Booster seats for kids

Booster seats laws are a CRUCIAL Law, but a law alone isn’t enough. Education and enforcement must go hand in hand. 

A year or two ago I completed a 3 year demonstration project along with 4 other chapters of the children’s safety education program I am involved with in my city. The other sites were in Illinois, Delaware and South Carolina. Over the course of 3 years we did a massive education program with children in low income schools to increase use, and the results were phenomenal. The project was funded through the US Department of Transportation under their National highway Traffic Safety Sector.

I personally trained thousands of K-3^rd graders and their families and it was a really incredible experience, but also I saw all the challenges that parents face.  If anyone here has any questions about boosters, feel free to pm me. If I don’t have the answer, or if it is an answer that ONLY a certified passenger Safety Technician should give you then I will let you know that.  Most fire and Police Departments have seat checks or appointments you can make and you can always call them with specific questions. Safe Kids Coalitions are also another good place to go and often have seat inspections regularly.

REGARDLESS of what the law is for your state, Children need to stay in boosters until they are the right height, which should really be about 4 feet 9 inches tall. It is often safer to go by height and not weight or simply age since children really vary.

As for the use of used seats or ones that have been in wrecks, if the seat didn’t sustain any damage, it is fine to use, but otherwise it should be thrown away and not used again as huskeymom stated.  

An excellent website source is:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.9f8c7d6359e0e9bbbf30811060008a0c/

Anyway, again if anyone has questions they want to ask, or even tips on what to say to your child to get them BACK into a booster, please feel free to pm or email me. Unfortunately I probably won’t be following this thread too much as I only have a little over 3 weeks left to complete all of my wedding tasks that I am drowning in, but if you contact me I will be sure to help get you the info that you need. I feel very passionate about children’s safety issues and it is what I do for a living.. treat the victims and try to educate the public to stop getting more and more victims of unintentional injury.

I just want to say that I don't think anyone is putting a price on their child's safety.  Some families just can't afford a $200 car seat when they are struggling to put food on the table, I feel bad for them either feed your child or put them in a not so perfect car seat.  I wish they would make them more affordable so people wouldn't have to make these choices...it's sad.  We aren't struggling by any means at all, but to buy a $200 car seat for my car, DH's car, my mom's car, and my sister's car gets expensive.  Plus diapers, food, medical bills, saving for college, etc.  It's not just buying a car seat, it's buying EVERYTHING.

Somewhat off topic - what do people in cities that take cabs everywhere do with their toddlers when they get into cab?  Do they carry their car seat with them?  I know it's probably a stupid question, but I always wondered that.

mrstjohnson

I just want to say that I don't think anyone is putting a price on their child's safety. Some families just can't afford a $200 car seat when they are struggling to put food on the table, I feel bad for them either feed your child or put them in a not so perfect car seat. 

You're right, that wasn't fair. But some people balk at pricier seats when they COULD easily afford one.

The truth is all car seats have to meet a certain safety standard, and a $300 car seat is not necessarily safer than a $40 car seat (though I have found that Britaxes are a lot easier for me to install correctly than any other seat I've tried), until your kid is over 40 pounds, because there's no arguing that keeping a younger kid in a 5-point harness is safer than putting them in a booster. But some people flat out cannot afford a higher weight limit seat over a booster, and I apologize for suggesting it's about putting a price on safety.

I'm feeling the need to reiterate though that there are cheaper higher weight seats now. They're not all $200 or $300 anymore. My cousin has an Apex 65, which I've seen on sale for $80. It's forward facing only, but it does convert into a booster for when the kid reaches 65 pounds.

mrstjohnson

Somewhat off topic - what do people in cities that take cabs everywhere do with their toddlers when they get into cab?  Do they carry their car seat with them?  I know it's probably a stupid question, but I always wondered that.

Sadly, I don't think most people do. My sister got laughed at by a rental car shuttle-van driver for hooking her (very small) 2 year old's car seat into the shuttle. He told her "No one does that! He'll be fine!" and she said "I'm glad to hear that everyone else bets their children's lives on your driving, but I'm not much of a gambler..." and continued installing the car seat...

mrstjohnson

I just want to say that I don't think anyone is putting a price on their child's safety.  Some families just can't afford a $200 car seat when they are struggling to put food on the table, I feel bad for them either feed your child or put them in a not so perfect car seat.  I wish they would make them more affordable so people wouldn't have to make these choices...it's sad.  We aren't struggling by any means at all, but to buy a $200 car seat for my car, DH's car, my mom's car, and my sister's car gets expensive.  Plus diapers, food, medical bills, saving for college, etc.  It's not just buying a car seat, it's buying EVERYTHING.

