Question center position concern

Hello - It seems the Pinnacle is the best choice for my 8 year old's safety, however I am afraid it is so wide that if I put it in the center of the seat, I cannot use the left and right positions. Should I buy a thinner less safe seat BUT it would be in the center or a wider not as safe seat that would be close to the door? Thanks in advance.

robjamell said:

Hello - It seems the Pinnacle is the best choice for my 8 year old's safety, however I am afraid it is so wide that if I put it in the center of the seat, I cannot use the left and right positions. Should I buy a thinner less safe seat BUT it would be in the center or a wider not as safe seat that would be close to the door? Thanks in advance.

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There is no way to know if a seat is safer or less safe than another seat. Ideally, the center is the safest location, but a properly installed and used seat in an outboard position is safe as well. Is there special concern why he or she can not use a booster properly?

Thanks Cmemec -

I should have spent more time and better clarified my question. My daughter is 8 years old and about 65 lbs. I am looking for the safest option for her while still trying to retain usefulness of our vehicle.

It is my understanding that the center position of the vehicle is the safest. That is my preferred position, but it seems most booster seats I have seen that are rated very highly, like the Britax Pinnacle, seem to be very wide. That means the space for people sitting to the left and right of the seat is very tight. I figured since I was gaining some safety by being in the center versus near a door, I could probably go with a booster that has less side impact protection and in turn is slimmer.

So I guess my question is, wider seat with bolstered side protection or less bolstered side protection, but near a door. I am not sure if it is that the side bolsters keep things from hitting the head or if the bolsters keep the head from snapping too violently to the left or right.

Thanks again.

Previous poster said what I would, center is safest but even us techs routinely put kids outboard for various reasons. Incompatibility is a big one. In many cars middle seat has a hump that doesn't play nice with child seats. Often there's more than one child so someone had to go outboard.

But at 8 I'd ask the same question: is there some reason she can't use a booster? A properly used booster is just as safe for a child that age and size.

Proper use is the key to a safe seat. I would put the seat you decide to use where it can be installed properly. Ratings are good but shouldn't be your final deciding factor.

robjamell said:

Thanks Cmemec -

I should have spent more time and better clarified my question. My daughter is 8 years old and about 65 lbs. I am looking for the safest option for her while still trying to retain usefulness of our vehicle.

It is my understanding that the center position of the vehicle is the safest. That is my preferred position, but it seems most booster seats I have seen that are rated very highly, like the Britax Pinnacle, seem to be very wide. That means the space for people sitting to the left and right of the seat is very tight. I figured since I was gaining some safety by being in the center versus near a door, I could probably go with a booster that has less side impact protection and in turn is slimmer.

So I guess my question is, wider seat with bolstered side protection or less bolstered side protection, but near a door. I am not sure if it is that the side bolsters keep things from hitting the head or if the bolsters keep the head from snapping too violently to the left or right.

Thanks again.

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There really are no safety ratings. It's a pass or fail system. There are reviews and recommendations, but we really don't know that any seat is safer than another. Side impact is not mandated at that this point. We all have opinions about what we think are safer features, but we have no data to back it up. Price doesn't coincide with safety, just bells and whistles.

I am perfectly fine with my 4 year old in a shallow diono radian in an outboard position. I am also perfectly fine with my 8 year old in a backless booster in an outboard position. I also have three kids and only one middle seating position in my car. I am yet to find a seat that I think fits there. I also have to deal with limited top tether positions, so my choices of who goes where are limited. Proper use is the key here. If you can fit the seat you want in the center, that's a great place to put it, but I would not stress over that spot.

The Pinnacle is a fine choice, not one I would purchase for a neuro typical 8 year old, but it's nice. Most 8 year olds don't need a 5 pt harness and there are dedicated booster seats I like better. The Pinnacle is large so if you only want the center, you might have to find another seat. That does not mean you are compromising safety. There are also a lot of nice booster seats on the market, if that's an option for her.

robjamell said:

Thanks Cmemec -
So I guess my question is, wider seat with bolstered side protection or less bolstered side protection, but near a door. I am not sure if it is that the side bolsters keep things from hitting the head or if the bolsters keep the head from snapping too violently to the left or right.

Thanks again.

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Neither.

