Question Booster seat with lap belt and anchor, but no headrest?

[TXmomof6]

Hi,

I am a mom of soon to be 6 and I am trying to fit all my kids into my 2004 Ford Excursion. I will have 4 kids in booster seats, 1 in a convertible carseat and a newborn. The problem is I have no shoulder belt or headrest in my center 2nd and 3rd row seats.
I was just going to put the 4 boosters on the outside seats with shoulder belts, BUT I just realized how difficult it is going to be to try to lift the infant carseat up and over one of the occupied booster seats to place it in the center.
So...I need to put one of the boosters in that center spot.

After some research I found that these are basically my only options...
Safe Rider Vest
EZ 86Y harness
Kid Y harness

Did I miss any?

The vest looks very cumbersome for a child to get in and out of several times a day, so I don't think I will go with that option.

My question is....since I do not have headrests, I would need to use one of the harnesses with a booster seat with it's back for head support..right? Are the harnesses compatible with a Evenflo or Graco booster seat? Do the harness straps feed thru where the shoulder belt would have gone but then over the seat to be anchored?

I'm just confused on how to provide upper body and head support on a bench seat with only a lap belt and achors.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Sara

 

[wendytthomas]

How old and heavy are the booster riders? Lifting the child into the middle seems like far less of a hassle when compared with getting a heavy duty tether added, using a booster with a harness, feeding the lap belt through the harness, then buckling and tightening everything. The RSTV can't be used with a booster. The EZ-On harnesses can, but they need a heavy duty tether after a certain weight. Could you maybe have one of the booster riders wait while you lift the infant over the unoccupied booster?

Wendy

 

[TXmomof6]

Wendy,

The booster seat riders are:
9 yrs 50lb (small for his age)
7 yrs 50lb
6 yrs 50lb
4 yrs 35lb

Even if the booster seat was empty, it would still be quite a struggle. The excursion is high off the ground.

I was thinking that the harness would already be threaded and adjusted and the child could just thread the lap belt through when they get in the car?

Pardon my ignorance, but what is RSTV? The vest or the kid Y harness?

Thank you for your thoughts!

 

[Kel]

I have 6 kids and kinda the same set up. I drive a windstar, that I took the captains out and replace with a third row bench. So 4 outboard shoulder belt and two laps center with no head rest.

I have 3mo old DD in center front bench. It takes a little more time, but only a couple minutes. I just "try" and load and unload my kids in order.

Kel

 

[wendytthomas]

Ok, at four years and 35 pounds I'd harness that child. Big time. So why not get a harnessed seat forward facing for that child and put it in one of the lap belt positions. Then put the baby toward the door next to them? That would leave shoulder belts and headrests for the other three older booster riders.

Wendy

 

[mylittlet]

Does your excursion have head support in the 3rd row? If not those outboard kids need highbacked boosters.

I would put the 4y in a harnessed seat. How old is #5 and #6? I would put to 9y in a backless booster in your passenger side 2nd row (the flip seat).

 

[danivdp]

Lap belt=Harnessed seat, period. You can find a harnessed seat to fit any of your kids, but I'd put the 4yo in one for sure. I have 6 kids too, and my 6yo DS who is 48lbs is harnessed, as well as my 3.5yo DD 28lbs. 8yo DS, 55lbs, is in a high back booster, baby in infant seat, and two bigger kiddos in regular seats w/ headrests.

My set up is in an astrovan with captains chairs though, so it will be a little different. I have no headrests in the 3rd row, so there is HBB, harness, harness. In the two captain's chairs go the infant seat and one of the big kids, and another big kid has to sit in the front

It's doable with the right seats!!!!

 

[Kel]

Seeing you have a 4yr old I would do what Wendy said.

How old is #5?

 

[Keeanh]

I also have middle lap belts. One belt has a Frontier in it for my almost-6yo. The other has a rear-facing seat. Your 4yo definitely needs to be in a harness, and you could put your 6yo in a harness if that makes buckling easier.

Is your 5th child still rear-facing? Are you familiar with the safety benefits of extended rear-facing? It's very important to keep little ones rear-facing as long as possible with 4 being a good goal.

I've had an infant seat in the middle from time to time in my van, and found it pretty easy to lift the seat over the booster. It's easier than you would expect.

 

[LISmama810]

If it matters, we have a super-high-off-the-ground truck, and I lift my infant seat into the center over a booster with no problem.

I climb onto the running board, then sort-of sit in the booster. Click the infant seat in, and we're ready to go. It's really quite easy.

 

[Kat_Momof3]

well the 4yr old should NOT be in a booster already, especially being so small, so I'd get a harnessed seat that can later be passed to baby like the Radian and put the 4yr old in the middle seat harnessed.

 

[ChaoticMum]

Does your excursion have head support in the 3rd row? If not those outboard kids need highbacked boosters.

I would put the 4y in a harnessed seat. How old is #5 and #6? I would put to 9y in a backless booster in your passenger side 2nd row (the flip seat).

If its anything like my 03 excursion, there are no headrests in the 3rd row, nor the center seatof 2nd row. The 3rd row is near impossible to put three seats in, plus there is only one tether anchor on the drivers outboard.

I would put infant in centre of middle row, the child already in a convertible rear facing in middle of rear row which are the two lap belt spots. Then the 4yr old in a harnessed seat in rear row outboard drivers side with the only tether anchor back there. Then boosters in remaining three shoulder/lap combos of outboard spots. We did backless boosters in the middle row outboards as theybhave headrests and are easy to yank out to put the infant seat in...we were lifting two in/out with our twins.

The trick will be fitting three across in rear row, plus the 4yr old would have to crawl under the rf'ing seat (or over the 2nd row seat back) to get in. Those lap belts and lack of head rests really mess things up.

You could put a HBB in rear row outboard drivers side and the infant plus one convertible in the middle row on the 60 portion but it would be even harder for a big kid to get in.

 

[carseatcoach]

Ok, at four years and 35 pounds I'd harness that child. Big time. So why not get a harnessed seat forward facing for that child and put it in one of the lap belt positions. Then put the baby toward the door next to them? That would leave shoulder belts and headrests for the other three older booster riders.
Wendy

Absolutely this!