Should I let DD use her HBB?

USmominOz · Mar 18, 2008

Ok, dd does not want to use her Regent anymore she wants to use her Graco HBB. She is the only one in 3rd grade who even sits in a seat. No one here in Au uses any car seats after the age of 4.

I know that she is mature enough to sit in a booster but she only weighs 46lbs and will be 8 y/o on May 3rd. She is only at the 2nd to the top slot in the Regent.

Should I just let her use the HBB? She does use it in dh's car once a week.

I would applicate your thoughts.

courtfrog2 · Mar 18, 2008

My personal opinion would be no. My daughter is in the 3rd grade and the only one that "rides in style" in her class. She is kinda proud of her seat because I have encouraged it. I even got her a T-shirt from the kyle david miller foundation that says "I still ride in a 5 point harness, see why at www.kyledavidmiller.org". She wears that once a week at least!

She's only 46lbs so really I would say she is too small for a booster. You could see if she likes the nautilus because she would fit fine in it and to the outside, it looks like a HBB. My 8 year old still fits in that one too.

Patriot201 · Mar 18, 2008

courtfrog2 said:
You could see if she likes the nautilus because she would fit fine in it and to the outside, it looks like a HBB. My 8 year old still fits in that one too.

Is that seat available to you? I know it isn't sold in Australia, but I thought you said you were planning on getting one in the US? Maybe I am recalling incorrectly, though.

USmominOz · Mar 18, 2008

Yes, I am getting one when I go home in Dec, but it would be for DS. I am waiting to see who sells the Galaxy because it looks so much softer

.
Or I may just have a friend ship me a GN now then I can always buy a 2nd one when I am home.

Does anyone carry the Galaxy one yet? Does anyone have it?

DD has seen the GN and said that she does not like it

. Too bad they don't have girly covers.

A friend of mine just had her parents ship one over to her here and she really likes it.

I did tell her that mommy loves her too much and I would never want her to get hurt in a car accident.

I really don't feel that good about her using the HBB full time because of her size. If only she weighed around 55lbs, but I don't think she will be for another couple of yrs.

Why can't I have a child who can put on some weight

.

ZephyrBlue · Mar 18, 2008

I wouldn't. My DD is going to be 8 on May 11, and she's 45lbs fully clothed with shoes. At that weight, I worry about submarining in a booster. And DH and I feel that if we succumb to peer pressure at this age, we're not really setting a good foundation for later years, kwim? Letting her wear sneakers without laces to follow a trend is different than letting her ride in a less-safe seat, IMO. :twocents:

USmominOz · Mar 18, 2008

ZephyrBlue said:
I wouldn't. My DD is going to be 8 on May 11, and she's 45lbs fully clothed with shoes. At that weight, I worry about submarining in a booster. And DH and I feel that if we succumb to peer pressure at this age, we're not really setting a good foundation for later years, kwim? Letting her wear sneakers without laces to follow a trend is different than letting her ride in a less-safe seat, IMO. :twocents:

DD will be 8 on May 3rd. She is a Taurus like me May 10th and we lock horns on everything.

I always tell my mom "she is paying me back for how I was to you" she is very hot headed and stubborn like me.

Here in Au most of out boosters come w/ a anti-submarine clip & a top tether, but the only problem here is that the seats here only go up to 57lbs and cost about $200. Not that I would ever put a price on safety. I would rather her use her Regent.

At what weight would you feel comfortable letting your dd ride in a booster full time?

She does ride on dh's car once a week to school & art class in the HBB.

My 4.5 y/o weighs 40lbs, pretty soon he will be passing her up

.

Morganthe · Mar 18, 2008

USmominOz said:
I always tell my mom "she is paying me back for how I was to you" she is very hot headed and stubborn like me.

Here in Au most of out boosters come w/ a anti-submarine clip & a top tether, but the only problem here is that the seats here only go up to 57lbs and cost about $200. Not that I would ever put a price on safety. I would rather her use her Regent.

LOL, my "Missoura" born great grandmother would be telling you... "Yer earnin' yer raisin'."
Meaning -- you pay back your parents by raising another generation, the more difficult, the more you're paying back.

If she's such a slow grower, and you don't feel like battling her anymore on the regent, my suggestion is that you go ahead and purchase an AU booster. You have 11 pounds to go on it. From what you've said, that could take another 3-4 years.

