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kiwivic 
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Joined: 03 December 2007
Location: Nelson, NZ
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 Topic: Car seat beyond 5yrs old
Posted: 03 October 2008 at 8:18pm |
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We're expecting baby no.3 but are in a real pickle with our car situation. Our oldest will be 5yrs old when the baby is born and our second 2.5yrs. They are both currently in high-back Safe & Sound car seats (Royale for the 2yr old, MaxiRider for the 4.5yr old). However, we can't fit a 3rd car seat in our current car - or any other 5-seater car we can find! When I enquired at Baby City the sales assistant said that new law now requires all children under 9yrs of age to be in a booster, or an instant $150 fine will be issued??!!!!!! I can't find anything on the internet to support this, everything I read says that 5yrs and beyond a car seat or booster should be used if available, but it's not law. I can't believe that every young family in NZ with 3 kids under 9yrs now have to be driving a mini van???
Can anyone help me out? If you have 3 kids what sort of vehicle do you drive and what is your car seat/booster arrangement?
Many thanks
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mummy_becks
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Joined: 01 January 1900
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Posted: 03 October 2008 at 8:42pm |
Andrew has already driven without a booster (well not driven the car  ) so I know he will be fine when the time comes. If we have another and it is next year then we will put Josh in the booster and Andrew without and the new baby in the capsule then carseat.
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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Maya
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Posted: 05 October 2008 at 10:37pm |
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We have a people mover so room isn't an issue, but I know the small 1/2 booster seats don't take up so much room.
The only issue I'd have if I had three across one row is that they'd fight, the gremlins bite and hit each other as it is and that's with a whole seat space between them!
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 Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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mummy_becks
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 1:58pm |
 Maya wrote:
The only issue I'd have if I had three across one row is that they'd fight, the gremlins bite and hit each other as it is and that's with a whole seat space between them! |
Thats coz the checky things get their arms out of their belts (so I descovered when I took them out last week), I had to stop a number of times.
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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MrsMojo
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Joined: 18 March 2008
Location: Wellington
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 2:08pm |
Hi Vic
I hope this factsheet from LTSA helps http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/factsheets/07.html. Basically the recommendation is that children should be in a child restraint (capsule/carseat/booster) until 7 yrs old.
ETA: I just found this site too http://www.childrestraints.co.nz/law.htm#nz
Edited by MrsMojo
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MrsMojo
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 2:12pm |
This is copied from the second site link I posted above:
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A recent study from Starship Childrens' Hospital (New Zealand) supports international science and specifically showed that for children between 4 and 12 years of age, (Elizabeth Segedin, 2006)
* All 4 and 5 year olds required a car seat or booster seat
* 90% of 6,7, and 8 year olds required booster seats
* 50% of 9 and 10 year olds
* 10% of 11 and 12 year olds still required booster seats
In addition to the above figures, Sam Tormey states the following,
"The rear seat of the average family car is too deep for almost half of adult women to sit upright and comfortably bend their knees over the edge of the seat, and the seatbelt in the rear seat is unsafe for any person less than 145cm tall. Children do not reach this height until around 11 years old, on average. There are two main concerns with being too small for an adult belt: the lap portion rides across the tummy, not the bony hips, causing abdominal injury in a crash, and the sash portion rides across the neck rather than the chest, causing injury to the neck and throat. Long seat cushions exacerbate these concerns by causing the child or small adult to slump so that their knees can bend at the edge of the seat, causing both parts of the seatbelt to ‘ride up’." Sam Tormey is a doctor who writes on medical issues. His practice is in emergency medicine. Sydney's Child August 2008, pg 32.
It is recommended that your child remains in a harnessed restraint right up to 18kgs, then use a full backed booster once they have outgrown their car seat.
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If I was 7 cms shorter I'd need a booster seat
Edited by MrsMojo
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Bizzy
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 2:13pm |
i was just coming to post that link jo.... 
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MrsMojo
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 2:13pm |
LOL Bizzy, great minds think alike 
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Jennz
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Posted: 06 October 2008 at 10:44pm |
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Yeah what about a half booster seat (just the bottom part which lifts them up)? We have a HUGE seat for Charlotte (Britax Regent- 5 point harness seat for up to approx 37kgs) and Kate is in a Safe n Sound Royale which is pretty wide too, and we can still fit a half booster in between them across the back whenever another child rides with us. We have a Renault scenic so its a relatively normal size 5 seater car.
Seatbelts in cars are made for adult size bodies- if you compare the average size 5 year old to the average sized adult there is a huge difference, so its safe to assume that seatbelts aren't going to protect them properly in the event of a high speed crash. At the very least a half booster will lift them up so the belt sits across their waist and torso better- you can get ones with belt guides for across the shoulder (a strap with a clip comes up from behind and makes sure the belt sits right at their shoulder) which would be even better.
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Jen, Charlotte 7 & Kate 3 
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mummy_becks
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Posted: 07 October 2008 at 10:14am |
Vic if you do end up taking her out of the booster she will still need to sit by the door as she has to be in a seatbelt that crosses her body. We have got Andrew a seatbelt adjuster so that it goes across his body in the right place.
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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MrsMojo
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Posted: 07 October 2008 at 10:56am |
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I think you can also buy a childs harness which attaches to the middle belt but I personally would get a booster seat (the seat part only, without the back). Some of them are wide but some are actually pretty good, it's worth shopping around.
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Car seat beyond 5yrs old
