High back booster for center seating position

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bree

Car-Seat.Org Ambassador
There are some boosters that are generally narrow (for instance, the Recaro Vivo, which is now discontinued but still available to purchase), but sometimes it's just a matter of finding a booster that puzzles well with the other car seats in the vehicle or happens to work well in the center of a certain vehicle. If you wanted to share which vehicle you are looking for a booster for (and the age and weight of the child and if there are other car seats you are trying to puzzle with), someone who has used that a booster in the vehicle may be able to provide more info. :)
 

manateesmom

New member
Booster would be the only car seat, I just feel better having him in the center than outboard if possible. DS is currently 4, 39 lbs, 38 1/2 inches, long torso. He's outgrowing the Radians RF by height, but not quite there yet. Because I'm concerned about neck loading, I do not feel comfortable front-facing in a 5-point harness, so we're looking to booster after he outgrows the Radians (he could have another 3-6 months in the current seats).

Right now we have a Ford Fusion and nanny's car is a Chevy Malibu. We're thinking about this now because we will be buying a new family vehicle within the next month to replace our current Tribute, so I'm trying to get a sense of my options for boosters so I can evaluate vehicles. We'll keep DS rear-facing in the Radian as long as he fits, but he will outgrow it in the next year at some point.

Since not all vehicles have headrests in the rear center position, if center position could theoretically work, we'd want to avoid buying a new vehicle without a headrest if the new booster would need one.
 

jaemom

New member
Booster would be the only car seat, I just feel better having him in the center than outboard if possible. DS is currently 4, 39 lbs, 38 1/2 inches, long torso. He's outgrowing the Radians RF by height, but not quite there yet. Because I'm concerned about neck loading, I do not feel comfortable front-facing in a 5-point harness, so we're looking to booster after he outgrows the Radians (he could have another 3-6 months in the current seats).

Right now we have a Ford Fusion and nanny's car is a Chevy Malibu. We're thinking about this now because we will be buying a new family vehicle within the next month to replace our current Tribute, so I'm trying to get a sense of my options for boosters so I can evaluate vehicles. We'll keep DS rear-facing in the Radian as long as he fits, but he will outgrow it in the next year at some point.

Since not all vehicles have headrests in the rear center position, if center position could theoretically work, we'd want to avoid buying a new vehicle without a headrest if the new booster would need one.

I would not be comfortable boostering a 4 yo of that size full time. I'm not sure what the neck loading is, but I would be concerned about submarining in a booster that small. I have a 2006 fusion and getting anything into the center spot back there is a chore, due to no head rest and the narrow seat with a significant hump to it. You could try a Britax parkway. My 6.5 year old is only 39/40 pounds, but he is 45 inches tall, and it fits him well. It also has the SG clip to help avoid submarining. Many boosters start at 40lbs, so make sure whatever you get is rated to his current weight. I've tried a turbobooster, and the parkway and a Recaro vivo, and a harmony defender, and wasn't happy with any of them. But I was trying to fit 3 across back there!
 

manateesmom

New member
Neck loading is the reason that NASCAR drivers, who are restrained in 5-point harnesses, now also have HANS (head and neck supports). The vast majority of injury-producing accidents involve frontal collisions and forces toward the front of the vehicle. When in a 5-point harness, all of the body is restrained except for the head, which will snap forward, and can cause neck and/or spinal cord injury, which can be fatal. In Sweden, they typically rear-face until 4 years and at least 33 lbs, then front-face in a high-back booster with a 3-point restraint. The 3-point restraint allows one shoulder and part of your upper torso to move with the impact, so not all of the forces of the impact are concentrated in the neck area. I'm following the Swedish practice and not really looking for advice to harness longer. Based on his current weight, DS will exceed 40 lbs and 40 inches high when he's boostered.
 

Jackie010307

New member
Jumping in here, but in Sweden 4 is considered the minimum to forward face. There isn't actually a law stating such, it's just common practice. That being said, most of their seats rear face to the equivalent of 55 lbs and, at least in my experience, most children in Sweden will approach that rear facing. Of course there will be 4 year olds forward facing there just as there will be 1 and 2 year olds forward facing here. Since you are set on not using a 5 point harness forward facing I would seriously consider a seat that will continue to allow your child to rear face instead of using a booster for a 4 year old. The majority of 4 year olds do not have the impulse control to remain properly seated in a booster and that is essential to the seat providing protection. The synapses in the brain just haven't formed at that age for them to have the control to sit correctly all the time.
 

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