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Original poster

OK, honestly, would you allow a big 2.8 year old to go in a booster seat for a short trip

64 replies

Twiglett · 05/02/2007 09:48

because I wouldn't

and people always look at me askance like I'm over-reacting and I'd like to know if I am

5-point harness or no car journey

I also won't allow 6 year old in a car without a booster seat

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prufrock · 05/02/2007 10:21

I do - ds is 2.8 (had to think how old he was then and then realised he's same age as the moo!) and when we are taking other smaller kids he sits in dd's seat. But it's a high back booster with proper seatbelt positioners, he is large, and he never touches the seatbelt - well not anymore - the first time he sat in it he did and I stopped the car (village roads so perfectly safe) and told him off so scarily that he now sits there for the whole journey saying "I no touch seat belt mummy, it naughty and dangerous"

But no - I wouldn't put him in a seat only booster, and I wouldn't have a 6 year old without a booster

Marina · 05/02/2007 10:23

The monkey thing is the clincher in these circs. We are dreading refusenik dd switching to lap-belt in her multi-purpose booster/back seat, and it has to happen soon because she is tall and nearly four. Ds was pretty meek about these things but dd fights like a polecat.

dueat44 · 05/02/2007 10:26

Apparently, the vast majority of accidents / injuries to children in cars occur within a couple of miles of home. So the shortness of the trip is a point against using the wrong seat rather than a point in favour.

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MerlinsBeard · 05/02/2007 10:31

no to a booster seat/cushion but yes to a high back booster depending on the kind if seat (we have a hiliner or ranger with seat belt position adjuster thingy)

Original poster
Twiglett · 05/02/2007 10:33

she's 16.8 kilos .. (98cm)

so she's heavy enough

but she wouldn't sit back I'm sure .. she'd be bending forward and trying to turn lights on .. so it just doesn't seem safe

OP posts:
Original poster
Twiglett · 05/02/2007 10:33

Marina .. I think we might have the same children

OP posts:
mankyscotslass · 05/02/2007 10:35

Twigg, my concerns would be the same as yours...he cant resiist all the switches and buttons on the side door....what he will be like with the harness off i shudder to think!!

ComeOVeneer · 05/02/2007 10:37

Despite being an absolute terror at home ds is actually very good in the car and sits nicely. I was very reluctant to move him into a high back booster, but we had no choice, but actually it is fine

LowFatMilkshake · 05/02/2007 10:51

My DD was 2.8 when she went in to a big booster. We had no choice, the 5 point would not fit her anymore and squased her legs agains the front carseat.

She is very tall although just 2lb over the minimum weight so we went ahead - I did'nt feel we had a choice!

hunkermunker · 05/02/2007 11:02

I know a 2.9yo who is as tall as your average 4yo who's been on a booster since he was about 2.7, but he fits all the criteria for one.

DS1 is 2.10 and doesn't, so no, he won't be going on one.

hunkermunker · 05/02/2007 11:03

It's a high-backed booster though, not just the seat.

LowFatMilkshake · 05/02/2007 19:41

Ours is a high-back as well!

nulnulcat · 05/02/2007 19:58

dd had a high back booster seat from 2.6 as dp has 2 ds aged 4 and 5 and we couldnt get car seats and boosters in the car but we can get 3 high back boosters in. she was over 15kg though i think

nearlyfourbob · 05/02/2007 20:05

Pretty much all NZ children are in polystyrene high backed boosters from the very second they are 2 years old.

Ds however had a harness until he reached 18kg.

NannyL · 05/02/2007 20:28

i would NOT allow a 2 year old on a booster cuchion ever

full stop

some 2 year olds meet the weight criteria (ie over 15kg) for a high backed booster, and as long as they were over 15kg i wouldnt have a problem

currnet charge is 17 months and 12.5 kg his brother was 20kg at 3 years old, hence 2 big for a seat with a 5 point harness, and in a high backed booster from 3 and a bit! (once he was over 18kg)

old charged is 4.5 and still only 14.5kg and she is still in her grouop 1 seat with 5 point harness when i look after her.

merrily · 05/02/2007 20:30

my DD is 22 months and we have just moved her into a high-back booster. She is very tall and weighs nearly 19kg already (yes I know, she's huge) and was too big for the old Priori XP so we have moved her into a Rodi XP which uses the adult seatbelt. She seems very secure and safe so not too worried about it really - though admittedly she is very good in the car anyway, not a fidget. I read up about all this before buying the booster seat and it seems that as long as the child is heavy enough and tall enough for the seatbelt to lay across the shoulder and pelvis, then it should be perfectly safe.

morningpaper · 05/02/2007 20:36

Honestly do you lot NEVER travel on buses with your little ones?

Surely that is FAR more dangerous? They are positively rattling around.

NAB3 · 05/02/2007 20:40

Never in a million years. We have 3 children and have bought 8 car seats over 6 years.

eemie · 05/02/2007 21:39

Twig you are right to be a stickler. Short journeys are the most risky - especially within half a mile of home. Maybe because people are fooled into relaxing their safety standards.

I've had a friend say to me recently that we could all go to Pizza Express in her car if her son crouched in the boot space (estate car).

This was the same week my sister had to go to the funeral of a two-year old whose Dad let her put her arms over the straps of the seat belt to avoid a tantrum while he drove to the baker's on a quiet Sunday morning in a sleepy village.

My car doesn't move unless everyone's strapped in. If anyone loosens a strap my car stops at the next available place. If straps aren't done up again we all get out and start walking home until reason is seen.

fennel · 06/02/2007 09:25

Buses are statisically the safest form of transport, fewest accidents, fewest fatalities.

Bozza · 06/02/2007 09:34

Well I am another with a 2.8yo ( at prufrock btw) and I have obviously not been fattening her up enough. She is only just verging on 15 kg. I have let her go in DS's high back booster on a couple of occasions, such as when transporting another younger child. For me it is the weight issue. If she was solidly over 15kg instead of veering there and back I would be happy. She is very good in the car, especially when she gets promoted to the booster, and just sits there preening so I have not issue with the straps etc. Also it has a seatbelt positioning thing which I do not use for DS because he doesn't need it but did use for DD.

The other thing is that when she transfers to a high back booster, DS will have to go to a booster cushion.

dejags · 06/02/2007 09:38

DS2 is 28 months and weighs 17kgs. No chance on earth of squeezing him into a 5 point harness.

He fits very comfortably into a high back booster and behaves very well i.e. never attempts to undo his seatbelt.

NAB3 · 08/02/2007 09:41

Bozza, why will your son have to go on to a booster cushion? Can you not buy another nigh back booster seat? They are much better than just the cushion as they give more back support.

oliveoil · 08/02/2007 09:44

both of mine have high back booster seats, Britax

dd2 is 2.6 yrs and 2 and a half stone, no idea what that is in kg

very tall

belt fastens like normal seat belt over me or you

am I to stay after school and do lines?

Emprexia · 08/02/2007 19:45

No way.

A two year old should still be RF according to the latest research, so there is no way in Hell its permissable for them to be sat on a booster.

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