Flipping headrests

ohiomommy08 · Jan 21, 2014

My DH drives a 2008 Saturn Vue. My almost 6 year old rides in a booster in his car. The boosters (turbo and performance booster) fit well when the headrests are flipped. They are locked in when flipped, I have to use a paper clip and the release button and pull all at the same time to get them off. That has been working well, but DH is going to be starting a new job where he will be having adults ride in the back seat quite often. <main question> Is it safe for an adult to ride with the head rest reversed?

There is a picture in one of the responses in this thread - http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=261779.

Please help!!

Laurie

BookMama · Jan 21, 2014

I wouldn't feel comfortable using them like that.

How difficult are they to put on? What if you keep them off (and safely stored in the trunk or cargo area) while the booster is in place, and then have your DH slip the headrest on when he has an adult passenger? (This is assuming that the booster you have in that spot doesn't require a vehicle headrest.) That would allow your adult passengers to have adequate head support but would also be faster than turning the headrests around when there's an adult.

ohiomommy08 · Jan 21, 2014

That might work, but I'm not sure my DH will be willing to take them off if I'm not around to do it. The problem is that the headrests push the boosters forward. Is "that" safe? Can we just leave them facing the right direction. (I think there are pics in the other thread to show the gap. Is the performance booster better than the turbo or neither one safe that way?

ohiomommy08 · Jan 21, 2014

The other option is either the turbo or performance booster in the middle, but it seems to "sit" on the seatbelt. Trying to figure out the safest way to switch between booster and adult use.

BookMama · Jan 21, 2014

You should check the booster manuals to see what (if anything) they say about their being some space between the vehicle seat and the booster seat. Some say it's fine, some say a certain amount is fine, some say the booster must be in full contact with the vehicle seat.

My suggestion was for your DH not to have to remove the headrest at all. (I am assuming that she rarely rides in his vehicle - if she rides often, my plan won't work as well.)

Here's what I'm envisioning (if the booster isn't OK with the vehicle headrest on the correct way):

You put booster in. Take headrest off and safely stow it in cargo area.

DH has adult passengers. Puts booster safely in cargo area and slides vehicle headrest into place.

DH returns home. You remove headrest and put booster seat in until DH has adult passengers again.

Do you always know in advance when DH will be transporting your daughter? If so, can you just install the booster/remove the headrest as needed?

Keeanh · Jan 21, 2014

She looks like she has a short torso. Do the headrests interfere with the booster even when they're all the way up?

Her ears look to be below the top of the seatback. What if you took one headrest out? Then if your DH only has 2 adult passengers, there are still 2 headrests available (front & one back). If he has 3, then they can put the headrest in and you can deal with popping it back out once he's home.

ETA: LOL, cross-posted with Bookmama

ohiomommy08 · Jan 21, 2014

Good ideas. I'll have to see what DH is willing to do. She actually rides in his vehicle quite often. He picks her up from daycare every day and we use his vehicle many times on weekends. She is very petite and I think the turbo just fits under, so that might be an option also. I'll try the performance again too.

I might try to get better pics of the middle position to see if that's a better possibility.

Thanks!

Laurie

Athena · Jan 22, 2014

Have you checked with Saturn? Are they active head rests? In the pic of it flipped backwards, it looks like it's fairly far back and wouldn't provide appropriate support anyway, so I'm not sure it's much different than having it off. The Turbo doesn't require vehicle head rest support, so I'd take it off if it interferes with the booster and put it on for the adults. When you're not putting it on the wrong way, any adult is able to take it off and put it on, so your DH could do that. Why not go with the simplest solution we know to be safe?

ohiomommy08 · Jan 27, 2014

Just an update.

We (with advice from my Cpst friend) decided that the Performance booster fits better in the middle than the turbo (we were both surprised) so the headrests are facing the proper direction and DH can take the booster in and out as needed. Thanks for the help!!

BookMama · Jan 27, 2014

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you got everything figured out!

Flipping headrests

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