random questions 10/26

[beerlover]

Put yours here if you have something!

My question is about car seats. DS (7) is 3'11 and 48 lbs. H and I switched him to high back boosters in our cars a couple months ago. We had Graco 4Evers that converted so hes essentially in the same seat just with seatbelt and not 5 pt harness. My mom inquired about what to do when he outgrows her carseat (which does not convert to a booster). Do I need to get a high back booster for her, or is backless OK at this point?  Just wondering since the HBB's are like $60+ and the backless ones are much cheaper.

[Susie]

My DD is similar age/size (turning 8 next month), and we're not moving to a backless booster for day to day anytime soon.  We only just moved from 5 pt. harness to HBB a year or so ago.

[rhian]

I don't have a kid at that stage yet, but my understanding based on the research I did when deciding whether to get a convertible vs. 3 in 1 vs. all in one car seat is that a high back booster helps to remind the kid that they need to sit upright while in a booster. As long as they are sitting up correctly, a high back is not safer than a backless one. How often will he be riding in your mom's car? Will he sit up straight while on those rides? If you feel confident he'd be able to do that, I'd probably just get the cheaper backless booster.

[mrsGreeko]

I’d just get a backless for your mom’s car.

[bcv513]

How often does your mom drive your kid? C is also 7 and 51 inches and 55 pounds. She’s in a high back booster with seat belt in every car except my dads. He has only driven her once or twice and he has a backless booster.

I have to say that most of her friends are in either a backless booster or nothing at all. She’s been complaining about her seat

[beerlover]

I'd say my mom drives my kid like once a month or less.

Most people around here seem to be doing the same bcv513, backless or nothing at all.

I guess my mom using a backless on occasion is really no different than when we use the Bubblebum on vacation..

[mccallister84]

For once a month, and assuming it’s not long trips at night where they might fall asleep I’d just go backless.

[momin2013]

With your kid’s info, I’d do backless for your mom’s car.

[nicolewi]

By 7, I don't see any kids around here still in a HBB for trips around town. I would definitely do backless.

We continued with a HBB only for long car trips at that point. At 8, this summer, my daughter rode in a backless booster even for longer trips. She had already been in a backless for short trips for quite a while. 

From what I have read, high back isn't significantly safer at all as long as the kid is sitting properly.

Now at 8 (3rd grade) I make her stick with the booster since she's short, but she says many kids don't use one at all. 

[dcn]

Agree with others, just get a backless booster for your moms car.

[scm1011]

Oct 26, 2023 15:48:47 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

By 7, I don't see any kids around here still in a HBB for trips around town. I would definitely do backless.

Really?! My 7 year old is still in a 5 point harness (he’s small, but still). We’re switching to a HBB in the next couple weeks but backless for everyday use is a long way off.

[purplepenguin7]

adding my own...
this is more a "random" than a question but...should I feel guilty if my kid is the last one at daycare in the evening? They close at 6pm and we are often picking her up between 5:50 and 5:55pm. I shouldn't but I feel super guitly when the teachers follow us out and lock up right behind us. We have never been past 6pm closing time.

[osulori]

Oct 27, 2023 10:13:42 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

adding my own...
this is more a "random" than a question but...should I feel guilty if my kid is the last one at daycare in the evening? They close at 6pm and we are often picking her up between 5:50 and 5:55pm. I shouldn't but I feel super guitly when the teachers follow us out and lock up right behind us. We have never been past 6pm closing time.

I wouldn't feel guilty, no...so you shouldn't either   But seriously though. You always pick up before the posted closing time so try not to sweat it.  Someone has to be the last kid, you know?

[Susie]

Oct 27, 2023 10:13:42 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

adding my own...
this is more a "random" than a question but...should I feel guilty if my kid is the last one at daycare in the evening? They close at 6pm and we are often picking her up between 5:50 and 5:55pm. I shouldn't but I feel super guitly when the teachers follow us out and lock up right behind us. We have never been past 6pm closing time.

I'm this parent at preschool too, and I vote no.  Ours closes at 5:30, and looking at Brightwheel, 4 of my last 6 pickups have been between 5:25 to 5:29.  A few have been closer to 5:15, usually on WFH days, but a minority.  

Since we started here about 15 months ago, we have missed 5:30 exactly once (and they hit us with a $10 fee for it).  I work in a downtown area that sometimes has significant traffic delays, at least relative to the tight window that I'm trying to hit.  Sometimes there are accidents or unanticipated delays on the road.  When that happens I sometimes call H to see if he's closer than me, and he'll cover pickup if I'm stuck in traffic so we don't hold up any teachers.  We do our best and that's all we've got.

As long as we make 5:30 (which is very very clear bc the key fobs for the door stop working at 5:30, and Brightwheel posts the exact time of sign out), I don't feel any guilt.  Period.  DS is getting 1:1 time if he's last, usually it's stories and he likes that, so he's fine.  The teachers' set hours go all the way until 5:30, and while it's nice to get out early, it shouldn't be an expectation.  

