carseat problem with school bus

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My 3 1/2 son is big and tall for his age (95 percentile on growth chart). I really want to keep him in harness as long as possible. His careseat for preschool has a 50 lb harness. I drop him off to the preschool with his seat in the morning. The school bus sends him to his daycare in the afternoon. My son's teacher, bus driver and daycare teacher all tried to persuade me to put him in a booster, but I didn't give in.

This week, my son is switched to another bus. In the old bus, my son sits in the middle backseat, so there is not leg room problem. This bus is smaller and doesn't have a mid backseat. There is no leg room for my son after putting the carseat in.The new driver complains to the teacher that I shouldn't use a full size carseat. My son's daycare teacher complains to me that the driver was rude to her and said it took to much time to get my son off the bus. Obviously the driver thinks my son is big enough for a booster. He is the only kid on the bus in a harnessed seat.

The carseat actually can turn into a booster, but using it this way doesn't solve the leg room problem. All high-weight harness seats are big. I don't have any other option and I don't think I should spend the money to buy a less safe seat. Why do they use a school bus that can't fit a regular size carseat!

In most states in the USA, all you have to do is point to the law. Most seat-belt laws state that the child must be in a car seat (not a booster) until they are 4 years of age. If the school bus driver has a complaint about the law, contact the bus offices (or visit them if you can find them) and talk to the manager. Simply put, the driver has to follow the law, even if the law is ridiculous.

Unfortunately my state law just say child needs to be in a child seat until 8. It does not say when a child should be in a carseat not a booster seat.

Demeus - Carseat laws usually do not apply to vehicles weighing more than a certain amount. I don't know what that amount is, though.

Good luck with all of that. I am a big advocate for child safety.

I went to the school today to talk with the bus driver and school. The bus driver and her supervisor were very unfriendly. The supervise knows nothing about weight limit on harnesses although she claimed she is the safety instructor for all buses. She first said my son's carseat is too big and not safe on a school bus and I should buy a smaller carseat like the free ones the city offer to low income family. There are two seats like this on that bus. When I said my son is over 40 lb and those seat's harness only hold to 40 lb, she claimed they hold 50 lb. I pointed out the label on the free seat said "22 to 40 lb" but she refused to listen. She then said my son should sit with a booster and a lap belt only, or he can seat without any child seat at all, and all these will be SAFER than my harness seat! At this point I was really angry and the argument didn't go any further. I then talked with the school principle. She said she will ask a police to inspect it tomorrow and then get back to me.

It is true that my seat is big and tall, and my son have no room to kick or wiggle his legs. But it no worse than using a big carseat in a compact car. In the worst case, hitting and breaking legs is better than a whole body flying free. I feel they just don't like things out ordinary. If a kid gets injured when the minimal safety standard is met, they are free from lawsuit. If a kid gets injured when he is sitting in a big tall carseat that no one else is using, they think they might be in trouble.

Good luck.

If the car seat says 22- 40, that is exactly what it means. You were right and she was in the wrong. Five point harnesses are usually safer. Stand your ground.

If the carseat is too big, you will probably need to purchase a smaller one if you want to go the five point harness route.

Last edited by natesmom on 26 Mar 2009, 3:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Ok, these are my thoughts. First, imagine what it must be like for these people who are probably poorly paid and not well educated to have to deal with taking car seats in and out of the buses all the time. I can imagine their frustration with having to deal with a big, bulky car seat.

Second, because they are doing it all the time, how can you be sure they are doing it right? He isn't necessarily any safer in a your car seat than a booster because if it's not installed properly and he's not strapped in correctly, then it erases the benefit of having a 5-point.

Then, onto car seats. Not all 5 point seats are big and wide - most are, but not all are. Radian makes a narrow 5-point seat. It's heavy as all get out though. And we use the Safe Guard Go - but I wouldn't recommend that one as it's a bit floppy and would be hard to install for someone who doesn't know how (has to have a top tether too).

A couple other questions - is this bus used for other things besides these kids? If so, why not have permanently installed ones that have been inspected as properly installed. Otherwise my guess is that NONE of these seats are belted properly and safety is an issue.

Wish I could edit, but wanted to add. My almost 4 year old is 44" and 52 pounds, so I can empathize with the size thing. He can still fit in the britax Decathlon, which is rated to 65 lbs, but he has almost no strap length yet. We are looking at getting a new seat soon, but probably going with a booster considering his height and weight.

We met with a specially trained police officer when we had trouble getting the proper fit for a booster for my son and the officer was VERY helpful. He had special training in all those unusual scenarios that actually happen in real life. Hopefully, having a police officer come out will settle the matter.

We've always had the opposite problem - both my kids are underweight. Basically, anything off the norm gets very difficult to seat safely and properly. You end up having to understand all the competing considerations really well in order to make an informed - and imperfect - choice. Best of luck with it; I know it's trying.

My son's teacher does the install and the daycare teacher takes it off. The bus driver does not put on or take off the seat at all. I used a narrower seat in when my son first started school but it is very heavy and everyone complained, so I brought this one. I considered every harnessed seats that my son can use, and this is the lightest one. And 6 month later someone says it is to big for a school bus. The bus is a mini school bus. I doubt any seats on my list will fit to the driver's standard. Those flimsy free carseats are the only ones fit.

BTW: The heavy seat when we started school is Graco Nautilus. The seat we use now is a Alpha Omega Elite. The free carseat is the basic cosco booster seat with 40 lb harness.

I don't know what to tell you, but if you have to go with a booster, there are many that go to 100 lbs and really, they should switch everyone who is over 40 lbs into those. My kid isn't even 4 year and he weighs over 50 lbs and he's NOT FAT!! ! Just a big kid.

The safeguard Go is the smallest of all the 5 point harnesses, but as I said, needs a top tether in that mode (up to 60 lb). Then it can become a backless booster to 100 lbs. Weighs only 9 lbs and at the base is only 17" wide. My son has tons of room in it and he's got a WIDE butt. LOL

The booster I'm looking at getting is the Compass 530 or the Max Rodi XR. I know 5 points are the safest though.

The police inspected the carseat today. This time it went much better. The police understands my concerns very well. The police and teachers are more willing to listen to me. In the end I was convinced that the seat is too big. The police also said there is no more height room for my son.

So I need to buy another seat. This will be my son's 4th seat. Having a big kid really costs more. I found two options, the Safeguard Star harness for school bus or the Apex 65 carseat. The harness needs a bit training in install. The school is more willing to use a carseat because no one is using a harness. So I just ordered an Apex 65 and hope it will fit the school bus and not as heavy as Graco Nautilus or Britax. If it doesn't work, I will buy the school bus harness.

I am glad to hear that you are comfortable with the plan. It does cost more, trying to fit a child that isn't "average." I wish the carseats were made with the understanding that kids vary a lot more than the standards require them to address. Trying to balance all the issues with an imperfect selection of seats gets quite frustrating, as you know from all you've just been through. But, it's good to have a decision and a plan. Thanks for updating us.