Question about the Nautilus as a booster...

[sarahsthreads]

I may have to have my dad pick DD up from preschool one of these days, or just generally be emergency backup transportation as baby #2 gets a little closer to arriving, and rather than having him learn how to install the Nautilus in his car and how to safely harness DD I thought it might be easier for him to buckle her in it as a booster. (The school is literally 3 minutes down the 30 mph village road from our house so I'm (mostly) comfortable with the idea of her being in the booster for that long.) But...

Do you have to remove the harness to use it in booster mode? Or can he just make sure the straps aren't behind her or interfering with the seatbelt? It wasn't clear to me from the manual - granted, it was a couple of months ago when I read it and I wasn't thinking booster mode then, but I do remember the booster section detailing how to remove the harness. Because I would hate to have to remove the harness and then re-install it so we could put the seat back in DH's car!

And is this a completely bad idea to begin with? I would never let DD travel at highway speeds in a booster at this point, but I can't help but think she'd be safer properly restrained in a booster than in an installed seat I haven't checked...

Thanks!
Sarah

[lorinick]

how old is your daughter? Maybe buy just a booster without harness straps for his car. If she's old enough. You are suppost to take the harness straps out to use as a booster. Even if your dad is driving at 35 mph doesn't mean the people around you are.

[sarahsthreads]

Ah, yeah, the age info probably makes a difference! DD is 3.5, weighs about 33 pounds, and is about 38 inches tall. So she meets the minimum requirements for a booster (at least, the Nautilus, don't know about others), but I'm not comfortable with her being in a booster for more than emergency backup transportation until she's more like 5 or so. Especially since she still falls asleep in the car on a regular basis during trips that are 30 minutes or more!

And I know my dad is the safest driver out there (sometimes maddeningly so) and that it's everyone else we have to worry about, but (hope I'm not jinxing myself here) there hasn't been an accident of any sort except the usual fender bender type things on the roads he'd be driving on in the 20 years I've lived in this area. It's a really little town.

OK, so since you're supposed to take out the straps I guess I'll have to show him how to install the seat, unless anyone can think of another option? This ought to be fun...

Sarah

[Joolsplus2]

It's a fairly easy seat to install...at least give him a shot at learning :). And that harness adjuster is so smooth, that won't be an issue (you could teach your dd to tighten herself up, even...?)

[sarahsthreads]

OK, I'll give it a shot! After all, he's a pretty smart guy. ;)

Sarah

[sivan]

i think teaching him to use that harness would be easier than the belt path on there. jmo!

[KrisM]

My parents drive my nephews around a once a month or so and very rarely drive my kids. There was a point where they had a harnessed booster in their car. They just left the harness installed so that if they did need to take DS somewhere, they could just install the seat and go. My nephew was in it infrequently and he just sat on the harness. Might be a touch uncomfy, but not terrible. I asked about it here then and Jools said it was fine :).