time ( new in box - it was a non compliant clear out for jan 1st)....I showed her how to install , adjust it for her DS & then in Feb she traded her van in on a car & decided the GN was a pain so she busted out a Cars Turbo NBB she had stashed away ( her kid loves cars).....yeah her DS JUST turned 3 end of December, still sleeps in the car , throws tantrums unlike any child I've seen , cannot stay in position etc....she knows WHY a harnesses seat is safer & she knows the ramifications but simply doesn't care :/.....her DS is a chunky thing at 45lbs but he's short & has a short torso so you can imagine the belt fit.....I'm livid & if I didn't value her as a friend I would push it alot farther but she's one of those parents who feels " attacked" at the slightest comment in regards to proper use etc that it would end our friendship so I just pray she doesn't get into an accident & hope she doesn't learn the hard way :(
 

EmmaCPST

CPST Instructor
Did you see the 9news story about the LATCH study yesterday? Kyle Dyer and the other anchor doing the story both kept gushing "omg I was so glad when my kids moved to boosters, soooooo much easier than trying to install a car seat!!!" It was really annoying me. Otherwise the story was actually pretty good and I got two calls today specifically because of it, but that part frustrated me. I think there really is this mindset that boosters are soooooo much easier. Which, ok kinda, but not THAT much.
 

Little Ps Mama

New member
java said:
Why on earth would you want to booster 3.5 yr olds though? It's sad....when my dd is 3.5 she will still be rfing, years from boostering.

My thoughts exactly. I think it's part ignorance, part a desire to push "milestones" and make sure their kids are keeping up with their peers. :(

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yetanotherjen

CPST Instructor
Did you see the 9news story about the LATCH study yesterday? Kyle Dyer and the other anchor doing the story both kept gushing "omg I was so glad when my kids moved to boosters, soooooo much easier than trying to install a car seat!!!" It was really annoying me. Otherwise the story was actually pretty good and I got two calls today specifically because of it, but that part frustrated me. I think there really is this mindset that boosters are soooooo much easier. Which, ok kinda, but not THAT much.

No I missed it, we pretty much never watch the news, I live in a bubble lol! Yeah I think boosters are harder, I feel like I am constantly asking my son (because i can't really see him with out distracting myself) if he is sitting right. Much easier to buckle him in and forget about it!!! I had it out with one of their news anchors a few year ago when the whole grand parent invented car seat story came out....
 

yetanotherjen

CPST Instructor
This is the same thing as people who buy a convertible car seat that RF to 40lbs but then turn their 20 something lb 1 yr old FF.?

Or the people who work out at the fitness center next to my gym that has their maybe 6 month old ffing in a Myride. I called it in and dispatch told me it wasn't a priority. :eek: One of these days I'm going to sneak out and put a CO law brochure on their car
 

EmmaCPST

CPST Instructor
No I missed it, we pretty much never watch the news, I live in a bubble lol! Yeah I think boosters are harder, I feel like I am constantly asking my son (because i can't really see him with out distracting myself) if he is sitting right. Much easier to buckle him in and forget about it!!! I had it out with one of their news anchors a few year ago when the whole grand parent invented car seat story came out....

I only saw it because I got one phone call specifically referencing it first thing this morning and then two of the guys at work mentioned it to me so I finally watched it online - I rarely watch either!

http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=262425
 

Phineasmama

New member
I fail to see how boosters are SO much easier like people always claim :rolleyes: My 5yo can get in and out of a harnessed seat by herself but if she's in a booster I have to buckle it for her!!
 

bubbaray

New member
I do think boosters are easier for kids who are mature enough to sit in them. Not that I think they are easier for 3.5yos. But, for my kids at around age 5, definitely easier

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lovemy2kidstw

New member
yetanotherjen said:
Or the people who work out at the fitness center next to my gym that has their maybe 6 month old ffing in a Myride. I called it in and dispatch told me it wasn't a priority. :eek: One of these days I'm going to sneak out and put a CO law brochure on their car

That is why I won't call and report anyone. In our little town, I'm pretty sure the dispatcher would laugh at me. If a kid is in a seatbelt at all here, it's an accomplishment.

I just don't get people. Another thing that pi$$es me off is seeing kids running all over the backseat but the parents are both bucked up?! WTF!
 

creideamh

Well-known member
I just started babysitting 2 little girls, just turned 4 in March and turning 3 in May. When they drove up (only watched them once so far), I went to the car to watch mom get them out :p and they sit in the 3rd row of some Ford SUV. I watched as mom got back there to unbuckle them from BIG KID SPORTS. :eek::eek::eek::eek: Not only is the 2 y/o illegal via Evenflo, our state law says 3 and under have to be harnessed! WTF! And when I had talked to her previously, she was all, yeah, well, we have a lot of car seats with 3 kids so if you need some for them...
I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND. She has to climb back there to buckle them in anyway, why not harness them???? I haven't brought it up yet... we drove to the playground that day and I harnessed the 4 y/o and RFed the 2 y/o. They were weirded out by it.

