When to start booster training?

[mrskingred]

DS is 4 y 4 mo and currently in his Kiddy Comfort Pro car seat which we use with the impact cushion. However, once he reaches 18 kg, we cannot use the cushion and have to use the seat as a HBB. We were at the Dr. on Friday and he weighed 17kg on the scale there. This was without coat, but in winter shoe, layers of wool, fleece etc. He was 15.7kg at his 4 year check-up so he that he weighs this much was a bit of a surprise . I can only assume its due to the 3 course lunch he gets at school.

Should we start booster training and how exactly do you do it?

Just to clarify we are in europe and I follow EC rules on car seats.

[mamasthree]

For my dd who is just over 4 years, I went ahead and bought a turbobooster (we are in the US, she is about 38 lbs.).  I still have her harnessed seat installed and we use that for longer trips.  We have used the booster for short, in-town trips and she has done very well with it.  

I guess in your circumstance, you could try the seat in booster mode for short trips, putting the shield back on for longer ones?  I'm not very familiar with those types of seats, so maybe it's not that easy. 

[Twinklefae]

You are in Europe?

I would see if you can weigh him again, with his winter outerwear on.  If he's over the weight limit you have few options - start using a booster or pay to have one of the more expensive Swedish/Norwegian  seats delivered to you.  Harnessed options over 18kg are few.  If you can find one locally, than use it.

Either way I would start booster training (short trips with reminders on sitting properly) so that he's ready to go when he does go over the weight limits.

[Eclipsepearl]

I was just going to add that I'm in France. If the "Basque Country" you're in is in France, you're okay to use a U.S. car seat. I've even installed my Radian into a police car and have had many random checks.

In France, they're just so happy to see a child in ANY car seat, they wont fine or penalize you.

Better my child be safe in an American car seat than to use a booster too soon and be unsafe in an accident. Happened to us once and I was reeeeealy glad I had the Radian instead of the flimsy toddler seats they sell here.

[mrskingred]

The "basque country" I'm in is in Spain. We are not in the market for a new seat having bought a UK one when we first arrived in the UK when DS was 18 months and then again at 3 years 1month, when he outgrew the harness by height but was only 13.5kg. If I had known about the swedish seats and they were widely available at the time, we would have bought one when DS was 18 months so that I wouldn't have had to turn him FF.

I will take him to the pharmacy and get him weighed again in winter clothing. We don't ever wear coats in the car so that's not an issue. His current seat converts to a booster very easily. You simply feed the shoulder portion of the seatbelt through the shoulder positioner.

I guess my question really is - how long is a short trip? We walk to school and the local shops. If we go into Bilbao we catch the train. Anywhere else is usually a 15 minute ride, but at 120km/h. Is this too long or at too high a speed?

Edited by mrskingred - 11/15/10 at 9:04am

[sunnymw]

If there is any way you could drive a few places at under 5-10 minutes around town (ie, not 120kg) then I would do so. Reminding a child to sit still and correctly at that speed seems like it could be nerve-wracking! Also I would sit in the car with it in the driveway and make a game out of seeing how long he can sit correctly while playing an "i spy" game or something.

[mrskingred]

I got him weighed again - he's definitely 17kg in winter clothes/shoes without a coat. We tried him in the booster mode this evening. DH offered to pick us up from swimming class and the pool is only a 10 minute walk in a residential area with lots of speed bumps - so slow speeds and about 5 minutes. He was fantastic - didn't move a muscle. Obviously we need more practise, but at least initially he could and did sit properly in the seat:) (I'm still hoping that the weight gain was a bit of a blimp and that he won't put any more weight on in the next month or so. I will be checking. He's usually between 10-25 percentile in weight, but now he's at 40%).