Dear booster seat makers...

lovemybabybug

New member
..the 30 lb minimun thing that you put on your boosters is just unrealistic. Because a lot of parents will read thay and say hey my 3 year old is 39 lbs and very tall, lets get rid of the bulky harnessed seat and just use the booster, woohoo.

Saw my friend last weekend. We are talking about our kids not listening and stuff. She tells me her daughter (3.5) got in big trouble the other day. Why? Because she inbuckled her booster to pick up a toy she dropped, while mom was driving on a 65mph road with no shoulder to pull over. After I grasped for air I asked (nicely, I promise) why the crap was the kid in a booster. Dad says she is big enough, the booster says 30 lbs and she is over that. And now with all of her winter clothing on it was too hard to buckle her in the harness and she was complaining the harness was too tight, so he just put her in a booster ( BACKLESS cosco embassador). Mom was soooo upset.

So I gave the whole 9 yards about fleece jackets and blankets. Then asked them to bring the seats out. Nautilus and symphony, both with infant paddings still in and set on the bottom slots. Head rests both a the lower position. They turned this child forward at 9 months and never moved the slots up as she grew. So I took the padding out, fixed the harness and and made sure it was set for her size. The kid was soooo happy and thanked me that she wasn't squished anymore! I installed the seats back in the cars and made one pregnant hormonal mama very happy!
 
ADS

YinzerMama

New member
I'd wonder if a child that doesn't know to stay buckled and not pick up a toy might just as well have unbuckled a harness?

Unless it was one of those evil new graco buckles that no one can get out of. :D

I'm actually glad the graco booster has a lower weight limit of 30 pounds because one of my girls is only 35 pounds at 4 1/2, and now that the baby is using the girls' old marathons it's nice that the girls can use my oldest's old boosters on the rare occasion my husband picks them up from school in his car. But people do start to use them too early, not understanding maturity and staying put matter as well. They should emphasize age as well as weight.
 
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Cilia

New member
However how many times do we see people posting they have a 7 yr old that is not quite 40 lbs.

It's not the booster companies problem people can't follow direction or learn proper usage.

auto correct hates me

I agree. I have a 6.5 yo that is not over 38 lbs. I was not going to buy her another harnessed seat when she outgrew her RA50 by height. I am happy about the 30 lbs limit.

But I do get your frustration. DD1 moved to a booster full time at 6 yo, not 3!
 

VoodooChile

New member
I'm far more curious about the "3 years" minimum than the "30 lbs" minimum. I've always wondered where that come from.
 

YinzerMama

New member
I'm far more curious about the "3 years" minimum than the "30 lbs" minimum. I've always wondered where that come from.

I always assumed it just stuck around from when a lot of kids DID outgrow harnessed seats by that age. My oldest was too tall for his Marathon by 3 1/2 and that was really the king of the easily available harnessed seats at that time. People spoke of regents but it was rare to see one in the wild and I think the nauti may have just been coming on the market or soon would be but most of the seats then were easily outgrown.

You had to do SOMETHING once your kid outgrew their harnessed seat. :)

It isn't as true now, though.
 

lovemybabybug

New member
I just would like something huge stamped on the box instead/ along with that number 30. Because people who don't reserch walk into the store and see that 30 lbs on the package, it is cheap enough, so they get it. I have heard the "they meet the minimum weight" so many times. A high age limit would be oh so nice. Same with the turning forward thing. The box says I can turn the baby at 20 lbs, so why not?

And no, she had never unbuckled her harness.
 

Baylor

New member
lovemybabybug said:
I just would like something huge stamped on the box instead/ along with that number 30. Because people who don't reserch walk into the store and see that 30 lbs on the package, it is cheap enough, so they get it. I have heard the "they meet the minimum weight" so many times. A high age limit would be oh so nice. Same with the turning forward thing. The box says I can turn the baby at 20 lbs, so why not?

