If you were in Europe at what age would you FF(booster) your child

How long would you RF in a large Swedish seat if boostering would be your only FF choice?

  • 3 years

    Votes: 1 1.7%
  • 4 years

    Votes: 4 6.8%
  • 5 years

    Votes: 19 32.2%
  • 6 years

    Votes: 7 11.9%
  • As long as they can fit in a Multitech/Two-way elite

    Votes: 28 47.5%
  • other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    59

ilo

New member
So if you would live in Europe only large RF seats but no HWH available when would you be ok turning your child FF in a booster?
 
ADS

lovemybabies924

New member
When my kid exceeded the weight of the largest RF seat I could afford without starving or getting divorced ;)

Sent from my iPod touch, sorry for any auto-correct typos!
 

ilo

New member
When my kid exceeded the weight of the largest RF seat I could afford without starving or getting divorced ;)

Sent from my iPod touch, sorry for any auto-correct typos!


Would it matter if your kid would ask for it say at 5, 6 or 7-year old. Multitech is huge and will fit a smallish or 50% child for a long time.
 

lovemybabies924

New member
5 I think is a great time to booster train... But that's just me :)
Eta: my ds2 is 4 years and 50th percentile and is about 36lbs fully clothed... He will be harnessed for a long time to come... Now dd1 was 40lbs by 3 and I had to booster her because I was really poor, but she fit great but didn't stay in position and drove me insane! I re-harnessed her at 4 off and on and now at 5 she understands and listens :)

Sent from my iPod touch, sorry for any auto-correct typos!
 

InternationalMama

New member
I assume this is just a hypothetical question, but just so you know the TWE is a HWH seat. I mean, it harnesses forward-facing to 25 kg (about 55 lbs). I consider that HWH. :)
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I voted 5, but really meant "5-6, whenever the child is booster ready." The median for the boys tended to be 5 or maybe 5.5. My hope with my own kid will be to do that regardless of continent. ;)
 

sharsachan

New member
i picked as long as possible, but Around 6 I would probably consider a booster. depending on my child's size. bear is small, has been small, and I expect him to stay small. dot is bigger in general and would probably be fine in a booster at 5 or 6 size wise
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
as long as they fit the swedish seat mentioned in the poll

the boys would have made it to about 5... Ruthie till she hits 55lbs (she's staying firm at 53) or outgrew it by height
 

ilo

New member
I assume this is just a hypothetical question, but just so you know the TWE is a HWH seat. I mean, it harnesses forward-facing to 25 kg (about 55 lbs). I consider that HWH. :)

No, I'm in Europe so I'm really interested what other think about this. I originally planned to start booster training when DD was 5 but she would fit the Multitech much longer than that.

I said practically no HWH seats as I do not like TWE FF. The lag of side impact protection might be fine for RF but would not personally use it for FF (nor do I own one).

Shield boosters come with 40lbs limit for the shield so they would not work for many older kids, they are intended for under 4 year olds.
 

CrazyBoysMamma

New member
I should have said "other" but I said as long as they fit RF in a MT/TWE. What I meant was "as lon as they fit OR until they're booster ready, whichever comes first". My middle son was actually RF in my car and boostered in DH's for a while, so I see nothing wrong with going straight from RF to a booster, it's my goal for James.
 

InternationalMama

New member
No, I'm in Europe so I'm really interested what other think about this. I originally planned to start booster training when DD was 5 but she would fit the Multitech much longer than that.

I said practically no HWH seats as I do not like TWE FF. The lag of side impact protection might be fine for RF but would not personally use it for FF (nor do I own one).

Oh, okay, I was confused because the TWE was explicitly included in the poll and that's an HWH seat. (Oh, and just FTR, you said "no HWH available". :))

In your case I would just keep using the MT RF until your child is booster ready. For most kids that's between age 5-6, but since it's a process you can always try it and see how it goes over time. No need to fully commit.

In our case, I expect my DS will outgrow the Britax Hi-Way at about 4.5. I will probably bring over an RSTV from the States to use until he is booster ready. (Although last I heard they were pursuing EU certification so maybe it will be available there by the time I need it. I wish I bought a Britax Laptop (the Römer name is escaping me) when I had the chance, but I didn't know then that they were being discontinued!)
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
I'm ok with booster part-time around 5.5-6, but full time may be 6.5 or 7 or later before I'm ok with it. If kids can still rf that whole time? Sure!
 

InternationalMama

New member
I'm ok with booster part-time around 5.5-6, but full time may be 6.5 or 7 or later before I'm ok with it. If kids can still rf that whole time? Sure!

