Would you be comfortable with this (3 yr old in booster)

Nisha

New member
I never thought I'd consider this, but I'm considering getting a booster for DD.
It would be for grandma and grandpa to keep at their house, and she would only use it 4X a year or so. DD is 3 years 8 months, weights almost 34 pounds clothed and is 41" tall.
Would you do it? It seems a little pointless for them to have a Marathon that they only use 4X or so a year (if that), when I could sell the MA and get a radian that will hopefully fit in our pickup, and I could get a Monterey for Grandpa & Grandma to use, and that will last her longer (size wise) than the MA. It will also be easier for them to use.

Would you do it??? I'm a little unsure of what to do!
 
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BW1426

Well-known member
I promise I'm not stalking your posts ;)

I personally wouldn't feel comfortable with it. I would get the grandparent's a Nautilus. It's a little bit more than the Monterey would be at the tech price, but not by much.

They are on sale at Walmart still for $127.44 plus free shipping to store or $2.97 to ship it to your house. If you're thinking about buying, I'd buy now as who knows how long this great deal will last. They seem to be $159.99 at most places now.
 
Personally, I wouldnt do it. My has roughly the same stats as your DD and I know he is years away from a booster, even if it was once a year. it only takes one crash. I'd get a nautilus or something not so expensive as the marathon
 

scatterbunny

New member
I understand totally not wanting to use a pricey seat like the MA for 4x a year, for a 34#, 41" child. ;) But I wouldn't go the booster route yet. I'd go with the Nautilus, too. It's only a few bucks more than the Monterey, is super-easy to use, and turns into a LATCHable booster when the harness is outgrown.
 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter
Bekah turned 3 in October. I have set her in a booster, never drove of course. She will not stay in position, period. I have put her in lap/shoulder, Clek, Turbo and Frontier. None worked. I wouldn't do it anyway.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Nautilus. Definitely. Between your two kids you'll get the full six years out of the harness and high back, and the nine years of the low back. Definitely a good buy.

Wendy
 

Nisha

New member
Ok ok, you all talked me out of it ;)
I honestly don't have any idea how she would sit in it at this age.
I was just thinking, if I could get something cheaper that would still last awhile.... are there any cheap(er) higher (than 40 lbs) weigh harness seats that cost around $60-$80?

Here's my plan...
I wanted to sell the MA (anyone know what I could get out of it...mfg 02/07?) and buy a radian that I think will fit in our pickup and have some $ leftover, I could buy a cheaper seat for grandpa and grandma. Of course if I get 2 radians for home that will just go in a second vehicle we could use them for spares to send to grandpa and grandma's.....
 

Brilliantmama

New member
Ok ok, you all talked me out of it ;)
I honestly don't have any idea how she would sit in it at this age.
I was just thinking, if I could get something cheaper that would still last awhile.... are there any cheap(er) higher (than 40 lbs) weigh harness seats that cost around $60-$80?

Apex?

but then you have the head rest rule.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
If there was absolutely no other choice, it would have to be acceptable. You do have other choices. I wouldn't do it.
 

MomToEliEm

Moderator
Is it possible to just trade out seats for the few times they may want to take the kids somewhere. I hate to spend money on seats when they are used so infrequently. If it were me, I would just try my best to get seats installed in their car for those few times they may need it.
 

Nisha

New member
I would just try my best to get seats installed in their car for those few times they may need it.

Thankfully, FIL does a pretty good job of installing seats! I watched him install the MA the other day and he got that thing rock solid... I don't think he realized I was watching either!
 

tanyaandallie

Senior Community Member
If she is only 34 lbs you could also consider a 40 lbs seat like the Chase. Super Cheap, tall top harness slots, 40 lbs weight limit. By the time she hits 40 lbs. she would be 4.5 and likely ok for short trips with the grandparents. It doesn't make the best booster on earth but it does work as a booster.

If it were me and the grandparents only had her 4 times a year, I wouldn't buy anything. I'd just transfer seats. If it were a few times a month, I'd buy seats. A few times a year, I'd just move mine.

I personally would not put a 34 lb 3 year old in a booster.
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
If there was absolutely no other choice, it would have to be acceptable. You do have other choices. I wouldn't do it.

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

If it's only a few times a year, why can't you just move her car seat to their car? :confused: That's what I do when my kids are with my parents, and that's much more than a few times a year.
 

lilysmomma

New member
I would not be comfortbale with it at her age.

For only a few times a year, I think I would just move her seat over to their car.
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
The only reason my DD starting using a Parkway with her grandparents as soon as she reached its required size minimums is that my parents were physically/medically incapable of using a harness correctly. She was still RF in my vehicle. It was a really difficult decision, but they were my only childcare option & I was not aloud to bring DD to my college midterms/finals. There was never less than 2 adults in the car -- 1 to focus on driving & the other to focus on helping kiddo maintain proper positioning.... The vehicle also had center S/ALR shoulder belt + rear side curtain airbags.

A correctly used booster is safer than an incorrectly used harness, but if they are capable of using a harness then kiddo should not be prematurely graduated. :twocents:
 

scatterbunny

New member
Ok ok, you all talked me out of it
I honestly don't have any idea how she would sit in it at this age.

We started "booster-training" with our dd at about your dd's age, but she was already 41-42 pounds at that time, and we didn't have a ton of seats on the market that would have worked for her height and weight, and in dh's vehicle. So at first, dh only took her to the store a few blocks away, about a 3-minute drive. We always talk about car safety, so she knew what was expected, but of course she wasn't perfect at that age.

