AK Dad
New member
Just when I think I've got everything dialed-in I find something new to keep me awake at night!
So, oldest is in a HBB now, and a couple of months ago she accidentally unbuckled her brother's Foonf next to her when she was getting out. Fortunately I caught it right away, and made sure to talk to her about it as well as making sure to do a half-twist in the buckle to shield the release button a bit better. In our truck she was still harnessed in a FR85, and a couple of weeks later I found her seat loose, I assume because she had "negative habit transfer" from the booster in the other car and reached down without thinking and unbuckled it. I have no idea how long it was like that because it was a LBP install, so the seat still appeared tight.
So then I had to go away for work for a couple of weeks, and I did the unthinkable ... I used both the LATCH belt and the LBP seatbelt on the FR85! I know that's totally "off label" usage, but when weighing the possibility that she might inadvertently unbuckle herself, I just decided in this case the backup LATCH belt was "better than nothing."
So we also had a babysitter using her own vehicle to shuttle kids around while I was away, and again the Foonf was right next to the booster, so I warned her about checking it, but today I just went to retrieve the seats, and again, the darn thing was unbuckled!!!! ARRGHH!!! Makes me crazy to know that my kid could have been running around town unrestrained for the last two weeks (although flying out the front window strapped into the Foonf is still probably "better than nothing" too).
So anyway, I'm getting an Oobr and putting the FR85 into storage (tried it in booster mode, but way too wide for our 3-across) and in the truck I've taken a piece of cardboard, shoved it between the buckle stalks, and taped it around the latchplate so she can't physically touch the middle seat release button, and I guess I'm going to have to come up with something similar for the Foonf in the Honda, although it'll look even worse with the floppy buckle stalks than with the rigid ones in the truck.
So anyway, I'm posting this as a discussion point and as a warning for anyone else making this transition into boosters - I never thought it would be such a huge issue, but it sure has been for us!
Thoughts? Other solutions?
So, oldest is in a HBB now, and a couple of months ago she accidentally unbuckled her brother's Foonf next to her when she was getting out. Fortunately I caught it right away, and made sure to talk to her about it as well as making sure to do a half-twist in the buckle to shield the release button a bit better. In our truck she was still harnessed in a FR85, and a couple of weeks later I found her seat loose, I assume because she had "negative habit transfer" from the booster in the other car and reached down without thinking and unbuckled it. I have no idea how long it was like that because it was a LBP install, so the seat still appeared tight.
So then I had to go away for work for a couple of weeks, and I did the unthinkable ... I used both the LATCH belt and the LBP seatbelt on the FR85! I know that's totally "off label" usage, but when weighing the possibility that she might inadvertently unbuckle herself, I just decided in this case the backup LATCH belt was "better than nothing."
So we also had a babysitter using her own vehicle to shuttle kids around while I was away, and again the Foonf was right next to the booster, so I warned her about checking it, but today I just went to retrieve the seats, and again, the darn thing was unbuckled!!!! ARRGHH!!! Makes me crazy to know that my kid could have been running around town unrestrained for the last two weeks (although flying out the front window strapped into the Foonf is still probably "better than nothing" too).
So anyway, I'm getting an Oobr and putting the FR85 into storage (tried it in booster mode, but way too wide for our 3-across) and in the truck I've taken a piece of cardboard, shoved it between the buckle stalks, and taped it around the latchplate so she can't physically touch the middle seat release button, and I guess I'm going to have to come up with something similar for the Foonf in the Honda, although it'll look even worse with the floppy buckle stalks than with the rigid ones in the truck.
So anyway, I'm posting this as a discussion point and as a warning for anyone else making this transition into boosters - I never thought it would be such a huge issue, but it sure has been for us!
Thoughts? Other solutions?