What is the absolute minimum age you would put an average size child in a HBB/LBB

ericarizo · Dec 31, 2011

Just wondering and why? I am new to the boostering stage but I know quite a few people who have or have had their children in a HBB/LBB at the age of 4. My son is 6.5yrs. old and I just really started putting him in a HBB/LBB but I am wondering if he would be better off in a harness for a little longer. My DD is 4yrs. old and I am wondering if I should start booster training her now or wait till she is older?

abigaylebelle · Dec 31, 2011

I would feel okay putting a 4.5 year old/younger 5 year old in a hbb provided s/he could sit properly in it. I probably would not go to the lbb until s/he had outgrown the back since there is some safety benefit for side impacts with a hbb.
I've searched a long time for an answer to why a harness or booster might be safER for a child that age and I have yet to find anything compelling.

Dillipop · Dec 31, 2011

I'd be ok with some 4 year olds in a hbb for certain things- like emergencies and such. Closer to 5 for hbb for more frequent use and only if they were really ready. Six is what I feel most comfortable with for full time use of a HBB.

LBB- either when the HBB is outgrown or around age 8 or 9 for full time use. Occasional use, such as vacations or emergencies, age 5 or so, if the child fits properly.

flipper68 · Dec 31, 2011

I would say 4 is the minimum. . . At car seat events in my community, it's pretty common to put 3-4 year olds in boosters because the only HWH seat we have to give away is a Maestro (and we don't have many of them).

Booster use is an issue of maturity. The child must be able to sit correctly for the entire trip (no slouching, no leaning to the side, no putting the shoulder belt behind the back or under the arm). If a child is active, restless, and/or sleeps frequently in the car, I'd want to keep them in a 5 pt harness longer than a child who is quiet, compliant, and doesn't fall asleep.

There are many reasonably priced high harness weight seats to accommodate older/bigger kids so it makes sense to continue using a 5 pt harness until the harness is outgrown.

At the same time, if a 4-6 year old was outgrowing a seat with a 5 pt harness, or if a younger sib needed to move to larger seat, I would consider full time booster use for the older child. I would also not be opposed to using NBB as a spare seat (for grandparents, play dates, etc) at age 4, as long as I was confident my child knew how to use it correctly.

carseatcoach · Dec 31, 2011

For emergency use (not quite zombie-attack-emergency, but kid-really-needs-a-ride emergency), 4 for highbacked booster and 5.5 for backless booster.

On a regular basis, 5.5 for highbacked booster and 7 for backless.

skylinphoto · Dec 31, 2011

For a real emergency, the kid's riding in whatever he/she meets the minimums for (provided there's no better option obviously).

My minimum for a hbb is 5. Though some of this depends on maturity...there are some mature 4 yr olds out there.

My absolute minimum for a lbb is probably 7.

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lovemybabies924 · Dec 31, 2011

my 4.5 year old rides in a HBB in his dads car for quick trips in our small town...i feel my son is more safe in a HBB than a improperly installed harness seat that his dad would do...i bought him a rstv to use and he didnt use that right either haha. you could start booster training her (K) so that if an emergency did arise then someone could put her in a booster and she would be ok. as for D i would say hes mature enough for a booster

but a harness maybe for if u go on a 5 hour trip kwim?

gsdguenter · Dec 31, 2011

4 yrs. if the child can sit in position for the length of the ride in a hbb.

No idea about nbb. Maybe somewhere between 6-8 yrs. old. But, I have no idea how big 6 yr. old are lol so I'm sure that will change as my kids get older.

bobandjess99 · Dec 31, 2011

My dd started in a hbb at 4.5, and was in it full time by 6. She is now in a lbb most of the time at age 7.

Brigala · Dec 31, 2011

For short/infrequent trips, 4 & 40. 40 lbs is the law in my state so for me that's non-negotiable unless it's a serious emergency. We have no age requirement for boosters here, but I am not comfortable with a child under 4 in a booster regardless of size.

For transitioning a child full time, it really depends on the maturity level. I'd probably say age 5.

abacus2 · Dec 31, 2011

Age 4. I much prefer age 5 for even occasional booster use, but I'm not overly concerned with high back versus no back for the occasional trip assuming proper head support and fit. For the majority of the time I prefer a harness to age 6. After that high backs until no backs start to fit better, as they have for my very large eight year old.

Lemonade · Dec 31, 2011

For an actual emergency, it would depend on the individual kid.

For my DS, we are going to start booster training soon. He's 6 but only 37# and 44". And he's on the wigglier side. For a child who is less wiggly and physically larger or average for their age, I'd say 5 for regular use.

