Can my 2 year old sit in a booster car seat?

littleangelfire81

The law in Ohio:
http://www.inventiveparent.com/lawsreg5.htm#Ohio
"...the operator of the motor vehicle shall have the child properly secured in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions in a child restraint system that meets federal motor vehicle safety standards:

(1) A child who is less than four years of age;
(2) A child who weighs less than forty pounds. "

So yes, it IS the law in Ohio that your child be in a 5 point harness seat. It is illegal to have him in a booster seat.
That said, I would be more interested in the laws of physics, which are the same everywhere. Regardless of what the state law is, a 2 year old is nOT safe in any booster seat. The bare minimum for safe booster use is BOTH 40lbs and 4 years old, and experts urge parents to keep their kids harnessed as long as possible, preferably to at least 5 years old. The reason the seat says it can be used at a certain weight is mainly for those rare kids who make it to 4-5 years old and still only weigh 30lbs. Also, remember that they want to sell a seat to everyone they possibly can, so lowering a weight limit helps them do that.

WHY KEEP THEM HARNESSED:
Compare the following crash tests for your self and see the major difference a harness makes.
Forward facing harness vs. booster: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/videos/test2002/frontcrash/recarostart.mpg
A lateral test (the third view in) of a harnessed seat: http://www.oeamtc.at/videobox/index.php?domain=oeamtc&videobox=Kindersitze_bis_18_kg_oder_4_Jahre&movie_kind=swf
A deep winged high back booster like a Parkway: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/videos/test2002/seitencrash/concordliftpro.mpg
A shallow winged high back booster like the Turbobooster: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest_2002/videos/test2002/seitencrash/htsbesafe.mpg
And a no back booster: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest/videos/tests_2001/seitencrash/Baby_Sunny_touring_P3_vorne.mpg

VIEDOES OF KIDS WHOSE PARENTS DESPERATELY WISH THEY'D KEPT THEM HARNESSED:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPBSEQ4xbTw
We also now know the spine is not solid until age 6.

So to sit in a booster and use just the seatbelt like an adult (basically a booster just fits the belt to the child,so it's essentially the same), they need to be able to not have the lapbelt cause those injuries, have the head proportionate like an adult, and have a solid spine like an adult. kids under age 5 have higher rates of head injury if they are riding in boosters than kids over age 5 (presumably because younger kids have heavier/larger heads in proportion to their bodies, so they fly forward farther or with greater force, thus incurring greater injury if/when they come in contact with vehicle interior or intrusion?).

"Another type of misuse is a child not using the restraint designed for its size and age. The
study of Isaksson-Hellman et al. (1997) showed
that the maximum effect of a restraint system is
not attained if the child is not using the optimal
CRS for its age. Also, a tendency of higher
injury risk was identified when the growing
child switches from one restraint to another, i.e.
when the child is at the youngest age
recommended for the restraint. " -SAFETY FOR THE GROWING CHILD â€“ EXPERIENCES FROM SWEDISH ACCIDENT DATA
Lotta Jakobsson
Irene Isaksson-Hellman
BjÃ¶rn Lundell
Volvo Car Corporation
Sweden

so your child needs a seat that harnesses past 40lbs. Check out:
Graco Nautilus $150 or less, harnesses to 65lbs with 19" top slots keeping most kids harnessed to 5-6 years old, then becomes a great booster seat.

Britax Frontier $280 or less, harnesses to 80lbs with 18.25" top slots, then becomes the tallest booster currently on the market. Great comfy seat.

Britax Regent $280 or less ($250 currently at albeebaby.com) harnesses to 80lbs with 20" top slots, tallest harness available, the king of car seats - does NOT become a booster.

Safety1st Apex65 $109 at albeebaby.com - harnesses to 65lbs with 17" top slots, but I list this one last for a reason - it deserves to be last. lol Its not nearly as easy to use as the others, and with shorter top slots, some kids will outgrow the harness by height before 4-5 years old. (Most kids outgrow their seat by height, not weight, so the harness height is more important than the weight limit). Also, the seat back has no reinforcement, so the seatbacks in your vehicle must have headrests that go at least as high as the middle of the Apex65 headrest fully extended or your child risks severe head/neck injury. It doesn't make as good a booster as the others, either. But, in its favor, it is the cheapest. It can also bug some kids b/c it has a pointy crotch buckle.