As much as I was a tad annoyed to be hit with a $10 fee the first and only time I was maybe 1-2 minutes late, it also absolved me of any remaining guilt.  5:30 is the rule and the expectation, and that goes both ways.

[beerlover]

Oct 27, 2023 10:13:42 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

adding my own...
this is more a "random" than a question but...should I feel guilty if my kid is the last one at daycare in the evening? They close at 6pm and we are often picking her up between 5:50 and 5:55pm. I shouldn't but I feel super guitly when the teachers follow us out and lock up right behind us. We have never been past 6pm closing time.

My DS's aftercare is open until 5 and I usually get him around 4:45. I'm actually done work at 4, but I use that time to sit on the couch and decompress before the evening starts, or maybe do some dinner prep. He's usually one of the last ones to get picked up, and I don't even really have a good reason. If this is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

[awkwardpenguin]

Oct 26, 2023 13:45:56 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Put yours here if you have something!

My question is about car seats. DS (7) is 3'11 and 48 lbs. H and I switched him to high back boosters in our cars a couple months ago. We had Graco 4Evers that converted so hes essentially in the same seat just with seatbelt and not 5 pt harness. My mom inquired about what to do when he outgrows her carseat (which does not convert to a booster). Do I need to get a high back booster for her, or is backless OK at this point?  Just wondering since the HBB's are like $60+ and the backless ones are much cheaper.

My 6 year old is almost exactly the same stats and is in a backless booster full time.  He doesn't sleep in the car, he can sit properly, and he has good belt fit with the backless booster so we just simplified our lives and went for it.

[rhian]

Oct 27, 2023 10:13:42 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

adding my own...
this is more a "random" than a question but...should I feel guilty if my kid is the last one at daycare in the evening? They close at 6pm and we are often picking her up between 5:50 and 5:55pm. I shouldn't but I feel super guitly when the teachers follow us out and lock up right behind us. We have never been past 6pm closing time.

My kid has always been one of the last few kids to be picked up in his class - I don't feel guilty about it at all! Like PP said, I actually like that he gets a little more individualized attention at the end of the day (this is not the reason we pick up on the later end, but a bonus!) The teachers are scheduled to work until the pickup deadline. While I'm sure they, like many of us, are ready to go home at the end of the day, I don't think this means that you should feel bad that they do in fact need to work until the end of their work day.

[thebreakfastclub]

Oct 27, 2023 10:13:42 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

adding my own...
this is more a "random" than a question but...should I feel guilty if my kid is the last one at daycare in the evening? They close at 6pm and we are often picking her up between 5:50 and 5:55pm. I shouldn't but I feel super guitly when the teachers follow us out and lock up right behind us. We have never been past 6pm closing time.

When my son was one of the last picked up, he thought it was so fun to get to stay late and do the closing stuff with the staff.

[al dente]

Huh well thanks to this thread I realized my kid is about to outgrow her car seat. She only weighs in the low 30s so it hadn't really been on my mind, but she's only an inch away from height. So thank you all for that! Lol guess it's time I start looking at booster seats as well so I'll be following this.

[wanderingback]

Oct 27, 2023 10:13:42 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

adding my own...
this is more a "random" than a question but...should I feel guilty if my kid is the last one at daycare in the evening? They close at 6pm and we are often picking her up between 5:50 and 5:55pm. I shouldn't but I feel super guitly when the teachers follow us out and lock up right behind us. We have never been past 6pm closing time.

No. Don’t feel guilty at all.
Yesterday I finished working at 4:05 (I was working at home, a 15 min walk from daycare). I still didn’t go get her till 5:50 and I think she was the last one left in her class. My partner works for himself and has a very flexible schedule and he does pick up the other 4 days and also gets her at 5:50. I do think our daycare email asked nicely not to pick kids up right at 6 if you can help it, to come a few minutes before. But that’s exactly what you’re doing so don’t feel bad.

We pay over $3000 a month for daycare so I am not feeling guilty about fully using their services.

[wanderingback]

Any city living/no car people have recommendations for next car seat after the newborn one? Something light that you can buckle in with the seat belt only and doesn’t need a base?

We have the Nuna that you just buckle in with the seat belt and it’s been great, but it looks like the don’t make the next stage and I think our daughter will need a new seat within the next 6 months.

I saw the Way B portable car seat looks promising but it’s rec for kids 2 and above and I think she’ll need a new one at 18 months.

[rhian]

Oct 28, 2023 6:50:24 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Any city living/no car people have recommendations for next car seat after the newborn one? Something light that you can buckle in with the seat belt only and doesn’t need a base?

We have the Nuna that you just buckle in with the seat belt and it’s been great, but it looks like the don’t make the next stage and I think our daughter will need a new seat within the next 6 months.

I saw the Way B portable car seat looks promising but it’s rec for kids 2 and above and I think she’ll need a new one at 18 months.