We gradually increased the length of the trips as she got older and more capable of sitting still. At 4y3mo we tried going to a booster full-time and it was pretty much a disaster. She did okay for 20-30 minute trips, but nothing longer. We re-harnessed her, and I didn't feel she was mature enough for a booster for long trips until around her 6th birthday. Even so, we recently went back to a Regent for longer trips, and now she's choosing it over her booster more often than not. :p

Anyway, I just wanted to put that out there, to let you know how my child did in a booster at that age. I really believe the booster-training helped in our situation. If I had kept her harnessed without the option of riding in a booster from age 4-6, and just moved her at 6, she would have been just as wiggly then as she was at age 3-4, because she was testing her limits in a new, more free situation.

And as for a situation like Tiffany mentioned, I completely agree with her: if the caregiver is capable of using a harnessed seat and the child is within the limits of the booster, using the booster would be the safer choice (rather than using a harnessed seat incorrectly).

She's absolutely right about this.

A correctly used booster is safer than an incorrectly used harness, but if they are capable of using a harness then kiddo should not be prematurely graduated.

I was just thinking, if I could get something cheaper that would still last awhile.... are there any cheap(er) higher (than 40 lbs) weigh harness seats that cost around $60-$80?

For $60-$80, there really isn't a seat that harnesses over 40 pounds; the cheapest I've seen the Apex is $80, but I haven't seen that price in quite awhile. The cheapest I can find right now is $110 at Albee Baby. The Apex requires vehicle head support at least up to the tops of the child's ears at all times (the carseat headrest itself is not strong enough to provide that necessary head support).

However, like a previous poster mentioned, a seat like the Evenflo Chase might work just fine for grandma. It's about $60 last time I checked, has pretty tall top slots and a 40# harnessed limit. If your dd is a pretty consistent grower, she should be 4.5-5 before she hits 40 pounds, and hopefully mature enough for rare booster rides. The Chase has a unique harness adjuster, though, directly on the front of the harness, right next to the chest clip, and some folks don't like that. I just checked on the price of this seat and came up with $60 for the LX version and $69.95 for the DLX version.

The Graco Ultra CarGo is also a nice 40# option, with tall top slots. It has deeper side wings than the Evenflo Chase, and a traditional harness adjuster located on the front/bottom of the seat. The CarGo can be found for $80 (free shipping at Amazon, with the link above).

Neither the Chase or CarGo have adjustable headrests, so they don't last as long in booster mode as some others. The shoulderbelt guides on these also aren't the greatest, and they are located on the wings of the seat, which can position the belt too far away from some slim children. I like to think of these seats as harnessed-only/booster-in-an-emergency seats, but really, booster mode can be okay if it truly fits the child.

The Evenflo Generations is a bit more, around $100, but it's a step up from the Evenflo Chase in that it converts to a pretty nice highback booster once the harness is outgrown because it has a height-adjustable headrest. It still has the 40# harnessed limit.

The Graco Nautilus is my first choice for a combination harness/booster, though, because it has taller top slots than any of the other seats in that category, a higher harnessed weight limit, makes a good highback booster and also converts to a backless booster, can be LATCHed in booster mode, and is easy to install and use correctly, in my experience.

My economical side loves the Nautilus, too, because it does so many things, and actually does them well. :p It eliminates the need for another highback and backless booster later. With a $60-$80 Chase or CarGo, you only get to harness to 40 pounds, then most likely will want to buy a dedicated highback booster for $50-$120. You end up spending $110-$200 going that route, when the Nautilus is only $130-$150, harnesses to 65# and also converts to a backless booster.

Is it possible to take grandma seat-shopping with you to try some of these out? I just know that some seats are easier to use than others, and what's easy for me might not be easy for you, so it might be nice to get her opinion on things like the Chase's harness adjuster.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
I would get the Nautilus or switch out the seats you have when needed.

Since they are fine with using the harnessed seats and dont' have a problem using them, there is no reason to decrease safety.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
=

A correctly used booster is safer than an incorrectly used harness, but if they are capable of using a harness then kiddo should not be prematurely graduated. :twocents:

I'm not sure we can make this generalization, after seeing this study http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=49789 where the 3 yo in a booster died, while the 2 yo in the wrongly threaded 5 pt harness seat walked away with a broken collarbone.:eek:

ETA: Full study is here http://www.anec.eu/attachments/ANEC-R&T-2008-TRAF-003.pdf (scroll way down to pages that have pictures of crashes)
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I'm not sure we can make this generalization, after seeing this study http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=49789 where the 3 yo in a booster died, while the 2 yo in the wrongly threaded 5 pt harness seat walked away with a broken collarbone.:eek:

ETA: Full study is here http://www.anec.eu/attachments/ANEC-R&T-2008-TRAF-003.pdf (scroll way down to pages that have pictures of crashes)
Thanks for linking me to that thread -- I missed it! :thumbsup: I can't open the full article on any of the computers I have access to, though :confused:

It's true that my last paragraph is a huge over simplification (even without that study), but my version of misuse as it applied to my parents is that they could not buckle the harness *at all* (when between medications) ... now kiddo is capable of buckling her own harness & can almost tighten it just enough: she's back in the Husky in 1 of their cars :) Even without being able to read the full article, my gut reaction is that slight misuse of a RF seat is indeed better than boostering a child who still fits RF, but I'm sure you agree that if the harness can't be buckled at all then a correctly used booster is better than the alternative ;) Of course, not getting in the car without me would be the best idea & we did limit that as much as possible (even to the point where kiddo joined me to my annual GYN visit :whistle:)

Yes, I've been around the bend & back again trying to figure out the best way to deal with my parents' arthritis when it comes to carseats :eek: Thank goodness kiddo doesn't really need their help at all anymore all of a sudden! :D

Oops, lots of smilies, sorry.
 

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