At a doctor appointment a couple weeks ago we learned that Taylor is 36.5 pounds. I realized this weekend that the max weight on her carseat is 40 pounds. What to do?? She’s 2.5 yrs old – a booster seat???
Well, after reading various websites (American Academy of Pediatrics, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and others) and talking to UAB Children’s Hospital’s Carseat Center… yep. At 40 pounds, she’s good to move to a booster – by law and according to her size.
Alabama law requires child restraint to age 4. Adult safety belts are deemed okay after age 4. If you ask the AAP and NHTSA people, Alabama’s child restraint laws are among the most relaxed. They recommend booster seats to age 8 or until the child is 4’9″ tall. They also strongly discourage the after market things that adjust the seatbelts to make them more comfortable (they may be more comfy, but in tests they compromised safety).
One relative told us to make sure it had a 5-point harness (Kerin!). Sorry Kerin, we can’t. All of the seats we’ve found (and the person at the Carseat Center) say to remove the harness at 40 pounds. The carseat center person said it was because they’re crash tested and passed tests up to 40 lbs but not over.
We’re leaning toward a high back booster because of how young she is (and because our seats don’t offer head support AND she still falls asleep in the car). Shoulder and lap belts in use, of course. (just lap belts can cause major internal injuries in car accidents… child or adult for that matter!)
We still can’t believe we’re moving out of the carseat, though… *sigh*