When are "most people" switching to boosters?

[orrmobl]

Sorry, computer sent two!

[KBecks]

Who cares if you are strange? I'm going to keep my kids in their Marathons until they outgrow them, and then we'll go to a 5 pt booster seat.

[Joolsplus2]

20/20 did a report concluding car seats are *not* safer for booster sized kids,


Making solicited recommendations are one thing. Offering up opinions that aren't asked for, just plain rude.

20/20 was reporting on the Freakonomics study that has been completely disproven. Boosters are 59% safer for kids up to age 7 (would be older if enough kids WERE in boosters...), highback boosters reduce head injuries by 70%, and of 100 kids who were killed for not being in carseats, 28 would have been saved if they had been in them.

I don't think anyone here is being rude, just looking for camaraderie and for ways to spread the word to other parents that the labels on carseat boxes and the arbitrary state laws are NOT the best way to keep their kids as safe as possible.

[o_mom]

I'm all for child safety and trash talking but some folks on this thread are car seat snobs! ALL seats are tested and approved for use, so convenience, fabrics etc make up a good bit of the premium you are paying. When did "more safe" become light years beyond just safe??

We can afford more and are more educated vis a vis brands and therefore CHOOSE to buy what we consider the best. That does not give us the right to question or look down upon others choices. Some parents can't or won't spend the pretty significant extra cost for the "better" product. And that is their choice. As long as the seat is installed and used properly, you really have no reason to carp, crow about your superior knowledge or feel the need to "educate" these "poor souls".
....

I think you need to re-read a few things. The only people I have see 'trash talking' about other peoples choices were making some very valid points. A person registering for a booster seat, even one with a harness, for an unborn baby has clearly not done even the minimum of research.

If you read along for awhile, you will see the recommendations on this board are not all about "snobby brands" they are about helping people choose seats that will last. Seats that will allow extended rear-facing and harnessing to an appropriate booster age. It is not expensive to do this, but there are many choices that will not last and it is even more expensive to buy 2-3 more seats.

20/20 did a report concluding car seats are *not* safer for booster sized kids, but the gov't requires it anyway, perhaps just to keep the parents mindful that they have to buckle something every time the kid gets in the car.

My point is that sometimes safe is safe enough and worrying about every doomsday scenario is a waste of time. And considering telling other parents what to do with their kids? That's just pompous and elitist. Imagine how you would feel if someone told you that you didn't feed or dress or groom your child properly.

Making solicited recommendations are one thing. Offering up opinions that aren't asked for, just plain rude.

The "20/20" report you speak of was based on Freakanomics a popular press publication which has since been refuted by peer-reviewed research from CHOP. It has also been shown in other research that the head injury rate for kids in booster seats is higher than kids in harnessed seats until age 5-6 years.

Unfortunately, most parents don't do any research into carseats beyond walking down the aisle at Walmart. If I see someone I know using a booster for a 2-3 year old, I will say something just the same as if they were letting them play with matches.

[niccig]

The "20/20" report you speak of was based on Freakanomics a popular press publication which has since been refuted by peer-reviewed research from CHOP. It has also been shown in other research that the head injury rate for kids in booster seats is higher than kids in harnessed seats until age 5-6 years.

But of course the research showing that Freakanomics are wrong about boosters does not make front page/headline news. So there are still people that believe this. It's like the Consumer Reports fiasco with infant seats saying that most were unsafe, that was headline news and the retraction of their findings was in the small print on page 3.

If someone truly believes booster seats are not necessary, I challenge them to find the evidence, other than the Freakanomics report, to back their claims.

[kijip]

I'm all for child safety and trash talking but some folks on this thread are car seat snobs!

Offering up opinions that aren't asked for, just plain rude.

The only trash talk I have seen on this thread is you. Calling people pompous is ironically enough pretty darn rude.

I liked some of Freakonomics but WRT carseats, the guy is a nerdy enconomist, not a physics or engineering professor. His assertions have been disproven and ironically a key message of the carseat parts were maybe we could spend the same sort of money making cars safer for kids than making carseats that parents can't/won't use properly. Not, don't use carseats.

[KrisM]

I'm all for child safety and trash talking but some folks on this thread are car seat snobs! ALL seats are tested and approved for use, so convenience, fabrics etc make up a good bit of the premium you are paying. When did "more safe" become light years beyond just safe??

Since I'm talking about the safety of MY KIDS! I want them as safe as possible. It's not about brands or patterns, it's about not putting them in a booster at age 3 just because he's heavy enough or tall enough. It's about keeping him ALIVE to the best of my abilities.

[sarahbrown29]

not to hijack this thread but ... can anyone point me to information online that I can disperse to my friends and family about the safety of keeping kids RF/harnessed for as long as possible?

TIA!
Sarah

[sivan]

i recently moved my son and carpool kid back into harnesses after a year of turboboosters and i'm gonna keep them there as long as i possibly can!!!

and forgive me, but i'd much rather be a snob about car seat safety than just about anything else!