Pretty sure my aunt and uncle had L in the same seat at 3, possibly 2 but I think they waited til the minimum on the box. (He's harnessed now at 4... muahahahaha.)

Oh, but at least this is "better" than the 2-3 y/o twins I saw in the park get into their brand new LBB AMPs in their mom's brand new SUV. :rolleyes:
 

aschofield

New member
Boosters are a lot easier for people who's kids travel in more than one car, but can't afford to buy more than one seat. This is the reason why everyone I personally know switched their kids to boosters. Moving a harnessed seat daily is a huge PITA, and moving a NBB takes nothing at all.

I wish carseats were easier to install and move between cars. I know a lot of kids who would be a heck of a lot safer if they were.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
Did you see the 9news story about the LATCH study yesterday? Kyle Dyer and the other anchor doing the story both kept gushing "omg I was so glad when my kids moved to boosters, soooooo much easier than trying to install a car seat!!!" It was really annoying me. Otherwise the story was actually pretty good and I got two calls today specifically because of it, but that part frustrated me. I think there really is this mindset that boosters are soooooo much easier. Which, ok kinda, but not THAT much.

I do think boosters are easier for kids who are mature enough to sit in them. Not that I think they are easier for 3.5yos. But, for my kids at around age 5, definitely easier

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I agree... once they are at least 5 (with Ruthie and Jeffrey it took longer... Damian was one who, as the oldest, got more push into learning to buckle sooner... so for Jeffrey it was 6, Ruthie had the vivo then buckling anything in the cobalt can be a learning curve, so 7 for her... and even so, sometimes in the cobalt she needs an extra hand to keep the buckle stalk still) then it can be easier to install and maybe buckle the kid, but it's still not as easy for peace of mind as a harnessed seat.

Boosters are a lot easier for people who's kids travel in more than one car, but can't afford to buy more than one seat. This is the reason why everyone I personally know switched their kids to boosters. Moving a harnessed seat daily is a huge PITA, and moving a NBB takes nothing at all.

I wish carseats were easier to install and move between cars. I know a lot of kids who would be a heck of a lot safer if they were.

YES... that's why I loved my Britax Marathon... so easy for me to move around... and I loved the latch system once we got vehicles with it because that and a couple other seats were so much easier to switch... but with so many cars burying the anchors, it could be frustrating.

I just don't see how it is so common for it to be SO difficult as what these women were describing... and why not then use the seatbelt to install?
 

tarynsmum

Senior Community Member
I gotta say... DD's boostered because it's easier :eek: We have a Regent that's currently just hanging out in the closet, which she could probably fit in for another year or two... but I'm just not crazy about it. However, SHE'S 6.

Whatever PP said something about pushing, milestones, that's totally it. It absolutely drives me !)#(*$^#*^ crazy. I have a 'friend' that I've had to hide on Facebook because she's constantly posting stuff about her kids doing stuff that, 1) they aren't, or 2) shouldn't be doing anyway (moving to a booster for the hell of it, "standing" but not really, solids because "he's starving" at 3 months old, etc). I just can't handle it. Let your baby be a baby!
 

Athena

Well-known member
OP: Good job keeping them safer. You did what you could do and maybe the rest of the info you provided will eventually sink in with the mom.

I fail to see how boosters are SO much easier like people always claim :rolleyes: My 5yo can get in and out of a harnessed seat by herself but if she's in a booster I have to buckle it for her!!

:yeahthat: I have little interest in boostering my 5 yo. Then again, I also never understood pushing milestones. They grow up too quickly as it is and face too much pressure, so why push them more. I say think about them more than our own egos and let them be kids. :duck:

I do get it being more difficult to move harnessed seats, but I don't let my kids ride with random people, so that solves that problem for the most part. On top of that, I'd prefer a latchable booster (so some installation involved) and if you do it right, you still have to make sure the fit is good in each of those vehicles, right?, and that your kid will sit properly, so I'm quickly wondering how boosters are easier. But I do get that I am very lucky to have the luxury of being able to drive my kids myself most of the time and not everyone does. So for some people, boostering may be what they need to do and may be safer than having someone else poorly install their harnessed seat ... but not for a 2-3 year old or people who are doing it in their own cars because they are lazy.
 

VoodooChile

New member
My dd being boostered is easier too, but she's 6 1/2. Some people have asked me if it wouldn't be easier to put my 3 year old in a booster (he JUST turned 3). Yeah, I guess it would be easier for the Grim Reaper.
 

skylinphoto

New member
Having my ds in a booster is a lot easier. He can buckle and unbuckle a booster but not a harnessed seat. He does have some coordination/muscle tone issues ..so I guess something about the angle or whatever in a booster is easier for him. He can't buckle or unbuckle ANY harnessed seat we've tried.
But, he's about to be 6....so, no biggie to be in a booster.

I think we all need to remember that it all comes down to convience for most people. I think most of us on this board agree that safety trumps convenience. And a lot of us here have the mindset that rfing longer, harnessing until maturity is there, etc is a thing to be proud of. The general public tends to see "milestones" as things to be proud of. Kwim?

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