What age for a booster?

[thundersweet]

I have my dd in a new marathon. She is 4 and about 35 pounds. My delima is this. My ds, 14 months, is in his sisters old RA. It does not have a latch. I have a new GMC Yukon XL with the second row being captains chairs. I want to get my ds a new seat with a latch. I was going to get him a cow marathon just like dd's seat. I just checked the prices and wow they are way more now than what I paid almost a year ago. Is my dd too young for a booster? I was wondering if maybe it would be a better idea to get a booster for dd and give her brother the marathon. Of course I can always just purchase another marathon and keep them both in it. What is the typical age kids move to a booster?

Thanks,
Sandy

[Aunt to sweet baby boy]

Since your dd is so lightweight you could get her a combo booster and when she reaches 40 lbs move her back to the MA and your ds into the combo booster. It could take her a year+ to gain those 5 lbs. Then when she is ~6 you could move ds back into the MA and get dd a good bpb. This would probably be about $150 total depending on whether you get dd a hb or lb booster and whether you get a expensive combo booster. Another seat i have heard good things about is a recaro seat, i am not sure of the name, but i have heard it is a good bpb so you would only have to buy 1 seat not 2.

To answer your question, some children are able to sit in a booster when they are 4 and some are not able to when they are 6, it really depends on the maturity level of the child and whether there are other seat choices available.

GL

Ilana and her dn avi RF at 11 months and ~25 lbs in the 2nd slot of his MA and DC

[searchdog]

Sandy,
I apoligize if I am totally missing something here. Is the whole reason you want a new seat just because the RA doesn't have Latch and your new car does? If so I wouldn't worry about it. Your RA is perfectly safe to use with a seatbelt as long you install it correctly and it is still in date. Does the RA have a tether on it?

Not that you really care but we got WZ's for our DD, both of our regular cars have LATCH but we have DD's seat installed RF in the center of the back seat of our Jeep (no LATCH in this position) which only has latch in the outboard positions. So what I am saying is we have LATCH but choose to use the seatbelt install so that she is in the center.

A seat is not "safer" because it is installed with LATCH if that is what you are thinking. The safest seat is the one that is installed properly and used properly every time.

If I am totally wrong it what you meant by your post just ignore me. :)

Or if you want an excuse to get a new cow moo then we can also come up with those as well.

[thundersweet]

lol yes I just want to get a new seat. I adore dd's cow MA and wanted my ds to have a matching seat. Is that so bad? lol I just wasn't sure how long a 4 year old would stay in a carseat before it was time to move to a booster. I dont want to waste money but figured I could use a new seat.

Thanks,
Sandy

[Joolsplus2]

I think it's a good excuse to get a new Recaro Young Sport...it's as nice as a Britax (ok, no cowmoo...waaaah..lol), but it will harness her to a full 40 pounds with very tall top harness slots, and then it becomes a terrific booster. She'd probably fit in a Marathon for 2 more years, but that wouldn't become a booster...and she's too young for a booster, IMO.
www.recarodealer.com has all the Recaros to see (keyword SHOW will get you a bargain on them... shhhhhhh ;) ).

Here's a review of the seat plus pictures http://uccomama-ivil.tripod.com/id14.html
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[thundersweet]

Thanks!! I decided to just get another Marathon. I dont know why I am so hung up on that cow print. lol Ds will get years of use from it and dd will stay in hers for as long as possible. She is a petite little thing so she should be able to get more use from hers for a year or two longer. What age do kids usually go into a booster? What is the average age? I mean do 5 and 6 year olds use car seats?

Thanks,
Sandy

[Joolsplus2]

Ahh...what IS the average age for a booster... well, can we just pretend that the online kids who are offspring of techs and educated parents are your peers? Good :) Then it's about 6 :)
Check out this page... http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/FFAlbum.aspx

The average kid on the street? We hope they are harnessed till age 4...we hope their parents keep them in boosters at least as long as the law says they should be in one, and till the seatbelt actually FITS them (age 8-12) is what we dream for :).

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[thundersweet]

Cool! That makes me feel better. I know in my heart I want her in a car seat rather than a booster longer than most kids around here. Some kids in her prek program are already in booster seats. It just seems to young to me. These kids seem too small. Oh well, I only need to worry about my own kids and my kids will be in car seats for as long as possible. Thanks for your help!!!!

Sandy