What Are the Age or Weight Requirements for a Booster Seat?

Hello A., It I could I would like to encourage you to look into the Britax regent booster seat. If is a latch equiped five point harness that goes up to 80 pounds. There is a video on youtube about a boy who was ejected from the car in his graco booster seat because his seatbelt failed. I have one for my daughter who is two, however my 10 yr old sister can fit in it with a strap to go. We all want to make sure our children are as safe as possible, and I think in the car we should take extra precautions to keep them safe. Look into this seat and do some more research. Technically your son could go into a belt positioned booster. He meets the weight limit listed on those type of seats. But give thought to how well you would like him to be restrained if you get in an accident. Also, I had to go to traffic school once.....and learned that if you are traveling 75 miles per hour and get into an accident then you might as well not have your kids in a seat at all because of the impact.
I take car seat safety very seriously and if you have any other questions you would like to ask feel free to send me a message.
Do your research on different seats and state requirements, and definitely look into the Britax regent.....it is worth the peace of mind.
T.

Some car seats go up to 80 pounds, so you should check the booklet or the website for your current seat. At 40+ pounds, your son does meet the minimum requirements for weight on boosters. Depending on his height, the suggestion of the booster with detachable back would probably be good--the back helps to guide the belt into proper position. I use only the base with my 6 year old, but used the back for quite some time (until he was 5 1/2?).

Height is another important factor with the strap in seats--if the straps are no longer fitting him properly and safely then it's time to look for a new seat. There usually is a height guideline as well as weight guideline in car-seat booklets, so make sure your child is meeting both standards for the new seat (or the old seat if you continue to use it).

Good luck.

Tashina was right on the money with the advice she gave you....After I saw that youtube video a few years ago, I spent weeks researching car seats and seat belts. It's eye opening to read that most shoulder belts are tested on a male dummy of average height, weighing 120 lbs. Once I read that, I knew I would never use a booster. Britax are awesome, I have the Regent for my 6yr old. My 4 yr old has a very small build so we got her a Sunshine Radian. They both have the LATCH system and a 5pt harness. We love them both, the kids are safe AND comfortable. They are pricey but worth the investment. HTH!
E.

I would suggest you read the side of the carseat your son is currently using and find out what the weight limits are.

We switched our son when he was about 4 1/2 but on the advice of a carseat specialist we choose the booster seat that has the back on it. The back can be taken off as he gets older but for now she said he still needs that support around his head. My husband has the vehicle with the carseat in it so I'm going by memory here but I think its a Graco Turbo booster with posturepedic features and was about $80.

dont move him until he is over the weight or height limit on his seat. a new study found that if the weight of your child plus the weight of the booster are not over 70lbs, your child can slip out of the seatbelt and be ejected from the car in an accident. most boosters weigh less than 10lbs, so your child would need to be 60lbs.

My son turned 4 in Dec. and we switched him to a convertible booster. It still has the 5 pt. harness and then when they out grow that by height you can use the seatbelt. I'm very happy with that. He's tall and so he's been in this for about a year, I think.

If you are unfamiliar with that type feel free to send me a message and I'll get you some info.