My 7 year old has grown out of her booster seat; her leg were too long and she was complaining that they were hurting (she's just under 4'). Since Texas now requires booster seats for a longer period of time (up until the kids are 4'9"!), I need to find one with a deeper seat, one that will support her entire upper leg, not just half-way.
Any recommendations with sources would be appreciated. Criticism would also be welcome.
Thanks.
I would take her to babiesrus (or another store) and let her sit in the seats to see which one will properly fit her.
To respond to other posters, the law is the bare minimum. Fact is seatbelts are made to fit adult men, not children. Most children don't fit the adult belt well until they are 11 or 12yrs old. My almost 9yr old is still in a booster because the belt just doesn't fit him well. So you may go on age alone and your child is completely unsafe in the car.
To wear adult belt only a child has to pass all of these steps-
1. Feet on the floor
2. back against the seat
3. knees bent at the edge of the seat while still allowing the back to be against the seat.
4. Shoulder belt across the shoulder and mid chest
5. Lap belt low on the hips and NOT up on the belly.
If your child fails even ONE of these, a booster is required. My son sits in a Sunshine Kids Monterey and it fits him well. Like Elaine suggested, the Harmony is great for older kids, much longer so it supports the legs.
I think you got some good recommendations. I like the step stool idea! My 9 year old is in a backless Graco Turbo-booster.
Personally, I don't think it matters what the law says, especially in regards to age. Car seat belts do not fit right until a person is 4'9". To me, it's more important for my children to be safe in the car regardless of their ages.
And yes, we all know people who would have been in a booster until HS or beyond with this height requirement, but does that really have any bearing on YOUR child?
you might want to try the Harmony backless boosters described here: http://carseatblog.com/7753/abc-kids-update-whats-new-imp... - they're moderately priced and seem to fit older booster riders well. Another thing you can try is giving your 7YO a lightweight step stool like this one http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60101063 , because being able to rest her feet on the step stool can relieve the pressure of dangling legs on a too-shallow booster (check this link for some certified child-passenger safety techs' input on using step stools in cars http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=65324).
And FYI this is a nice helpful reference on how to determine whether your vehicle's seat belts fit your child properly with or without a booster: http://carseatblog.com/3966/the-5-step-test/
hope that helps :-)
We always used the graco turbo booster.My Daughter has just turned 8 and is big for her age,she just recently got out of her booster.And we were using the bottom half of her graco turbo booster.you can also buy just the bottoms at Walmart,target,and Babies R Us.
i have a criticism for TX. my SIL and my cousins wife would both have to legally be driving in a car seat! they are both about that tall and they are in their 30's. sorry don't have any recommendations for a booster seat.
I just got my tall 7 y/o the Recaro ProBooster. He can still buckle and unbuckle himself and he says it's comfortable and that he likes the 'wings' that he can rest his head on while we are driving.
I've got both my boys in Sunshine Radian boosters and they like them. I like the fact that they attach to the seat using the latch system instead of being little more than putting a phone book underneath them to make them fit. All I could see what a booster flying, along with my kids with those little seat boosters. It's got a high back and side head pieces as well. In other words it's shaped just like a carseat only you use the car seat belt. The plus is I can fit all 3 of my kids in one row (my younest is in a 5pt harness at this time).
They can be a little pricey. But, Target sells them online. If you're a AAA member you can shop through the link on their website to save 10% on your purchase and you can very often find coupons and free shipping for Target online. When I was pregnant with my third is when we got our 3. We realized there was no way we were going to fit all 3 of them with anything else we had and tried. We liked the red color which was on sale to boot so we got a rather nice price for all 3.
When our oldest went into boosters we tried several kinds and this is the only one he liked, and still likes, although it's only about an inch away from not needing a booster and he's starting to "feel it" LOL We keep the other ones we bought in my husband's car for the rare times he takes them somewhere in his car and they're OK for short running since we have to do something. If we have to use his car longer term we put the Sunshine Radians in there.
Actually, you just have to be 8 yrs old OR 4'9" =) Here's the actual law:
"TRC § 545.412. CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY SEATSYSTEMS; OFFENSE. (a) A person commits an offense if the person operates a passenger vehicle, transports a child who is younger than eight years of age, unless the child is taller than four feet, nine inches, and does not keep the child secured during the operation of the vehicle in a child passenger safety seat system according to the instructions of the manufacturer of the safety seat system."
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_inform...
We have one similar to this:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&...#
It was not very expensive and if you have a shoulder belt in the back it should be fine.
Oh and just to add, my pediatrician recommends 4'9" regardless of age, so I am going with that. My son is 10 and still in a booster until he reaches 4'9".
The law is actually 4'9" tall OR 8 years old. So, before you go out and spend a lot of money on a new booster, how long is it before she turns 8. If she's pretty close, I wouldn't spend a lot of money on one. See if there is a way you can adjust it to make it comfortable for her. Until my son turned 8, he would prop his legs up on the edge of the seat a lot or rest them on the console in front of him (he rode in the middle seat of the car.
My daughter is going to be 8 years old next month and she has already outgrown her seat too. I think that it's rediculous with that new law and since my daughter is almost 8, I've already taken her out of the booster and put her in a regular seat belt. Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.
R.
WorkAtHomeLike.Us
