Question 3 across high back boosters

I'm back in the seat market. My twins are 5 now and both over 40lbs and 40". I plan on keeping them harnessed as long as possible, but want to start looking at boosters now. I don't own my own car, so sometimes I'm stuck with no car seats if I've left them in my mom's and can't always get them when I need them. (Yes, poor planning on my part!)

My (almost) 7 yr old son rides in a graco high back booster. The smallest car I would be driving is a 2008 Saturn Ion. Is there any 3 across high back booster combinations that would fit?

I really can't think of anything that is likely to work in most vehicles

I've been car shopping recently and have discovered that there are very few cars/small SUVs that will actually seat two boosters plus a harnessed seat, or three boosters, unfortunately.

What harnessed seats do your 5 year olds have? What are their weights/heights? Can you fit now the Turbo plus the two harnessed seats in the Ion?

I know I could do 2 boosters and a harnessed. I currently use a britax Boulevard in the middle with the turbo booster and a radian on the outbound. They puzzle in nicely, since the britax sits up and forward some.

Girlie is 42" and 43lbs and little man is just past 40" and 41lbs. I will keep them harnessed as long as possible. I also have another radian that I can use as backup. Just thinking ahead (and for backup) and I'd rather buy something that can actually work, y'know? It's just not looking good, is it?

You can kinda see in the pic how the outbound a fit in behind the britax. Before my oldest moved up to a booster, he was also in a radian.

Yes, things are easier for sure if you have one that can sit up/over another. Boosters don't usually give you that luxury, the arm rests tend to hit all at the same spot.

Harmony backless boosters are narrow ($18 at Walmart) as are Apramo (often on sale at Canadian Tire for $15).

You might consider nabbing a Titan 65 at Walmart for $79 sale price. It's lightweight, and extremely long-lasting for harness height. You could have it and two boosters for when you need a second set. It's high enough that a low booster like the ones mentioned above could tuck under the sides.

An RSTV in the middle plus 2 outboard boosters might work.

lgenne said:

An RSTV in the middle plus 2 outboard boosters might work.

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Canada=no RSTV.

Pixelated said:

Canada=no RSTV.

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Gah! Tapatalk does not make it easy to see which forum you're in...

lgenne said:

Gah! Tapatalk does not make it easy to see which forum you're in...

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Are you using Android or iOS? With iOS, the forum name is at the top of the thread under the search box when you're in a thread, and if you're in the timeline, participated, unread or subscribed views, the forum is displayed with the thread preview (as well as at the top when you're in the thread). If you're using Android, I'm unsure of where it's displayed.

Since I have another Radian XT (yay high weight limit and slender fit!) as an extra too, I should be able to get away with just buying another highback booster right now for my "just in case" scenarios. (buying another convertible for back up just isn't in my budget). And since the Boulevard also has a high weight limit and height limit, I can keep them harnessed longer. The pressure from family asking when I'll move them to boosters is ridiculous. I didn't move my oldest until almost 6 and he's about to turn 7. (He is tall with a long torso and the Radian XT no longer fit him properly, even though he's only 55lbs)

I did like the look of the Harmony Olympian. I'd prefer not to put my oldest (or even youngest) in anything other than a high back, due to maturity level (mainly in my oldest).

Thank you for the input, it's greatly appreciated!

Use whatever solution works best. Keep in mind that keeping your kids in a harnessed seat is not any safer. This is a myth. There is no research, data, stats or real life experiences which show that harnessed seats for older kids, 4 and older, are safer in any way. If you moved your kids to a high back booster at age 4, 5, 6 or 7 is not relevant. A far more important focus is to keep a child rear facing to at lesst for years of age which does provide a huge safety difference.

It's likely that high back boosters provide better safety than a harnessed seats if you listen to the Swedes which are 30 years ahead of pretty much all other countries in the world. Harnessed seats are not even sold there.

Harnessed seats are in general far more expensive, more difficult to install and not any safer. If the kids have special needs harness seats are usually a better alternative. The oldest one is likely safest in a low back booster unless he is very small. Research by Jakobsson and Arbogast show that a low back booster is a great alternative for an child 6-7+ years. This is mainly due to the unfortunate increase in size of todays boosters and the larger head supports. That means kids will sit far more forward in the car, also higher up and with the head in a more forward position.

All forward facing seats have basically zero side impact position. This apply to shield seats, harnessed seats, low back boosters and high back boosters. The simple reason for basically no SIP is forward momentum and pre-impact breaking. Nowadays also "iphone/ipad head" with head/neck far forward. That means when the impact occur from the side the child is already out of position and head is unprotected regardless of seat used. Very unfortunate but this is simple physics we can't do anything about. Except keep kids rear facing for a long time of course.

When you hang out in the crash test facilities like I do you see many scary things in real life testing which is not shown on Youtube and by the manufacturers.

