Question Going from RF straight to HBB?

Where can I find data on going straight from RF to a HBB (skipping the FF 5-point harness)?
Is there any data to be had?
Of course, this is assuming that, by the time she outgrows her seat RF, she will have the maturity to sit in a HBB, but I could see my daughter easily getting another year and a half RF out of her seat, making it to 5 years old RF.

It's something I've always thought about from reading snippets on this board about neck load (am I even remembering that correctly?), and just thinking about it in my head (probably going to get me into trouble)-- the entire body plastered to the FF seat while the head snaps forward rather than the body and head both moving forward.

Anyway, it's probably time for me to research it if I can. I always said I'd turn her FF at 4 years old, but I am nervous about it, no doubt.

Any pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

I'm considering doing this as well for ds, he is tiny and will probably get to RF to age 6 or close to it unless he grows all of a sudden or something.

Moving a mature 5 or 6 year old into a booster isn't really something you need to 'research' if that makes sense. The fact that the child rode RF up until that point is fairly irrelevant.

Now if you were debating moving a RF 4 yo into a booster rather than a FF 5 point harness I could see wanting to really weigh all pros and cons -- researching, finding studies, making the most informed choice possible.

But it sounds like you're thinking of skipping the 'FF 5 point harness stage' altogether, not that you're thinking of moving to a booster on the early side of what is considered ideal. I don't think you need to worry too much about not using a FF 5 point harness if the child in question is 5+ years old, presumably close to, or above 40lbs, and mature enough to sit still.


Just my 02 cents.

But it's a misconception that the head snaps forward while the body is plastered back. Belts stretch and absorb a large amount of forces on the head, neck, and chest, particularly if you use a seat like a Britax with the Rip Stich tether, or the Radian with the SafeStop. So yeah, I'd do a lot more research before putting a 4 year old in a booster, but not worry too much about a 5-6 year old.

joolsplus3 said:

But it's a misconception that the head snaps forward while the body is plastered back. Belts stretch and absorb a large amount of forces on the head, neck, and chest, particularly if you use a seat like a Britax with the Rip Stich tether, or the Radian with the SafeStop. So yeah, I'd do a lot more research before putting a 4 year old in a booster, but not worry too much about a 5-6 year old.

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This.

The TC research cash testing is such interesting stuff to watch in this regard. Children riding in 5 point harnessed seats experience quite a bit of forward movement as the harness stretches. Is there increased neck loading compared to a booster? Maybe. But the flip side is reduced forward head excursion, which is preferable when you think about head injuries from striking the interior of the vehicle. Rear facing until age 3-4 and then going ff in a 5 point harness when the childs neck and spine can better handle neck loading just isn't something I'm prepared to start worrying about. I don't think we'll ever see definitive studies on this topic, since it's a 'side of the coin' argument. Increased neck loading = decreased risk for striking interior of vehicle. Decreased neck loading = possible increased risk of head striking interior of vehicle.

I have nothing to add about EH or Neck Loads, and it might just be me, but I found the transition from RF to FF enough of a step for me to adjust to (and some learning for ODS), the thought of going RF to booster is too much for me! LOL

ODS was RF until 2.5yo when he outgrew the weight of all Canadian seats at the time. FF we went. Then, I won a SKJP RN and ERF we went until almost 6yo. Though, he didn't outgrow it, YDS was outgrowing his seat and then I found out it'd be a problem to sell down the line, so I just dove in and made the switch all of a sudden...

At any rate, now, he's FF in a GN and I'm slowly starting to adjust to the idea of him being in a booster. While that's going on for me, he's learning about not kicking my seat, walking on my stuff, grabbing things he sees in the front seat, making driving related comments & yelling at me. For *us* to adjust to all that and the freedom of a booster, would be too much for me (the driver) to deal with all at once!

tam

canadiangie said:

This.

The TC research cash testing is such interesting stuff to watch in this regard. Children riding in 5 point harnessed seats experience quite a bit of forward movement as the harness stretches. Is there increased neck loading compared to a booster? Maybe. But the flip side is reduced forward head excursion, which is preferable when you think about head injuries from striking the interior of the vehicle. Rear facing until age 3-4 and then going ff in a 5 point harness when the childs neck and spine can better handle neck loading just isn't something I'm prepared to start worrying about. I don't think we'll ever see definitive studies on this topic, since it's a 'side of the coin' argument. Increased neck loading = decreased risk for striking interior of vehicle. Decreased neck loading = possible increased risk of head striking interior of vehicle.

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Also, when you begin to look at side impact issues and loading to other parts of the body, the variables just add up too quickly to make a direct comparison.

Maisie&BodensMommy said:

Of course, this is assuming that, by the time she outgrows her seat RF, she will have the maturity to sit in a HBB, but I could see my daughter easily getting another year and a half RF out of her seat, making it to 5 years old RF.

It's something I've always thought about from reading snippets on this board about neck load (am I even remembering that correctly?), and just thinking about it in my head (probably going to get me into trouble)-- the entire body plastered to the FF seat while the head snaps forward rather than the body and head both moving forward.

Click to expand...

I will only add that this is the standard practice here since over 20 years back, and the safety record is very good. The crash test data we have supports this choice mainly due to the neck load figures. Head excursion is of course also important but is rarely an issue with kids in the 4-6 year age due to their limited height.

We will move our son from RF in a MultiTech to a Britax KidFix HBB when he is 4,5 and feel that he will be safer than in a harnessed seat. I prefer a HBB that is separately secured with Isofix that will take the main load of the seat's weight in a collision, as well as secure the seat when unoccupied.

/Marcus

sailingdaddy said:

I will only add that this is the standard practice here since over 20 years back, and the safety record is very good. The crash test data we have supports this choice mainly due to the neck load figures. Head excursion is of course also important but is rarely an issue with kids in the 4-6 year age due to their limited height.

We will move our son from RF in a MultiTech to a Britax KidFix HBB when he is 4,5 and feel that he will be safer than in a harnessed seat. I prefer a HBB that is separately secured with Isofix that will take the main load of the seat's weight in a collision, as well as secure the seat when unoccupied.

/Marcus

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I don't suppose you have any side impact testing data comparing harness and booster you'd be willing to share?