Booster Seat Safety for a 3 Year Old?

I would check with your pediatrician on this one. To me it sounds like your daughter is too young for a booster. It would be one thing if she were a few weeks shy of 4 years old, but if she has more than a year to go, I think that's too early. I think there is some internal development that maybe occurs that makes it unsafe to use a booster before 4 years. But I don't know for sure. Why do you have to spend so much on a car seat for your son? There are other models that are just as safe and not quite so expensive.

The people to check with is the fire department. Some hospital emergency rooms provide safety seats and know how to fit them, also. I think that you can go with the height and weight measurements but I'm not sure. My understanding is that the reason for the height and weight measurements is so the connections in the seat are on the correct parts of the anatomy and the ages stated are the usual ages at which these occur. There are also web sites that explain the use of car seats.

The law is that the child must reach BOTH the height/weight AND the age requirements, not just one. The height/weight for obvious reasons. The age requirement is for developmental reasons, i.e. being able to brace yourself. Buy the seat:)

J.:

I too am really concerned about my children and car seats, however, my case is that my children don't reach the proper age but do reach the height requirement-not weight either. I put my son in a forward facing car seat at an early age because he would scream since his legs were longer than was comfortable for him to bear in a rear-facing seat.
My opinion is, I would go ahead and let your daughter sit in a regular seat if her height and weight are adequate for impact ratings. I think that age is just a number and you are the bearer of the responsibility, so my advice is to let her sit in a regular seat and let your son have the remaining chair. But if you think it would make you feel better to have her in a car seat, then by all means, buy the seat. I just don't think it's necessary if she meets the height and weight requirement.

Kim B

Have you looked at the Britax Regent? That's what we got after we were in an accident and had to get rid of our Marathon. My son is 3 and weighs about 37 lbs. We didn't want to buy another marathon when we was so close to booster territory. This seat is rated for 20-80lbs and up to 53" in height. I really wanted to go with a 5pt harness as long as we could and in this seat that is pretty long! Look into it!!! They are very popular right now and were hard to find for a while, everyone had them on back order. Look online though, we got ours for the same price as a marathon. If you want to see one in person, go to Segals in beaverton.

J., I too am a Britax user and I loved my daughter's Roundabout. I had every intention of purchasing the Britax booster for her; however, when I went online to do some research I was concerned by the reviews of other parents in regards to the side-impact head protectors upsetting their child due to how far they wrap around in the front. (It blocked their vision in the car) I took my daughter with me to purchase her booster so that I could have her sit in each one as we tried them. It turns out, she too was immediately upset by the head protectors on the Britax. I know Britax extremely safe, so we ended up with a Marathon in the end. Your child may not have any problem at all with the booster design, (wouldn't that be a savings!!) but I would definitely take her with you when you shop. Good luck! J.

ok I dont want this to sound snotty because Its not meant to be.

You said it yourself though. Dont risk your childs safety to save money. Go to walmart and get a less expensive one to make do if need be. Those size recomendations are there for a reason.