Booster and Locking Belts

bakinlove · Jul 9, 2013

Curious about booster use here. We have started to let my son ride in his maestro as a booster for relatively short trips. He is doing well, but I am concerned about this when my DH buckles him. When I buckle him I do not lock the seatbelt, when DH buckles him he pulls the belt ALLLLLLL the way out so that it locks and you can hear the ratcheting sound as it retracts. I feel like this isn't how the belt is supposed to be used with the booster but we already have so many issues with seat use and installation I wanted to check before I said something. So, basic question, is it ok to lock the belt or not?
Thanks!

featherhead · Jul 9, 2013

Check your vehicle and carseat manuals. Some prohibit locking the belt when a booster is used. I'm not familiar enough with the Maestro to know if it is allowed or not.

YinzerMama · Jul 10, 2013

I never thought about if it was OK but it is super uncomfortable for the kid. I have known people to do it to "encourage" a kid to stay sitting properly if they keep moving all around and it tends to work really quick. My oldest accidentally locked himself in playing with the belt and was not happy with it. I have also heard of people doing it to add support for sleep and prevent flopping. I always just buckle as I would buckle myself. Does your child complain when it is locked?

ketchupqueen · Jul 10, 2013

Some vehicles actively forbid it; some do not.

While I'll do it very short term while booster-training a kid or as a stop-gap at a clinic for a very young booster rider, I am very uncomfortable doing it all the time. The reason is that reputable testing has shown that it increases the risk of ”submarining” to lock the belt on a boostered and/or belted rider. The belts are designed to allow the torso to rotate forward a little as the belt locks, and when that can't happen the hips are more likely to slip under the belt, leading to spinal and/or internal crush and/or pelvic injuries from the lap belt now being malpositioned.

Therefore, I highly recommend explaining to your husband that this will increase the risk of injuries and should not be done, and teaching your son not to do it.

I used to lock the belt on myself for comfort but since this information was given to me I've stopped.

tiggercat · Jul 10, 2013

ketchupqueen said:
Some vehicles actively forbid it; some do not.

While I'll do it very short term while booster-training a kid or as a stop-gap at a clinic for a very young booster rider, I am very uncomfortable doing it all the time. The reason is that reputable testing has shown that it increases the risk of ”submarining” to lock the belt on a boostered and/or belted rider. The belts are designed to allow the torso to rotate forward a little as the belt locks, and when that can't happen the hips are more likely to slip under the belt, leading to spinal and/or internal crush and/or pelvic injuries from the lap belt now being malpositioned.

Therefore, I highly recommend explaining to your husband that this will increase the risk of injuries and should not be done, and teaching your son not to do it.

I used to lock the belt on myself for comfort but since this information was given to me I've stopped.

Do you happen to have any citations or links to this testing? I've read about it before, but would like to read the studies themselves

thanks!

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ketchupqueen · Jul 10, 2013

I only have a summary from an agency that conducted it, from the CPSPList. I believe I have quoted it before but I can try to find it again? Which research center it was slips my mind right now but it was a place I respect as reputable.

creideamh · Jul 10, 2013

University of Michigan Transportation Institute.

I don't think we ever found the actual study & subsequent data, just their summary of what they found.

ketchupqueen · Jul 10, 2013

Yep, that was it.

Athena · Jul 10, 2013

YinzerMama said:
but it is super uncomfortable for the kid.

:yeahthatsad: For this reason, I cringe every time I hear about this and will never do it. It's not like a harness that is kept at a consistent tightness because a locked belt is trying to retract more. If my belt locks momentarily, it bugs me a lot. If someone locked the belt on me, I'd be trying to figure out how to escape, but maybe it's just me.

P.S. But I don't even start with boosters until at least 6.

bakinlove · Jul 10, 2013

Thank you all for the replies, I felt like it was a not great practice but wanted to get some other opinions before I started the conversation (and subsequent nagging).

Athena- I would rather he stay harnessed longer but with his size and our budget it just is not a reality. DH would have him in a lbb in a heartbeat if I would allow it, and was not impressed when I purchased a defender to use in our primary vehicle. He uses the maestro in booster mode for short rides on low speed roads maybe 1-2x a week.

Athena · Jul 10, 2013

bakinlove said:
Athena- I would rather he stay harnessed longer but with his size and our budget it just is not a reality. DH would have him in a lbb in a heartbeat if I would allow it, and was not impressed when I purchased a defender to use in our primary vehicle. He uses the maestro in booster mode for short rides on low speed roads maybe 1-2x a week.

I hope it didn't sound like I was criticizing your decision to booster. I said that I harness longer more as a disclaimer that my perspective might be somewhat biased or different because of that, not that everyone should do that.

bakinlove · Jul 10, 2013

Athena, I didn't take it as a criticism, but my own misgivings about boostering cause me to defend my decision, even with no alternatives

Of course I "defend" myself here for boostering to early and I DEFEND myself with friends and relatives over not boostering him full time and for RFing my 2.5 y/o still. Hope that makes sense, I was certainly not offended by your remark.

Booster and Locking Belts

bakinlove

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featherhead

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ketchupqueen

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