Small 8 year old in a backless?

I rarely let my kids ride with other people, even grandparents, because I've just never been super comfortable with it. But, ds is going to his first cub scout daycamp on Tuesday and will be riding with one of the den leaders. I wish they would require every boy who needs one to ride in a booster, but I know they won't, which means ds will likely be the only one to show up with a seat to ride in.

He'll be two days shy of turning 8, but is on the small side....about 46 inches and in the neighborhood of 42 lbs. He typically rides in a FR85, which is obviously too bulky to conveniently send. In dad's car he rides in a TB. I've also got a backless that I keep in the back of the car as a spare.

The few times he's ridden with friends, he's not seemed bothered by the fact that he's in a booster and they aren't. But I don't think he's ever been teased either. I'm a little worried that a van full of his peers might bring on some teasing, and while he knows what to say in those situations, I hate the thought that he could be a target.

So...I'm thinking of sending him in the backless rather than the TB just to draw less attention to himself. I'm not sure he's ever ridden in it before, so I'll need to check the fit, but if that's good, do you think he's an adequate size to be riding in a backless? I don't want to compromise safety, so if his size makes him safer in the TB, then I'll send that instead....but if the backless is OK, then I think it will be better for him socially.

My DD was allowed to switch to a backless full time for her 7th birthday

Provided the belt fit is good, backless would be fine.

Wendy

I've yet to let my son use a backless, and he'll be 8 at the end of this month. And he's a BIG 8. I'm not sure of his height, but he comes to my shoulders and I'm 5'6 1/2". He's over 70lbs. Big guy. Still fits in Frontier as a booster, though, might have one click to go on TB, I'm not sure. It just makes me nervous. I know the backless is safe as far as belt position goes, but I like knowing he gets that extra head protection from the back of it.

But in that case, I just might consider a backless. And you are not alone!! I went on the day camp with my son last month, and actually got into a tense awkward argument with his assistant den leader. She asked if we wanted to ride with her, and knowing that would involve seat toting, i just said, "No thanks, i'll drive." Then she suggested the boys ride together b/c they were buddies. Shoot. Her son is easily a head shorter than mine, much lighter weight, i.e. still needs a booster to be safe. But it is perfectly legal for him to ride without one, which is what she said to me when I said he would need to have one in my car, and that I had a couple spares in the trunk that he could use.

She continued to argue he didn't need one, that none of the boys really did b/c they were mostly all 8 years old. And I said that didn't make it safe -- just legal and stated further that since my son didn't pass 5 step test yet and was significantly bigger than every other boy in the den that there wasn't any boys in the den ready to go without boosters.

only one other boy used one. We rode alone. She did let me send her some info later about why I took that stance.

Anyways - your thread is totally de ja vu!

I tried dd in a backless on her 7th birthday too. She's the sane height as your son, but 2 lbs lighter. Her fit in the Turbo is good, but the Harmony backless makes the lap belt too low in that seating position, and I don't really like it.

Thanks ladies I'll try him in the backless tomorrow and see how he looks.

I totally considered driving him myself....the camp is only about 20 minutes from my in-laws, so I could easily spend the day there (not that that would be high on my list of fun ways to spend the day though)....but I know I've got to start letting go a bit now that he's growing up. It's not really fair to deprive him of the experience of being with the other boys when there's a safe way to allow him to do it. Thankfully, the mom who is driving knows my feelings about carseats (even kept her youngest two RF'ing longer after discussions we had), so I'm sure she won't roll her eyes at me and will be sure that the other boys are respectful. It's just tough watching your kids grow up and hoping you've equipped them with the tools they need to handle whatever comes their way!

I have this same issue as DD1 (9yo) has gotten older. She rides in a backless in our cars, but most kids her age here are out of boosters entirely. I am waiting for a friend to want to pick her up and have to deal with sending a booster. She never complains in the car, but asks periodically when she will be done with a booster. I pretty much try and drive her places, but carpooling would be really nice as she gets older and into more sports and activities.

I wish our culture wasn't such that child safety was seen as something embarrassing or inconvenient to the general public.

In your son's case I would definitely send a backless as long as he had a headrest and a decent belt fit.

Emma uses a BubbleBum for travel/carpooling/sometimes a tight fit in other cars and as a backup booster. She's a small 8 but the fit is good on her and she sits properly, so I'm not worried that it won't do its job. As long as you have a booster that provides a good fit in any car he'd happen to be in, and he sits properly, I see no problem with it for occasional use, though I, too, prefer that most of the time she be in a high-back, I'd be ok with it for that kind of situation, no hesitations.

I would use the backless. My DD is 6.5 and has been using one very occasionally since last fall. And most recently used it on a week long trip that we took. He's used to riding in a booster and is definitely old enough. He's lighter but about the same height as my DD and she fits great in her Harmony Literider.

I am a den leader. I usually drive my own son and only one other boy- either the one that doesn't fit in a booster or the one that insists on being with my son. I have followed the other leader's van with the other scouts in it. I would never let my son ride with them. Those boys are wild and all over the place. My son would be wild with them and I'm not going to embarrass him by installing his frontier. Even before I became a den leader, I chose to drive ds anywhere his den was going.

We have run into this issue with both of my kids and sleep overs and such I am nervous because starting Monday Zoe who is almost 8 is being picked up and driven to vbs by her friends mom I don't think her friend rides in a booster anymore she still rides in a turbobooster she is tiny like 45 lbs not sure how tall. I think I will call her mom and see first maybe I will drive her.

my dd is 8yrs old, she is 52" tall and 55lbs... and her shoulders are so narrow that so far no backless booster (I'm going to try the cosco top side for her after her brother's birthday passes) gives her a decent shoulderbelt fit in my dh's 2-door chevy cobalt.

In my van, it's tricky, too, but she has more room for her highback and it's taller...

My boys fit backless boosters fine before they were old enough to use them... she's just got super narrow shoulders. Check the fit before you send him in it, that's all I'm saying.

I'm the cub committee chair and we took 4 boys to Weebelos camp (the 10yo) and made all 4 sit in boosters. I also took extra boosters to make the kids who were not quite 8 sit in (we have to be legal). The one 7yo cried because he had to sit in a booster. I wanted them ALL In boosters but I don't have 20 boosters. The one crying boy I just told him he was not legally allowed to ride without so he had to. Thankfully, several of our boys still ride in boosters in their parent's cars.