Booster seat for 5 year old

I have a 5 year old little girl who is 43" and 41 pounds. She is in Kindergarten this year and they have several field trips planned. Unfortunately I cannot volunteer for all of her trips as I don't have a babysitter for my other children every time. She needs to have a booster seat for the times when she rides with another parent. What would be the best and safest booster seat for her? I am being very paranoid about this and am actually considering just going to the school to drive her to the field trip, not that I don't trust the other moms, but it is not the same as me driving her. I don't want to be a freak though!

I am horrified to see so many of her classmates come without seats at all, and just ride in the seat belt. Several of them always ride in the seat belt alone, freaks me out. Like I said it is not that I don't trust the other moms but if they put their kids in just the seat belt, or backless boosters, it is hard to trust them with the safety of my baby.

What is the law and guidelines on full boosters, backless boosters and no childseat at all in Alberta? Today I drove 4 kids, mine in a fully harnessed to 65 pounds seat, one in a backless booster, and 2 had no boosters. One of the little guys is very small too. Seems reckless.
Thank you.

The law is harnessed to 40lbs or 6yrs old, whichever comes first, plus proper use. A 45lb child in no booster and just the seatbelt is legal provided that the lap is over the child and the shoulder belt is in front, regardless of fit. It is NOT safe, and NOT advisable. But it's legal. AB is one of only a few remaining provinces without a booster law.

2 kindergarten kids in no type of restraint is definitely not safe as I'd place money that neither of them could pass the 5 step test. A backless booster is fine for the other kid provided that he has a good seatbelt fit - lap belt low on hips/across upper thighs, and shoulder belt crossing midpoint between neck and shoulder. If it's not, then the belt guide needs to be used with the booster and the parent should make sure it's attached to the booster before arrival just for ease of use on your end. You'll also need to make sure anyone in a backless booster has adequate head support.

As for transporting other kids, if you have extra boosters, you could provide them. You're also within rights to refuse to transport kids who aren't appropriately restrained. Ultimately it's your responsibility to properly secure the kids in your vehicle, and just because it's not illegal, doesn't mean it's safe. I know I'd feel bad if something happened because a kid wasn't restrained properly, even if it was the other parent who had failed to provide a booster in the first place.

So far as your dd riding with others, has she used a booster before? How is she maturity wise? What is the school's policy in regards to kids who aren't 40lbs yet? The parent transporting under 40lb kids is legally required to have them in a harness if they're under 6yrs old. If you have an extra harnessed seat and don't think she's mature enough for a booster, I'd just expect them to make the same arrangements for her that they'd make for an under 40lb kid. 41lbs is really on the edge - technically speaking, if she got sick and lost weight, she'd probably be under 40lbs and legally required to be harnessed... so if you have something like a Chase seat, and you were able to install the seat and pre-set the harness tightness, then that's probably what I'd do.

If she's going to sit still, I'd be ok with a booster since it would eliminate the loose harness risk, but if she's never used a booster, a field trip isn't the first time you want her to be using one... and if the harness is already set for her, then you shouldn't have to worry about the harness being tight enough.

I'll tell you that I'm glad that my dd is under 40lbs still when it comes to seats. In many ways it makes things easier - not that anybody has ever argued with me, but if they did, she's still legally required to be harnessed right now anyways so the law is on my side. :thumbsup:

I am struggling right along with you.

My son is almost 6 and weighs the same as your child. He is still harnessed and never been in a booster. I am not ready to have him in one either.

If isn't possible for you to drive him does he have a close friend in class that you know the Mom and she always drives? If so could you provide her with a seat your are comfortable using and arrange it so she was the one to drive him when you can't so she can install that seat in her vehicle ahead of time?

My daughter was sick a couple of weeks ago and now she is 39 pounds and she is almost 5.5 so she is not legal in a booster yet.

The one really small boy I was driving is 6, so I guess he would have been legal in just the seat belt, but it sure doesn't make me comfortable. The other little guy is not 6 yet, but is quite a bit bigger than my daughter so I am sure he was over 40 pounds. The little girl was about my daughters size, so hovering on 40 pounds.

I really wish Alberta would change the law, the kids in my daughters class are so young, and I am sure none of them are mature enough to pass the 5 step test. I don't think they are mature enough to sit properly in a booster, let alone just the seat belt.

My daughter is a pretty mature child, but when they are all together a lot of giggling and acting silly goes on, and I don't think you could trust any 5-6 year old to sit perfectly in a seat 100% of the time.

Now that she is under 40 pounds because of the flu, maybe I need to just drive her. She has sat in a booster a few times before, and I am always sure to tell her to sit straight, don't wiggle or slouch...but now she is under the weight limit and only has 2 weeks to regain.


When she does go above 40 pounds, what is the safest full back booster available in alberta?
Thanks again,
Marcie

Marcie,

Do you think that the booster you buy will later become her full time booster, or is the booster you intend to buy now just something that will be used for school trips?

The reason I'm asking is because the 'full time' booster I'd probably recommend is heavy, a little wide, and expensive. It might not be practical to use as a 'school booster' if that makes sense.

For a school booster I'd lean towards the Graco Turbo Booster or Evenflo BigKid (or whatever they call it -- it's Evenflo's standard issue highback, found at wal-mart, zellers, etc). They're both pretty easy to use, cost effective, and somewhat narrow. The only reason I might lean towards the Evenflo is b/c the armrests fold up which can be easier for proper buckling. The Turbo booster has fixed armrests and the lap and shoulder belt have to be under the armrest after buckling.. something that's easily overlooked and/or too difficult for a child to do (and easy for a rushed parent to overlook).

I am not sure if it will just be a school booster or if she will eventually use it. She is in a Frontier right now, which can convert to a booster, but I may hand that down to her brother or sister when they outgrow their 40 pound harnessing seats and get her a booster, since she will be 7 or so by then.

We will probably use the booster in my husbands car as well, but he rarely drives her in the car, maybe only a few times a year to school.

What booster would you recommend if it was to be a more full time booster eventually? I don't mind spending more, and it should fit fine in our van or car even if it is big as she has the whole back seat.

Thanks for any info.
Marcie

I'm in BC and our law is height/age (booster to age 9, can't remember the height). For my DD#1 who starts K this September (how did THAT happen??), I plan on getting her a TurboBooster as a spare as I've heard its easy for parents and children to use correctly and it fits a wide variety of children well. She is in a Nautilus in DH's vehicle, a Radian in mine and uses an Evenflo Vision at daycare.

If you really want to go with a harnessed seat, check out the Vision. We recently used it on vacation with the girls and I was shocked at how much room DD#1 has left in that seat. She actually has more room than in the RN. I have heard that the top slots might be lower on that seat now, but ours is still working for us. It goes up to 47lbs in Canada. Our daycare provider has told us that she finds the Vision VERY easy to install with belts and that is what we did on vacation too. It also has LATCH, of course, and a TT (mandatory to use in Canada).