Submarining is submarining. She's slender enough that Graco Turbo booster might not be best practice for her, no matter how many short trips she takes in it. Even those aren't necessarily safest for her. Perhaps you could switch it with the AU version and trade off between vehicles?

Personally, I don't like the Graco TB. They're too flimsy. But that's my own opinion.

Figure out what you think is best and win that war. You can compromise the little stuff, but this is one of those times that adult reasoning and forecasting the future is so much more superior than a child's ability to do the same.

Good luck

ETA:When dd outgrows her radian in another 2 years or so, that's when I'll feel comfortable with a full time booster for her in dh's car. But she'll probably still prefer using her very girly Regent throne full time in my car. If she continues her pattern, she'll be somewhere around 47-50lbs & at least 50" tall. She'll be 'only' 6-7 years old

ZephyrBlue · Mar 18, 2008

At what weight would you feel comfortable letting your dd ride in a booster full time?

For me personally, 50lbs. Right now, she rides in a Recaro Vivo Lite maybe once a week during carpool- we can't fit a harnessed seat in my friend's car; it's got terrific SIP and is very sturdy and, IMO, fits DD's body much better than the TB. (I'm not a fan of the TB in general, but that's based on the selection of boosters available to us in the US)

It's hard to know what do to when safety is a concern, I know

You don't want your DD to be resentful or fight when it's time to go somewhere, but at the same time, you know that she's safer in the Regent. I have lots of sympathy, Mama!

keri1292 · Mar 18, 2008

I'm also shooting for 50lbs. Is the reason she doesn't want to ride in it just the fact that no one else is in seats or is she uncomfortable? If it's peer pressure, if it wasn't the carseat, it'd be something else. That's not a good reason, IMO.
Also, WOW! She's in 3rd grade??? My dd was born 10/00 and is in 1st grade. That's quite a difference!

ProudMomof5 · Mar 18, 2008

I would probably let her, because of her age. That is just me though. I would use a more sturdy seat though, like the recaro vivo.
My 6 1/2 year old is in a recaro vivo lite and she is only 37lbs. I am coming around though and I plan to put her back in a 5 pt harness because of her weight. If she was over 40lbs at her age, then I wouldn't have a problem keeping her in a HBB. Now if she was 3 and 46 lbs that is totally different.

I am not a tech though and I am very new at this... I am just telling you what I'd do, based on what I know and feel right now. With the way things are going, I'll probably feel very differently as I research more.. I mean I only turned my dd back to RF a couple weeks ago.

Defrost · Mar 18, 2008

I would be perfectly comfortable with it safety-wise (my 40lb 7yo rides in a Graco TB on occasion), but I probably wouldn't let her do it anyway. Because I like to use carseats until they expire or are outgrown, so I get the full benefit of my investment.

DD's Husky expires in 2011, and I expect her to use it until then (she likely won't outgrow it until age 11-12, based on her following her 11yo brother's growth pattern.)

So yeah, I think I'd just focus on validating her feelings, while reiterating that it's MOMMY who decides when she's ready for a booster.

tjham · Mar 18, 2008

Can you explain the anti-submarining clip? Sounds interesting.

scatterbunny · Mar 18, 2008

At her age and size, I'd be fine with a booster full-time as long as she sits properly. :twocents: My own child is only in 1st grade (6y9mo in a couple of days) and has been using a booster since shortly after she turned 6, about 50 inches and 50 pounds. She still fit in her Husky but she was begging to use a booster full-time, and with the warning that she must sit properly at all times or we'd go back to a harness, she's done great. I do not worry at her age and size, but I'd like a harnessed seat for longer road trips. Maybe use her Regent for longer trips but the booster for regular trips to and from school and around town?

mommyto2angelgirls · Mar 18, 2008

i wouldn't let her personally. in the city i live there are alot of people on state and governemtn aid so they use the cheapy 40lb seat till there id outgrows it then throw them in a turbo booster bascally because they are cheapest. my dd has 12 kids in her preschool class out of 25 that are in boosters. to me thats insane she is so small and little. luckily she is proud of her carseat and tells everyone proudly that. she is small and i know i'll be facing your situation soon enough. i guess i would try to make a compromise with her. perhaps tell her when she reaches 50lbs she can. yes she'll want to weigh herself everyday but she will understand the deal. the other thing as sad and tragic as it seems is let her look on you tube of some of the videos of children who have died. i remember one about a little girl in au. i think her name may have been belle. perhaps then she will feel better about using her regent.
i think that children are often a little to sheltered and not told the truth straight out. especailly about things like death and strangers. my dd believes that anyone she doesn't know is out to take her away from mommy and daddy for ever and she will never see us again. we had to tell her this as she was so willing to talk to anyone it scared me. i think your daughter seeing children who have died and there families left sad might make her think mommy is keeping her safe.

