When Did You Switch from Car Seat to Booster Seat?

Here's a link to the law in KS: http://www.kansasboosterseat.org

In KS, kids 4-8 must be in a booster, unless they weigh more than 80 pounds or are taller than 4'9."

Good Morning M., we switched Corbin over to a booster right before he turned 4, he is a big boy. Has always been in the 95% for every thing. Height, weight. If your unsure you can call your local law enforcement office and ask. Plus there is a web sight you can check also.

I found this one
Hope this helps,
God Bless you
K. Nana of 5
Generally, children must be properly restrained in a child safety seat until they reach age 4
(previous requirement), and in a booster seat until age 8 (new requirement). The new law
includes the following four-step progression for effective child safety protection in vehicles.
1. Rear-facing child safety seat in the back seat* is required when the child:
Is less than 1-year-old or
Weighs less than 20 pounds.
2. Forward-facing child safety seat in the back seat* is required when the child:
Is at least 1-year-old but less than 4-years-old
Weighs at least 20 pounds but less than 40 pounds.
3. Booster seat is required when the child:
Is at least 4-years-old but less than 8-years-old
Weighs at least 40 pounds but less than 80 pounds
Is not 57-inches (4-feet, 9-inches) or taller.
4. Safety belt is required when the child:
Is 8-years-old or older or
Weighs 80 or more pounds or
Is 57-inches or taller
*Child safety seat must be in the back seat if
the vehicle is equipped with a back seat
Exemptions:
§ Children whose body-size, physical condition or medical condition makes safety restraints
unreasonable are still exempt from the booster seat and safety belt laws.
§ There no longer is a “personal needs” exemption allowing the child to be removed from a
safety restraint to attend to the child’s personal needs, such as feeding or diapering, while the
vehicle is moving.
Changes to mandatory safety belt law:
§ Under the new law, drivers may be cited for allowing passengers of any age to be unbelted
in their vehicle (The new law removes a previous provision in the mandatory safety belt law
that did not make the driver responsible for unbelted passengers age 16 or older)

It differs for every child.It depends on his height,weight,and ability to sit still in a carseat.Check his carseat he's in now,if he exceeds the height and/or weight limits he needs to switch.If you have a convertable seat most of those only go to 40 lbs.Another option is to get a booster seat with the 5 point that goes to 65 lbs.It just depends on your child which seat is best for him.My son was 4 in July and is not ready for a booster,size wise.My daughter on the other hand we switched when she was four.My Husband is a Firefighter and certified carseat tech please feel free to ask any questions you might have.If you would like to message me his size I can ask him which seat he reccomends.

My son will be 4 in March and I have no plans to switch him to a booster as long as he still fits in his carseat. We have a five point harness type that goes up to 100 pounds. My Ped. told me to use the five point harness system for as long as possible b/c its simply safer than a seat belt strapped across them.

Hi M., It just depends on the size of your child. I would be concerned if your child is small. I have a 5 almost 6. She is 4' tall and weighs 75lbs. She is in a booster seat, but I dont feel that she is as safe as if she were in a regular seat. She looks too big for the seat. All my kids were off the charts the whole time. (husband is 6'4"). But I agree with the 5point harness. if they are petite. Jule was so big it didnt extend that far.LOL. thats when I made my choice.

I switched when my son was 4 and over 40 lbs along with the height limit he could no longetr be able to use the highback booster because he totally out grew it with his height so now we have used a backless boooster and works well.But they say just because your tot is 4 yrs old doesn't mean its time to switch I would of loved my son to stay in the highback booster seat if you have one that converts use it take out the built in straps and use the car seatbelt system.

I agree... keep him in a 5pt harness as long as he is within your car seat's limits (which are usually pretty high). My 5 year old is still in a 5pt harness (but she is rather small, 35 pounds, 42 inches). We just got a new car seat for daddy's car that is a 5pt harness, converts to a backed booster and then to a backless booster. Gives you lots of options...

K.

I didn't know any better when we switched our oldest to a booster at 3 1/2 y/o (he'll be 8 in Oct.). Now I know better. We bought a Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 carseat for our youngest when he out grew his regular carseat in height at 2 1/2 y/o. The Nautilus goes up to 65 lb. in the 5 point harness.
Please keep him in a 5 point as long as possible & if needed get a new one like the Nautilus until he out grows the harness. I have read that it is not safe to put a child under 5 y/o (it didn't say a weight) in a belt positioning booster seat.

God bless!

New research now shows the importance and safety of extending 5 point harnessing. Even though the law states you can switch to a seal-belt booster, it isn't the safest to do.

I would stay with a 5 point harness that has a higher weight and height limits.