problem with booster in 3rd row of ford expedition

[ProudMomof5]

Okay, what would you do?
I already know that I am probably making the wrong choice, but I don't know what to do. In our 3rd row we have 2 kids in Radians FF... 3 year old and 5 year old and then my 10 1/2 year old is sitting with out a booster at all.

The problem is, she does need to be boostered. She is 60lbs and about 4'1".. so very short. Also, the seat back is kind of low... when she sits on the seat with out a booster it goes to the top of her neck/bottom of her head.

When she does use the booster there is just not quite enough room next to the radians and the seat falls off and is constantly sitting at an angle. It's a weird 3rd row. The bench does not go all the way to the side of the car so there is this big gap between the seat and the window. She has to move the booster over a bit to buckle, but then can not scoot it back over to the proper place, so the top of the booster will lean again the window and she's sitting totally crooked which is so uncomfy for her!!!

the ONLY reason I have even allowed her to go with out a booster is because the floor is high back there and she can actually sit with her bum all the way against the back of the seat while both feet are on the ground and the seatbelt falls correctly across her shoulder. The problems being that the seat back is a little short, although gives at least neck support, and the lap belt is not in the right place over her hips, more on her stomach. I feel so uncomfortable about that... but yet the booster is not working for us either!
We have tried two different boosters... the turbo and the recaro vivo lite. The turbo works better.

So, what would you do?
My other daughter is in the 2nd row in a high back booster, she is 8 and about 45-6lbs and my son is RF in the middle 2nd row.
I like my 10 year old in the rear because she helps make sure the 3 and 5 year old are buckled correctly and then in the 2nd row my 8 year old is just better with my son.

So what do I do?
Can I wedge a box or something between the seat and the side of the car so that there is just a little more room for the booster so she won't tip constantly or is that a big No-No?
Thanks.

 

[Raegansmom4]

Are either of the Radians installed back there with a lap/shoulder belt? If the Radian in the middle has a lap/shoulder belt, I'd switch and put the Radian on the outside and your 10 yo in a TB in the middle. If the middle position back there is a lap-only, I'd even give switching with the outside Radian to see if that makes a difference. Sometimes just a bit of rearranging may solve the problem. How old is your rf'er in the 2nd row? It may be inconvenient to move him to the 3rd row, but I really would like to find a way to keep your 10 yo boostered at her height. I'd be scared to put a box in there to fill up space as it would just dislodge in an accident and go flying around.

 

[Maedze]

Although it's nice to have your oldest available to help with the littles, it's *much* more important that everyone sits in a seating position that is safe for them.

What you're describing is not safe at all; the lap belt fit is the most important part of the seatbelt test, and it sounds like hers is dangerously bad.

You can't use a box to correct a poor booster fit, no.

I would put the rear facing baby in the third row, and put your 10 year old in the second row to assure that she can properly use a booster. If your second row has head rests, she can safely use a backless.

You mentioned you had a Turbobooster. Do you have the screws in the armrests?

 

[ProudMomof5]

In the 3rd row the middle seat is a labbelt only.
However, only one side has the gap I am describing.. the other side (where there is a radian) goes completely up against the wall so if she were there she would not fall off. the problem there is that if there are radians next to her then the fit is too tight for her to buckle herself in. She needs that bit of space to lean over to get her hand in to buckle up, the seat just won't stay in place and she is totally leaning. maybe I'll take some pics in a bit to show you. How unsafe is it to be leaning like that?

My RF son is 15 months, I would really rather keep him where he is.
At one point I had my 3 year old in a scenera inbetween the 2 radians in the 3rd row and my 5 and 8 year old were in the radians and my 10 year old was in the 2nd row with a booster. I had to lend my scenera to a friend though... mainly so she'd have enough seats when she takes my kids in her car, but she does use it permanently for her daughter as well.

Our 2nd row has 3 seats, the middle is lap only and we don't use one of the outboard seats, we keep it down so we have easy access to the back. We are having another baby though, so that one will be used soon enough. What I am saying though, is even if I put the baby RF in the back then I don't have another spot to put a booster unless we use the seat we keep down all the time which means we have no access to the 3rd row.. and with the baby back there... yeah, that's not going to work.

