Dodge Journey Built-In Booster Seats Interest Mom
Leg 1 of our vacation is over. The Ford Flex has been picked up, and a brand-new 2009 Dodge Journey has taken its place. We don't hit the road for another day, but one feature has already gotten some attention.
One of the advantages of testing cars while on a family vacation is that you can tap into the different life situations of your relatives, in my case my in-laws. I asked one of my wife's cousins, who has three kids (7, 5 and 3) to take a look at the just-dropped-off Dodge Journey's built-in booster seats.
This cousin spends a lot of her driving time carrying around booster seats, switching them from car to car when necessary, trying to remember them when she needs to, trying not to leave them behind when spending more than a day at one location.
She was impressed with the Journey's built-in boosters. "They're very easy to use," she noted, pulling on the strap and sliding the booster seat up and into place with only a motion or two. "This would be a lot easier than hauling around my boosters."
But she noticed something about the boosters that I hadn't: When the seat moves up and into position as a booster, the kid's legs dangle below that shelf — how much depends on how tall the child is. Those legs can then bang against a thinly covered edge; that worried my wife's cousin.
"I could see them getting ridges on the backs of their legs, especially while they're sleeping," she pointed out. We tested the seats out with her two oldest children, who both rated the seats comfortable and liked how high they were sitting. Neither complained about the ledge; in fact, they rested their legs on the ledge created when the lower seat moved up to form the booster.
Despite her kids' approval, my wife's cousin remains skeptical. She drives a newer Chrysler Town & Country, which she loves, and says she'd have to spend some time with the booster seats before she endorses them.
"They're cool," she said, "but I'm still not convinced."
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If ridges on the back of the leg are the worst that can happen then I think we are all worrying too much! I mean, if there was a bare edge that could potentially cut you then sure, that would be bad. But the picture makes the edge look pretty well shrouded in plastic and would be perfectly safe.
In fact, in my experience (back in the ether) of being a kid, those marks you get when you have slept funny or been laying on something are fun and fascinating! Or maybe I was just weird...
I agree. I felt the ledge, and although it's not heavily padded, it *is* padded. I'm not sure kids will have a real problem with it, especially while they're sleeping.
Great idea - it would make my life so much easier looking after my grandkids