Ds wants to ride without a booster

Amaris

New member
We met some friends at the park yesterday afternoon and the girl who is Michael's age and somewhat smaller than Michael doesn't use a booster. I've tried to talk mom into it, but it's not going to happen. It is legal in NY for an 8 year old to ride without one. So of course now Michael wants to ride without one. I told him we would see what the seatbelt fit looked like in the middle row (we have large captains chairs, but no side curtain airbags in the 3rd row). I didn't think he would come close to fitting. I know he's tall, but he insists that he fits, so I told him I would get opinions from you guys. I really think he needs a booster, and I do think the lap belt is too high, but I did tell him I would ask, so I am.
 
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safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
Not what you want to hear, but the fit in the picture is actually good. The belt is down touching his thighs and is clearly below his hipbones. My only concern is he looks like he is *just* barely sitting all the way back and that he will scoot forward as he relaxes.

If this were my child, I'd be comfortable with him in just the seat belt for short trips, but I would reserve the right to add a booster during any trip if I noticed him out of position.
 

Amaris

New member
Nope, not really what I wanted to hear. He's growing up too fast. He's really good at staying in position, and I did have him relax and it still fit the same way, he just wouldn't relax for pictures at all! He still fits in the monarch on the highest setting, but only barely and only in the 3rd row. His shoulders are touching the belt guides, but the seatbelt fits him. Mostly he rides in a backless in the middle row.
 

ginny4

New member
i agree he fits well. but does he fit BETTER with a booster (even a backless)?
a booster does add some extra protection than a seatbelt alone. my son is 10yo still in a backless cause he fits BETTER with it. he is anxious to be without one but i'm not crazy about it just yet. i do allow for him to go without a booster in friends cars tho (rare occasions anyway).
 

Amaris

New member
As bad as I hate to admit it, and I won't to him, it fits the same with the backless as without. The only difference is with him in the backless the shoulder belt has to be adjusted all the way up on it's slider thingy to fit him. Without the backless it's all the way down. I do intend to keep him in the backless as long as the seatbelt fits well with it. I am still in shock, honestly, that he does fit without it. That's a big seat, and I thought I had at least another year before I was forced to admit to him that he fit well in just the seatbelt.
 

ginny4

New member
the backless offers an extra set of hips. this aids in keeping the lap belt nice & low if in a crash & taking some of the force off your sons hips.
you can explain to him the safety benfits still.
my son wants to get out of a seat too but still fits better with one. sooo.....i have promised him that next birthday (may) when we'll have to play musical seats anyway he can move out of the booster into the adult seatbelt full time. unless of course he all of a sudden has a growth sput that makes him fit lousy in the booster. he's hoping that he'll grow again. LOL
 

Amaris

New member
Dh and I sat down with him last night and talked about how his hips may not be mature enough to keep the seatbelt down where it needs to be. He understands and agrees that he needs the booster. I'm in the same boat though, if he has another growth spurt in his torso then the seatbelt may end up over on his shoulder when he's in the booster. I'm hoping for at least another year with the booster, but hopefully close to 2 years.
 

Maedze

New member
I agree that ideally he should be in a booster until he's a little older, but if there was an emergency situation (um, all the boosters in the world were found to be leaking massive amounts of radiation?), I think he would be safe to ride short trips, as long as he minds his business and doesn't slump.
 

Amaris

New member
I agree that ideally he should be in a booster until he's a little older, but if there was an emergency situation (um, all the boosters in the world were found to be leaking massive amounts of radiation?), I think he would be safe to ride short trips, as long as he minds his business and doesn't slump.

I hope they keep the radiation away from the seats! I don't even want him without a booster for short trips, but dh thinks he should be "seat trained" before being allowed to ride without one all the time. His reasoning seems a little flawed to me since he is responsible for sitting right all the time in a booster, but dh thinks that he will have more freedom to move from side to side and needs to learn to stay put in the middle without the armrests as reminders.:rolleyes:
 

Maedze

New member
I think your husband is right. A good booster makes it very difficult to have the lap belt misplaced, even if the child slumps a bit. On the other hand, I can tell from the picture that if your boy slumps even a little bit, he'll have the lap belt too high.
 

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