carseat stuff

egpitt22 · August 2014

I know this has been discussed a million times and I know all of the recommendations, but I'm really looking for personal experience here. Jake is over 6.5, weighs about 43 pounds and is 45 inches tall. He's still in a 5 points harness and hasn't ever grumbled about that...until recently. It's getting to the point where getting him into the car turns into a whiny battle over him not wanting to "sit in the baby seat anymore". I can't say I blame him, most of his friends are in just a booster seat by now.

Yet, I'm still the overprotective mama who is hesitant to pull the trigger and remove the straps! My main concern is that he won't sit properly with the seat belt on; right now, he pretty much can't move in that thing and I'm nervous that if he has the freedom to move around, he's going to be leaning over to try and touch Liam, or just be squirmy in the seat.

Tell me your experiences to make me feel better, please

Luckystar2 · August 2014

Dd is a little younger than Jake and we ditched the straps a year or so ago. It was definitely before she turned 6. I hated her 1 car seats straps and just couldn't take buckling her anymore so we just made the switch in DH's car. Then I needed a new seat in mine and just went with a high back booster.

I will admit I was nervous and worried but thankfully we didn't get in any accidents. Dd had her moments early on where she didn't sit great but I would just try to keep an eye on her and would pull over if she wasn't sitting correctly. She still sometimes acts that way but I just remind her.

The seat in my car is a britax that has a clip between their legs that is supposed to keep the position of the belt better. That made me feel a little better but after a while it didn't seem necessary.

I will say that going 5point free has made life so much easier. I have always had a difficult time with the straps/buckles. I have some joint issues and it could be really hard at times. I hated making stops with dd and buckling and unbuckling. It's so much easier now!!! Not that that is the reason to do it but I feel like we used 5 point longer than most and it was the best we could do. Like I said I worried but it wasn't like it isn't safe.

It was similar feelings with stopping RFing. We RFed way longer than everyone I know but still made me nervous to make the switch.

rona118 · August 2014

We switched to low back boosters for Madi when the baby arrived. I was nervous about also, but we have very safe cars and it has worked out great. Even when she falls asleep in the car, she seems ok. And she likes the freedom of it.

egpitt22 · August 2014

rona118 said:

We switched to low back boosters for Madi when the baby arrived. I was nervous about also, but we have very safe cars and it has worked out great. Even when she falls asleep in the car, she seems ok. And she likes the freedom of it.

the sleeping was the other thing I was wondering about! we take quite a few road trips of 4+ hours every year and Jake will often fall asleep in the car for a portion of the trip, I was wondering if just the seat belt would cause his head/shoulders to bob around too much to really sleep.

MrsAmers · August 2014

We switched Heather during first grade...I honestly forget exactly when or what triggered it. I think it was before she turned 7, but not by much. We made it clear to her that if she didn't sit upright and keep the shoulder strap on that we would go back to the 5-pt harness. She has even been good about sleeping in positions that still keep the strap over her shoulder.

We need to trust our kids to rise to the occasion when we give them new responsibility.

Honestly, we may switch Todd as soon as he hits 40 lbs, because like April said, getting in and out of the car is sooooo much easier with a kid in a booster.

Luckystar2 · August 2014

We've gone on 16 hour car trip with no problems!

We use a high back booster though. Dd would not be ready for no back booster and sleeping could be an issue with that. We used one on Hawaii when she was 4.5 and it definitely was not great when she fell asleep!

Dd's one seat is the graco argus which is a regular 5 point that turns booster. It has a ton of side padding and the britax booster in my car has a decent amount (although not as much). Her head may go to the side but there's so much padding there she really doesn't flop around or anything.

egpitt22 · August 2014

Luckystar2 said:

Dd's one seat is the graco argus which is a regular 5 point that turns booster. It has a ton of side padding and the britax booster in my car has a decent amount (although not as much). Her head may go to the side but there's so much padding there she really doesn't flop around or anything.

sounds similar to what we have, it's a Graco though the name is escaping me. So I think you just remove the straps and the high back/head rest would still be there, along with the arm rests and cupholder. So essentially the only thing that's different is the seat belt, which is nice.

Thanks for the feedback ladies...I'm sure he's ready (and you're right, it will be so much easier to not deal wtih me having to fix/do the straps and snaps all the time!) It's just a matter of biting the bullet and actually doing it!

Luckystar2 · August 2014

Yeah all you do with those kinds is remove the harness and loop the seatbelt through the guide. Those ones are a nice way to convert to booster because it's not really that much different. You just need to make sure that the belt hits him in the correct places but at his age/size he should be ok.

AmandaJLewis · August 2014

I think I switched EJ before Kindergarten, so sometime last summer probably. She has two high-back boosters (one in each car) the one in K's car was the Graco Nautilus which had been a 5pt harness. I needed to replace the seat in my car, and just went with a Graco high back booster (the one with the latch clips- just so it doesn't slide around in the car). She still has the side-impact things by her head, and she will rest her head on them when she gets sleepy. She is good about staying in her seat and sitting correct. The seats are great at keeping the belt in the right spot too.

We also have a backless Graco Turbo booster for when she goes with my parents or someone else so we don't have to take ours out for smaller trips.

bride2003 · August 2014

I bet we switched Caileigh around 1st grade to seatbelt through the high back booster. If you plan to use it again as a 5 point, remember how you took it apart. I don't think I'll be able to remember how I did Caileigh's. She still has it in my car but she's really big for it now so I have let her use just the seat booster. Keira still has the 5 point but she's not quite 40 lbs & still short so I'll keep her in it for awhile. Cripes I just transferred Eamon from his first seat to the convertible one although he still fits in the first one!

carseat stuff

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