If I see one more shield booster I'm going to scream! Since it's not cool to walk up to strangers and give unsolicited advice I'm going to give it here. Do not use shield boosters! They are no longer manufactured and are not recommended because they're not safe.

Do not use shield boosters!



More in depth information here:
The Dangers of Shield Boosters

It is OK to remove the shield and use it as a belt positioning booster.

By Jackie on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 08:38 am:

Oh that is so interesting.. My daughter is almost 5 still is in a high back booster seat,but still uses the harness system with it(IS that the right term) she weighs 38 pounds.BUT, when she was in preschool and we went on field trips, the mothers volunteered to drive the other kids. I would drive several kids who had booster seats just like that.. I had no idea they were not safe.

By Marg on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 08:52 am:

Trina, we tried one of these years ago for oldest dd who's 11, I used it twice and threw it out of the car! I hated messing with these things, I know and understand why they don't manufacture them anymore.

They never worked and they never stayed in place.

By Amecmom on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 09:20 am:

Trina,
I'm going to check out safekids.org to find out the legal requirements in NY, but, what is the safest requirement for putting a child in a booster? My son is 2 1/2, weighs 35 pounds and is between 35 and 36 inches tall. I know legal and safe don't generally mean the same thing, which is why I'm asking.

He's still in his carseat, which he loves, but I'm thinking that I'll want to use that for his sister, due in September, because it reclines and I won't have the bobbing, rolling head issues I had with my Evenflo one (Discovery) that came together with my stroller (I hated that carseat. Can't tell you how many neck rolls and other head support devices I bought ...).
If I just put him in another carseat, won't he outgrow it fairly soon after?

I'd appreciate any input and advice from the carseat guru ...
Ame

By Amy~moderator on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 12:58 pm:

Trina, I don't know if it's my computer but the link is not working for me...

By Tink on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 06:14 pm:

The link worked for me. Trina, thanks for always keeping us up to date in the carseat arena! Although I already knew this from my dh's traffic school I used to have the seat that you show and I haven't heard that we aren't supposed to use these except from that class. Glad I got rid of it. I hated it so much that we used it for a couple of weeks before we got a new one.
P.S. Yes, I destroyed it with a sledgehammer. That was more fun than I would have expected!

By Eve on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 07:46 pm:

I cringe when I see any kind of a shield seat too. What's worse though, are when kids aren't bickled in at all! DH and I also both gasped when we saw a 3 year old not buckled hanging out of a moving car window today! See what you've done to us Trina?? LOL! It's a good thing,btw.

By Trina~moderator on Sunday, June 6, 2004 - 10:57 am:

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply. I had a very busy day yesterday!

Amy, keep trying the link. That site occasionally has server problems.

Tink, is your DH a police officer?

Eve, LOL! Yes, M has become very aware of CPS issues as well. He comes home from work with stories of improperly restrained kids and is agitated. It's catchy, isn't it? But all for a very worthy cause!

Ame, best practice is to keep kids in a harnessed car seat until 4 yrs. and 40 lbs.. Most kids aren't big enough or mature enough to sit properly in a belt positioning booster before then. If your infant carrier (Evenfo Discovery) is installed with the proper recline (30-45 degrees, closer to 45 with a newborn) you shouldn't have the floppy head issues. It's not recommended to use after market neck rolls and/or head support devices. If such things come with the seat they're OK but after market products have not been tested and it's questionable as to how they will perform/interfere during a crash. Does your infant carrier have a base? If so, does the base have an adjustable recline foot on it? If it's in the most reclined position and you still can't get the desired recline CPS techs use pool noodles (cut to the width of the car seat base) at the bight of the vehicle seat to help. I highly recommend seeing a CPS Technician to help with installation. To find one in your area go to SeatCheck.org If you're not able to find one locally, as a tech myself, I have access to a more extensive list. You're welcome to e-mail me personally, and I'd be happy to look one up for you. It's also possible that your particular infant carrier isn't compatible with your vehicle. You can look up your vehicle and different car seat installations in the Compatibility Database at CarSeatData.org. Your particular scenario might not be listed but it's worth looking into.

By Amecmom on Sunday, June 6, 2004 - 12:19 pm:

Thanks, Trina,
I want to do what is safest for him. The Evenflo never seemed to recline enough. It does have a removable base. I'll do the research and then get back to you if I need more help. The pool noodle is a great idea!
Two carseats! Yikes!