Wow, something to consider. Ive always heard that keeping harnessed as long as possible ff is safest over a booster.

Thank you for the information.

Still sucks that finding a 3 across booster configuration is going to be difficult.

Adventuredad said:

Use whatever solution works best. Keep in mind that keeping your kids in a harnessed seat is not any safer. This is a myth. There is no research, data, stats or real life experiences which show that harnessed seats for older kids, 4 and older, are safer in any way.

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The lack of research is also not proof to the contrary. As we have discussed many times in the past, harnessed seats are more dependent on the parent for correct installation and use, while boosters are more dependent on the child. An immature/squirmy child may well be safer in a correctly installed and used harnessed seat for this reason alone. More mature children are less likely to circumvent the critical protection provided by the shoulder belt in a booster.

It's likely that high back boosters provide better safety than a harnessed seats if you listen to the Swedes which are 30 years ahead of pretty much all other countries in the world. Harnessed seats are not even sold there.

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The fact that harnessed seats are not sold there is also the reason why there is no evidence from the Swedes about their safety compared to booster seats.

All forward facing seats have basically zero side impact position. This apply to shield seats, harnessed seats, low back boosters and high back boosters. The simple reason for basically no SIP is forward momentum and pre-impact breaking. Nowadays also "iphone/ipad head" with head/neck far forward. That means when the impact occur from the side the child is already out of position and head is unprotected regardless of seat used.

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Not true. A correctly secured 5-point harness is theoretically better at preventing movement forward and to the sides than a lap/shoulder belt, even without additional side impact features. A child in a booster can easily lean much farther forward or to the side than a child in a properly secured harness. The shoulder belt used to restrain the child is not locked during normal driving, allowing the child to be farther out-of-position. In addition, the shoulder belt can be moved by the child behind the back, behind the arm, or extended such that it does not retract if the booster or other object restricts it. Any of these scenarios can lead to a much greater risk of head injury and lower abdominal seatbelt syndrome injuries.

When you hang out in the crash test facilities like I do you see many scary things in real life testing which is not shown on Youtube and by the manufacturers.

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Which is very interesting, but provides no statistics to support your claim about forward facing harnessed seats.

As for the original poster, I believe your 5 year-olds who are over 40 pounds may be very safe in a booster, provided they are mature enough to remain seated correctly. That is the key, and only you can make that determination.

You might be able to put your 7-year old in a very narrow booster like a BubbleBum (or something else narrow in Canada) that would allow you to fit narrow front-facing or combination boosters outboard. The issue will be if there is enough room for your 7-year old to reach down and buckle. I think a backless booster would be fine, provided the shoulder belt fits correctly.

http://carseatblog.com/8243/to-backless-or-not-to-backless-that-is-the-question/

I agree with Darren. We don't have the BubbleBum here in Canada but a narrow booster would be appropriate for the 7 year old. The tricky part is it'll probably be difficult to buckle in a three across.

While there may not be a conclusive body of evidence showing a harnessed seat is safer than a booster, there is also NOT a body of evidence showing boosters are safer than harnesses. What we do have extensive evidence of is that harness seats do a better job of containing a child who is not yet mature enough to sit without wiggling or that cannot stay in position while sleeping and that high back boosters offer more anti-Thewiggling and sleep support that no back boosters do. OP clearly stated that her children are not mature enough for no backs.

Once again, I remind you that in the many years you have been here referring to super-secret studies you are so very privileged to have access to, you have never once cited your source. And please, if you are unaware of the distinction, do educate yourself on the difference between citing a source and referring to one. Whether one type of seat offers better crash performance makes no difference in a kid isn't sitting in it, and you categorically refuse to look past the numbers to see that crash safety involves many more variables when real children rather than crash test dummies are at stake. I don't care if Sweden is 30 or even 100 years more advanced in CRASH safety. Children don't become 30 years, or even just 30 days more mature just because Sweden wants them to.

Even the organizations you do refer to, in your habitual name dropping way, offer contradictions to your claims...the FAA for example.

Given that you don't own your own vehicle and it sounds like the seats are moved to various vehicles, a narrow LBB for all three kids will likely be your best bet (assuming that all possible vehicles have 3 headrests and 3 lap/shoulder belts). While I agree that two harnessed seats and one LBB stands a better chance of fitting in a tight 3 across, I can't imaging lugging two Radians around "just in case", KWIM?

The Harmony LBB at Walmart is under $20 usually (I'm in BC, pricing could be regional), very narrow, is one-piece (no assembly), very lightweight & easy for even a 5yo to carry themselves. The Turbobooster is likely too wide for your needs. The Harmony is slightly narrower than the Apramo in use (I have both) and I personally prefer the cover of the Harmony (currently dark grey or purple at our Walmarts).

We do not have the Bubblebum here, nor any of the vests.