Booster Seats for Lap Belt
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Booster Seats for Lap Belt
April 2004
I need to find a booster seat that will go over 40 lbs/43 inches
(the measurements I've been seeing on most boosters to use the
internal harness) and attach using only a lap belt. Our
babysitter's car has only lap belts in the back, and I don't
like the option of putting my daughter in the front seat. She's
rapidly outgrowing the toddler seat the babysitter has - not so
much in weight as in height, but the weight will come eventually
too.
The archive lists this question, but no good answers. Does
anyone know of a booster that can go beyond 40 lbs and use only
a lap belt?
Thanks,
Nancy
There is no such thing as a lap-belt booster. The shoulder belt
is essential to the child's safety. You can buy a 5-pt harness
booster seat that goes up to 80 lbs--- the last recommendation
letter posted several options including the Britax Husky. But
you can't buy a lap belt only booster. In a crash the top of the
child's body is thrown forward , but the bottom is held in place
which can lead to the spinal cord being severed at the waist and
paralysis of the legs.
You would seem to have 3 options: get shoulder belts installed,
have your child ride in the front seat (as long as there is no
airbag or it is turned off) or buy a Britax Husky or similar seat.
All the best,
susan
This may not be an exact answer but from what I have learned you
Height restrictions on a carseat are not an excact measurement.
What matters is where there head and shoulders are. They have
outgrown a seat heightmwise when the tips of their ears reach
mthe tip of the hard plastic shell of the seat. Also the
shoulder straps need to be at or above their shoulders. (
sometimes the cover falls down so you need to make sure it is
the holes in the actual seat and not just the cover.) so if she
is all legs then she will be able to stay in a seat longer than
someone who is really long torsoed. but the weight is definatly
40 pounds.
All that said when it comes time to switch her out of the seat
you have a few choices non of them very cheap. You could get
the britax husky http://www.babyuniverse.com/pro.asp?store=baby&lang=&id=26529 it is 5 point harness to 80 pounds (
great seat that is what we have although it is really big)
Second there is the britax marathon
http://www.babyuniverse.com/pro.asp?store=baby&lang=&id=30007 5 point harness to 65 pounds and
the airway http://shop.store.yahoo.com/kidsurplus/nanairway.html
which is 5 point to I think 50 pounds then it changes to a belt
positioner that needs a shoulder strap. Lastly you can try to
get a britax laptop used maybe on e-bay.because they no longer
make it because of the latch compatable law.
http://pages.ivillage.com/momika/carseatphotos/id10.html
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=britax+laptop
Anyway good luck Melinda
A booster seat (by definition) cannot be used with a lap belt
only. You need a seat with a 5-point harness, which means the
Britax Marathon (up to 65 lbs) or Britax Husky (80 lbs) - see
the recent question about a harnessed seat for a larger child!
If for whatever reason you cannot buy a Marathon or Husky and
your child has outgrown her toddler seat, she'll have to use a
belt-positioning booster seat and is probably better off in the
front seat (pushed as far back as possible) of the babysitter's
car. I assume that if the car does not have shoulder belts in
the rear, it probably also does not have airbags in the front.
Given that, I'd think having the shoulder belt would offest the
increased risk from being in the front seat.
Alternatively, get the babysitter's car's seatbelts retrofitted
to add shoulder belts. This is possible in many older cars.
Consult a dealer.
anon
2001
Does anyone have any information about carseats/booster seats for older
children where there are no shoulder belts in the back? When I did research
awhile ago, I couldn't find any booster seat that was designed for lap belt
only. They all said to use the shoulder belt once kids got over a certain
weight. The front has a shoulder belt and no airbags, but I still didn't
feel comfortable having her in the front consistently. I still have the car
and was wondering if anyone had any ideas. I'm also wondering how this new
legislation will apply to these older cars.
meghan
Re: lap belts on carseat:
I have the Britax Roundabout and love the car seat. We have rented many car
seats, while on various vacations, and my son has never been very comfortable
in any of the other brands. His comfort has been attributed to the padding
and design of the harness. I also have a Volvo and have not used the tether
and really have not felt the need to. I just use two of the regular seat
belts and the seat is very secure.
T
I bought my daughter a booster seat from The Right Start catalog, it is foam
and has velcro guides for the car's seat belt positioning the seat belt in
the right place for a child. She loves it and often wants to move to
another car if we are not driving in my car. If I remember correctly it
cost about $80 and is really great. We have been using it for more than 2
years and it still looks new. I just checked their website with no sign of
the booster seat, but they might know where to find it, Good luck
Alice
For the person in want of a snug fit for a child seat in a volvo Are
angled backseats the problem? If so, you can level out the seat using fun
noodles cut to size. You can get fun noodles at Toys R us for about $2
each. This was suggested to me by an officer at the CHP on Telegraph
Ave when I complained of the poor fit between my Britex Roundabout and the
sharply angled backseats of my Acura Legend. (Officer Gomez actually
helped me instal the Roundabout--tethers, too-- and cut the fun noodles to
size).
Xanthippe
I've attached an abcnews.com website link that I saved after watching a
20/20 episode on the subject. The story is there, as well as related
stories, 15 related web links, and a proper child safety seat use
chart. I think you may find the legislation info. you are seeking from
the web links. Good luck.
"
Kids Ages 4 to 8 May
Be at Risk in Your Car"
http://abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/2020_000531_seatbelts.html
Angela
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