Question about toddler car seats!?

Question

all the websites say 40 pounds or 4 year olds. my sister is 4 but she isn't 40 pounds. What do i listen to?

Answer 1

that was the required weight, but, not no longer, now, it's 60lbs or 6 years old.

Answer 2

Are you sure you are reading it correctly? Could it say 40 pounds AND 4 years old?

Answer 3

You MUST go by the weight of the child.  Her body is not strong enough to withstand a crash in a standard booster seat.  My almost 4 year old nephew is just barely 30 pounds.  He is  simply a small kid, and no where near ready to be in a booster.  Kids that are under 40 pounds need to be in the 5 point harness as long as possible.  Manufacturers are starting to realize that the 40 pound weight limit isn't enough.  They have begun to produce car seats that can go up to 55-65 pounds now for safety purposes.    

PLEASE, insist that your sister remains in a 5 point harnessed toddler seat until she reaches the appropriate weight limit.

Good luck!

Answer 4

The law is that babies have  to be in car seats until they are 35 pounds. When they are toddlers a booster seat is best, and you can pick those up for a lot cheaper than car seats. My little one has a Britax Marathon, and although pricey, it lasts until shes 60 pounds (if I want).

Answer 5

Actually - if you really dig deeper, not all will say that. That is b/c experts state that 40lbs AND 4 years old is the bare minimum for booster use, and recommend keeping kids harnessed past that, as long as possible, to at least 5-6 years old.

However, this gets tricky as most the car seats at Walmart/Target only go to 40lbs. So, it becomes important to have a higher weight harness (HWH) seat, one that harnesses past 40lbs. Britax Marathon, Evenflo Triumph Advance, Compass/First Years TrueFit are great seats that all harness well past 40lbs.

At 4 years old though, I would keep her in a forward facing only seat that has a harness, so then your options are:

Graco Nautilus - awesome seat $150, last one you'll need to buy. Harnesses to 65lbs, then is a booster seat. Steel reinforced. Graco's best yet. :) Looks like a big kid seat

Britax Regent - pricier, but harnesses longer, to 80lbs. $269. Does not become a booster. Roomier, comfier, big seat.

Those are the best options.

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

http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm

http://www.boosterseat.gov/

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/Booster...

SO...listen to the facts and the sources that support them above. They show why its so important to keep her in a harness for a while yet.

Answer 6

You should then listen to the weight, which in this case happens to be 40 lbs.

Have fun

Answer 7

Go by the pounds