Ame

By Tink on Sunday, June 6, 2004 - 03:21 pm:

No, he isn't a police officer. He was IN traffic school! LOL Bad monkey, no banana!

By Emily7 on Sunday, June 6, 2004 - 05:02 pm:

2 carseats are a blast. Especially when you are trying to get the baby in the car & the 2 year old tries to take off. So you put him in the van & he goes to the front & locks the doors after you shut the sliding door! Thank goodness the keys were not in the van. Although at first I didn't know that, thy had fallen out of my coat pocket. I started to cry, looked down, there they were. That was only my 3rd time taking the kids out alone, we ended up getting Joe a child harness, made life a lot easier. I also leave one door open until both kids are strapped in.

I used the neck roll things for both my kids, its kind of scary to find out later that they are not safe. I guess instead of selling them at the yard sale I will just toss them!

By Trina~moderator on Sunday, June 6, 2004 - 05:43 pm:

LOL, Tink!!

Emily, Yes, it does take a little getting used to when subsequent babies come! When #2 was born, I kept her in the infant carrier on the ground next to me while buckling DS (22 mos.) into his car seat. THEN I snapped the infant carrier into the base. That way DS couldn't wander and get into trouble. LOL! It becomes a little tougher when the baby grows out of the carrier. If I remember correctly, at that point I held DD on my hip while putting DS into his car seat. Not an easy task but do-able. OR, if DS was cooperative, I had him hold onto my pant leg while putting DD into her convertible.

By Trina~moderator on Sunday, June 6, 2004 - 05:48 pm:

Oops, forgot to mention.... Don't you just love those "mommy brain" moments?! LOL! I always, ALWAYS keep my keys on my person after a certain incident a few years ago. I was 8 mos. pregnant with DD and inadvertantly locked DS and my keys in the car!! Needless to say my cell phone was locked in the car as well. AWWW!! Another mother saw my panic and came to the rescue with her cell phone. I called the police, and they had to break a window to get DS out. NEVER again!! Now I laugh about it, but at the time it was very traumatic.

By Palmbchprincess on Sunday, June 6, 2004 - 10:55 pm:

ROFL @ Tink, I almost spit my tea on the screen when I read the "Bad monkey" part! On the whole keys and kids locked in the car, my Ex did it while picking them up in December. Pop-a-lock, and many other lock services will unlock for free, and be there in NO time when children are locked in the car. They were there in like 5 minutes, usually even the police take longer than that!! Just an FYI for a classic parental disaster!!! And another toddler died in an accident here, totally unrestrained in a Tahoe when it flipped several times. I'm fuzzy on details, but someone involved is being charged with manslaughter. I always see a neighbor across the street put his toddler in the front seat of his Blazer, unrestrained. I don't know him, but I want to strangle him every time I see it.

By Tink on Sunday, June 6, 2004 - 11:26 pm:

Dh and I used to say it before we started dating. We worked together, making pizza dough early in the morning at Pizza Hut. (Ugh, high school job!) We hated it when the night crew didn't get things ready for us because it made things twice as hard and we were penalized for it. It really stuck when we called all of our kids monkeys when they were small. Kind of a code for driving us nuts! Now we do it when we are irritated at each other. It helps alleviate the tension and makes us laugh! Glad it worked for you, too!

By Trina~moderator on Monday, June 7, 2004 - 06:57 am:

Crystal, the police tried to pop the locks but they couldn't! They said that particular car was difficult - 1994 Toyota Camry. I told them to break a window to get DS out! They broke one of the small, rear quarter windows. That was 6 yrs. ago and I still remember it vividly. As I said above, since then my keys are always on me. I feel naked without them! LOL!

By Dawnk777 on Monday, June 7, 2004 - 07:43 am:

Trina, it's a good thing my kids are too big for boosters, because that's what kind of booster seat we had! Oh well. They both lived through it.

By Eve on Monday, June 7, 2004 - 08:48 am:

Dawn, isn't that what Parenting is all about? It's seems to me to be a big series of live and learn mistakes that you are so thankful to live through. Atleast that's what it's like in my house! LOL! ;)

By Bobbie~moderatr on Monday, June 7, 2004 - 09:40 pm:

Dawn that is the type we had for all of ours too.