Booster seat help for Grandma!

[schums]

My Mom has decided she wants to have a booster seat for her car in order to be able to take DS out and about without me or my car. And she wants to buy it ASAP (not sure what the rush is, but OK). Right now, DS is in a Husky, so I haven't even started thinking or looking at boosters (that's still a long ways off for my car). He's a big kid, at 40" and 40 lbs at his 3 year checkup in March. Any suggestions? He's not likely to be in Mom's car alot, so I'd rather not spend tons, although I will if I need to.

Also, is it safe to put my not quite 2 year old DD in a booster for short trips? She is 33 pounds and 33 1/2" (in February). My mom doesn't want a car seat in her car all the time, and is worried she wouldn't be able to install it correctly when she wants to use it.

TIA,
Sarah
Alex 3/2002
Catherine 8/2003

[momtoB]

I'm not a car seat tech and my ds is currently only just turned two but from everything I have read it's better to keep your dc harnessed as long as possible, first because it's safer than just using the belt-positioning booster, and second because the younger a child is the less maturity they have in understanding why they need to stay buckled in. If using a BPB they can more easily unbuckle themselves puting their lives at risk. Having just read a story about another poster on another board I frequent recently losing their 3-year old in an accident after the child unbuckled himself just before they were hit by someone running a stop sign, I do know this can actually happen and I personally wouldn't want to risk it, not even for a "short trip". I would want both kids harnessed, especially at their age.

I think your mom could handle learning how to buckle a car seat in correctly if trained to. Maybe you could find out when your next local car seat techs are having a clinic (go to http://www.seatcheck.org/ to find out who to contact for your area). She might feel more confident about it if she's been shown how by a certified tech. It would certainly be worth it for her to do this as your dc will probably be in car seats for some time to come.

hth,
Cheryl
ds-4/21/03

[murphydog77]

Hi Sarah. I've got a list of boosters here that you can compare the features of: http://www.carseatsite.com/recommended_car_seats.htm . My dd just turned 3 last week and I just can't imagine putting her in a booster at this age. Is there any chance that you can talk your mom out of taking your ds out in a booster? The maturity just isn't there at this age.

As for your dd, absolutely no way is it OK for her to be without a harness. There, I put my foot down for you :) (hopefully in a friendly way). I saw the same story Cheryl did (wasn't a hoax) and it was tragic. A forward-facing car seat isn't hard to install and is something your mom can be taught how to do.

Heather, CPS Tech
http://www.CarSeatSite.com

[schums]

Heather,

Thanks for the reply and the info. I'll take a look at the web page this afternoon. I don't think I can get my mom to use a carseat with the kids. She just is never going to feel comfortable installing it in her car. That's why we were looking at a booster for DS for her car. DS is in a booster in DH's car (although he rarely rides in it -- he spends 95%+ of his time in a Husky in my car) because he hit the 40 lb limit on the harnesses part of that seat. He actually does really well in the booster - sits still, doesn't pull at the seatbelt, etc. Of course, we would NEVER use it on trips longer than about 10 minutes, so he doesn't have time to get too fussy. The same thing with my mom -- short trips once in a while in her car. Longer trips would be in my car with the Husky.

And I figured I shouldn't use a booster with DD. I just thought I'd ask (and drive somebody crazy ;-) )!

Thanks for your help!
Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)