Car Booster Seats

A child should NOT be put into a booster seat until they are at least 4 years old. He should still be in a car seat with harness at the age of 2 1/2 yrs. I know the car seat I had actually went up to 80 lbs ( you remove harness at 45 lbs and use car seatbelt for 45-80 lbs).

Hi T.,
we switche dour little guy about the same time to a Britax Frontier Toddler seat it has a 5 point harness and goes up to about 85 pounds it also has a recline position so his head does not fall forward. we also just purchased him some little pillows for his head that attach to the straps of his car seat. If you wnt more info I could send you the link. He would unbuckle his seat too especailly on teh highway and would say hi to me _ Cute huih. he can not unbuckle the bottom buckle on this seat at all.

I see you are off to buy a larger height and weight limit 5 pt harness, GREAT!!

I was going to say - "If you kid is young enough to fall asleep in the car often, then he is too young for a booster seat."

Hi If you can return the seat do so and buy the Graco Nautilus! I love it. It is the only seat you'll need. It holds kids up to 100 lbs. It has the five point harness until they get a little bigger and then you can you the re. seat belt then you can take the back off and use it just as a booster. its great. good luck.

Just to add to all the posts already, even if your 2 yr old is tall enough for a booster he's still 2! Most 5 pt harness seats go up to higher weight limits. My opinion has always been that if they are trying to get out of the seat then they are not mature enough to be in the seat.

I have a Graco Nautalus which has a 5 point harness. The buckle is child-proofed. My nearly 4 year old son has figured out the chest strap which is slightly child-proofed - although, he won't removed it until he knows it's time to, but the buckle between the legs is too hard for them. It's an awesome carseat! Has some head support when they fall asleep.

Hi,

Britax has one that I recomend very much.I am using it with my daughter.If you wish to spend a little more the original price is around $160 its the Britax Monarch.If you don't want to buy the full price go on e-bay or craigslist.

good luck

I have my son in a graco booster that is just the seat, no back. He does the same thing! I hate it because he looks so uncomfortable. It probably isn't that safe either.

I have a highback carseat that was a five pont harness and can be switched to a booster. I am switching to this because a) it locks into the seat with latch and b) it will keep him better restrained. It is this evenflo booster/carseat:

http://www.target.com/Chase-DLX-Booster-Carseat-Mars/dp/B...

Great price. I got it at target.

ETA: My son is also really tall. 48in and 48lbs (4 years old)... this fits him fine.

I would put him back in a car seat. There is no reason to have him in a booster at such a young age. The carseat boards on the baby bargains website is a very reliable source of info http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=12 as is carseat.org but most people who are well versed in carseats recommend waiting until kids are much older (four or five) before putting a child in a booster). It's not just about weight or height it's about their maturity level. Kids have to sit up properly in a booster seat in order to be protected. My five year old is still in a five point restraint. She is mature enought but only 37 pounds so she'll stay in the five-point until she's at least 40 pounds. She likes her seat though. If your child is particularly large I would recommend maybe a seat that has a higher height weight limit. The Radian 80 by Sunshine Kids goes up to 80 pounds and is quite tall. My 5yo is in a graco nautilus which is nice because it can used as a 5 point restraint until 65 pounds, then a high backed booster and then a backless booster all the way to 100 pounds. Just because your child meets the minimum weight requirement does not mean they are ready to be in a certain booster. Check out the above boards - the people are very knowledgeable:) Good luck.
-K.
mother to 7yodd in parkway highback booster
5yo dd in graco nautilus and
21 month old dd rear facing in britax marathon.

I could be 100% wrong, but 2 1/2 years old seems very young for a booster seat. I might be misunderstanding what you mean by booster seat, however. I was always under the impression that kids didn't go into booster seats until a certain height and weight and even then, many kids are still safer in a 5-point harness.

If it seems really uncomfortable and unsafe, then it's totally fine to switch back to his old car seat.

In my opinion, booster seats should only be used for older children. I just switched my six year old to a booster from a five-point harness, and she is well over 50 lbs and about 47-48 inches tall. My 3-yr old is still in a 5-pt. harness and will be for another 2 or 3 years.
Although booster seats will accomodate a child of about 30 lbs., it is not the safest choice for them. The 5-pt. harness is much safer, and there are many seats that will accomodate a child up to 65 or even 80 lbs. I know they can be more expensive, but it is well worth the peace of mind. And you're right, they are more comfortable when your child sleeps as well.
I would return the booster and buy a seat with a 5-pt. harness. I believe there are even some that will convert later to boosters, but I don't know which ones they are.
Hope this is a little helpful.

I am a child passenger safety tech (same certification that the police officers get) and unless absolutely necessary I would NOT be putting a 2 1/2 year old in a belt positioning booster seat. He needs a forward facing seat with a harness, preferably a harness that goes to a higher weight limit, like 65 lbs. There are several seats out there now that do that. Some have been mentioned. I have my 5 year old in a Apex 65 seat with a 5 pt harness that converts to a booster seat when he outgrows the harness. There is also the Graco Nautilus, the First Years TrueFit, Graco MyRide65, Britax Marathon, Britax Boulevard, Sunshine Kids Radian 80 or 65, Britax Frontier (which I believe goes even to 80 or 100 lbs).
There are also several seats that go to 55 lbs in a harness including the Evenflo Triumph Advance.

