Question about no back booster

kmf1524

New member
My 7.5 year old daughter (46" & 52 pounds) has been asking me the last few weeks about removing the back of her booster. She is currently riding in a Parkway SGL. I'm thinking I may let her- she is a good listener and nevr ever sleeps in the car- but wanted to get some other thoughts on this.

If you had a child that was this age/height/weight- would you allow a no back booster?

Thanks!
Krista
 
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crunchierthanthou

New member
Does your vehicle have headrests? I wouldn't have an issue if she still has head support, the belt fits properly, and she stays in position (most 7.5 year olds can).

I told my son he could switch at age 8. We ended up doing it a couple of months before that because his Monterey didn't fit in our 3 across. Now that he's backless, he'd actually prefer to have the back on it for comfort. :shrug-shoulders:
 

momtoo3

Well-known member
Ds2 is 7.5 (june birthday) and about 57 pounds and 51-52 inches. He rides in various high back boosters (Vivo, Parkway SG, Monterey) and uses backless boosters for riding with friends and when I need to put all 3 of my boys and the kids I watch in my van because the little girl I watch uses his seat and a backless booster is the only thing that works in my 3rd row 3 across.

He has recently asked to ride backless full time and I told him he could when he turns 8 in June. He is fine with that. I will still keep a high back for long trips because he still sleeps when tired. I am fine with him riding in a backless booster on occasion now but prefer the head support, plus he shares his booster with the little girl I watch and she is nowhere near ready for a backless so I will have to either put ds2 in the 3rd row permanently or swap boosters all the time.

All that said, I am fine with a 7 year old in a backless booster. Around here it is rare to see a 7 year old in a seat at all.
 

mominabigtruck

New member
Unless she doesn't fit in it anymore I wouldn't remove the back. My feeling has always been that you don't move up to the next step until you've outgrown the current one. My ds is the same age and has got a good 20lbs and 6 inches on your daughter and he still rides in an os pw as his main seat. I let him ride in a backless booster on short rides in other peoples cars but that's because I only have so many pws and it's not like I can run out and pick up a $50 tb as a backup seat because he's huge.
 

Baylor

New member
I let DS1 ride in his LBB all the time in my mom's car. She has side airbags and better safety features than my car. I let DS ride in his LBB in my car only down the street to school most days. He is 8.5 yr old. If I had a newer car with side airbags, I would let him ride in LBB all the time.
 

jacqui276

New member
As long as she has proper head support, isn't falling asleep (and falling out of position) and the belt fit is still good without the back, I would be totally fine with it.
 

aeormsby

New member
I could go either way with that. My kid I'll probably keep her in the HBB until her 8th birthday at least. But I wouldn't fault anyone for switching in your situation (like others said, provided there's a headrest for her).
 

tiggercat

New member
My slightly bigger 7.5 yr old doesn't sit well in a backless, she needs the physical reinforcement to stay in proper position.
And sometimes, this happens. Without the back, she'd probably be lying on the door.

Sent from my iPod touch using Car-Seat.Org
 
Last edited:

MommyShannon

New member
I've let dd (7.5) occasionally ride in a backless, but I think she likes the extra support most of the time. I think the extra freedom would lead to her moving out of position when she was tired and acting a bit crazy with siblings.
 

NVMBR02

New member
As long as she has proper head support, isn't falling asleep (and falling out of position) and the belt fit is still good without the back, I would be totally fine with it.

Me too!

I let DD1 move to a backless full time at 8. Ds is almost 7.5 and he rides in a backless about 50% of the time. At 8 he can move to a backless as well. He sleeps in the car on long drives so even once he moves to a backless for daily use I will probably put the Monterey in. DD1 hasn't slept in the car for a really long time...like 7+ years.

I picked 8 to allow the kids to move to backless boosters since our state law requires boosters to be used until 8. Most of their friends moved out of boosters then and it seems like a good compromise for our family.
 

bekah

New member
I just moved my 7.5 yo to a HBB booster from a harness. He is small though, at 44 lbs and 48 inches. I don't plan to move him to a NBB anytime soon. I have one, and we use it for specific seating needs from time to time, but we are talking less than 3 times per month. So if there isn't a need to switch, I wouldn't.
 

flutie128

New member
My 8.5 year old DS has been riding backless for about 6 months. If we go on a long time I put the back on because he doesn't always stay in position when sleeping but he only sleeps in the car on long trips. He is about 53 inches tall and 65 pounds.
 

D&L's-mommy

New member
I've let dd (7.5) occasionally ride in a backless, but I think she likes the extra support most of the time. I think the extra freedom would lead to her moving out of position when she was tired and acting a bit crazy with siblings.

same here. my ds will be 9 in april, he rides in a hbb and will until he 5 steps (or outgrows the monterey we are getting this week), I like the SIP, and the back acts as a barrier to remind him to stay put if he's feeling ornery. We have a nbb for the rare time that he's going in a car he doesn't usually ride in
What if you agree to take the back off for rides around town (when there's little risk she'll get bored and move out of position, or fall asleep) but the back will go back on for longer rides?
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
to go with what tigger said, i think it has to do with how stiff/slouchy your kid is. MY daughter stays in the exact same position asleep as awake, and her body is all stiff.. my son sort of slouches/curls into a little ball of sluggish goo LMAO. We took my dd's back off at age 7, because she had been begging. She never has issues staying in place, and we have headrests and the belt fits. you can see in my sig..everyone's sleeping.
 

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