Booster seats
 

i'm sure this has been done, but i'll ask anyway :lol :paranoia

i need to buy a booster seat (high back of course) for liam, who is almost 6. graco turbobooster = the suck? what about the sunshine kids monterey? recaro vivo? i can't seem to find consistent reviews.

thanks :kiss

Naomi keeps coming along and saying that the backless ones are better than high back.

oh really? why is that? naomi are you here? :lol

She's got links and stuff. Maybe if Outnumbered posts on this thread Naomi will notice and come here to post her links.

cool.

really i don't care about booster seats--i just wanted to start a smackdown.

:lol

;)

we have the graco high back turbo booster...it has these wing like things on the head part. emma likes it. we use it a good portion of the time we're in the van, bc i have had to use her husky for friends' kids so often. :lol plus, she's the size of a 9 year old, so i'm over my fear of her sitting in it.

why does the turbobooster suck? There isn't much to a booster seat, really :lol I have two turbobooster and we like them fine dunO

i thought i heard that it sucked, but i could be smoking something. :lol i am hearing decent things about it so we might just get one.

i am wondering what the whole backless thing being safer is about though.

We have a Graco Nautilus and I like it. DS seems comfortable in it.

I've been moved! :lol

Thanks everyone :love I will actually probably just go w/the turbobooster...still looking around though.

The Turbobooster is a perfectly decent, safe seat, that will last a long time, is lightweight, and converts to a backless.

The Vivo is really nice too. It's a bit cushier than the Graco (more padding, more comfortable) and it adjusts taller so it will not be outgrown as quickly. However, it doesn't convert to a backless if that's an important feature.


Backlesses are not safer than High backs. In fact in many situations a high back is the preferred seat.

If the child's ears are above the seatback in a backless (common in older cars) you MUST use a high back. For younger children, the back is crucial to keep them from leaning out of position.

High back boosters are now doing a lot more than they used to. They provide substantial side impact protection. Deep headwings lined with EPS foam will protect the head and neck in a side impact collision. As a general rule, you want to use the high back until the kid is too tall for it. Most kids are mature enough to sit in a backless full time around 8 years old roughly.

Naomia might be thinking of the recent IIHS study listing 'best bets' and seats to avoid? Those seats actually tested FIT not safety in a crash. They basically said things techs have been saying for years. Dedicated boosters make an excellent fit and combination seats make a horrible fit. (And most Dorel and Evenflo boosters are unholy nightmares)


Of course, they were testing a 6 year old 60 pound dummy. If your booster got a poor rating in the IIHS study but fits YOUR kid safely, the study is irrelevant.

Julie, my kid rides in a Graco TB on the school bus, it's a fine seat :D. The Lizards in Line print at Kmart is adorable *whistles*

thank you! :D

I like the no back booster
 

I have the no back booster for my son. He's almost

4 and he seems a lot more comfortable sense we

got rid of the booster with the back.

Interesting first post :lol

A backless booster is not an appropriate choice for a three year old. Or a four year old, or a five or a six year old, for that matter. In fact, it could be fatal.

A child that age needs to be in a five point harness, NOT a booster, and most certainly not a backless booster. If you have any more questions feel free to post :)

Do boosters expire every 5 years like car seats?

Most car seats have a six year expiration, and most boosters do, too. The exceptions I can think of are the Britax Frontier (9 years) and the backless portion of the Graco Nautilus (also 9 years). (The harnessed and highback parts of the Nauti are six years).

I believe evenflo made an industrial, bare bones backless booster a few years back called the Right-Fit that they claimed had no expiration, but frankly, I wouldn't use it beyond six years, and NHTSA says even without a printed expiration, no CRS should be used after 10.