Booster seat question

[nov02mom]

I know I'm asking prematurely, but my DH and I take a long time deciding on things! LOL The lease on my Accord runs out in 15 months. My son is 3 years old, 38+lbs and 41 inches. He's in a MA FF center position. He should outgrow the MA by height long before 65 lbs. I have a vague memory that for boosters it was better to put them in an outboard position. Am I losing my mind? It makes a big difference to us because DH is VERY tall and it's hard to find a car with enough room in the back seat with the driver seat pushed all the way back.

Any thoughts?

[Aunt to sweet baby boy]

With boosters it is much better to put them into the center because they are farther from the point of impact in case of an accident. If you are going to be putting your ds into a booster when he outgrows his MA i would suggest putting him in the center.

JMHO

Ilana

[Joolsplus2]

The only reason we have to tell people to put boosters in outboard/window seats is because so many cars don't have shoulderbelts in the center...obviously you can't use a booster with only a lapbelt, so outboard that big kid has to go. Newer cars DO have shoulderbelts in the center and that IS preferred, but sometimes the seating positions are extremely narrow, and it might be impossible to find a booster that you can actually buckle in there (my Ford Escape can't have a booster in the middle, drives me wonky! Thank God there are side curtain airbags, so I don't have to stress about putting my kids in the window seats!).

So, getting a little OT, when you DO go car shopping, put your foot down and insist on side curtain airbags, adjustable headrests and center shoulderbelts.. if your kiddo is as tall as daddy, he'll be out of a booster at age 7 or 8 or so (average kids need boosters till 10-12), and you want as much protection from the car as you can get at that point.

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

[momtoB]

I read on the fed's site that all cars should have "type-2" lap/shoulder safety belts in all seating positions in the rear seat of cars no later than Sept. 1, 2005 so any '06 model should have a seatbelt in the rear middle position.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/rulings/Anton_FRNov16.html

[nov02mom]

I knew you could lead me in the right direction....now if someone can lead me to a car we can all fit in comfortably!!!!