forward face your children ? (if applicable)
How long were they in 5 point harnesses?
How long were they in boosters?

forward face your children ? (if applicable) Both where ff before they where a year because they where both over 20pds at that point. I didnt know about extended rf back then or I would have done things differently but boy did I love turning them :o I counted the days till I could turn them actually so much easier.

How long were they in 5 point harnesses? dd was in a 5 pt harness up until she was a month or so shy of 4yo back then I had no way to get a 5pt harness for her. The only ones available around here only go up to 40pds. Ds is still in a 5pt and will be until he hits either the height or 65 pd weight limit on it. He is 5 now.

How long were they in boosters? dd is still in her booster, she just turned 9 and weighs over 70pds and 51 1/2 inches tall. Her seat goes up to 100 pds and 58 inches tall. She will stay in it until she outgrows it or it expires one. The same will go for ds as he grows.

Hannah was FF at 1 year since she was over 20 lbs. At that time, that was the recommendation.

She was in 5 pt harness until she was 4, again at that time, I didn't know any differently.

She is still in a booster, she can almost pass the 5 step test though, so probably by her 8th birthday (in Feb) she will be out. She is like 4'8 and 82 lbs.

forward face your children ? (if applicable)
Isabella and Natalia were around 15-18 months. Josephine and Hannah were closer to two. Not because I knew about extended rear facing just because they had to be one year and 20 lbs. Josephine and Hannah were not 20 lbs at one year.


How long were they in 5 point harnesses?
Natalia and Sophia still are. Isabella was about four when she outgrew hers. Josephine and Hannah both around seven when they outgrew theirs.


How long were they in boosters?
Josephine and Hannah are still in boosters. Isabella hit 4 foot 9 a few years ago. I know we were out here so she was already 8 but I don't think she was quite 9 yet. In order to be out of a booster in my car you must be over 4 foot 9.

forward face your children ? (if applicable) Nichole was 22 months old. Looking back I should have kept her longer as she was only 22 pounds. Avery will rear face till at least 2, then depending on her size
How long were they in 5 point harnesses? Both are still
How long were they in boosters? n/a

forward face your children ? (if applicable)
How long were they in 5 point harnesses?
How long were they in boosters?

DS is 13. He hit 20 lbs. at 6 mos. and everyone told me to turn him forward facing, but I had read it was safest to keep them rear facing until at least 20 lbs. AND 12 mos. That's when I started doing research, caught the Child Passenger Safety bug and eventually became a certified CPS Tech. :) I kept him rear facing until 12 mos, but at the time there was only ONE convertible car seat (Century Smartmove) that rear faced past 20 lbs.. No local stores carried it so I ordered it online. This was back in 1996.

DD (11) was tiny. I kept her rear facing until she hit 20 lbs. at 18 mos.

When DS was little there were no harnessed car seats that went past 40 lbs.. He hit 40 lbs at 4 and then I transitioned him to a booster seat. He rode in a booster until he hit 4'9" and passed the 5 Step Test at age 11.

DD stayed in a harnessed car seat until she hit 40 lbs. at 6. She's still in a booster and will remain so until she's 4'9" and passes the 5 Step Test.

The state law here is confusing IMO it says that the child must be 20pds and 1yo for many they read it as either or. I did at first glance myself. State law here is also 8yo in booster.

I think it should be rewritten to say if your child is 20pds but not yet a year old then they should remain rf. Simple and to the point and not as confusing to some.

To be honest, I don't pay much attention to child restraint laws. They vary A LOT from state to state and most don't even come close to the current safety recommendations put out by Child Passenger Safety experts.

Child Restraint Laws (http://www.iihs.org/laws/ChildRestraint.aspx)

I agree but for many of the people around here they are all they have the majority of people do not have the net and making them more clear would be nice.

Parents can go in for free car seat inspections. CPS Techs do inspections and teach parents how to properly restrain their kids.

Home | SeatCheck.org (http://www.seatcheck.org)

Too bad not enough people do get their seats checked. I hate that I see so many kids in the wrong seats, or not in a seat at all. Picking up Hannah from school I can really see. Or at Meg's playgroup we were talking about it, and one girl was like, "oh, he's 20 lbs and seems uncomfortable rf so we turned him around at 8 months" and another girl is using a 9 year old seat given to them by a friend.

eeks

I know, but there's only so much you can say before people start getting pissed at you, lol.

oh I bet. All you can do is know you are doing the right thing. I have a friend that doesn't get teh car seat thing. Her dd is the same age as Nichole and has been in a belt positioner booster for almost a year. It drives me insane, then she talks how proud she is that she has never paid more then 50 for a carseat! Hey if I could pay 50 and KNOW that my child is in a good seat I would, but sometimes you get what you pay for.