Does the YS make a good or bad booster for skinny minnies?

I'm just trying to think ahead. Evelyn will always be scrawny There's no getting around that. However she's gaining weight quickly now but it should taper off soon. I originally was going to start booster training around 4 1/2 or 5 (shes extremely safety conscious) but before her tube she'd only be about 30 lbs or so but since she wasn't going to hit 40 lbs until she was probably 9 or 10, I wasn't willing to wait that long. Now she should be closer to 35-36 pounds at around 4 1/2- 5. My parents are horrible with harness use and Evelyn carpools a lot and its gonna make sense to have her booster trained by 5 or so.

I only own two boosters-a Recaro Start and a Young Sport. Do these fit skinny kids well? Or should I be looking at something else? The Young Sport just looks like it keeps the lap belt low plus the wings look like they'd keep younger kids better contained and a better reminder to stay in place.

Anyone use one in booster mode for younger, smaller, narrower kids? I like the idea of the Parkway with the anti sub clip but I'm not that keen on going against manufacturers instructions for the weight limit. The Recaro's are 30 lbs (and 36"!!!!! Don't wanna see a 36" kid in that thing!)

She's just so narrow theres a huge gap between her hips and the sides of her YS. Probably about 2.5-3" on each side. Is this a concern in a booster overall? What about a booster with great SIP? Since she's over the minimums to use it as a booster, I can't imagine what a smaller kid looks like! There really would be gaps on each side

My only concern is ease of use. Neither the Start nor the YS look very user friendly. I once used the YS in booster mode to see what it looked like and it was hard to get the lapbelt in the belt path since it isn't open and buckled. I'm afraid my parents wouldn't be able to do that.

Bare with me. I'm new at this booster stuff!

It's a great booster all around, but if you're parents are unwilling to use it properly, then it's not a good booster at all.
Hardest to screw up is the Turbo, and fits small kids very well.

I have no grief with extra space on the sides of a kid, because the two main rules for booster fit are that the lapbelt is low on the thighs, the shoulderbelt is touching the chest and shoulder, and a minor third is that their legs are basically bent comfortably over the front so that they don't slip forward to bend their knees rather than have them sticking straight out and the lapbelt rides up.
I don't think a Turbo is much easier than a YS...either one will have shoulderbelt guides and armrests to deal with, and E will have to learn to either make it right or tell an adult to fix it. And I personally think the Turbo is inferior in SIP...
The Start is an absolute nightmare because of that shoulderbelt clamp and the difficulty leaning over it to buckle... though I did know one mom who managed to make it work so that the shoulderbelt was always the same length and that made it ok to buckle, for me it never seems to work the way it should (the clamp is necessary to 40 lbs).

I suppose she can't buckle her own harness yet? My kids have been so different! Kar couldn't buckle anything till he was 6.5, Bitsy 4.5 (harnesses were easier than boosters for her till she was 7), and Leah can buckle pretty much anything at 3.5

No. This child refuses to buckle herself. She doesn't have the dexterity and since she's about 24 months for fine motor skills I don't see it happening soon. Yet her baby sister has done it herself for over 2 months

http://www.healthchecksystems.com/Comersus/store/catalog/recaro_start_kids.jpg

Um, yeah. The start fits babies well so it should fit your DD just fine :thumbsup:

Wow! That pic is scary!

Heh, good thing Cosco doesn't pose pictures of kids in the High Rise backless booster, which is labeled for kids 1 and 30 lbs.

But yeah, that picture is both German (totally different standards) and pretty old (I think even Germany has upped their harnessing recommendations since then, at least mykidsmylife reports that they seem to encourage toddlers be harnessed in stores nowadays )

CelticLabyrinth said:

http://www.healthchecksystems.com/Comersus/store/catalog/recaro_start_kids.jpg

Um, yeah. The start fits babies well so it should fit your DD just fine :thumbsup:

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Oh... my...

joolsplus3 said:

But yeah, that picture is both German (totally different standards) and pretty old (I think even Germany has upped their harnessing recommendations since then, at least mykidsmylife reports that they seem to encourage toddlers be harnessed in stores nowadays )

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I know, I was just providing a visual .

She's sat in the Start tons with a shield so I know it fits her well, it's just NOT user friendly and not something I'd give to the average person to use for my kid LOL. Even without the shield it fit her well (never drove like that). My younger one has used it on occasion as well and are not even close to the lowest setting. But the shield and Start over there are rated from 9kg and up I think so about 18 pounds so that picture is probably right. Even I don't want to use it on a regular basis as a booster LOL. I can't imagine getting my parents or friends too. I guess we'll see whats out in the next few months. Otherwise I think I'll just count on using the YS if I need to to booster train. Seems decent for a younger smaller child.

1kg=2.2 pounds, so 9Kg is roughly 20 . Though a shield is considerably more protective than a seatbelt for kids that small (I'm going to start using mine again in winter, lol).

joolsplus3 said:

1kg=2.2 pounds, so 9Kg is roughly 20 . Though a shield is considerably more protective than a seatbelt for kids that small (I'm going to start using mine again in winter, lol).

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I wish we could this winter but it's a no go with the tube Maybe when she gets it changed out to the button, but right now, not gonna work. I think in DH's car when DD2 goes FFing we may use it for her. Shes chunky so I'm not sure how it will work. Is it hard in a 4 door car? We've only used it in a minivan. There's no way I'm putting DD1 in a booster now, even the start. It'll still be a year and 5 more pounds before booster training I Just like to figure out things a head of time. I love the YS and would love to use it as a booster as well. That seat just rocks! Now if they just upped the limit it'd be peachy cause I want DD2 in one when she FF's. But if she RF's to 35-36 pounds its kinda pointless to get her a 40 lb YS at that point It only worked for DD1 cause she was so old and light

I can let you know how my skinny 43lb. 6y/o fits in the YS in booster mode. I'm getting one Thursday

firemomof3 said:

I can let you know how my skinny 43lb. 6y/o fits in the YS in booster mode. I'm getting one Thursday

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Lots of pics!!!!! I adore mine. RECARO UP THE LIMITS!!! DD2 NEEDS ONE!!!!!

I've emailed Recaro several times about their plans for the YS and they never respond I'll tell ya, I love Recaro seats but I hate Recaro customer service...or lack there of