WWYD booster for smaller child for car pools

This may never happen, but I worry about things.

We're considering a school for DS that does a lot of field trips, all parent carpool transportation and car seats must be used until children are 6yo or 6o lbs. If he gets into the school, it'll be in 6 months time and he'll be 4 yo 9months. Currently he's 34lbs and 39" tall. I worry that if I can't drive him, another parent won't be able to install a harnessed seat properly. I've seen some ditzy installs that friends have done. And wonder if a booster would be safer in this situation, than to trust that another parent can install DS's harnessed seat.

I want to be there to drive DS on these trips, but I'm planning to return to study/work, so I might not always be able to do it. Granted I don't have a job now nor am in school now, so it might not be an issue for some time. It's a REALLY good school, but the field trip transportation has me worried enough that's it's a mark against the school - and the appeal of the school is that the kids see and do what they are learning, and that means sometimes taking them out of the school grounds.

So, if you had a smaller sized school-aged child would you be OK with booster use for car pool situations if you couldn't take the child yourself? Child would be taught how to ride in the booster, how the belt should be (over/under arm rests), and how to lock the seat belt on himself.

While I would prefer a harnessed seat for a child that age and size, if he can use a booster properly, it is a safe and appropriate option. The Recaro Vivo and Graco Turbobooster usually fit little children well.

IME even mature booster riders become immature when in vehicles with other booster riders displaying unsafe behavior.

I think I'd opt for a RSTV.

I agree. My one hesitation with the RSTV is that it's so DIFFERENT. You'd need to maybe provide a laminated, blown-up "how to install" instruction page, and teach your son how it goes so he knows if they're doing something wrong when they help him in it (if he can't do it all himself.)

Thanks everyone.
I plan to avoid a booster car pool situation for as long as we can. I would prefer DS to be at minimum 5 yo and 40lbs before he goes near a booster. But for him to get to 40lbs, he'll be closer to 6 I think.

I hear you Gypsy on boostered riders riding improperly when with their friends. I guess I'll just do everything I can to be the one driving DS, and hopefully he'll never need to go in another person's car until he's much older and bigger. And who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and they'll be another parent that I meet and see they great car seat installs. I do have one friend who I know can install a car seat properly. But I have another friend that I won't allow to install a seat, I've seen her RF install through the FF belt path and harness at top slots for a small toddler. You just can never tell who knows what about car seats.

ketchupqueen said:

My one hesitation with the RSTV is that it's so DIFFERENT.

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Well, since we don't have a car we do a lot of carpooling. My daughter usually uses a booster & engages the Switchable Locking Retractor herself -- passive reminder to sit properly when she's distracted by her friends & also helps her feel secure -- she prefers the snugness of a harness (perhaps for the same reason she enjoys a weighted vest in her classroom), so a locked shoulder belt is an OK compromise for her: most kids over 4 can learn ride correctly with mere parental threats to lock the belt ) My daughter started learning how to use boosters before she turned 4, on the livingroom floor with scarves as pretend seatbelts, just in case there was ever an emergency in which we didn't have a harness/vest.

Anyway, she does frequently use the RSTV, especially when 3 kids are crammed in the back. Her grandfather with nerve damage prefers the vest. 3 out of our 5 carpooling friends also prefer the vest. It's not traditional & it can take a few extra moments, but it's not difficult to understand. Kiddo puts hers on herself at home & wears it under her jacket while walking around (except in the summer when the humidity is high), then buckling herself into the car. It didn't take much time at all for kiddo to learn how it works well enough to be the one to teach the carpool drivers My daughter has been correcting her grandparents' attempts to buckle her into carseats since PreK She's in 1st grade now & legally allowed to ride in just the seatbelt, but she brings her own booster or vest to buckle herself in when I'm not with her.

Regardless of the seat choice, kids should always be taught how to use their seats correctly. :twocents: Best of luck!

papooses said:

Kiddo puts hers on herself at home & wears it under her jacket while walking around (except in the summer when the humidity is high), then buckling herself into the car. It didn't take much time at all for kiddo to learn how it works well enough to be the one to teach the carpool drivers My daughter has been correcting her grandparents' attempts to buckle her into carseats since PreK

Regardless of the seat choice, kids should always be taught how to use their seats correctly. :twocents: Best of luck!

