Question IIHS car seat ratings - worthwhile?

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lbarba

New member

• Oct 19, 2010

• #1

Hi! I discovered this forum a few weeks ago and have been learning a lot from it. I have 3 children, two of whom were already in booster seats (one high back & one w/ no back) at ages 7 & 10. The high back booster I have (Graco Turbobooster) does not have deep wings. After all I've learned, I want both children in high back boosters w/ deep wings, and I was thinking about purchasing the Sunshine Kids Monterey.
But I noticed that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates car seats, I believe according to how the belts fit children. And the Monterey was not listed in the category of "Best Bets"; it was described as a seat which "can provide good protection for some kids in some vehicles, but not in as many cases as top-rated boosters."

http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/boosters/other_tested_seats.aspx

Are the ratings of IIHS considered to be valid, or are they not very useful, as with the Consumer Reports car seat ratings? I don't know whether to buy the Monterey (which I liked after seeing a crash test of that booster which seemed very impressive) or to look again for a seat rated as an IIHS "Best Bet."

Thank you for any help or suggestions!

 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

Staff member

• Oct 19, 2010

• #2

They're valid, especially if your child is the exact same size and shape as the six year old dummy, and sits in exactly the same way. Otherwise, your mileage may vary for every booster (though their not recommendeds are really bad and really don't fit anyone). Otherwise the best bets tend to fit most kids, the good ones are good for a lot of kids, not for some. The Monterey doesn't fit narrow shouldered young kids well. My daughter will probably fit in it now at eight, but at six it was too big for her. Doesn't mean it's not a good booster, though. She rides in a Nautilus and Parkway. Neither of which I would recommend for a peer of hers who is 85 pounds, or broad in the shoulder. But both fit her perfectly, regardless of where they land on the IIHS's ratings.

c d5 ttrbxc v£œ™xzz (Laine's contribution)

Wendy

 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

• Oct 19, 2010

• #3

The IIHS ratings are a good place to start, but like Wendy said, their tests looked at belt fit on a 6-year-old sized dummy in a few different cars.

Booster seats will fit differently depending on the size and shape of the child and the contours of a car.

It's really best to try a few with your kids in your vehicles.

The TurboBooster, which IIHS rates highly, usually works pretty well (but again, it depends). Te Monterey is middle-of-the-road according to IIHS, but it also generally works pretty well based on my experience and feedback here.

The clek oobr, which IIHS lists as a Best Bet, worked horribly for my kid and my car. But I'm sure it's great for other people.

 

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HayleyCPST

New member

• Oct 19, 2010

• #4

I agree with Laine. Well put!

With the IIHS ratings, I agree to a certain extent. The Dorel 3-in-1 seats in general make lousy boosters. Specifically I'm talking about the Alpha Omega and the Summit, which are on the "not recommended" list.

The Monterey is a great seat, but is wide in the shoulders, thus making the fit of the belt different on some children. I think the Best bets are basically the seats that fit the widest range of children.

Do your children have long legs, wide shoulders or long torso's?

 

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lbarba

New member

• Oct 19, 2010

• #5

Thank you all for your input!
My children are on the small side (the 10-year old girl is 53" and 64 lbs.), but I think their torsos are a bit longer than typical. I would say their shoulders are average.
Thanks.
-Linda

 

Kat_Momof3

New member

• Oct 19, 2010

• #6

the IIHS ratings are good... they make people stop and look at boosters and how they work and should/should not fit.

HOWEVER... they are not a bible to go by on booster seats.

best bets are just that... best bets... not sure things... you have to still look at your child, your vehicle, and your boosters and find which fits both best.

For instance, I had a Fisher Price Safe Voyage Booster... it was a best bet during IIHS' first series of tests... BUT... it did NOT fit my daughter well. It fit my sons great, but with my daughter, the shoulderbelt was just too far at the edge of her shoulder and if she so much as breathed heavily or shrugged her shoulder, it was falling off.

What ended up being the best booster for her in that car (a 2007 2-door Chevy Cobalt) that fit into the budget we had (not much) was the Evenflo Big Kid...



Now, for your kids, I'd look at the Recaro Probooster... the Monterey really fits better kids with wide shoulders... again, a seat that does NOT fit my daughter well at all, but fit both of my boys (even though my oldest is pretty average width shoulders) wonderfully.

The Probooster runs about the same height, but is a bit narrower in the shoulders and hips... it also isn't so deep (which for my daughter would be good, she's not leggy)... only reason I don't own one (aside from lack of funds) is that she already has a Recaro Vivo in my van... and it fits her so well already.

 

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HayleyCPST

New member

• Oct 19, 2010

• #7

In addition to what Katmomof3 said...
You might want to try out a Monterey if you have them in a store near you for your 10 year old. It tends to fit older children better since they have bigger shoulders, like Wendy said.
For the 3 year old, look into the Parkway and probooster. The learning curve pathway570 is also a good option.
Good luck!