Maedze, what do you mean do the armrests have screws? Like do they come off? They do come off, they pop off. I just always thought it was unsafe to use it that way because the arm rests help position the lapbelt. It would, however make it easier if they could.

Or, is there another option for a booster back there, one that is more narrow than the turbo?
I'll take pics here in a minute, it just makes it so much easier to explain.

 

[ProudMomof5]

What about blankets... if I rolled enough blankets it that spot, it might just keep her seat from tipping? That would not be unsafe in a car accident would it?

 

[Maedze]

Maedze, what do you mean do the armrests have screws? Like do they come off? They do come off, they pop off. I just always thought it was unsafe to use it that way because the arm rests help position the lapbelt. It would, however make it easier if they could.

Or, is there another option for a booster back there, one that is more narrow than the turbo?
I'll take pics here in a minute, it just makes it so much easier to explain.

Ok, your booster is not currently safe to use. All Graco Turboboosters come with a small package of screws that MUST be inserted in the armrests prior to use. You can call Graco if you lost the screws.

The Turbobooster is pretty narrow overall, perhaps the Britax Parkway SlideGuard is narrower, but not by much.

Again, I understand that convenience is a huge issue, but safety of all passengers is more so. Your daughter is not currently safe. She needs a booster to be safe, and if a booster doesn't fit where she currently is, you've got to move people around so that it does fit. I'm sorry

 

[Maedze]

What about blankets... if I rolled enough blankets it that spot, it might just keep her seat from tipping? That would not be unsafe in a car accident would it?

No, the problem is that the booster needs vehicle support to work correctly. Just because you make it look pretty beforehand doesn't mean the booster will work properly in an accident, kwim?

A picture would really help, because it might be that this is just a tiny lean and not an issue.

 

[carseatcoach]

The reason the armrests need to be screwed in is so they do not come off in an accident.

You cannot use boxes or blankets to make the booster level.

If you are not willing to change seating positions, can you get a third Radian and harness your daughter? 10yos do not normally need to be harnessed, but they do need to be safe, and she is not safe as it is.

 

[ProudMomof5]

I looked for the screws and you can see where there are suppsed to be screws to reinforce it but I don't have the screws.

Okay... pics coming!

 

[ProudMomof5]

I totally get the rearranging the kids thing to make them all as safe as they can be... this set up is really very recent and it has been bothering me. She needs to be back in the booster, I think. She is in other cars, it just really looked like she fit well on this particular seat. I'll show ya. EXCUSE THE TRASH PLEASE.
Here is the seat in the 3rd row that she sits in.

Here is the gap.

Here is the opposite side, where I have one of the radians, she is absolutely not able to buckle her seat here, even I can't do it. It just just too tight.

this is her sitting here the way she has been recently (excuse her kool-aid moustache)

her feet do touch the ground, in this pic her knees are actually lifted some off the seat (the seat is very low to the floor)

Where the lapbelt fits (this is what concerned me) Is it too high on her stomach?

The booster up against the radian.. it actually fits.. if it would just stay there!

Her in the booster in the proper spot

It doesn't hang off much at all... this is where I though the rolled blankets might come in handy

Then when it tips....

Where it buckles in when it's tipping... and whenever I look back at her in this seat, this is how she is. It's very frustrating.

This is how much it goes over the edge, while it's tipping, would rolled blankets be that unsafe there? They wouldn't be supporting the carseat, I don't think, they would just help keep the carseat on the seat. I haven't tried it yet, but I thought it was worth a try. Just too keep her boostered.

 

[Maedze]

1. She's very cute

2. She doesn't even come close to fitting safely without a booster. The lap belt should be down on her thighs, and in the picture it's clearly over her hips, up on her belly.

3. When it's not tipping the booster looks fine.

4. When it is tipping, it's problematic. While I'm not sure that it would mean the booster would 'fail' per se. in an accident, I would be very worried about that shoulder belt doing real harm to her neck and throat.

