Brigala
CPST Instructor
I know it's probably not a big deal either way, but I just don't get it. The child I babysit has a high back Turbobooster. She is 5.5 years old. She's been using it for about 2.5 years, and her parents only used the HBB portion for a few months before claiming she had "outgrown" it. I guess they never bothered to notice that the back adjusted.
Well, I asked to borrow the Turbobooster a while back, and I told them I wanted the back. I had to order new arm screws for it, because of course those weren't installed. Eventually, I gave it back to them and it was in her dad's car for a couple of months.
This week she told me that her dad had taken the back off the TB again.
Ok, I get that a LBB is probably ok. I don't know how the shoulder belt fits her in that car, but let's assume that the fit is alright. Fine. The thing is, the HBB fits fine in that car (I helped her buckle in the other day) and she fits great in it with room to spare. So why would you even bother taking the back off a perfectly good HBB? I don't see how it's any easier to buckle in without it. The only thing I can think of is that when she buckled in ("I can do it myself!") I reached back there and put the shoulder belt through the belt guide, and she said "My dad doesn't do it that way." And I told her that was the way it was supposed to go. I wonder if she made some comment to her dad and somehow he got offended. At the time, I assumed she was just mistaken and that her dad probably did put the belt through the guide (if he bothered to look back there at all to check it, which I doubt) but now I'm not so sure.
I recently bought her a Frontier, which she uses harnessed in her mom's car. I feel so much better about that knowing how crappy her dad is about getting her booster buckled. At least when she buckles herself into the harness, she does it right (although I had to lock the seat belt on her Frontier last time I saw it because her dad had taken it out and put it back in the day before). She uses a Radian or a CA in my car, and she's very good at buckling herself in. Not as good with the booster.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Well, I asked to borrow the Turbobooster a while back, and I told them I wanted the back. I had to order new arm screws for it, because of course those weren't installed. Eventually, I gave it back to them and it was in her dad's car for a couple of months.
This week she told me that her dad had taken the back off the TB again.
Ok, I get that a LBB is probably ok. I don't know how the shoulder belt fits her in that car, but let's assume that the fit is alright. Fine. The thing is, the HBB fits fine in that car (I helped her buckle in the other day) and she fits great in it with room to spare. So why would you even bother taking the back off a perfectly good HBB? I don't see how it's any easier to buckle in without it. The only thing I can think of is that when she buckled in ("I can do it myself!") I reached back there and put the shoulder belt through the belt guide, and she said "My dad doesn't do it that way." And I told her that was the way it was supposed to go. I wonder if she made some comment to her dad and somehow he got offended. At the time, I assumed she was just mistaken and that her dad probably did put the belt through the guide (if he bothered to look back there at all to check it, which I doubt) but now I'm not so sure.
I recently bought her a Frontier, which she uses harnessed in her mom's car. I feel so much better about that knowing how crappy her dad is about getting her booster buckled. At least when she buckles herself into the harness, she does it right (although I had to lock the seat belt on her Frontier last time I saw it because her dad had taken it out and put it back in the day before). She uses a Radian or a CA in my car, and she's very good at buckling herself in. Not as good with the booster.
Thanks for letting me vent.