[blparent] Car seats for a toddler

[Jo Elizabeth Pinto]

Hi, Jennifer.  You might check your state laws, which are usually posted on 
the Web, to see if there is a height or weight limit at which a young child 
can beginning riding on a backless booster with a seat belt instead of in a 
car seat with a three- or five-point harness.  Here in Colorado, the magic 
numbers are forty pounds or fifty-seven inches tall; there's no age 
requirement whatsoever, just height and weight stipulations.  My daughter 
was nearly six before she achieved the forty-pound weight limit, and she 
won't be fifty-seven inches tall for several more years.  She still rides in 
a car seat when we're in the family Buick because it fits her and her dad 
and I feel that it's safer for her till she physicallly outgrows it.  But I 
carry a backless booster when she and I ride with other people or use 
paratransit because it's a zillion times lighter to lug around and also to 
install.  I can tuck it under one arm while we walk or even carry it in a 
large backpack if I take the arms off, and all I do is set it level on the 
seat, have my daughter sit on it, and buckle up the seat belt on her as 
normal.  It doesn't attach to the car as a car seat does; it just gets 
belted in with the child.   The booster is mostly just to get her sitting 
high enough so that the seat belt fits her right, instead of going too high 
across her neck because she's shorter than an adult.  I felt immensely 
liberated when I could switch to the backess booster instead of the heavy, 
clunky car seat.  Some kids are five or six before they're big enough to use 
boosters, but I've seen a few two-year-olds who met the size and weight 
requirements, so it's just a matter of checking your state laws.  I think I 
got my booster at Target or Wal-Mart for around $30 or so.  I can't remember 
the price for sure; it might have been on sale.  But it was a lot less 
expensive than the full car seats.

Best of luck,
Jo Elizabeth

"The Bright Side of Darkness"
is my newly published novel,
available in Kindle, audio, and paperback formats at Amazon.com.
-----Original Message----- 
From: Jennifer Woods via BlParent
Sent: Saturday, November 21, 2015 10:06 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Cc: Jennifer Woods
Subject: [blparent] Car seats for a toddler

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for a good car seat or booster for a 3.5 year old.
I know the laws vary from state to state I'm in California if that makes a 
difference.

I currently have 2 different brands and models of convertible car seats and 
those are cumbersome, heavy and awkward in my experience I know they're not 
something that I could handle on my own and still hold onto my son and the 
cane or guide dog.

There are times when my parents help me out and we have a convertible car 
seat in each of their cars one of which  that were considering replacing for 
a new car seat or booster seat.

I'm looking for a lightweight safe car seat to leave at my house for times 
when I get rides or use Para transit to take my son to and from preschool. 
Something that can easily be put in and taken out without being time 
consuming. As I know that the Para transit drivers aren't allowed to help. I 
also need it to be light weight enough that I can carry it by myself and 
still have a hold of my son and cane at the moment, soon to be switched for 
a Guide Dog.


Thanks for your help.
Jennifer W.
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