Rear facing to booster

I'm pretty sure I've seen a thread on this topic, but I can't find it now. My 37 month old is only 35" tall and 28 pounds and uses the second from the top slot in his Roundabout 50, rearfacing. I expect he'll fit rear facing in the seat for quite a while. I might get him a radian when my new LO outgrows the infant seat. Would it make sense to keep him rear facing as long as he fits, probably till 5 or 6 years old, and then go directly to a booster? Then again, I don't know if he'll complain about being RFing at some point, but for now, even though all his friends are FFing, he loves his seat and enjoys being able to see the kids behind him.

That's what we're doing more or less. My DD still rides rfing in her Radian (she turns 5 in Sept), but she is also booster-trained in her Vivo. She recently outgrew the rfing weight limit on her Avenue, so she does ride ffing in it, but she also only rides in it abt 1-2x/mth.

I'm not convinced that ffing harnessed is safer than *properly* riding in a booster, so since DD prefers rfing, and she's an appropriate maturity to ride in a booster, when she outgrows the radian rfing, she'll go into a booster FT.

That's what we're doing but I'm in Europe and follow the Swedish tendency so to speak. DD (currently 3y6m) will RF until DS (due this September) needs her TWE then she will go into a cybex xfix I think.

That's what I just did. DD1 outgrew her Radians by height at 4y10m. We have 4 cars we need to outfit. 2 get ridden in daily, one a few times a week, and 1 every other week. I moved DD1 into a ff TFP, Monterey, Oobr, and ff TF. She rides mostly in the TFR and Oobr. Then the Monterey and lastly the TF.

Really, it's only because I have so many seats that she is sometimes ff and sometimes boostered.

She has sensory issues, anxiety, OCD and Aspergers, but since she LOOOOOOVES rules, I told her she has to stay in position, and that's what she does. I jut said that's the rule and explained to her why, watched some videos etc. and away we went. It's been surprisingly easy this past month watching her ride correctly in a booster. Even when she sleeps she stays perfectly in position. It's bizarre.

But, I do realize there are some kids, perhaps many, her age who are not capable of riding in a booster correctly for the duration of the ride. It totally depends on the kid, imo. Oh, and I do use 40lbs and 4yrs. as a minimum. I wanted her to be 5, but 4y10m was okay to go from rf to booster/ff. I wouldn't put a kid under 40lbs in a booster unless it was a much older kid.

I think if you can get to a size/age/maturity level where bolstering is appropriate, it is perfectly fine. Some kids might need that transition of FF harness briefly, some might not.
I do not like the idea of switching a small 4 yr old from RF to booster because it is so "Swedish" and cool.
Sam might well RF to booster because he is a little guy with a long body. We will see.

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tiggercat said:

I think if you can get to a size/age/maturity level where bolstering is appropriate, it is perfectly fine. Some kids might need that transition of FF harness briefly, some might not.
I do not like the idea of switching a small 4 yr old from RF to booster because it is so "Swedish" and cool.
Sam might well RF to booster because he is a little guy with a long body. We will see.

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Yeah, I wouldn't do it just cuz it's "cool". I felt like DD1 had reached a good age/weight/maturity level.

gsdguenter said:

Yeah, I wouldn't do it just cuz it's "cool".

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I also use 5 and 40lb as a benchmark. I've seen some pics of 30 something 4 year olds in boosters and I just don't get it.

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tiggercat said:

I also use 5 and 40lb as a benchmark. I've seen some pics of 30 something 4 year olds in boosters and I just don't get it.

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Well, for my big kid, the highest RFing weight seat was 33lbs... When DS hit 33lbs, I owned two classic Britax seats with 33lb weight limits. It wasn't an option to go buy two new Radian's to keep him RFing longer. And then a year and a half later or so, logistically, I needed him to be in a three across in DH's and MIL's cars. So when DD2 needed the Britax convertibles, he went into a booster in their cars, at 4y4m-ish and hovering around 40lbs. They only take him places in town, but do so a couple times a week. I need three sets of seats. Buying two new Radian's was a tad more than buying two new HBB.

I'm sure for most of us with boostered young kids, who know we have other options, do the best we can, with the seats, space and kids we have to work with!

