You must not have kids! There are times when I would let them eat spare ribs off my leather to shut up the little rug rats. That said I'd rather let them goober up the pathfinder.

 

^^Geez! I take it you don't like kids. You're missing out... my son is awesome!

 

Gee you can get a lot from 2 lines

 

I love kids, I just never let them eat in the car. My daughter is 20 and my son is 16. When they were small we made regular food stops on long trips. I'm just really particular with my cars. Besides...they could always make a mess in their mom's car.

Ty

 

My dad never let me eat in the car ever.. And only I am allowed to drink coffee in my my but only coffee and no eating.

 

i eat, drink coffee etc in my car. you just have to be careful. i normally just grab a towel and use it as a huge place mat covering my lap and seats everything. then i use hand sanitizer and a towel to remove grease from my hands. Getting 15 K miles since Aug 25th, you can't take time off for food stops. just be careful and it is no big deal. I had an ex drop chocolate on my brides, that was not a good day. detailer charged me 100 for that 1 seat. only time ever car went to a detailer.

 

hmm no wonder she is an EX. lolol

 

yeah, I don't allow my kids (2 & 3 yr old) eat and run around the house let alone eat in the car. but if it's just cookies and crakers, it's no big deal eating in the car. it's some thing to keep them busy, and to clean up crumbs is pretty easy.

But when it comes to chicken nuggets or happy meal, it's no big deal either because we would be in mommy's car.

 

If you child is 4 then get them in a booster seat. I got my 4.5 year old son in a booster and it doesn't mess with the leather at all. You can tuck a towel underneath the booster and strap it to the material that goes on top. It's not bad getting him in and out as he works the seat belt well and the front seat button to move forward thingy is awesome.

http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Backless...6023046&sr=8-3

 

I remember searching for the perfect "car friendly" baby seat all those many years ago. It was very hard to find a car seat with a flat bottom that would not damage your leather seats. Most of them had curved metal bars at the bottom that would forever leave prints in your seats. As for cookies and other things that make crumbs.....Have you ever tried to get crumbs out of those little perforation holes in your leather? :-)

Ty

 

+1... my son is 4.5 years old too. The booster seat works out well but I also added a three inch thick piece of foam under it to protect the leather as well as make it easier for the little guy to see out the window.

 

I'm using the square play mat that you connect together to cusion by seat as well. I can't wait for booster seats!!!

 

Deciding when it is safe and appropriate to move a child from a five-point-harness seat to a vehicle-belt-positioning booster seat requires considering more factors than just the child's age.

Weight is important and also Torso height is important, as is their overall size. Most importantly the belt-positioning booster needs to provide consistent placement of the seatbelt such that the lap belt portion snugly fits across the child's lap and the shoulder strap snugly fits on the child's shoulder.

There are plenty of resources for further details and advice on keeping your child safe in the event of an accident, so I won't go any further into it here.

But I will say that because you find a five-point harnessing seat is hard to fit or difficult to work with in the car is not a reason to blindly declare your child is ready for a booster and potentially endanger his/her life.

There are five-point harness equipped boosters out there that go out to various weights. In particular the Sunshine Kids Radian65 and Radian80 models are low-profile (child seats low in the seat like a VBP booster) but still feature a five point harness up to 65lbs and 80lbs, respectively. I have one in my G37 for my small-framed 50lb 6 year old son, and it works out great.

 

I thought the booster seat requirements were 40lbs, 4 years of age, and 4 feet tall.

 

Those are the "requirements" which are to serve as basic guidelines -- minimum requirements.

For your child to actually be SAFE in a booster seat in the event of a crash, it is far more complicated than that. Do some research to learn more.