If your child was booster ready would your child's wishes play into it at all? In most of Europe your 5-7 year old wouldn't know a single other child who was still in a harness. (Heck, in many areas probably your 3-4 year old wouldn't!) So I imagine at some age they would probably develop a strong desire to be boostered like their friends. At what age would you (or anyone on the thread) take their wishes into consideration?
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Yeah, I'm going by the age at which my kids are ready. If they're not ready, I really don't care. Tough luck, too bad, so sad.

That said, I consider ff IN A HARNESS (or Euro booster with shield if they were small enough) at 4 reasonable despite still fitting rf. And I don't have a problem with the tw ff. So, you know, I'd consider that an option.

Of course, my kids don't care what their peers are doing (no, we don't know many other families that rf past 2 other than from this board and my relatives.) We homeschool and they rarely ride in cars with other than family members, so... But, my kids want to rf again (and as soon as I've the funds I'll give in) because they are peeved that they were ff and injured in our rollover while the rfer was unharmed. I expect Emma the lightweight (who hasn't got my torso like the other 2) to fit rf in a twe until, oh, 9 or so. So she'll probably rf for road trips at least until she's... close to 5-stepping. Lol.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
as I've always said, maturity is big for getting a say in my car (or house, or world in general)

I want to see polite, calm requests... fits get nothing from me... NOTHING.

but with all of that comes a grain of salt. If the 4-5yr old is throwing that fit because I've said no and not given a reason because I was being grumpy and short and didn't think about it before I just said NO... then I'll back up and try to calm them down and say that I didn't mean no forever, I meant no for today, but we'd talk about it.

but here's my thing... my kids already deal with seeing almost no one else harnessed at about age 3... and no one in a highback booster by age 5... and people not restraining their kids properly.

I try to approach it gently... to explain to my kids that not everyone does the research I do, that not everyone can manage to afford seats that keep their kids ____ longer.

My kids got looks (of confusion, not of anything negative) from the helper at school at the drop off lane when Damian was refusing the bus (he thought everyone would touch his ears and again... I went with gentle and encouragement, not pushing) and the two would get out of their husky and regent. I only got a comment once, though... "Wow, they are good at doing it themselves!" And the only thing one of my kids said? "Yep, but only when it's time to get out of the car!"

I try to not have peer pressure be a factor in anything to do with safety... unless it's encouraging good. I am constantly nagging my kids that the only times that they should "do what everyone else is doing" is when it's going to make them better, safer, smarter, etc.

if everyone is going to study the test - yes, do as everyone else is doing

if everyone is talking in class - no, keep your eyes on your work and your mouth quiet.... and encourage those near you to be quiet with a gentle look and a "shhh"

if everyone is eating their vegetable - yes, do it

if no one else likes spinach (this is a very specific example that Jeffrey faced early on in school... kids calling him gross and him being sad and thinking he shouldn't eat it at school, but wanting to eat it because he loves it) - make sure you chew with your mouth closed and tell them that they don't have to like it, but you do, and it's good for you. - this lead some of his friends to try it and a couple found they liked it and now eat it... even doing like he does and putting it inside their "build-your-own" tacos and then putting their corn as the top layer of the taco, too.

This year, he's getting looks for eating big salads every day (because he's "in a salad mood") to the point of choosing it over pizza. He told me proudly that he just says he's not in the mood for pizza, and that he was in the mood for the salad.
 

henrietta

Well-known member
In my experience of my long torsoed kids....it would be until they outgrew the MultiTech rearfacing...BUT if my kiddos were smaller, it would probably be until age 6. I'm not real comfortable w/full time booster till then for maturity reasons, and my kids wouldn't have minded rearfacing for that long, esp since those seats allow for more leg room.

henrietta
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
My kids have MONSTER torsos. I'm still pretty sure that my monster-torso kid could make it to 6 in the MT or TW. They're outgrown the same time RF and FF by height, and weight, though, so... Yeah. If I had a really heavy kid or whatever, I might end up importing a vest from the US to keep them safe to true booster maturity.
 

christineka

New member
If your child was booster ready would your child's wishes play into it at all? In most of Europe your 5-7 year old wouldn't know a single other child who was still in a harness. (Heck, in many areas probably your 3-4 year old wouldn't!) So I imagine at some age they would probably develop a strong desire to be boostered like their friends. At what age would you (or anyone on the thread) take their wishes into consideration?

In my area in the us, most kids are turned ffing at 10-13 months old, then they move to a booster at 3-4 years of age, and are out of boosters by 5-6 years old. My kids know that they have to ride as I say they do to be safe and don't have a problem with it, despite the fact that their peers have been riding in just a seatbelt for the past 5+ years.
 

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