Seatbelt Extention for Booster Seat

Hi M.,

I would not recommend the seatbelt extenders! I bought one from the dealership where I bought my Trailblazer. They are not meant for car seats. We tried it and when you use that, the seat belt loses the function of tightening. When my oldest son was in his booster seat, I always made him buckle and then "ratchet" his seat belt so that it kept him more secure. Otherwise, he was constantly moving around looking out the back of the car window, etc.. with only the seat belt buckled. However, once we used the extender, he could not "ratchet" the belt. It was free to pull out as far as you wanted it to.

As far as a solution for you, sorry I can't help with that. I drive a Chevy Trailblazer EXT with the third row. Sounds great right...not! I have twins. When the twins were in their carriers or even their car seats now, big brother could not fit a booster in between. Also, with the split in the seats, I cannot get to the third row without removing a car seat. So, big brother gets to crawl over top the middle row to get to the back row. Major pain!!

I wish I could be of more help. But, all I can say is the extenders are NOT safe and are NOT meant for car seats. They are simply meant for larger people that cannot fit a regular seat belt around them. Good luck and I hope others have suggestions on what you can do.

Have your daughter practice fastening the seatbelt herself. If she was able to do so in her other carseat then she should be able to get the hang of it with a regular seatbelt. My daughter who also just turned 4 (Jan 30th)and was moved into a booster loves fastening the belt herself. (She wasn't able to fasten herself into the old carseat)Its another step towards being a "big girl" and independence for her. I just double check to make sure that she has it tightened afterwards.....

We went through this when I was pregnant I had two in high back boosters and I couldn't reach around them to put on the seatbelts. My hubby duck taped the buckle to the car seat so they could use both hands to buckle it in. Then all I had to do was pull it tight around them. It didn't interfere with the belt function and it made it more rigid so they could do it themselves.

I don't know anything about the extension, but I think by law, children under 40 pounds have to be in a car seat, and after that they can go into a booster. Make sure you find out what is recommended as safest for your child's weight.

I don't have any experience in this but you can call your local Childrens Hospital. They should have a dept that can help you. At least at the Nationwide Childrens Hospital, they will check your car w/the carseats and give you tons of tips.