not sure what to do for my 7yr old

As I was cleaning out my 1999 Ford Windstar van and moving around the 2 carseats for my kids ages 7 1/2 and 5, I noticed the 71/2 y.o. car seat was over 5 years old now. I originally had been told that car seats last for 6 years, but when I bought the "new one" 5 years ago I was told it was changed to 5 years now. Is this still true? I bought the Cosco Eddie Bauer convertable style- has the 5 point harness and converts to belt positioning once you've outgrown the harness, good for 30-65? lbs.- and have been very happy with it. I also bought an Alpha-Omega 3 in 1 in Nov of 2000 when my daughter (the almost 5 y.o.) was 1 since the seat she had was too old by then too. My question is, do I find a new car seat for my son (7 1/2) or put him in the newer model my daughter has and buy her the new seat? If so what is recommended for my son who's barely 43-44 pounds and is 45-46 inches tall. Lets just say he's small and thin for his age. (but mom is only 5ft tall and dad is 5' 6"). Or what is suggested for my daughter who's 35 lbs and 39 inches tall. I figured out long ago that my children would have to stay in car seats longer than the average child just because they're not very big and won't ever be "average sized". I just want to find something that won't break my account or be outgrown in 2 years. I would appreciate any advice on low cost and high cost alternatives and what the difference is safety wise. Also how do I found out how long my carseats are good for? I assumed that my daughter's was good for 8 years since it went up to 80 lbs. I looked at the Britax website and didn't see a store locator anywhere on it, do I have to buy them online? BTW I live in Idaho and the law is 4 years and 40 lbs in a carseat here, but I love my son too much to agree with that bull that he's "safe" in a adult seat belt since he's over 40 lbs. I wish all the states would go to 8 and 80 lbs. even though when my son turns 8 he'll still be under 50 lbs I'm sure, poor thing will probably be almost a teenager when he outgrows carseats LOL. Any help in this matter is VERY appreciated.
DanaKae

I have a friend who was JUST on the phone with Cosco about HER seats, and in fact called them the other day and got the same answer, which is: 5-7 years. If the seat is used a lot, 5-6 years, if it's not used so much, it's 6-7 years.
That is probably the most bizarre thing I've ever heard, to be honest with you, lol, but maybe if you call them, they'll tell you the same thing! www.djgusa.com is the home page with contact numbers.
Babies R Us sells Britaxes, and Target sells some, too, but I don't think you really *need* a Britax.

For your son, I'd look at a a highback booster that can convert to a lowback booster, like the Graco Turbo, Evenflo Big Kid, Britax Starriser. Those offer great flexibility in use and when he wants to take the back off to be less conspicuous, he can just use the base.
Or you can go all out and get him a Britax Bodyguard, which is a big, solid booster seat that can't be used backless, but I like the side impact protection. My 7 year old loves his and isn't embarassed at all to be in such a hefty booster seat

For your DD, you might need something with higher top slots. Combo seats like the Graco and Evenflo Cargo or Chase, have the tallest top slots, so she can be harnessed to 40 pounds, then they become boosters.

I agree, 4 and 40 is NOT safe for ANY child to be out of a seat...in fact, it's hard to judge by weight or height at all, all kids and cars being different...but here's a flyer that helps you know when a child fits in any given car http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm

thanks for the info! I was looking at the graco turbo for my son and it looks like it will work fine. My daughter has a while til she'll outgrow the harness. She keeps asking when she can just use a seatbelt like her brother does and I tell her she just has to get bigger, and he was 5 1/2 before he was 40 lbs and had outgrown the harness. She just thinks she's so big (when she really isn't size wise)and she sees other kids her age who aren't in carseats still. It's hard to explain to her about other parents and the choices they make, good or bad.

One other question I forgot to ask was what is the rule for locking clips? I have ALWAYS used one whether the seat belt self locks or not. I like to have the car seat in as tight as possible. I usually kneel on it, snap it in, pull up the slack and put the locking clip in next to the seat belt buckle. I asked my sister in law why her carseat for her 3 year old son moved so much when I looked at it in her new Toyota Fourrunner. She had it installed in the middle of the back seat without the strap over the back or anything. I saw that she didn't have the locking clip on the buckle and said something to her which she replied back with "I was told I didn't need to use it, period, so I'm not going to". Needless to say the carseat moves all over the place because of this. Am I right in saying she needs to still use it regardless, and where can I refer her to have it checked out by a professional for installation errors?
Thanks again.

DanaKae

Locking clips won't add any safety to a seat that is tightly installed with locking belts (any car made after 1996), and they are very dangerous to use on lap-belts only. Here's a great page to look at about seatbelt types and when to use a clip http://www.carseatsite.com/installing_your_car_seat.htm

The seat manuals are VERY vague when the tell you to use one on a seat with a sliding latchplate...they simply leave out the fact that the retractor is what can do the holding in and will do all the work in an actual crash....so I can't blame anyone who uses a locking clip...it's super confusing to know when it's needed!

Your sister's seat just needs probably a lot more weight on it to get it installed tightly...and a top tether would probably help, but might not have been pre-installed in her car (SUV's got center top tethers a couple years later than cars....)

thanks Julie. I checked out the website you suggested and it was VERY clear about what type of seat belts require the clips. I was right about my vehicle requiring it so it was nice to be validated myself. I forwarded the website to my sister, hopefully she'll check it out for herself and figure out what will work best for her vehicle. thanks for the great advice.

DanaKae