My son is 41 lb and will be turning 5 in 3 weeks. We have a Graco Nautilus for him, which keeps him in a harness until 65 lb, which we LOVE. But there are RARE times (maybe 2-3 times a year) that he needs to ride with a grandparent or someone and they can't borrow our van. I'm wondering if it's safe to buy one of those simple booster seats for him to use when he needs to ride in another car? Most of them say the weight starts at 40 lb, and he is RIGHT on that border. I'm a tad nervous about it, but at the same time, it would be SO nice to have the option for him to ride in other cars when needed without having to move his Nautilus, which we have securely latched into our van.
What do you recommend? And specifically, what brand/kind do you recommend? Thank you!
I see nothing wrong with a high back booster seat that commutes to diff cars as needed with the seat belt option. I would have him sit in the middle of the back seat..... Anyway, I do agree with the other post. If YOU are not comfortable, then I would not do it. But it was fine with me at 40-45 lbs to use the high back booster with a seatbelt. My kids were tall and it seemed to work well.
You may feel more comfortable with a Graco High back booster. We've had them for all 4 of our children and love them. They are very easy to move from car to car because you just slip the shoulder belt through the loop at the shoulder. Super easy. Here's the kind I mean-(but they come in lots of styles and prices vary- you might be able to get a better deal):
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3916143
Good luck :)
My grandchildren graduated to a booster seat when they were close to that weight. I think it's Graco who has one with a back. They also have just a seat version. You use the car's harness with both of them. There is a strap to hold the harness below their neck in the seat only and a guide on the back for the full seat.
If you buy a brand that doesn't have the strap or guide there is a metal slide device that you can add to the harness to keep it lower. We used that instead of the strap. We purchased it in the Baby Department at Fred Meyer.
The likelihood of getting in an accident is extremely low. I've felt comfortable with less that "the perfect" protection in car seats because of that. You would be taking even less of a chance since this would just be once in awhile.
Just a thought for you. My DH work in the automotive industry, doing R&D. He picked another 5-point harness for our boy when he got to 40 lbs. because he feels that our boy is safest in that kind of harness. We bought the Britax 5-point that goes to 65 lbs.
In practice, we have friends who picked the Britax booster that uses only the car's seatbelt and it just seems like our friends' son can just move around so easily, and he constantly pulls his arm out from under the shoulder strap.
I guess I'm just advising that you consider another 5-point harness seat for your family's other vehicles.
I wouldn't reccomend a booster seat if you don't feel comfortable with it. If you like him in the 5pt harness, I would get another one of those.
If you can't afford another 5pt harness, call your local (city or county) police/fire department and ask if they give carseats away. If they do, you can get one free. But I would suggest giving a small donation. I needed an extra car seat and couldn't afford a brand new one, and my local police department gave me one. I gave a donation of 20$.
Hi-My almost six year old also uses a Graco Nautilus, but has a Graco Turbobooster for Dad's car. It is a great option and fits smaller kids really well. The Maestro available at Sears is a inexpensive harnessed booster(around $80). It harnesses up to 50lbs and then becomes a decent HBB. GL!
S.
If you aren't comfortable with it then I'd recommend a seat like the evenflo maestro it's less expensive then the nautilus but will harness to 50 lbs and then can be used as a booster. This is what we have in hubby's car.
I would be fine with a high back booster for a 5 year old on occasion. You can start booster training him so that when he does use it in others cars you can feel confident that he knows how it should go and how to act.
When switching to a booster you are beginning to transfer the responsibility for safety from you to your child, so that is why it takes some training about how to sit properly, and not put the belt behind their back or under their arm, and not to unbuckle until the car is off, etc.
I actually ran into a problem with my second child. He is super tall but very skinny so he was not at the right weight but could no longer fit in the harness. Needless to say, we got him an high back booster and it is great. Now for all of my kids we always had the car seat that was permanent in my car and then another one for trips with daddy or grandma.
We put all our grand kids in boosters at 3 year of age regardless of how much they weighed. They were all in the 30lb and up range though.
If you get a high backed booster with a locking seat belt, it should be fine for those times he isnt in your car. Just check the fit on the seatbelt and teach your family members how to install and what the proper fit should be.