As for a LBB/NBB, I'd say 7 for an average sized, mature child.

ericarizo · Dec 31, 2011

My DS will be 7 in May, 55lbs and sits absolutely perfect while in the booster HB or LB. I am having trouble with the boosters being to short in the seat depth and to tall for my 3rd row so I am thinking about getting him a Sante fe LBB to use around town and then a RSTV for trips longer than an hour because he still sleeps in the car.

Cilia · Dec 31, 2011

DD1 has a hbb at her grandparents in Sweden that she got about one month before she turned 5. I did not want to spend the $$ for a new convertible when she fulfills the minimum requirements for using a hbb since we only spend one month a year with them. The hbb fits her really well and she sits very still all the time.

I have two smaller than average girls and three, soon to be only two, convertible seats. When DD2's seat expire she will move to our spare seat until DD1 outgrows her RA50. DD1 has about maybe 1/4 inch left in her seat. When she is out of the RA50, she will go in a hbb.

I have gone back and forth a long time with harness vs booster for an older child. When it comes to recommendations for others I would say that a minimum of 4 yo and 40 lbs for a booster since it is the law here, but I would be more comfortable with 5 yo. Weight does not matter all that much to me as long as the child fulfills the requirement for the seat he/she is in. So I would put a 35 lbs 5 yo in a hbb if it were legal. I would also like to see some studies where they compared smaller 5 yo kids (as in skinny) in hbb vs 5 pt harness before I change my mind. The reason I cannot really make up my mind is because in Sweden you go straight from RF to hbb. We look at Swedish car seat usage all the time and praise it, but we tend to give absolutely no credit to this part of their car seat usage. Still they have such a low injury/fatality rate for kids in cars - even when the kids are young enough to still be in boosters.

babyherder · Dec 31, 2011

For the babysitting kids a highback booster at age 4 (if they're 40lbs) and a lbb at age 8. The lbb thing I'm willing to bend on depending on how many boosters and kids I have at one time.

Avery'sMama · Jan 1, 2012

Well, when DS was 4 and I returned to work, my in-laws and DH needed to get three across. We could do it with booster/KeyFit/booster but not with any other seats I owned. No combo of Marathon/Boulevard/Regent/ETFA/KeyFit/Booster was going to work. I could not buy two Radian's for one or two trips a week max. So, DS went into a booster.

He is still harnessed in my car, he'll be five in January, but in others cars, he is typically in a booster. He sits fine for short rides, I have no qualms about it, he moves to and from the harness in my car without complaint. He'll likely remain harnessed in my car to 5.5 or 6, and then be mostly boostered, except for 2+ hour drives.

DD will be 8 in February and still fits in a HBB by height, but she is LEGGY. Her legs ache after long rides in any of our HBB because she sits further forward. In a LBB she can scoot further back and her knees actually bend at the edge. She is more comfortable. However, she likes having the HBB to rest her head when she sleeps. She started riding occasionally in a LBB this fall, at 7.5 There was simply no reason to do so before.

If I had a "rule" it would be 4 and 40lb for HBB booster use, max height of high back for use of low back, but it is all dependent on the child, their parents and their vehicle.

MommyBoha · Jan 1, 2012

For me, I wont booster until 6 years AND 40lbs. Although I went longer for DS as he wasnt mature enough for a booster until he was 7.5. DD just turned 6 but isnt 40lbs. She will be harnessed until the Regent expires in 2013.
I also wont do a full time LBB until 10 years old. For emergencies only at 8

aetj115 · Jan 1, 2012

Dd is 7.5 yrs and anywhere from 70-74lbs. She's mostly in a lbb. (Trips up to the school, when we have the twins with us 2 times a month). She also sits in a hbb for longer trips etc if the twins aren't with us. I boostered the twins at 5, considering they weren't even sitting in any seat at 3 almost 4 when I met them. My 3 yo I plan to harness to hopefully 6 in my vehicle. I think it all depends on age, size and maturity. J will be 4 next month and is no way ready to even begin to booster train.

aetj115 · Jan 1, 2012

Ps, by the time I was transporting the twins in my car, they were about 4.5, so we were legal.

mimieliza · Jan 1, 2012

I just switched DD to a HBB (Parkway SGL) full time in my car. She turned 5 in Oct. and is 42 lbs. I don't have top tethers in my car, so I've always been a bit uncomfortable with FFing in a harnessed seat anyway, and DD is a great booster rider. I like the extra security of the SG clip on the Parkway.

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What is the absolute minimum age you would put an average size child in a HBB/LBB

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