Fastening booster when child not in car?

mcheuk · Sep 17, 2014

I was just reading the manual for the Graco TurboBooster, and it said that when the child is not riding in the booster seat, the seat still needs to be fastened down b/c in case of an accident, it would fly around in the cabin and possibly hit and hurt somebody. Does anybody really faster the seat down after the child gets off? I drop my child off at school, and I can't imagine children really unfasten themselves, then turn around and fasten the car seat into the car... I understand the safety issue, but it seems impractical.

aept · Sep 17, 2014

Yes, people really do it. Do the kids forget all the time and need reminders? You bet.

mommabritt · Sep 17, 2014

This is primarily the benefit of boosters equipped with. LATCH

mcheuk · Sep 17, 2014

Wow! I'm impressed by the people who do turn around and fasten the seat down!

Which boosters with LATCH do people recommend?

jjordan · Sep 17, 2014

I don't know all of the LATCHable boosters off the top of my head... the least expensive is probably the Graco Affix. We have the Recaro Performance booster. The Britax Parkway SGL is another. At higher price points, there is one by Kiddy, I believe, and the Clek Oobr, and Cybex has one.

happiness-and-balance · Sep 17, 2014

From what I gather from your other thread, if you want something with LATCH your child would likely fit well in the Graco Affix or Britax Parkway SGL, both of which are LATCH-equipt and fit small kids well.

mcheuk · Sep 17, 2014

Thank you!!

Patriot201 · Sep 17, 2014

I do buckle the boosters in whenever I remember (probably about 75-80% of the time).

jacqui276 · Sep 18, 2014

I could never remember to buckle them and thankfully when I was in an accident with an unbuckled backless booster in my vehicle it just slid forward a bit and hit the seat in front (and didn't smash into my newborn baby who was seated beside it). I ended up getting a latchable booster so that I wouldn't have to buckle it (we used an olli).

mcheuk · Sep 27, 2014

So I got the Britax Parkway SGL and installed it. I'm not sure about the fit. When I have the headrest in the lowest position (first 3 photos), then you can see the shoulder fit. It's kind of coming off her shoulder. When she leans forward, like she may be in an accident, the seat belt comes off her shoulder more. I know it's still on her shoulder, but it seems to slide off easily, at least more easily than the Graco TurboBooster.

In the 4th and 5th photos, I move the headrest higher, and the shoulder fit seems to be better, but still not great. I guess I'd prefer to see the shoulder belt go closer to her neck.

In the first photo, I know that I have the lap belt too high. In the last photo, I adjusted the lap belt holder to be lower. Is this an okay location? It's a little fussy to get the lap belt to fit without any slack, so I'm not sure that she's going to be able to get it without slack every time she gets in the car, especially in the winter with bulky winter clothes.

aept · Sep 27, 2014

I'd actually like to see it with the headrest one more click higher than it is in the 4th and 5th photos. In the first photos I think the headrest definitely looks too low, and the belt too far off the shoulder.

PS - what a cute model!

mcheuk · Sep 27, 2014

Oh great! I will try that tomorrow. I didn't know if it was okay to move the headrest higher since on the lowest setting, the tops of her ears were still below the top of the headrest. Thanks, I'll try tomorrow and post another pic.

Athena · Sep 29, 2014

We only use latched boosters in my car.

mcheuk said:
Oh great! I will try that tomorrow. I didn't know if it was okay to move the headrest higher since on the lowest setting, the tops of her ears were still below the top of the headrest. Thanks, I'll try tomorrow and post another pic.

The head rest MUST be high enough so that the shoulder belt guide is at or ABOVE her shoulder height. It looks too low to me. Usually shoulder height is how kids outgrow settings/seats long before ear height, so I'd focus on that. In addition, being a bit higher will create a better geometry that will bring the shoulder belt in. Also, is she at least 40 pounds? Just making sure because this booster has a 40 pound minimum.

mcheuk · Sep 29, 2014

Thanks for the info on the shoulder height vs tops of ears height. That's helpful. She is just over 40 lbs at 40.5 lbs, so she barely makes the minimum.

Sorry, I know these aren't super great photos. I can try again if you need better photos. How does the shoulder belt look now? This is with the headrest one notch higher.

I also took another photo of the lap positioner. Does this look okay, or should it be lower?

happiness-and-balance · Sep 29, 2014

She's adorable!!

I'm not sure that I love the fit on her. Even with the headrest up higher it seems like her shoulders are too slender for the distance between the belt guides. I bet a Graco Affix w/ Safety Surround would fit that little gal like a glove. And it's LATCH-able!

mcheuk · Sep 30, 2014

Thank you! I'll try the Graco Affix. When I look on Amazon, though, it doesn't say "Safety Surround." Is that a separate add-on, or it doesn't matter that the name doesn't say that? Thanks!

nataliem257 · Sep 30, 2014

mcheuk said:
Thank you! I'll try the Graco Affix. When I look on Amazon, though, it doesn't say "Safety Surround." Is that a separate add-on, or it doesn't matter that the name doesn't say that? Thanks!

The only retailer that has a safety surround affix is buy buy baby, which stinks! But at least it's available. There is definitely a difference between the regular turbo/affix and the safety surround, lots of extra side impact protection.

Athena · Sep 30, 2014

happiness-and-balance said:
She's adorable!!

I'm not sure that I love the fit on her. Even with the headrest up higher it seems like her shoulders are too slender for the distance between the belt guides. I bet a Graco Affix w/ Safety Surround would fit that little gal like a glove. And it's LATCH-able!

I wondered about the lap belt too. It looks like it's being pulled down to the point of being wrinkled by the SG clip and I wasn't sure if that was okay.

mcheuk said:
Thank you! I'll try the Graco Affix. When I look on Amazon, though, it doesn't say "Safety Surround." Is that a separate add-on, or it doesn't matter that the name doesn't say that? Thanks!

There are 4 Graco HBBoosters:
Turbo = shallow sides, no latch
Affix = shallow sides, with latch
Safety surround = deep sides, no latch
Affix with safety surround = deep sides, with latch
HTH!

nataliem257 said:
The only retailer that has a safety surround affix is buy buy baby, which stinks! But at least it's available. There is definitely a difference between the regular turbo/affix and the safety surround, lots of extra side impact protection.

It only comes in black? But it looks like the OP likes neutrals, so that might work great for her. FYI: OP, Graco shows a $25 rebate offer for seats over $99. They show it for this seat on their site (see link below).
http://www.gracobaby.com/products/p...fety-surround-and-latch-system-stargazer.aspx
HTH!

mcheuk · Sep 30, 2014

Thank you so much! I will order one to try, and I'll take advantage of that rebate. We have a Buy Buy Baby near us, so even though they don't have it in stock in the store, I can return it there if we have to for any reason. I'm already returning two car seats to Babies R Us!

seb3244 · Oct 1, 2014

Bookmarking for the graco link

Fastening booster when child not in car?

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