 

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lbarba

New member

• Oct 21, 2010

• #8

Thanks for all your help, everyone! I will check out all the suggested seats.

-Linda

 

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Jan06twinmom

New member

• Oct 21, 2010

• #9

We have the Monterey and it fits my huge almost 6 year old well. He's about 48in tall and weighs about 64lbs. I think he might be a future linebacker I kept finding that other seats were squishing him.

With a taller, thinner child, I would look at the Parkway SG. I believe it ends up being a little taller as a booster than the Monterey.

Melanie

 

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Leche Mami

New member

• Oct 21, 2010

• #10

HayleyCPST said:

For the 3 year old, look into the Parkway and probooster. The learning curve pathway570 is also a good option.
Good luck!

Click to expand...

I think you meant 7 year old, right?

 

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HayleyCPST

New member

• Oct 21, 2010

• #11

Leche Mami said:

I think you meant 7 year old, right?

Click to expand...

Oh yeah, my mistake. Why would I recommend putting a 3 yo in a booster? :doh:

 

vermontmoms

New member

• Oct 21, 2010

• #12

I have tried several boosters and they all fit our cars and our kids differently. That said, we have the Monterey for our 7yr olds and they did not fit great in our old 4-Runner; I almost returned them. However, in our new 2011 Tuscon they fit fantastic and our boys love their new booster seats.

For your 10yr old, I would look into the Monterey. It has deep wings and should fit that child pretty well. My boys are 52in and 50lbs and they are very comfortable w/room to grow. This seat also converts to a backless so you wouldn't need another seat for that child.

Now your 7yr old...if this child is similar in size to your 10yr old then try the Monterey. However, if that child is significantly smaller get a different seat. Again the parkway sg or the Probooster are good choices. All that said, if the Graco Turbobooster fits this child well and offers good placement of seatbelt then I would leave this child in this seat for now....unless you just have to have two new seats.

Hope this helps!
Jen

 

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lbarba

New member

• Oct 22, 2010

• #13

I just went back to the IIHS website & found the dimensions of the 6-year-old "dummy" that they use for seatbelt fit, and compared to my 7-year-old:

http://www.humaneticsatd.com/crash-test-dummies/children/hybrid-iii-6-year-old

My 7 y.o. is 49" & 53 lbs, and she's similar in most dimensions to the dummy, but her shoulder width is about 2 inches bigger. I think I'm going to order the Monterey for my 10 y.o. and let my 7 y.o. try it and go from there.
My only problem w/ the Graco Turbobooster is that the wings aren't deep, and after watching the following crash tests w/ deep wings vs. shallow wings, I'm a big fan of the deep wings!

Video of High-Back Booster with deep side wings:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of_5meRNAHw"]YouTube - Monterey Side-Impact[/ame]

Video of high-back booster with shallow side wings
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_s.../htsbesafe.mpg

Video of a no-back booster
http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_s...g_P3_vorne.mpg

Does the Parkway SG also have deep wings? It's kind of hard to tell from the picture. I can tell from a picture of the Probooster that it does.

Thank you! Everyone is so helpful on this forum.
-Linda

 

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HayleyCPST

New member

• Oct 22, 2010

• #14

I think the probooster wins the wings contest. You can barely see the kid in there when looking from the side!
Next comes monterey, then Parkway. The Parkway does have nice head wings, but not a whole lot of torso wings.

 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin

Staff member

• Oct 22, 2010

• #15

Ultimately, the IIHS Booster ratings are based on evaluations of fit. Unlike their frontal offset and side impact vehicle ratings, there are no crash tests involved in their booster seat ratings. So, you can do the exact same evaluations. In fact, you can do them better than the IIHS because your evaluation will be with your own child, in your own vehicle.

The IIHS provides shopping advice for boosters that tend to fit kids better in general. Their Best Bets and Good Bets are a great place to start. For parents who want to go the extra step and make sure that the seats that fit in general also fit their specific case, check out Kecia's blog:

http://carseatblog.com/342/the-iihs-booster-seat-study-the-best-booster-seat/

 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin

Staff member

• Oct 22, 2010

• #16

The problem with side impact crash videos is that almost all of them show a direct side impact. In reality, many severe side impacts occur when the vehicle being struck is moving forward. For example, you are driving 30mph through an intersection and someone from the side ignores a stop and T-bones your car.

That real life situation is quite a bit different than what is shown in crash test videos where you see the head nicely contained and protected by the head wings. In these real crashes with forward motion, the child's head continues to move forward and can easily move beyond the protection of the side and torso wings in severe crashes.

This may be one reason why CHOP's latest research shows that backless and high back boosters are about equally effective in real world injury prevention.

Having deep wings around the head and torso is a good feature, if all else is equal. All else is rarely equal, though. Having a booster that fits properly is the most important thing. If you find a number of models that fit your child and vehicle well, then by all means select the one you believe may offer the most protection based on its design.