scatterbunny · Mar 18, 2008

I agree that showing crash test videos and/or the YouTube videos might help her understand why you want to keep her harnessed longer, I showed my dd crash test video starting at 2.5 years old. She's always understood why safety comes first. However, I also don't think it's the end of the world to let a child the OP's daughter's age and size use a booster full-time.

USmominOz · Mar 18, 2008

keri1292 said:
I'm also shooting for 50lbs. Is the reason she doesn't want to ride in it just the fact that no one else is in seats or is she uncomfortable? If it's peer pressure, if it wasn't the carseat, it'd be something else. That's not a good reason, IMO.
Also, WOW! She's in 3rd grade??? My dd was born 10/00 and is in 1st grade. That's quite a difference!

They start school here a year before the states. Our school year starts on Jan 29 and ends the 2nd week in Dec. If we would ever move back to the states she would go back a year.

DS who was born on Sept 9 will start Prep next year which is 5 days a week.

So I will have no kids home next year

. But I will be working 2 days a week.

USmominOz · Mar 18, 2008

Morganthe said:
LOL, my "Missoura" born great grandmother would be telling you... "Yer earnin' yer raisin'."
Meaning -- you pay back your parents by raising another generation, the more difficult, the more you're paying back.

If she's such a slow grower, and you don't feel like battling her anymore on the regent, my suggestion is that you go ahead and purchase an AU booster. You have 11 pounds to go on it. From what you've said, that could take another 3-4 years.

Submarining is submarining. She's slender enough that Graco Turbo booster might not be best practice for her, no matter how many short trips she takes in it. Even those aren't necessarily safest for her. Perhaps you could switch it with the AU version and trade off between vehicles?

Personally, I don't like the Graco TB. They're too flimsy. But that's my own opinion.

Figure out what you think is best and win that war. You can compromise the little stuff, but this is one of those times that adult reasoning and forecasting the future is so much more superior than a child's ability to do the same.

Good luck

ETA:When dd outgrows her radian in another 2 years or so, that's when I'll feel comfortable with a full time booster for her in dh's car. But she'll probably still prefer using her very girly Regent throne full time in my car. If she continues her pattern, she'll be somewhere around 47-50lbs & at least 50" tall. She'll be 'only' 6-7 years old

I will start looking around to see what is out here. Do they have any seats in the US w/ the anti sub clip?

scatterbunny · Mar 18, 2008

No anti-sub clips here.

USmominOz · Mar 18, 2008

scatterbunny said:
I agree that showing crash test videos and/or the YouTube videos might help her understand why you want to keep her harnessed longer, I showed my dd crash test video starting at 2.5 years old. She's always understood why safety comes first. However, I also don't think it's the end of the world to let a child the OP's daughter's age and size use a booster full-time.

I have showed her the videos several times and she does understand that she is safest in a harness.

USmominOz · Mar 18, 2008

Here is some pic of the ones we have here from Safe-n-Sound (Britax in the US)

What do you think?

$300.00 But not a aption because the harness only goes to 40lbs
http://www.britax.com.au/Websites/Business/brproddb.nsf/LUPages/Child Car Seats-Maxi Rider II

http://www.babiesgalore.com.au/view..._search.php?searchtype=category&categoryid=51

http://www.babiesgalore.com.au/view..._search.php?searchtype=category&categoryid=51

http://www.babiesgalore.com.au/view..._search.php?searchtype=category&categoryid=51

http://www.babiesgalore.com.au/view..._search.php?searchtype=category&categoryid=54
This actually clips in to the submarine part of the clip (this is the old mdle shown) their is a new model.

Our car seats/ booster seats here have a 10 yr life span.

I hope that it was ok to post the pic w/ information? if not please let me know.

Should I let DD use her HBB?

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