I have a 3 yr old, should i change his car seat into a buster seat?

Question

I have a 3 yr old, should i change his car seat into a buster seat?

Answer 1

yes you should change his car seat to a buster seat...god forbid, if anything was to happen...his body weight would over power his carseat seat...i recommend you to us the buster seat.

Answer 2

My 3 year old still rides rearfacing (RF) in her Britax Marathons.  She will remain RF until she reaches the 33lb weight limit on her seats.  She will then be turned forward facing (FF) and will remain in that seat until she outgrows it. If she is mature enough at that point (most kids are 5 or 6) then she may sit in a booster.  If not, then we will get a higher weight limit seat.

If your child still fits in his 5 point harness carseat (under the weight limit AND shoulders are below the top harness slots) then he needs to stay in that seat.

If your child has outgrown that seat, then he needs a larger FF harnessed seat.  There are many seats that harness to 55-80lbs.  Some are the Britax Marathon, Decathalon, Boulevard and Regent; the Sunshine Kids Radian; the Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE; the Graco Nautilus and the Cosco/Safety First Apex.

The Alpha Omega 3-in-1 seats only harness to 40lbs and most 40lb weight limit seats are outgrown before a child is mature enough for a booster seat.

4 years AND 40lbs is the BARE MINIMUM for a child to sit in a booster with vehicle seatbelt.

Answer 3

It also depends on how big he is. My best friend's 3 year old doesn't weigh enough for a booster seat. check his height and weight becuase they have a requirement.

Answer 4

Good question! But no, a 3 year old has no business using a booster seat. Bare minimum for safe usage of a booster is 4 years old AND 40lbs, and experts say keep kids in a 5 point harness as long as possible, preferably to at least 5-6 years.

WHY KEEP THEM HARNESSED:

Compare the following crash tests for your self and see the major difference a harness makes.

Forward facing harness vs. booster: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seite...

A lateral test (the third view in) of a harnessed seat: http://www.oeamtc.at/videobox/index.php?...

A deep winged high back booster like a Parkway: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seite...

A shallow winged high back booster like the Turbobooster: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seite...

And a no back booster: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seite...

Crash test video showing a 5-point harnessed seat next to a belt positioning booster

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=NxfIuhL3cX...

VIEDOES OF KIDS WHOSE PARENTS DESPERATELY WISH THEY'D KEPT THEM HARNESSED:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcq...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2kO8AxKb...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPBSEQ4xb...

We also now know the spine is not solid until age 6.

So to sit in a booster and use just the seatbelt like an adult (basically a booster just fits the belt to the child,so it's essentially the same), they need to be able to not have the lapbelt cause those injuries, have the head proportionate like an adult, and have a solid spine like an adult. kids under age 5 have higher rates of head injury if they are riding in boosters than kids over age 5 (presumably because younger kids have heavier/larger heads in proportion to their bodies, so they fly forward farther or with greater force, thus incurring greater injury if/when they come in contact with vehicle interior or intrusion?).

"Another type of misuse is a child not using the restraint designed for its size and age. The

study of Isaksson-Hellman et al. (1997) showed

that the maximum effect of a restraint system is

not attained if the child is not using the optimal

CRS for its age. Also, a tendency of higher

injury risk was identified when the growing

child switches from one restraint to another, i.e.

when the child is at the youngest age

recommended for the restraint. " -SAFETY FOR THE GROWING CHILD – EXPERIENCES FROM SWEDISH ACCIDENT DATA

Lotta Jakobsson

Irene Isaksson-Hellman

Björn Lundell

Volvo Car Corporation

Sweden

So...keep him in a harness as long as possible. Which may mean purchasing a higher weight harness (HWH) seat, if you don't already have one. Most car seats only harness to 40lbs, anything that harnesses above that is called a HWH seat. Great ones to consider if you need one to keep him harnessed to 5-6 years:

Britax Regent

Graco Nautilus

Answer 5

Here are your state by state requirements...........

http://www.childseatcenter.com/article10...