And no, she had never unbuckled her harness.

I think they all say 1 yr and 20 lbs.

It's still up to parents to actually read the manuals and learn.
They learn how to properly diaper and feed and give medicine. This is just something else they have the responsibility to learn.

auto correct hates me
 

jnamommy

New member
I don't want 30lb minimum boosters to go away (I am another in the camp of small kids that won't hit 40lbs for forever). I would love it if they would change the minimim age though. However, even if the minimum age was raised, there will still be parents out there that use the seat anyway.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I think they all say 1 yr and 20 lbs.

It's still up to parents to actually read the manuals and learn.
They learn how to properly diaper and feed and give medicine. This is just something else they have the responsibility to learn.

auto correct hates me

First Years are 23lbs, Dorel is 22 pounds AND 34 inches. Problem is, you're right no one reads anything, and the '1 and 20' golden rule is still the master of the universe for FF, so they ignore the actual FF rules on the FF seats. Sigh.

Maybe we could compromise a little on the weight thing? 30? Really? At least for these companies that live and breathe the weights and heights of the dummies (like Dorel with RF 40 inches, and Evenflo with RF 37 inches), couldn't they go with 35, the weight of the 3 yo dummy?
 

bnsnyde

New member
The parents I know all read the 30 and say, well, my kid is 30 so it's Ok. And we see preschoolers in backless boosters all the time, usually without the shoulder belt on correctly.

So yeah, I agree it's scary.
I pretty much start to think about boosters as they turn 6, depending on the kid. Actually my 6-year-old could either have gotten the Frontier85 (and that only) or a booster...we chose the Oobr. I hope I made the right choice. Some days I'm yelling at him to stay in position and not sure I did. But honestly I don't know how much growing room he would have had.
 

Mom2Connor

New member
Even if you raised the minimum age, people will just say their kid is the size of a 5 yr old and use it anyway. They don't understand about skeletal developments and the maturity needed to sit properly.
 

skylinphoto

New member
Yeah, I like the 30lb limit. I have a 4.5 yr old who's only 29-30lbs. And a 6.5 yr old who I started boostering at 5-5.5 and he was only 33lbs at the time.

An age limit would be nice. Same with ffing. An age limit would be nice but I like the 20lb minimum...my dd was only 19-20lbs at 2 (she rf'd to 4 though).
 

SavsMom

New member
I have a lightweight too. DD will be 5 in a week and I am going to start booster training her, she just hit 35 lbs. because I had health issues growing up I didn't hit 40 lbs until 4th grade :eek:
 

tiggercat

New member
featherhead said:
Just move to Canada. Boosters are all 40 lb minimum here ;)

I still see a lot of "40lb" 2-3 year olds in boosters, but I think it helps...

Sent from my iPod touch using Car-Seat.Org
 

veggiegirl228

New member
I have a friend who bought her GD (2.5 yrs old/40 lbs) a booster b/c it stated that it was for 30 lbs and up. She was frustration at the company b/c it states one thing and the law says another.
 

lanwenyi

New member
See I have a lightweight who won't be over 40lbs until 6-7. I have no problem with the 30lb minimum.

I don't like the 3yo minimum (or 1yo in the case of the Cosco boosters) b/c there are economical seats that will harness the heavier 3yos and the 3yo minimum is a vestige of the days when seats the size of the Comfortsport were the "tall" long-lasting seats.

I'd love to see a sliding scale
("your child must meet one of the following minimums:
3yo AND 50lbs,
4yo AND 40lbs,
OR
5+yo AND 30lbs)
but I know that no-one would follow it since they can't follow the much simpler directions that are on the box now.

And yes, I know that with my sliding scale my DD would not have been able to be in a booster when she broke her arm. I'm okay with that b/c it would be safer for MOST kids without making parents of lightweights make impossible decisions when their kids are too tall for the harnessed seats they can afford, but too light to go into a booster.
 

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