Booster safety?

thekatie

New member
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/aa...change-rear-facing-booster-rules-2466904.html

I have what is probably a REALLY dumb question... all across this board I've seen over and over people (techs) saying that so long as the belt fits properly and the child can sit in position, a no back booster is just as safe as a high back booster. This article says that children should stay in a high back booster until 4'9". ARE high back boosters safer?

My oldest son turns 9 tomorrow. I've let him ride in a no back booster for a couple years, and actually felt okay about it, since he fit in the seat and seatbelt fine, and DID stay in place. We started looking at high back boosters again recently because he's started trying to play with his baby brother and leaning to the side, but that was even before I saw this article... It was simply because he wasn't sitting right anymore.
 
ADS

Syllieann

New member
When there is a lack of data to say which is better it can sometimes get worded and/or interpreted as "equally safe" when that's not exactly the case. I've seen at least 1 study that indicates hbb is safer in the real world. Whether it is because it provides side impact protection or just because it reminds the child to sit properly and improves the proper use rate, idk.
 

Qarin

New member
The article you linked claims:

Children should ride in a belt-positioning booster (that means a high-back!) until they are at least 4 foot, 9 inches, AND 8-12 years old.

And claims that this is from the AAP guidelines. It is incorrect when it says, "that means a high-back!". In fact, there are very few high-back boosters which can be reasonably expected to not be outgrown before 4'9", so as a guideline it would just be mean.

Here are the AAP guidelines:

http://www.healthychildren.org/Engl...ar-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families.aspx

It talks about both high-back and low-back, and does not specify one as safer or more recommended than the other, except in the case of low vehicle seat backs/no vehicle headrests.

I imagine the confusion for the author of your article is the "belt-positioning" part of "belt-positioning booster", and he or she has somehow conflated "belt-positioning" to be referring to the shoulder belt guide of a high-back booster, and thinks that if you say "booster" you mean a no-back, seat-only one, while "belt-positioning booster" means a high-back, but if so, the author is wrong.
 

thekatie

New member
Ah! I -was- referencing that part that says "that means a high back!". Though my son isn't anywhere 4'9" and does fits in all the high back boosters I made him sit in at Target and told him that he'd be getting one again if he can't stay in position ;)
 

Qarin

New member
Both of my kids much, MUCH prefer high-back boosters, because they appreciate having a place to rest their heads (even while awake).
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The one study that I know of that says high back is safer than backless was expanded and found to not be true in a follow up study.

Here's the new study.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/5/1281.full

The older one seems to have been taken down (Protecting Children in Boosters, 4-8 years old, by CHOP), but it was the one that said high backs were better. Apparently when CHOP redid the study with more data they found that it was the booster, not the high back portion, that did the bulk of the saving, and so they revised their findings to show that.

Wendy
 

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