Seats like this will support your child's whole body better and are immensely safer. I don't think kids this young are even really mature enough to be in a seatbelt. They tend to mess with the belt, or don't sit up straight in the belt and it gets out of it's correct position and then the protection they have is very minimal.

In my second car I have my 5 year old in a booster, but I just moved him to that within the last 6 months. He is about 48 lbs, but more important, I just feel that he just recently has become mature enough that I can trust him not to mess with his belt.

When my son was that age, we got a puffy, u-shaped pillow to use in the car seat. It fit around the back and sides of his neck, so even if he fell asleep, his little head wasn't lolling around!. For the unbuckling, possibly you need to tighten the seat belt and I think you can get some kind of cover for the actual buckle, so he can't get it to it! Good luck!

We've had the same problem ever since our son outgrew his convertible seat. When he falls asleep in the high back booster or the regular booster (we have one of each---he's 4.5) his neck falls to the side or forward... completely uncomfortable. He also figured out how to unbuckle his convertible seat when he was 2, with the 5 point harness. So go figure. For the comfort situation, we really have not found a solution. Some of the really high end seats have what looks like better neck support, but I read reviews about how the child then cannot see out the window (Britax) so we definitely didn't want that, even if we could afford it. We give him a small pillow to keep in the back seat. He eventually outgrew the whole unbuckling thing. We would just keep saying that we can't drive unless we are buckled in... That phase didn't last too long for us. thanks goodness.

I think your other responders don't know what you mean by a high-back booster. I know that a child must be 4 years old and a certain weight for a regular booster, but our high back booster had different age/weight guidelines. I know we bought it when our son was around age 3 because he could no longer fit comfortably in the convertible seat... he's a tall kid. Anyway just make sure that you are following the laws for seats. Safety first. Good luck.

For my son's safety I kept him in a 5-pt harness when he outgrew his convertible car seat. Keep in mind that he is now 5, and many of the convertibles can be used until the child is roughly 45-60 pounds. My son is 5 yrs old, and our seat "expired" for his weight and height at 40 pounds.

That being said, I went to carseat.org and started reading and asking questions. They provided tons of information, one of the most salient/meaningful points was that my child would be safest in a 5-pt harness for as long as possible. The benefit of going to that site, is that the moderators are all safety car seat technicians, who are trained and certified in inspecting and installing car seats of all kinds. They are not representatives for any brand or manufacturer, and most of the them are parents. They can provide you information about which seat would be most beneficial for your child (given that you provide them with his height, seated height, weight, and age). If you provide them with the year, make and model of your car, they can even give you the information regarding the seats safest for your child, along with those that will best fit in your car.

We went with the Britax Regent for my son (he was 3.5 when we purchased it), and Britax had not yet come out with the Frontier... and we couldn't wait! I probably would have purchased that, had it been available! I didn't want to make another purchase to cover the 65-80 pounds for my vehicle. For my husband's car we got a Graco Nautilus, which will keep our little guy in a 5-pt harness up to 65 pounds. We're still a long way from that (weighing in a 48 pounds currently). FYI, both provide excellent head support when he sleeps (even better than his convertible did when he was younger). He has never complained about not being able to see.

Something to keep in mind as well, is that it was brought to my attention by a certified installer, that many states are exploring legislation to keep children in 5-pt harnesses until they reach a specific age and weight range, and prohibit use of booster seats.

Go to carseat.org, get their opinions! They give awesome advice. Research and try to avoid having to purchase tons of seats for your child. Get one with room to grow that will keep your precious one safe, comfortable, and will fit in your vehicle(s) and lifestyle!

Here's a tip too... many stores will allow you to try it out in your car, and if they do have your little guy sit in it and see what he thinks. You can make an on-line purchase (e.g. Target, Radian-80) and if it doesn't work out, you can return it at the store (and avoid a return shipping fee).

Good luck!

T., I happen to agree with most of the other posters about the age at which a child should go into the high back boosters. If your son is unbuckling himself, definitely but him back into the harness seat. He'll just have to deal with it, and you'll feel better if he's safer. When he is a little older (you didn't say his size or weight), just take him into stores and have him try out different boosters. We happened to get Compass boosters that we found online. We absolutely love them. They're cute and very functional. I haven't had problems with my kids heads falling to the side, but they do fall to the front when they are really exhausted. My kids are 6 and 4 1/2 and we have 4 of these chairs. They do wrap around the kids heads nicely and also adjust to the height of their necks. They are able to stay in these seats until 100 lbs.

Hi, T.! We are very happy with the Alpha Omega Elite carseat - we bought it at Babies R Us, but I think you can also get it at Target and other places. It is convertible, so can be used rear-facing for babies as small as 5 lbs., then turn around and use for bigger kids with a 5-point harness up to 60 lbs., I think. It also goes with a regular seat belt up to 100 lbs., so my son will be in it for a LONG time. It's comfy for him, it's safe, and it is high-back.

I found a link to it online so you can take a look:

http://www.coscojuvenile.com/usa/eng/Products/For-Travel/...

I hope this helps - good luck!

N.

You don't mention your son's weight, but 2 1/2 seems really young for a booster to me. I actually thought the law was age 4. Not sure on that, though.

For my kids (age 5 and 3.5) I have a Radian80. It's a car seat that harnesses to 80 pounds. There are several available that do that as well as some that go to 65ounds. There are some that are less pricy than others.

I had my oldest in a booster for a couple of months and it scared me because it just seems so unsafe so as I did more research, the longer you can keep them in the 5-point harness the better. Good luck.