Do I change car seats?

I'm not a car seat expert and I don't even play one on TV but I would say that at 2 1/2 y/o he's a little too young for just a booster. You are correct in the fact that with a booster seat, you use the vehicles seat belts to hold them in. The booster seat is supposed to provide the height in order for the seat belts to fit across the body correctly. I'm not familiar with your particular brand of car seat but I would check the back of the seat while pulling the straps out to see if they're getting hung up on something. If not, you might have to look for a seat that's got longer straps to accommodate him a little better.

I just had to buy a new carseat for my little munchkin. He is three, and weighs 36 pounds - and was too tall for the straps. The straps are supposed to be at or above his shoulders, and they definitely were below. He's a long-bodied kid. Technically he is big enough for a belt-positioning booster, but I am not comfortable with that yet. So I had to bite the bullet and buy a new car seat this week. Money is tight, but I'd rather be comfortable when it comes to car safety. I say do what you are comfortable with. I think 2 1/2 is too young, too. Heck, mine is three, and ...nope. Not yet. In answer to your question, belt-positioning boosters are the high-back boosters that have slots for the shoulder belts, so you can position the shoulder belt at the correct height for your child

Please, please, please do not put a child that young/small in a booster seat. There is absolutely no comparison between the safety of a car seat with a five point harness and a booster seat. A booster seat only 'boosts' your child so that they are positioned for the seat belt to fit them correctly. The lap belt low and across the hip bones and the shoulder strap across their chest and shoulder, not across their face. It does not protect your child like a car seat with a five point harness. Really, buckling a child in with a heavy coat on is not the best either. Try this. Buckle him in while he is wearing his coat. Then unbuckle and take him out without adjusting the straps at all. Take his coat off and buckle him in the seat again without adjusting the straps. You can see how much slack there really is. It appears that the straps are tight around the coat, but the reality is, in a crash situation, that coat will compress and that slack is how loose the straps really will be. I live in Michigan and have three kids so I know all too well what a pain coats and car seats are, but I either warm up the car before we get in, or buckle the kids and then put their coats on them backwards after they are buckled in. (So their arms are in the sleeves with the back of the coat over their belly. Does that make semse?) Hope that helps!

Yeah, I was just gonna suggest taking his coat off when you get in the car. I do that with my DS b/c 1-he is a little heater, he is ALWAYS hot 2-the heat blows into the backseat RIGHT on him, so I know he's getting toasty.

Thanks everyone! Off with the coat it is! Now lets just hope he'll put it on to go outside!

We do sans coats in the car, too. Instead we have nice "car-only" blankets for them and the heat is right on them, too. GREAT tip with putting their coats on backwards!!!! NEVER thought of that! Genius! {{{Hugs}}}

The coat backwards doesn't work so well if you are dealing with a big, puffy, parka-type thing with a hood, but for most coats it does. The problem is then they want to wear their coat backwards all the time! More than once I have walked into preschool with two kids with their coats on backwards! :D

hopefullina - If your child is 2 and 35 pounds then you should really look into purchasing a BRITAX. 2 of their models (one I think is the MARATHON) goes up to 60 pounds where most car seats with 5 point restraints go only to 40 pounds. The 2nd is the REGENT (new name for 2003 model HUSKY) It does the 5 point restraint on children up to 100lbs. By far, rated the BEST IN SAFETY for carseats. Popular among parents with larger toddlers and autistic children. I plan on keeping my dd in it until she is 60lbs. I was in the safety profession and have seen many fatal accidents and It is worth an extra $150 to give my child the advantage in a accident!

I am a certified carseat safety inspector and I can tell you (as everyone else already has) absolutely do NOT put Jordan in a belt-positioning booster yet. The Evenflo Triumph has a weight limit of 40 pounds. Since he's approaching that limit, you'll need to purchase a new seat. Or, another option we tell people when we are installing seats, is to put them in a seat without a coat, and then put the coat or a blanket over them. FYI, for anyone reading, that's especially important with babies, who can slip right out of those straps, even if they are tight, if there is a big fluffy coat in the way. I can't recommend any single brand, but there are seats out there with weight limits of up to 100 pounds. As for when to move him to a booster... that's state-specific, but usually it's around the age of four, and/or when their head are above the top of the seat. And after you get a new seat, stop by your local police or fire department to get it inspected (call first). 90 percent of them are installed incorrectly... and that's NOT a typo. Audrey

Quote from Audrey:

"And after you get a new seat, stop by your local police or fire department to get it inspected " In Calif: Specifically ask if anyone is certified. Most assume they are, but in Calif, most fire personnel are not trained, nor are the rural police or sheriff's dept. Best to call the Highway patrol or even the local Health Departments. They have been receiving grants to have someone certified. I've personally seen a mom go to our local safety department and ask for someone to install her carseat. A member of this dept. said he knew how to do it....Having children of your own and having installed them himself does not qualify him as an expert. HE DID IT COMPLETELY WRONG....Now there's a liablility. Afterwards, I politely suggested to the mom to go to the local CHP office, where it could be done right!

I apologize... in our area most departments have inspectors on duty... I'm always forgetting that the Internet is international! I believe there's a list of inspection stations and inspectors at [url=http://www.safekids.org]:: Safe Kids Worldwide - Preventing Accidental Injury ::[/url] ... FYI. Audrey

Definetely make some phone calls or check out that link to find a seat tech. I live in a city of 110,000 people and there is only one person with our fire dept. that is a certified tech (he actually is an instructor) and no one with the police department. It drives me nuts that it is not a priority with our city service departments to have certified techs available. The health dept., AAA, and local hospitals are other possiblities, but the link is probably your best bet. Here is another one as well [url=http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm]Child Safety Seat Inspection Station Locator[/url] There are lots of techs out there who are not necessarily associated with a city or business. (I recently let my certification lapse, but I would just get phone calls from people and arrange to meet them somewhere to check their seats.) And as someone else mentioned, make sure they are certified. My BIL is a parametic and somehow that makes him think he is a car seat expert, but he has no idea what he is doing. :rolleyes: