The light weight child question

itzmeigh

New member
My nephew is a small 7 year old. He turned 7 in October. And he is about 45-50 pound. And about 47 inches tall. He is currently in a Radian and still has about 1.5-2 inches before he is even with the highest slots.

Needless to say he will fit his Radian EASILY until he is 8 years old and maybe even after that. So really that's not the trouble.

My sister is looking for him a booster for his dad's car. He almost never rides over there so he really hasn't had on in that car. But they are buying a new car and would like a booster for him in it. This is where I started thinking... really WHAT would I do? (They will most likely get him a Graco Turbo Booster, they are still shopping.)

He is tiny so he needs something. He will fit in his harness just about forever! (Good thing they don't have a Regent! haha!) He's near on 8 years old but of course he will need SOMETHING for a while still...

So I thought it would be fun to put it out there for everyone and see just what would YOU do.

Here is what I would do.

My car would be the Radian until outgrown.

Dad's car would be the Oober or the Monterey

When he out grew the Radian in my car I'd move the Oober/Monterey to my car and buy a no back for hubby.

(Why the Oober or Monterey? Just because I like them.... No other reason really. But then I also like the Compass line too.)

or...

I would buy a Nautilus my car and move the Radian to Dad's car and then move to a No back booster when the Radian is outgrown. (Most likely what *I* would do)

So what would you do?
 
ADS

Qarin

New member
This isn't hypothetical for me- my 7yo (november birthday) DD1 is 43lbs, 43" tall. She rides in a Nautilus in my car, and high back booster seats in the other cars she sometimes rides in (Parkway in DH's car, Parkway in my parents' car when we visit there, usually for two weeks at a time, 2-4 times per year, TurboBooster in my MIL's car (every couple of weeks)).

She is welcome to switch to a Parkway in my car full-time any time she wants to, and once in a while decides to use it (like when she's wearing a long, narrow skirt). She does not, at this time, want to give up her harness.

This may become an issue when my 4yo DD2 outgrows her Wizard's harness and I want to move her to the Nautilus and DD1 to the Parkway.
 

BW1426

Well-known member
I would get a Vivo because it fits smaller children very well.

I have zero problems with a mature 7 year old that weights at least 40 lbs being in a booster.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
My almost-7yo will fit harnessed in the Nautilus for at least another full year and probably longer. We recently used it as a booster for a week because her arm was in a sling. Now that she's out of the sling, I asked her if she wanted to go back to harnessing and she said "I guess so". I was satisfied with her booster use and would have allowed her to choose (most of the time -- I still might want her harnessed on long trips).
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
I would buy a booster just because he doesn't have one to use as a backup. If there was already a booster and I was looking for a primary seat, I'd buy a harness.

My DS was that size at 7. (well close enough, lighter and taller overall, but all legs. He fit the RN with the same amount of growth room)

He's 9 and a half now and is just at the top slots of DD2's Frontier, but I would expect him to last a few months before he actually goes over the slots because his torso grows so slow. He was even with the top slots of the MA for a little over a year. His 7 yo sister has plenty of height room in the Frontier (she follows the same torso growth pattern as DS) but is getting close to the weight limit because of some meds she was on. I asked DS if he would want to move to a booster full time if I had to put his sister in one full time, and he said he'd rather stay in his Husky as long as he fits. I expect him to fit the Husky for another year at least. My oldest outgrew the Husky by weight at a bit over 10 years old. She was 5 feet tall and still under the top slot.

All my kids were using a booster once in a while by 4 years though. So I would want a booster if I didn't have one.
 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
DS1 (7 in March) is exactly 40lbs. He rides in a Parkway full time and has been doing so since shortly after he turned 6 (6yrs 3 mo at the end of Kindergarten).
 

christineka

New member
My 7 year old weighs about 50 punds as does my 9 year old. Both could fit in the radian and nautilus for a year or two more, but I don't see any reason to make them. They sit great in their boosters and seatbelts.

One dd has the graco turbobooster and it works fine for her. The other had sleeping issues in her turbo, so now she is in a vivo. I really like the vivo, but the graco is okay,
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
This isn't hypothetical for us, either. Piper is 6.5, 38 pounds, and 43". In my car she's harnessed in a Nautilus. I just moved the harness to the top slots this past week. In Nathan's car she's allowed to ride in her Parkway. I wouldn't trust her in one full time.

On the plane she's in her Radian. Not sure how much longer that'll go on as she now fits in a plane's belt pretty well.

She's asked for a booster for my car, but the answer is no. Not full time yet.

Wendy
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
My daughter turns 7 in a month.... She has always been 90th-97th percentile for height & until recently has been less than 35th percentile for weight . . . school lunch has now "plumped" her up to about 50th percentile for weight :)

Her favorite seat is the Husky/Regent, but because we are car-less pedestrians she usually uses the Ride Safer Travel Vest. In the last year we've handed down her Compas B510 & Parkway boosters to friends who needed them more. Her booster options now only include the Monterey & backless Turbo. She has fit (still fits) safely in all these boosters as soon as she reached the manufacturer's stated size (weight AND height) requirements -- but age and/or maturity has been the biggest issue: until only very recently, she has not been capable of sitting correctly for the entire length of every ride without parental reminders, especially with the added distraction of other children sitting next to her. We liked the B510 because it folds for travel, but we miss the Parkway simply because it was perfect for tight 3 across squeezes. We love the Monterey for many safety & comfort reasons, but it's heavy & wide. Grandpa bought the Turbo, but I'd have prefered a Vivo ;)

Any 7 year old without certain special needs who meets the manufacturer's size requirements should be able to learn how to be responsible in a booster. A booster is much easier to transfer than a high weight harness option, but we both appreciate that she can simply wear her Ride Safer Travel Vest (aka. "parachute pack" :p) while walking to and fro. I personally like to choose a few acceptable options (affordable, safe, etc.) for the child to make the final decision -- IME this increases kid cooperation, which reduces driver stress :D However, I will mention that my kid cannot sleep safely in her backless booster. She just slumps out of the shoulder belt :thumbsdown: If you won't be using Dad's car for those trips when kiddo might fall asleep, then I would be fine with a backless (assuming the vehicle has adequate head support at least up to eye level + either a shoulder belt in the center or rear side curtain airbags: highback boosters are about 70% safer in side impacts)
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
Not hypothetical here, either, and my DD's in pretty much what your nephew will be in. :) She's 8.5 yo and still under 45lbs.

She rides in a Husky in my car; the Radian is her back-up harnessed seat.

She had a Turbo in Dad's car for a while, until it got traded for a Parkway. Seeing as how the Parkway's not available anymore, if I had to replace it I'd buy her another Turbo.

In Grandma's car she rides in a backless Turbo, and in Gypsy's car in a Parkway.
 

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