Which booster seat?

[dkhedmo]

We're not in a rush, as ds1 (coming up on 5) is still only 38-39lb, but
he will size out of his carseat at 40lb. We have the Alpha Omega, which
comes apart into a booster, which is part of why we bought it. But I've
since heard that a booster built to be a booster is safer. Is this true?
Any good links pointing out the aspects to look for in a good booster
seat? Thanks for any advice.

-Karen, mom to Henry almost 5 and William almost 1-

[Mary W.]

dkhedmo wrote:
> We're not in a rush, as ds1 (coming up on 5) is still only 38-39lb, but
> he will size out of his carseat at 40lb. We have the Alpha Omega, which
> comes apart into a booster, which is part of why we bought it. But I've
> since heard that a booster built to be a booster is safer. Is this true?
> Any good links pointing out the aspects to look for in a good booster
> seat? Thanks for any advice.
>

We like the Jupiter Komfort Kruiser.

Mary W.

[Bruce Bridgman and Jeanne Yang]

"dkhedmo" > wrote in message
k.net...
> We're not in a rush, as ds1 (coming up on 5) is still only 38-39lb, but he
> will size out of his carseat at 40lb. We have the Alpha Omega, which comes
> apart into a booster, which is part of why we bought it. But I've since
> heard that a booster built to be a booster is safer. Is this true? Any
> good links pointing out the aspects to look for in a good booster seat?
> Thanks for any advice.
>
> -Karen, mom to Henry almost 5 and William almost 1-
>


We got the Graco booster (it's full size but comes apart) for DD and then we
got the Evenflo booster as a spare ($25).

Jeanne

[o_mom]

dkhedmo wrote:
> We're not in a rush, as ds1 (coming up on 5) is still only 38-39lb,
but
> he will size out of his carseat at 40lb. We have the Alpha Omega,
which
> comes apart into a booster, which is part of why we bought it. But
I've
> since heard that a booster built to be a booster is safer. Is this
true?
> Any good links pointing out the aspects to look for in a good
booster
> seat? Thanks for any advice.
>
> -Karen, mom to Henry almost 5 and William almost 1-

One of the biggest things to look for was a large "hole" for the
shoulder belt to retract through, not the "clip" type found on many
combination seats.

To illustrate this, look at the shoulder belt holder on the Graco
TurboBooster vs. the Graco CarGo(combo seat) at:

http://www.gracobaby.com/products/subcategory.asp?N=41+110&act=A20

On the TurboBooster, the belt retracts freely. With the clip type on
the CarGo, when the belt is pulled through to buckle, it will not
automatically retract back and the shoulder belt will be loose. Most
kids will not pull it tight themselves and even if you tighten it each
time, as soon as they lean forward, the belt will be loosened again.

There are many models with the "hole" design, Graco TurboBooster,
Britax Bodyguard, Evenflo BigKid, to name a few.

[dkhedmo]

I see the point about the hole and the belt retraction. Are the boosters
with a back considered safer than the ones that are just a base? -K-

[o_mom]

dkhedmo wrote:
> I see the point about the hole and the belt retraction. Are the
boosters
> with a back considered safer than the ones that are just a base? -K-

I'm not sure if they are any safer when used properly, but IME, the
ones with a back are more likely to be used properly each time. With
the backless ones there is a strap which goes from the seat up to the
seatbelt to pull it into position if the child is not tall enough (see
the seat manual). It can be awkward to use and may not always be used
correctly.

If the child is tall enough that you don't need the strap and the seat
postion they are in has a headrest, you could probably use a backless
one. The ones with a back may be more comfortable, though, and if you
occasionally need to seat them in a spot without a headrest, you have
that option.

[Nikki]

dkhedmo wrote:
> I see the point about the hole and the belt retraction. Are the
> boosters with a back considered safer than the ones that are just a
> base? -K-

From what I can tell the backless boosters are just fine if a) the back of
your car's seat is high enough to come up past the child's head b) the
shoulder belt fits appropriately and c) the child can sit all the way back
and still have his knee's bend at the boosters edge and not before. If they
bend before the edge they will most likely scoot down and then the belts are
in the right place. If those conditions are met there is no particular
value over having the back versus the backless. My 5yo sits in a backless
booster in the car because the back seat is up above his head and a booster
with a back in the truck because the seats are below his ears. He meets the
other conditions.

I've been checking into boosters. The kind where the seat belt doesn't
retract easily are a royal PITA. He leans forward and the belt comes with
him but then doesn't retract back up and so remains loose. The kids can
never buckle themselves in because they can't manipulate the belts when they
are stuck in the guides. I was hoping to move my youngest to a backless
booster because of this but I think he is to little. Actually I think he's
to little for the one with the back (he's only 32lbs) but he was unfastening
the 5pt. harness so I switched figuring a seat he was a tad to small for was
safer then one that wasn't fastened. I'm not sure what I'm going to do
with him. I tried everything to get him to leave the harness alone but I
wasn't successful.

I suppose I'll have to buy new carseats. Hunter likes the backless much
better and since we are getting a car in place of the truck he can have one.
That means one more new car seat. I would then have *5* car seats (not
including the infant and toddler seats that are long gone) and it seems
silly to buy yet another one for Luke but I want him to be safe.

Does anyone know if there is a weight limit that needs to be met in order
the the car's belt system to work? I'll have to check the manual.

Does anyone know if those belt adjuster's are rated for safety? My old car
had guides you could use to keep the belts down but the new one doesn't
appear to.

--
Nikki

[Tracey]

"dkhedmo" > wrote in message
k.net...
> We're not in a rush, as ds1 (coming up on 5) is still only 38-39lb, but
> he will size out of his carseat at 40lb. We have the Alpha Omega, which
> comes apart into a booster, which is part of why we bought it. But I've
> since heard that a booster built to be a booster is safer. Is this true?


We have had several different boosters for my DD over the years (btw, she is
nearing 9 and still uses the booster - she's 48" tall and 50lbs). By far
the BEST one we've had is the Graco Turbo Booster. IIRC it costs about $59
and it is the best because you can adjust the height of the headrest and
mostly it is great because instead of a clip to hold the seat belt, there is
a big slot that the seat belt threads thru...it is much easier to deal with
than the clippy thing most of the boosters have. You can also remove the
back and use it only with the base part if you want (but I've never tried
that).

[KR]

I love hearing about people who actually use boosters until the
children are old enough! Great job Tracey!

K

[Tracey]

"KR" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> I love hearing about people who actually use boosters until the
> children are old enough! Great job Tracey!


It never hurts to be a little extra cautious :-) Especially when its
something that the kid actually likes (she can see better).