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I think DS could do the same with the vest. He's pretty good about figuring out how things work, and will tell you if you did something wrong. He also told MIL exactly how the chest clip should be and how tight the harness should be. That was my way of making sure she would buckle him in correctly when she looked after him for a few days. He and I practiced in the car, so he would know how it should be. MIL did comment on it when we were back, saying that DS was very particular about his car seat harness and she wondered where he got that from

I've been thinking about a vest for when DS outgrows the Uptown. It's our travel seat. But I have to get my parents in Australia to get a top tether in their car, so it can be used with a lap belt. Maybe on our next trip we can get the tether.

Oh, yes. I'd hope that he could but then you have a kid like my almost-five-year-old, who still can't even buckle her harnessed seat after 2 years of trying.

Oh, and papooses, sensory issues? My daughter has them, so do I. I think she would love the snugness of a RSTV. I lock my own seatbelt, both for better fit and because I like the way it feels, always have, lol.

ketchupqueen said:

Oh, yes. I'd hope that he could but then you have a kid like my almost-five-year-old, who still can't even buckle her harnessed seat after 2 years of trying.

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It took at least a year for my kid to actually be able to buckle herself into her harness, too, & it was almost another year before she could do so without loosening the straps 1st + asking me to finish tightening it afterwards. It was then another year before should could buckle herself into the booster (still gets easily frustrated with doing it) & although it takes her longer in the vest, it's the easiest for her to do totally on her own. Of course, we use it more frequently than many families. Practice makes perfect & all that jazz.

Oh, and papooses, sensory issues? My daughter has them, so do I. I think she would love the snugness of a RSTV. I lock my own seatbelt, both for better fit and because I like the way it feels, always have, lol.

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Interesting. I always have to remove my coat or I feel trapped & breathless 1 doctor has unofficially confirmed the school psychologist's suspicions of Aspergers & the OT has begun implementing ~19 accomodations which the teacher & school social worker are tracking, but we're still waiting for the full evaluation for an official Dx. It's amazing how much better she feels with the weighted vest @ school & the snug RSTV in a car :thumbsup:

They say that all kids on the AS have Sensory Processing Disorder but not all kids with SPD are on the AS.

We don't have any AS issues in my family but SPD is RAMPANT.

I am concerned if it took her that long to learn to do it herself about the OP's son being able to do it, though. I still think, in addition to teaching him how it goes, it would be a good idea to make up a "proper use" card with pictures, etc. that the parent using it could check if he had to ride with someone else. (Including the fact that he must have head support behind him, when he gets to that size where it's an issue, that he must have either a lap/shoulder belt OR a lap belt WITH tether, etc.) Quite honestly I've seen enough misuse of boosters I'd be concerned about that even if you choose a booster for occasional use. (Boosters with lap belt only, etc.)

Yep, each kid is different as far as learning to buckle up on their own

ketchupqueen said:

it would be a good idea to make up a "proper use" card with pictures, etc. that the parent using it could check if he had to ride with someone else. (Including the fact that he must have head support behind him, when he gets to that size where it's an issue, that he must have either a lap/shoulder belt OR a lap belt WITH tether, etc.)

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This is a good idea. I was lazy & just printed a couple copies of the manual from the website (just Google Ride Safer Travel Vest) ... it was a single page, maybe back-to-back? That way I don't worry about others losing my original copy. However, a more to-the-point index card would have sufficed most of the time

ketchupqueen said:

I still think, in addition to teaching him how it goes, it would be a good idea to make up a "proper use" card with pictures, etc. that the parent using it could check if he had to ride with someone else. (Including the fact that he must have head support behind him, when he gets to that size where it's an issue, that he must have either a lap/shoulder belt OR a lap belt WITH tether, etc.) Quite honestly I've seen enough misuse of boosters I'd be concerned about that even if you choose a booster for occasional use. (Boosters with lap belt only, etc.)

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Yes, this concerns me too. I'm not surprised at what people come up with, and I could see someone using a booster with a lap belt only. It just adds more to my concerns. I'll try and drive DS to all field trips, and I think I can be there to do it. If I can't, I can see about being the person that installs his seat in another car. And I'll have to teach him about proper use, so he'll know if something is wrong, like a lap belt only situation for a booster.

It would be so much easier if all parents were like people here and knew about car seats