The side impact cushions on the Pinnacle are designed to "redirect and absorb crash forces." They do not position the child or reduce head excursion. They might by chance shield her from something because they are there and large, but that's not the purpose. If she is using the seat as a booster, most crashes are also in a forward motion, so she would likely be moving forward out of the sides of the seat as well. She would also be moving forward in harness mode, so she may or may not be within the shell of the seat. Do you have side curtain air bags in your vehicle? What seat are you currently using?

Wow - I am so appreciative of all of your quick and insightful feedback. Thank you. So I think I am learning that what I thought was a booster is kind of a quasi-booster. I have a 2012 Acura MDX and I am not sure if I have side curtain airbags. I think my new question should be, what booster do you recommend for an 8 year old? I think one that can do latch would be good just so it doesn't move around when it is not in use. Thoughts?

robjamell said:

Wow - I am so appreciative of all of your quick and insightful feedback. Thank you. So I think I am learning that what I thought was a booster is kind of a quasi-booster. I have a 2012 Acura MDX and I am not sure if I have side curtain airbags. I think my new question should be, what booster do you recommend for an 8 year old? I think one that can do latch would be good just so it doesn't move around when it is not in use. Thoughts?

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My favorite boosters are Recaro. I don't have a performance booster, but I do have its predecessor the probooster and vivo. I love them. The Pinnacle is a combination seat (meaning it's a 5 point harness seat and a booster seat). Britax does make the parkway, which is a booster seat only. I have the older model and it's just okay. The new ones, however, may be a lot different.

Oh, yes, you have curtain airbags, it's a very safe car, and I'd have no concern with an 8 year old in a window seat, in either a backless or a highback booster. (The latest study shows that backless boosters are as safe as highbacks, though if she's a car sleeper and needs extra support, the highback is a great choice).
Britax Parkway and Chicco Kid Fit are cushy choices that become a backless and can be left LATCHed in so they don't fly around when unoccupied. Recaro Performance is a little bulkier but very nice for older kids, it cannot be used backless later, and the LATCH does not tighten (LATCH doesn't need to be tight for safety, so they leave off the adjuster piece on their straps).
The word 'Booster' really gets thrown around on a lot of seats! Some have a harness (Pinnacle/Frontier/Argos etc) and some don't (Parkway/Recaro Performance/Kid Fit/Turbo/Big Kid Amp/Right Fit...etc)... no need for a harness for an 8 year old, unless she has some special needs that require a lot more restraint (though pretty much ALL kids need to be reminded to sit properly in their seatbelt, once you are done with the harness, even teenagers )

robjamell said:

Wow - I am so appreciative of all of your quick and insightful feedback. Thank you. So I think I am learning that what I thought was a booster is kind of a quasi-booster. I have a 2012 Acura MDX and I am not sure if I have side curtain airbags. I think my new question should be, what booster do you recommend for an 8 year old? I think one that can do latch would be good just so it doesn't move around when it is not in use. Thoughts?

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My DD1 has had a Recaro Performance Booster since she was not quite 8. She loves it - it's her favorite booster of all time. And she's ridden in quite a few boosters. I wouldn't use it for my 5.5YO (who isn't in a booster any, but many her age are) but it's perfect for the bigger kids.

I do like having a booster with LATCH. I drive the kids to school every day and in the chaos of dropoff (she has to unbuckle DD1, grab her backpack, make sure DD1 has her backpack, then climb out, all as fast as possible if there's someone behind us) she doesn't always remember to buckle the booster in. This way she doesn't have to remember.

Terminology help.

To child passenger safety techs, a booster is a seat where the child buckles in with the seatbelt, and the booster makes it so the adult seatbelt fits the child properly. They come in two flavors, high back and backless. Quite a few, but certainly not all, high back booster models convert to backless too.

A combination seat is one that combines a forward-facing harnessed seat with a booster seat. The Pinnacle is an example of a combination seat.

Manufacturers confuse the issue by calling some of their seats "harnessed boosters" and things like that. But the above is the terminology you'll find around here.

How tall is she? Most backless boosters are for kids 57" and below. If she were my kid, I would buy her a backless. I feel much less comfortable with a high back because I don't like how far forward the back pushes the kid. I prefer to keep big kid and car well coupled. If she has some time to go before 57", try a Clek olli or Graco Affix or Diono Solana. If she is near 57", the Incognito is a great option.