Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is interesting. I thought they stay in the car seat until they max it out? My convertible goes to 85lbs. My 4 year old is still rear facing because she's not yet 40lbs.

cruel and unusual parenting

Yep. My kid is 8 and weighs 60 lbs. absolutely zero of her classmates use harnessed seats or are rear facing. Most are age 8+ and only use seat belts.

We live in DC where the law is under age 8 need a booster. DD1 turned 8 on Weds. She’s 75% for height (52”) and 65% weight (60 lbs) and has graduated to a seat belt only.

DD2 is 5.75 and 45 lbs, 45” and rides in a high back booster with seat belt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She should remain in the convertible seat (or any seat with a 5 point harness) until at least 40lbs although the official recommendation is until she maxes out either the weight or height limits of the seat. Only then can she move to a booster seat.

Yes, this. And only when she can sit properly should she be in a high back booster.

Agreed and will add that your seatbelt has a locking mechanism that should be done when using a booster. Use a booster only when completely maxed out of a 5 point car seat.

We moved our daughter to a booster (high backed, clips into car seat tethers) around 4 but before she reached height and weight limit because she was getting uncomfortable. She is now 5.5, no problems.

Anonymous wrote:I kinda feel like this is a car seat industry thing that has everyone thinking they need 4 different versions of car seats

Hmm, do you mean you think the push for kids to stay in some sort of safety seat until age 8/10ish is a sales gimmick? I strongly disagree with that. We bought a Graco4Ever, which we started my daughter in at birth and will literally take her until she is a tween who can safely sit in a car with just a seatbelt and there are several other all-in-one options on the market. But I’ve actually read you can spend less and get more mileage out of buying separate seats—just an affordable 5 pt harness that rear and forward faces and then a separate booster seat. Between multiple kids, different cars etc it’s just nice to have options. I think brands like Nuna that convince parents they need to drop $500 on a car seat is an industry gimmick but not the need for different safety precautions at different ages.

I kinda feel like this is a car seat industry thing that has everyone thinking they need 4 different versions of car seats

Anonymous wrote:This is interesting. I thought they stay in the car seat until they max it out? My convertible goes to 85lbs. My 4 year old is still rear facing because she's not yet 40lbs.

cruel and unusual parenting

30lb you can go highback booster. at 40lb you can go backless

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is interesting. I thought they stay in the car seat until they max it out? My convertible goes to 85lbs. My 4 year old is still rear facing because she's not yet 40lbs.

They can max it out by height instead of weight. For forward facing seats shoulder straps should be at or above shoulders. My four year old’s shoulders are now above the maximum shoulder strap height in his seat so even though he’s not yet 40 pounds he will have to be moved this weekend.

This. My kids maxed out height in 1st or 2nd grade when we moved to the seatbelt + hbb.

Anonymous wrote:This is interesting. I thought they stay in the car seat until they max it out? My convertible goes to 85lbs. My 4 year old is still rear facing because she's not yet 40lbs.

They can max it out by height instead of weight. For forward facing seats shoulder straps should be at or above shoulders. My four year old’s shoulders are now above the maximum shoulder strap height in his seat so even though he’s not yet 40 pounds he will have to be moved this weekend.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is interesting. I thought they stay in the car seat until they max it out? My convertible goes to 85lbs. My 4 year old is still rear facing because she's not yet 40lbs.

Well yes, "they" do say that, but I don't know a lot of 14 year olds riding around in car seats, and I've never seen a carseat that a child that big would actually fit in.

I agree they should rear-face as long as possible. Once they turn around I think you can consider moving up in stages once they meet the minimum requirements for a booster. Some individuals never outgrow the height/weight maximums for a convertible seat due to medical conditions or short stature. However, no convertible has a longer than 10-year lifespan and most are 7 or less. Are you really going to get a second convertible instead of buying a booster if the seat expires?

Anonymous wrote:This is interesting. I thought they stay in the car seat until they max it out? My convertible goes to 85lbs. My 4 year old is still rear facing because she's not yet 40lbs.

Well yes, "they" do say that, but I don't know a lot of 14 year olds riding around in car seats, and I've never seen a carseat that a child that big would actually fit in.