Scary booster story

walnutgold · Jul 31, 2016

My 8yo DS has been in a HBB full time for several months now. With fairly frequent reminders he is able to sit well in a high back (though all bets are off if I put him in something backless). Currently he sits between two Radians in a Maxi-Cosi booster. Today one of the toddlers he sits between had a tantrum and threw a pacifier on the floor. DS (being the expert big brother) immediatly bent down to pick it up. At that moment I had to slam on my brakes because someone cut me off. DS hit the seat in front of him! He has no injuries at all, but I was terrified! Now I am seriously contemplating moving him back into a harnessed seat. He really struggles with remembering to sit upright and not to move around too much or put his legs up. But at 8 years old it's becoming inconvenient to keep him harnessed. Obviously is harnessed is safer for him in terms of maturity I will switch him back, but I'm just not sure what to do. Any help is appreciated!

ketchupqueen · Jul 31, 2016

At that age for a neurotypical kid, I would give a stern talk about sitting in place even if something drops or serious injury could occur, explain paralysis etc., then keep track of how often the child needs to be reminded.

If the child has to be reminded more than once every couple of months to sit right, I would issue a last warning before re-harnessing. An 86-Y can be used with an existing booster to 168 lbs. So I'd show the kid they are NOT too big. If that didn't work I'd follow through on that.

Also make sure you and other adults are modeling not turning around, picking things up or otherwise being out of position.

LISmama810 · Jul 31, 2016

I would think that slamming into the seat would have been a pretty good lesson in itself.

If he typically does well and only got out of position to be helpful (not screw around, etc.) I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, yes, continue discussing the importance of staying in position. Give him solid direction. "It was nice of you to pick up the pacifier for little brother/sister, but you need to stay seated. See what happens if you don't? What if we had been in a more serious crash? The next time X drops something, instead of leaning over to get it, let me know."

walnutgold · Jul 31, 2016

LISmama810 said:
I would think that slamming into the seat would have been a pretty good lesson in itself.

If he typically does well and only got out of position to be helpful (not screw around, etc.) I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, yes, continue discussing the importance of staying in position. Give him solid direction. "It was nice of you to pick up the pacifier for little brother/sister, but you need to stay seated. See what happens if you don't? What if we had been in a more serious crash? The next time X drops something, instead of leaning over to get it, let me know."

I have him a stern talking to. His was very understanding. He was super great this morning to and from church. He's been diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety, so he has a lot of trouble sitting still in general. We've decided that a good rule is that if something drops we need to wait until we hit a red light or park the car to get it. Usually he will wait to pick stuff up, but DS5 was screaming and he just wanted some quiet.

Scary booster story

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