5. Towels won't keep the booster on the seat in an accident, and that's when it will be a problem. I think you need to find a different seating arrangement to keep all the children safe.

 

[ProudMomof5]

thank you.

If I help her buckle herself in everytime, then I think that maybe she'd stay put.

I could get my scenera back from my friend (which I feel bad about doing!) and put my 3 year old back in it and then re-harness my 8 year old in one of the radians and put one radian on each side of the scenera in the 3rd row, then my 10 year old would be in the mid row with the baby. (my 8 year old won't like this option though!!!!)

I don't know. I wish they made a bigger car than mine but not quite as big as the Jon and Kate + 8 Van. LOL

I'll figure out something. Thanks for your help.

 

[ProudMomof5]

Oh one more thing.
When you say that the towels won't keep the booster on the seat in an accident... do you think that the booster would stay on the seat anyway, with that gap there?

 

[karlatta]

Have you tried her in a backless booster in the 2nd row seat? She can get out and put the booster elsewhere while the seat folds down to get the kids out of the 3rd row. When getting back in the car, let the kids in the 3rd row get in first, then unfold her seat and let her put her booster back on the seat before she buckles. I would think that at 10, she would be able to handle that responsibility. (And this is, of course, assuming that she fits a backless booster appropriately.)

 

[karlatta]

Or, is it within your budget to go to Walmart and pick up another Scenera?

 

[Maedze]

Oh one more thing.
When you say that the towels won't keep the booster on the seat in an accident... do you think that the booster would stay on the seat anyway, with that gap there?

In an accident, dd will travel with the seatbelt. In a side impact in particular, the booster and dd and the seatbelt should all travel together. If there is a place for the booster to fall off the seat, the seatbelt will no longer be correctly positioned, if you can envision that. That won't happen if the vehicle continues to support the booster, (there is plenty of room on either side) or the vehicle itself impedes the booster or dd from continuing to travel, as it does when the vehicle seat is flush up against the wall of the vehicle.

 

[Maedze]

Have you tried her in a backless booster in the 2nd row seat? She can get out and put the booster elsewhere while the seat folds down to get the kids out of the 3rd row. When getting back in the car, let the kids in the 3rd row get in first, then unfold her seat and let her put her booster back on the seat before she buckles. I would think that at 10, she would be able to handle that responsibility. (And this is, of course, assuming that she fits a backless booster appropriately.)

Because the vehicle seatback is so short, unfortunately dd really does need a HBB.

 

[joolsplus3]

Oh one more thing.
When you say that the towels won't keep the booster on the seat in an accident... do you think that the booster would stay on the seat anyway, with that gap there?

Yeah, that's sort of the conundrum, isn't it? A rolled towel or extra fat foam noddle stuffed in there isn't a known, approved solution, but I fail to see how it could be *worse* than a giant gap, personally.

 

[Maedze]

Yeah, that's sort of the conundrum, isn't it? A rolled towel or extra fat foam noddle stuffed in there isn't a known, approved solution, but I fail to see how it could be *worse* than a giant gap, personally.

Yeah, I don't think it would be 'worse', but I don't think it will be 'better' in the case of an accident, either.

 

[ProudMomof5]

Have you tried her in a backless booster in the 2nd row seat? She can get out and put the booster elsewhere while the seat folds down to get the kids out of the 3rd row. When getting back in the car, let the kids in the 3rd row get in first, then unfold her seat and let her put her booster back on the seat before she buckles. I would think that at 10, she would be able to handle that responsibility. (And this is, of course, assuming that she fits a backless booster appropriately.)

Yeah, back when my 8 year old was still harnessed in the 3rd row with the 5 and 3 year old, my 10 year old was temp in a LBB in the middle row next to DS. I'd still prefer to keep her in a HBB until she outgrows it for the SIP though. That extra seat that I always keep down will be used by someone in a booster, whether it's my 10 (will be 11 at the time) or my 8 year old when baby #6 is born. We'll have no choice!
Right now, besides convenience, it is not being used because the seatbelt is broken. It will not buckle at all and there is a tiny tear in the belt part. That NEEDS to be fixed before May....