LBB good idea?

MammaBear

New member
I have another baby due in a month. My dad offered to come pick my son up and take him to school some mornings. We moved DS in to a Parkway a few months ago and he's doing great with it. I've never had to remind him to sit properly.

Anyway, the drive from our house to school is at most a 4 minute drive. DS will need something for my dad's car. Is a low back booster a safe choice? And if it is, does it matter what kind I get or are they all pretty much the same? If that's the case, I'd just pick up the cheapest one I can find.

Thanks!
 
ADS

pooh136

New member
I happen to not like LBB at all, but instead would suggest a very cheap HBB for this exact thing. But that's just me. :D

I'm just curious why you don't like backless boosters at all? Still trying to figure out if I'm just doing backless for my 7 year old next week (will carry on plans), or if I'm going to try to pack the back in luggage somehow.
 

MommyShannon

New member
I would. Just check his fit in the vehicle and then try it out a few times if possible. At 6, my DD moved too much in a LBB. She still needed the reminder from the sides to sit right. My DS does fine in one for short rides and is almost 7. Longer rides they both prefer a HBB.
 
There is no evidence that a HBB provides any additional protection in a collision. The primary job of a booster is to properly position the adult seat belt across the appropriate parts of the child's skeleton. Provided the child meets the requirements of the booster and will sit properly for the entire ride, a LBB is a perfectly safe choice. HBB are generally recommended as a starting point because younger children tend to fall asleep in the car and may slump to one side, and also because the sides of the back portion give the child a physical reminder to stay in position. Your situation sounds like a perfectly reasonable one for a LBB. There is a strap included with most LBB that attaches to the shoulder portion of the adult seat belt to properly position it mid-clavicular, which is what the guides on the back portion of a HBB do.
 

Adventuredad

New member
Previous poster sums it up perfectly. There is also peer reviewed research from Arbogast which shows LBB and HBB providing similar safety.

Older children, say 6-7+ years are likely safer in a LBB compared to a HBB. This has to do with the unfortunate development towards larger and heavier HBB. Newer HBB do in general have large side and head wings which do not provide any additional safety.

An older child will often sit in a poor position with head far more forward and also higher up on the seat closer to the roof. This often means worse protection in a HBB than a LBB. Exception would perhaps be on longer drives when a child is sleeping.
 
Previous poster sums it up perfectly. There is also peer reviewed research from Arbogast which shows LBB and HBB providing similar safety. Older children, say 6-7+ years are likely safer in a LBB compared to a HBB. This has to do with the unfortunate development towards larger and heavier HBB. Newer HBB do in general have large side and head wings which do not provide any additional safety. An older child will often sit in a poor position with head far more forward and also higher up on the seat closer to the roof. This often means worse protection in a HBB than a LBB. Exception would perhaps be on longer drives when a child is sleeping.

Do you have any data on this? I do not think a HBB is any less safe than a LBB. Also, most HBB on the market are the LBB version with a back portion snapped on, so it puts the child no closer to the roof of the vehicle.
 

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