# Very basic booster seat Q: which is more important: age, weight, or height?



## eurobin (Aug 20, 2006)

DD's still just a peanut at 27 lbs so she'll be hanging out in her Marathon for a looooong time. But I must admit that I've done absolutely no research on the next step. Today, I read the article about the unsafe boosters and realized that I have completely no clue when she needs to be moved to a booster and when she is ready to use just an adult safety belt alone.

She's 26 months, 27 lb, and about 35". I know she's fine in her Marathon now and for a good long while so this is just to enhance my general awareness of this topic. The law in Ohio (where I live) is a child must be in a safety seat till 4 years / 40 lbs. I plan to keep her in some sort of restraint for longer than that though. It seems like I've read varying criteria for when they are ready to go booster-less. 8 years? 80 lb? 4'9" tall?

Say you have a tall, thin 9 year old who is 4'11" but only 74 lbs. Are they safe outside a booster? What about a 7 year old who is 84 lbs and 4'10"? Or a 9 year old who is 4'7" but 83 lbs? Would you move any of those kids out of a booster? I genuinely have no clue so I appreciate any info you can share.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eurobin* 
She's 26 months, 27 lb, and about 35". I know she's fine in her Marathon now and for a good long while so this is just to enhance my general awareness of this topic. The law in Ohio (where I live) is a child must be in a safety seat till 4 years / 40 lbs. I plan to keep her in some sort of restraint for longer than that though. It seems like I've read varying criteria for when they are ready to go booster-less. 8 years? 80 lb? 4'9" tall?

Say you have a tall, thin 9 year old who is 4'11" but only 74 lbs. Are they safe outside a booster? What about a 7 year old who is 84 lbs and 4'10"? Or a 9 year old who is 4'7" but 83 lbs? Would you move any of those kids out of a booster? I genuinely have no clue so I appreciate any info you can share.

A 5-point harness is always safer. The absolute bare minimum for a booster is 4 years and 40 pounds, but most techs and car seat nuts will recommend waiting as long as possible to switch to a booster, at least until age 5 or 6. It all depends on the age and maturity level. Weight and height factor in since all car seats including booster have height and weight limitations (minimums and maximums).

As far as going into just a seatbelt, it depends on the child and vehicle and varies greatly. A child is ready to ditch a booster when they pass the 5 step test. This will be different from child to child and from car to car.

My mantra is rear-facing as long as possible, harnessed as long as possible, high back booster as long as possible. A high back booster provides a significant level of safety over a backless booster, and a child should graduate from a HBB to a BB only when they outgrow the back by height or weight. Likewise, the child needs to remain in the backless booster until they fit the adult seatbelt properly.


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

Quote:

My mantra is rear-facing as long as possible, harnessed as long as possible, high back booster as long as possible.
ITA, this is the ideal and what I strive for in my own kids and what I would reccomend, most of the time.







I'm not one who believes that children should be harnessed forever, but at least till 6 and preferrably to 40# if they're not 40# then. I do let AJ use a booster sometimes when needed and he's not quite 5.5yo, but he's harnessed in the van. Evan is still rfing at almost 4 and won't be ready for even sometimes booster use for a while, he just doesn't have the same personality as AJ. Ilana is still rfing at 23 mos and again, will be till 3-4yo I'm guessing, like her brother. They won't move out of boosters, at least in the main car, till they are completely outgrown. We don't have side airbags so a good hbb w/ TSIP is WAY safer than nothing, even if they pass the 5 step test.


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## kayleesmom (Dec 16, 2004)

taking notes


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