Yep, especially the kids my mom works with.  They are from low-income (or NO income) inner city communities.  Most of the parents are single.  Many have problems like drug addictions, abusive partners, prostitution.  When the kids come to the daycare, not only are they not bringing their booster seats like they are supposed to, the daycare assumes they have not been fed, bathed, or brushed their teeth.  They get their meals at the daycare, brush their teeth and learn about basic personal hygiene at the daycare.  Many have behavioral problems or learning disabilities, largely due to a lack of proper parenting.  Often, they show up without a winter coat, let alone a car seat.

mrstjohnson

Somewhat off topic - what do people in cities that take cabs everywhere do with their toddlers when they get into cab?  Do they carry their car seat with them?  I know it's probably a stupid question, but I always wondered that.

In Thunder Bay, if you need a car seat, they send one of the minivans.  They have the built in car seats in them, which is nice.  Here if you need a car seat you ask for one and the cab will stop by dispatch and pick one up.  They have boosters too.  It just takes longer to get your cab.

My daughter sits in one of the bottom only booster seats and she's 7.....I paid $20 for it at Walmart....not sure why anyone is spending $200 on a booster seat, the kind I had when my kids were babies with the four point harness was around $65. My son is 9 and he's no longer in one, even though he's still under the weight limit. I think the weight limits are excessive...here the law is age 6 or something like 80 lbs, whichever comes first. I too was under 80 lbs until I was a teenager.

2shelties

not sure why anyone is spending $200 on a booster seat,

No one said anything about $200 for a booster. I spent $200 on a Britax Wizard, which is a convertible seat with a 5-point harness that goes up to 65 pounds (vs. the normal 40 pounds). It also has a seated torso height of 17", vs. the normal 14" or so. I spent $200 to keep my cousin's daughter in a harness after the age of 3, when she hit 40 pounds. That was way way way too young for us to consider putting her in a booster.

It also has side impact protection, which are these fabulous "head wings" that not only keep the kid's head from moving violently in a side-impact crash, but let her sleep ohhhhh so comfortably, with no head flopping forward or onto her shoulder. Keeps her nice and upright.

I bought this seat because I heard way too many horror stories of 3, 4, or 5 year olds in boosters getting killed or seriously injured in crashes. Quite a few had a kid next to them in a 5-point harness unharmed or minorly injured. That was PLENTY to convince me.

The boosters I like and will likely buy for my cousin's kid in my car are quite a bit pricier than a normal booster, but it's worth it for me for the peace of mind of knowing she'd be more protected in a side-impact crash, which are all too common. Heck, I'd get myself some kind of head-wings if it was practical for driving. Though I'm tall enough for side-curtain air-bags to help protect me. Alleen isn't.

BTW, the weight limits for the booster laws ARE pretty silly sometimes. Some kids hit 80 pounds WAY before they're ready to sit with just a seat belt, and some kids are ready way before they hit 80 pounds. What matters is height and age (though really it's about maturity).

A good test is to get the kid to sit with their lower back flat against the back of the seat, and see if their knees bend to a 90 degree angle over the front edge of the seat. If not, they need a booster. If so, you also need to make sure the shoulder belt sits across their shoulder, NOT across their neck or collar bone, and also that the lap belt sits low across their hips or upper thighs. No cutting across the abdomen. And they need to be mature enough to stay in that position the entire car ride (this goes for boosters too). No putting the shoulder belt behind them, sliding down the seat so the belt is on their stomach, leaning over to the side, etc. If any of these things aren't accurate, they should really be in a 5-point harness, or at the very least a high-back belt-positioning booster.

Alleen in her fabulous car seat, that both she and I adore: (picture's from like a year and a half ago..only one I have of her in her seat..so she's 1 1/2 years bigger, and 1 1/2 years cuter.. lol.. and her hair's a lot shorter now.. sigh)

In the past, I found this forum on this site to be INVALUABLE for info on carseats and boosters: http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=12

I haven't been reading in the past year or so, but when I was there were several posters who were certified carseat techs, and the forum is all about finding good deals or value for the money.

It's sad that child safety is tied to wealth. :( I think we need more programs to help lower income kids travel safely. 

2shelties

My daughter sits in one of the bottom only booster seats and she's 7.....I paid $20 for it at Walmart....not sure why anyone is spending $200 on a booster seat, the kind I had when my kids were babies with the four point harness was around $65

That sounds about right to me too. These days as safe as many cars are with side airbags...which our car has...etc..I think the bottom only's are a good compromise for a child that is older.

Mine are tall...and Elias weighs 57lbs right now...if we go by weight OR height they will probably be out of their boosters before the numerical age.