Avery'sMama said:

Well, for my big kid, the highest RFing weight seat was 33lbs... When DS hit 33lbs, I owned two classic Britax seats with 33lb weight limits. It wasn't an option to go buy two new Radian's to keep him RFing longer. And then a year and a half later or so, logistically, I needed him to be in a three across in DH's and MIL's cars. So when DD2 needed the Britax convertibles, he went into a booster in their cars, at 4y4m-ish and hovering around 40lbs. They only take him places in town, but do so a couple times a week. I need three sets of seats. Buying two new Radian's was a tad more than buying two new HBB.

I'm sure for most of us with boostered young kids, who know we have other options, do the best we can, with the seats, space and kids we have to work with!

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I wasn't judging. I also wasn't referring the situation you just described.

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tiggercat said:

I wasn't judging. I also wasn't referring the situation you just described.

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OK I was just explaining the how and why I came to have a child that wasn't 5yo or 40lbs in a booster, despite being a CPSTI and clearly knowing that I have other options.

I was auto-subtracting all the 30-40lbs four year olds that are boostered full-time by parents who just don't know any better.

Avery'sMama said:

OK I was just explaining the how and why I came to have a child that wasn't 5yo or 40lbs in a booster, despite being a CPSTI and clearly knowing that I have other options.

I was auto-subtracting all the 30-40lbs four year olds that are boostered full-time by parents who just don't know any better.

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It might be helpful to note here that 40lb is the minimum for booster use in Canada, so that might also colour my thinking a little bit

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Here's a picture of DD1 sleeping in her Monterey after a long day of partying/swimming with friends.

Mostly just for cuteness

Who ever said that Swedish = cool?

The Swedish theory of not using HWH is based on excessive head excursion not coolness or even right of passage.

The minimum to FF any Swedish seat is 15kg whether using harness or the seat in booster mode.

newyorkDOC said:

Who ever said that Swedish = cool?

The Swedish theory of not using HWH is based on excessive head excursion not coolness or even right of passage.

The minimum to FF any Swedish seat is 15kg whether using harness or the seat in booster mode.

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You don't need to get your panties in a twist. I was just remarking on a couple of threads a while ago showing rather small kids in boosters moving straight to boosters when there were plenty of (what I would consider) more appropriate choices. I think that "developmentally ready" to sit correctly and a weight greater than 40lbs are essential to riding safely in a booster. My own kiddos have been boostered since 5/6 years old (and >40), I am not saying you need to harness to 12. Actually, I am not saying that you (or anyone else) should do or not do anything. I was stating what I would/will do.

Also, I thought it was based on avoiding excessive neck loading, not head excursion. There is greater HE in a booster than a 5pt, but (in theory) less neck loading.

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And I do think Swedish carseat stuff is cool. I played with a two way in germany once, it was awesome.

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For a child who is mature enough to remain seated properly in a booster, there should be no issue moving straight from a rear-facing seat to a booster. That assumes the child exceeds the booster's minimum ratings and it can be correctly used, of course.

In a frontal crash, there is likely to be very little difference in the protection provided by a correctly installed and used harness seat vs. a correctly used booster. Of course, the harness seat tends to be more easily misused by a typical parent in terms of installation and harness adjustment. The booster tends to be more easily circumvented by a child not mature enough to use one. The choice between them depends a lot on the specific parent/caregiver, child and vehicle.

This study has a smaller sample size, but does indicate that 3 year olds may be somewhat safer in a forward facing harness restraint vs. a booster, but there was little benefit for 4 year olds when all injuries are considered. For fatal and disabling injuries, boosters appear to be less effective than harness seats, even for 4-year olds, but the sample size is not significant enough to make a good comparison. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811338.pdf

One advantage for a harness seat may be in side impacts. The extra points of restraint should tend to keep the child within the carseat better than in a 3-point lap/shoulder belt system. Whether or not this correlates to real world data remains to be seen.

The main thing is to correctly install and use an age-appropriate child restraint in the rear seat of your vehicle and drive undistracted/unimpaired. Doing so, the risk to the child will be very low and the choice among appropriate carseat types is not likely to be a significant difference in risk.