hi ladies.
i have a 5 1/2 year old girl who is 43 inches tall and 38 pounds. she is in the britax marathon, a five pt harness . she is begging me to put her in a booster now that she is in kindergarten.
first, i am ridiculous for keeping her still in a 5 pt harness? is it truly safer than a booster? what do you all think.
second, i am looking online at the britax monarch booster. has anyone used it?
thoughts?
third. What do you think are the safest boosters out there for a girls who is on the smaller side and is 43 inches tall and 38 pounds
fourth. has anyone heard of the Recaro booster? any info would be great. i have looked it up. Which would be better Recaro or britax monarch for safety?
i appreciate all imput all you moms have... thanks.....
Hi M., the last notice I received as a daycare provider was to go into a booster seat they must be 6 and at least 60 pounds, I have this posted on the enturance of my daycare, it was sent from The California Child Passenger safety Law and states this law went into effect January 1, 2005 J. L.
My daughter is almost 6 (in a few weeks) and is in a 5pt harness (Britax Regent).
My daughter doesn't know what a booster is. If she did and asked to be in one, I'd explain to her why her seat is safer (and it is) then a booster. Your daughter and mine are about the same size, I think my daughter might be 42". They aren't big girls. I say the longer you can keep her in a 5pt the better.
Hope that helps!
M.
Hi M.,
When choosing a car seat for your children, you must make sure
1. Your child fits the seat
2. The seat fits the car, and,
3. Choose one that you will use properly every time your child is in the car.
Every time you "graduate" your child to the next category of seat, safety is reduced. So, a rear-facing seat is safer than a forward-facing seat, and a forward-facing seat (with harness) seat is safer than a booster. Finally, boosters are better than placing a too-small child into the adult seat-belt system (Google "5-step test").
Many new seats go up to 65# using the harness (most Britax, Graco Nautilus, and others), some go to 80# with the harness (Britax Frontier, Radian80). From a safety perspective, an 80# (harness) seat is the best choice. The Britax Frontier will convert also to a booster.
If you choose to replace the current seat with a new high-weight harness seat, the key measurement is your child's seated height -- from seat to shoulder. On a harness seat, the top harness slot MUST be AT OR ABOVE your child's shoulders. You will need to check with the manufactuers' site to get that top-slot information.
Whatever you choose, make sure you follow the manufacturer's directions (read the manual, Read The Manual, READ THE MANUAL!).
Finally, please have the seat's installation checked by a certified CPS Technician. You may go to the safekids.org web site to fine a seat-check event or individual technician. Most checkups are free.
There are many great resources on line ... here's just three:
www.carseat.org
www.car-seat.org
CPSP Yahoo Group ("Child Passenger Safety Professionals") at groups.yahoo.com
-- added note based on responses:
The child seat laws (such as 6 years or 60#) are MINIMUMS and do not take into consideration the size or safety of your child. Following the logic, if one insists on taking a child out of a car seat/booster at 6/60 or 8/80, then the child should be taken out of school at 16... after all, that's the law!
-- off soapbox
My best to all,
-- M. Cohen
Passionate Child Passenger Safety Technician/Instructor I-575114
Burbank CA
Loving Step-Father of M. Monique 1980-2002
Loving Grandfather of Alec Jaye 2000-2002
"Again this year, Alec and his mommy won't be going to grandma's for the holidays"
We have the Britax Parkway (but they don't make this model anymore),and we have the "Compass" boosters.
My friend has a "Clek" booster and it has a latch system as well. The Clek can be found on Amazon.com as well.
Try going on Amazon.com there are many different brands and you can see the "reviews" on them.
Amazon.com also has the Recaro... and you can see the reviews here too. It is supposed to be a good booster.
My friend had the Monarch booster, but found it bulky. But it is good. Her girl as well, was on the tinier side.
Good luck!
There was an article last week on yahoo news about booster safety. Britax lap belt boosters tested best in crashes. The lap belt should not cut into your daughters neck, cover her shoulder, and lay low near her thighs, not in her stomach.
Your daughter sounds teeny like mine was. I kept her in a booster until she was 7 1/2.
State law is that a child must be in a car seat or booster until the age of 6 or 60 lbs. It is recomended kids stay in one until age 8 or 80 pounds. Check the weight and height of the booster you are thinking of and see how your daughter measures up.
All I had to do was watch this video. I went out and bought a Britax Regent for my daughter.
its really best so dont feel sillt. remember that the 5 point harness goes up to 50lbs for a reason. the laws i think are that they have to be 6 and 60lbs then theres that height thing to about them being 4ft 9in also they are tall enough if their knees bend over the end of the seat like ours do when we sit in the car. britax i hear is the best over all so im not sure about the other one you mentioned. she may be asking you to move her to a different seat because she may possibly getting teased about it at school (kids can be mean). weight wise she can safely move into a booster but its really your choice i would reccamend one that is a high back booster. i have an 18 month old daughter and both her car seats go up to 100lbs with 5 point harnesses that goto 50lbs she doesnt get an option to ride differently safetey is safetey lol... good luck with your decision :)