We have cars, so happy for someone else to come in and correct me as to what makes most sense for a no car situation. But we have a Cosco Scenera Next in our second car, and it's the one we use for travel because it's super light (under 10 lbs). I've found it easy and quick to install in rental cars and our own cars. I'd definitely consider it if we didn't have a car. We've had it since my son was 17 months.

[blondemoment123]

Oct 27, 2023 10:13:42 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

adding my own...
this is more a "random" than a question but...should I feel guilty if my kid is the last one at daycare in the evening? They close at 6pm and we are often picking her up between 5:50 and 5:55pm. I shouldn't but I feel super guitly when the teachers follow us out and lock up right behind us. We have never been past 6pm closing time.

This is me when my mom can't pick DS up. I work a good 45 mins away from his aftercare and get off at 5. Aftercare closes at 6 and I'm the mom coming in on 2 wheels to make it on time.

[jeaniebueller]

Oct 27, 2023 12:09:59 GMT -5 awkwardpenguin said:

Oct 26, 2023 13:45:56 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Put yours here if you have something!

My question is about car seats. DS (7) is 3'11 and 48 lbs. H and I switched him to high back boosters in our cars a couple months ago. We had Graco 4Evers that converted so hes essentially in the same seat just with seatbelt and not 5 pt harness. My mom inquired about what to do when he outgrows her carseat (which does not convert to a booster). Do I need to get a high back booster for her, or is backless OK at this point?  Just wondering since the HBB's are like $60+ and the backless ones are much cheaper.

My 6 year old is almost exactly the same stats and is in a backless booster full time.  He doesn't sleep in the car, he can sit properly, and he has good belt fit with the backless booster so we just simplified our lives and went for it.

ITA. Life was so much easier once we went to a backless one. And my DD found the high backed one really uncomfortable. Around here, almost all kids are in backless ones by age 7 too. It’s almost necessary for school drop off or pickup. (Neither of my kids could unbuckle the 5 ph on their own)

[blondemoment123]

Is the full moon making anyone else's kid insane? 🤪

[blondemoment123]

Is the full moon making anyone else's kid insane? 🤪

[konapoppy]

Oct 28, 2023 20:33:31 GMT -5 blondemoment123 said:

Is the full moon making anyone else's kid insane? 🤪

Is that what it is? It has been a weird day over here

[mccallister84]

Oct 28, 2023 17:01:24 GMT -5 rhian said:

Oct 28, 2023 6:50:24 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Any city living/no car people have recommendations for next car seat after the newborn one? Something light that you can buckle in with the seat belt only and doesn’t need a base?

We have the Nuna that you just buckle in with the seat belt and it’s been great, but it looks like the don’t make the next stage and I think our daughter will need a new seat within the next 6 months.

I saw the Way B portable car seat looks promising but it’s rec for kids 2 and above and I think she’ll need a new one at 18 months.

We have cars, so happy for someone else to come in and correct me as to what makes most sense for a no car situation. But we have a Cosco Scenera Next in our second car, and it's the one we use for travel because it's super light (under 10 lbs). I've found it easy and quick to install in rental cars and our own cars. I'd definitely consider it if we didn't have a car. We've had it since my son was 17 months.

This seat is always recommended here and we found it to be a nightmare to install. I am not sure what we were doing wrong but we bought it to keep at the grandparents house who live a 4 hour flight from us.

Again, we seem to be outliers but I just wanted to share that opinion. This is one of those things that I’d want to go and see the seats in person, handle them, etc but I don’t know how feasible that is for you (or really anyone with the demise of BabiesRUs).

[blondemoment123]

Oct 28, 2023 21:14:43 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

Oct 28, 2023 20:33:31 GMT -5 blondemoment123 said:

Is the full moon making anyone else's kid insane? 🤪

Is that what it is? It has been a weird day over here

That's what I'm blaming it on!

[ellipses84]

Oct 26, 2023 13:45:56 GMT -5 beerlover said:

Put yours here if you have something!

My question is about car seats. DS (7) is 3'11 and 48 lbs. H and I switched him to high back boosters in our cars a couple months ago. We had Graco 4Evers that converted so hes essentially in the same seat just with seatbelt and not 5 pt harness. My mom inquired about what to do when he outgrows her carseat (which does not convert to a booster). Do I need to get a high back booster for her, or is backless OK at this point?  Just wondering since the HBB's are like $60+ and the backless ones are much cheaper.

My 7 y.o. is 48” and we have him in HBB only because they converted from a 5 Pt harness. There are some cheap HBB where the high back part easily comes off and I’d probably get one of those, but I also don’t think it’s a big deal if you mom uses a regular booster if he’s not in her car that often. The point of the booster is to raise the kid so the shoulder belt hits them in the correct place. If they are on long road trips where they fall asleep and aren’t sitting up straight a HBB is better. We use a mi-fold when we travel and need to take taxis/ Ubers.