Lap Belt too Low?

scoutingbear

New member
How low is too low? I could have sworn I saw a thread regarding this here but can't pull up anything in search! A is fitting so weird into most boosters now. He's asleep or I'd take pictures but the lap portion of the belt is not making contact with his hips at all. He barely 5 steps in the 3rd row of the Sienna and in the 8th seat. He wants to ride in the back but the smaller boosters position the lap belt low on his thighs.
 
ADS

ahgirls

New member
I think that if it was flat on the thighs it is okay. That's what I understood. Maybe I'm wrong? I hate that inbetween phase!
 

scoutingbear

New member
Yeah! Me too. Without the booster in the 3rd row, the shoulder belt looks uncomfortable. It is safe, but not where I would prefer to put him yet (besides, I need him to help with the nonverbal 3 year old in the middle row). But even there he is starting to look "funny" in boosters. You know. Like a big kid. And kids shouldn't do that to their parents.
 

ahgirls

New member
Yeah! Me too. Without the booster in the 3rd row, the shoulder belt looks uncomfortable. It is safe, but not where I would prefer to put him yet (besides, I need him to help with the nonverbal 3 year old in the middle row). But even there he is starting to look "funny" in boosters. You know. Like a big kid. And kids shouldn't do that to their parents.

I had dd seat in a different spot so she had better belt fit. 2nd row no booster, 3rd row booster & dh's car booster. The worst was when she couldn't fit in the 3rd row with or without a booster. What about the center of the 3rd row with a booster?
 

scoutingbear

New member
Right now the FR85 is there because it is the only tether in that row and the 7 year old finds ways to fight incessantly with the 3 year old. 7 year old has about 1/2" of harness height left, if that, and then I can switch it up. Need to have room for 3 carpool kids, one of which will be harnessed in something (I haven't decided if I will use a radian, GN, or FR85). So middle 3rd row probably isn't an option with or without booster.
 

momtoo3

Well-known member
Have you tried an Amp? We are in the same place with ds2 and the Amp allows the lap belt to sit at the hips and not all the way on his thighs. The other one that works for ds2 is the Cosco Ambassador/Highrise.
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I just ran into this last week when I had my former nanny kids for a visit. Kid fit fine in the Literider in the second row; requested to move to the back and the fit was all wrong. I made him give me the booster and fit was fine :eek: (He's 8.5!) Anyways, yes, if it's sitting across the thighs and not touching the hips, it's too low.

Weird suggestion, but what about using one of the boosters where we generally *don't* like the fit - I'm thinking Evenflo Big Kid here, not AOE in booster mode - and seeing if it improves it on him? Some of the boosters that do SUCH a great job positioning the belt on 4, 5, and 6 year olds are going to pull it too low on 8 & 9 year olds who aren't *quite* ready for seatbelt only. Ambassador is a good suggestion, maybe the Cruz (?), maybe the Top Side? I think all of those would be good options to try, although it's harder to justify the purchase-return schtick on $15 backless boosters, lol. Do you have a Parkway you could try backless? (IME, the Monterey backless is actually pretty bad about this, because of all of the distance kiddo gains to slide back once the back is removed. Does he still fit in the HBB portion of the Monterey?)

The other option is to put him in a seating position where he *doesn't* almost 5-step and see if that improves the fit in his current booster.
 

scoutingbear

New member
I actually prefer him in the captains chair in the van which is not an issue, even with the Monterey. I need someone to keep the 3 year old happy! :p I can't do it backless because of the headrest and SK/Dionoo changed from not needing headrest to headrest. :rolleyes: Last night he climbed to the back because I had extra adult passengers. The monterey does fit him with the back on and would work in the 3rd row except I have a FR85 back there.

The topside was the WORST, at least in my Highlander. My mom's dog ate it so it is not an option any more and my Target had none in stock when I went to replace. Literider depends on the vehicle he is in.

So, anyway, my question was not in terms of every day use because when he starts getting awkward in the captains chair, he can move to the back without a booster. As is, he can 5 step enough to ride back there for carpool, I'm just not ready for him to go without all the time.
 

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