Why do parents like shield boosters?

Dreaming_of_Speed

Senior Community Member
I dont understand why so many parents bought these things! I went around and checked all the consignment shops yesterday for nasty seats, one had a not expired grand explorer that the clerk wouldnt take off the shelf so i bought it. I've been playing with it and actually put in in the car and played with it with alex and ryan (even though shes way too tiny) and it seems so cumbersome and annoying to me, why would someone pick this thing over a regular booster or a 5 pnt harness? To get the kid in and out i have to unbuckle the seatbelt open the shield then help them out its worse than alex's first seat with the puzzle buckle! I cant imagine wanting one of these (but i remember riding in one when i was around 4 and hating it!)
 
ADS

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I dunno -- I hated ours, too ... I think lots of people are uninformed & think that great big bar across the middle makes them safer :eek: :rolleyes: :(
 

scatterbunny

New member
People buy them mostly because they have older vehicles with only lapbelts, and for a long time these were the ONLY option for those kids who outgrew their harnessed seats but couldn't use a regular booster because there were no shoulderbelts.

And yes, also because uninformed parents see a big bar across the front of a seat and think it means the seat is very safe.

For some parents these are easier to use than dealing with a harnessed seat--you just plop the kid in the seat and flop the bar down over them.
 

Dreaming_of_Speed

Senior Community Member
I guess thats why i had one, my parents had a 87 dodge shadow with 3 lap belts in the back, we owned that thing for the day i came home for the hopistal to my 14th birthday! I cringe at how unsafe it was now!

Mine is a PITA to use you have to close the bar and rebuckle the belt every time you use it (unless i'm using it wrong). I, of course, have no intention of using it with my girls ever.its going to join the countless other seats at my MIL's house.

I cant believe ppl didnt see the submarine risk in these things, alex thought it was fun to try to slid under the bar and she could do it all but her head! I know they had some with a bar between the legs too but it still just seems to apparent to me that its dangerous.
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
That's true about them being easier for some people -- wasn't so much the case for me, though, Leila was so cranky with that bar going in front & up & over her face.... Hadn't thought about the lap belt issue; those old shield boosters were also made for lap belts. I find it rather ironic when I see a family in a very expensive brand new luxery vehicle & an OHS in the back *SIGH*
 

Lea_Ontario

Well-known member
I can see how they might be more usable for a parent who doesn't have the muscle tone or dexterity in thier fingers or hands than a 5-point harness system.

Outside of that though - total PITA. I've only used one once, buckling a friends' daughter into hers. I didn't have to undo the seatbelt at all though - just the buckle on the carseat itself.
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Oh, the seatbelt thing -- I couldn't get any OHS installed RF securely in my old car ... because of the seatbelt, it was either impossible to lift the shield because of the ALR (maybe could've used the locking clip, but I didn't really know much then) or the thing just wobbled all over the place.
 

scatterbunny

New member
Wait, we're talking about shield boosters, right? Not overhead shield carseats? Of course they're both not the safest options, but shield boosters are the worst of the worst. :( I can see recommending/using an overhead shield carseat for someone with limited abilities to work with a five point harness, but there is just no situation where it would be okay to use a shield booster, knowing what we know now about them.
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Doh! Actually, I thought were talking about both -- the last word "boosters" wasn't visible, ran off my screen -- I scrolled over & up through & see now it's about shiled boosters, not OHS :eek: Sorry! Well, things make more sense to me now :p
 

Lea_Ontario

Well-known member
Sprry - I misread too. Well, misinterpretted more, as I've never seen or heard of a shield BOOSTER before.

Anyone have pictures ?
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
When I was in college, I watched a little girl a few days a week and picked her up from preschool. At the time, the shield booster was the only option for me in my car (It's been at least 6 years now) since I only had lap belts in the back seat of my car. Her mother didn't use a seat with her, but I wasn't going to have her in my car without a seat. She was 3 1/2 and probably 35-37 pounds at the time. At the time, they were considered safe to use and it was really the only option. Now, I would never use one. In fact when I had DS and started researching almost 3 years ago for a seat, I found these are no longer an option and the shield went into the trash. We then handed the no back booster part to a sister in law for her older child. I think the thought of using one with a lap belt is that a lap belt will severely injure the child, whereas the shield will spread the force over the entire abdomen? Anyway, I haven't seen any on shelves in a long time, so maybe we won't have to worry about uninformed people using them for much longer. Now, we just have to wait for all seating positions in all cars to have 3 point belts so no one has the excuse to find a shield booster and use one.
 

Simplysomething

New member
New here

Well, not exactly, I've been reading for a long while and have posted a few times--and have tried to register, but have had trouble with the picture.

Anyway, regarding shield boosters--- I was reading the manual for my mothers car-- ('03 sable)... and there is an an item that deals with shield boosters. I can't remember the exact quote but it was something along the lines of remove & discard the shield.

That said, I haven't seen any NEW shield boosters in at least 2 years. I was given one when my oldest was about 1 (he's all of 5.5 now)--and at that time he was still in his regular carseat. Somepoint between the time I was given the seat AND the time he grew big enough for the booster--I learned that they were unsafe and by that time I'd already gotten rid of the seat.

One of my siblings has a daughter the same age as my son--and when she was about 2.5 she was one of those who'd figured out the buckles of her carseat. My siblings solution was to stick her in a shield booster. By that time I'd already learned how bad they were--and they only used it for 1 day, I think. (because I said "SHE COULD DIE".)
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Welcome

That's a good point: kids who unbuckle their carseat harnesses....

However, now there seem to be more differences in crotch buckles to choose from -- some with push down (Cosco & Safety 1st as well as some Gracos as far as I know, also maybe the Britax Decathalon?) while some push in (Graco, Britax, Evenflo, Recaro, so far as I'm aware) ... the push IN types are often more difficult for kids to manage as the the push DOWN types often have enough opposite pressure from the harness that a minimal amount of small motor skills can enable a child to release the buckle.

My daughter could release her Safety 1st push in buckle before her 2nd birthday & was too young at the time for behavior modification to be very successfull; since she also outgrew the harness by height at that time we got the Britax Wizard & Husky, neither of which she can undo by herself even now at 4 years old although she can almost buckle herself inside the seat without help ;)
 

Dreaming_of_Speed

Senior Community Member
i've seen new ones being sold on the net. I think they quit making them in 2003 but i'm not sure.

My friend called me yesterday to say another consignment shop has one for sale but she didnt look at the DOM. Its another store that refuses to do more than what is required of them by law so i may be buying a second shield seat if its not expired. I found out alot of the the stores just call the cosigners to come pick thier bad seats they dont destroy them like they should so i may be buying more used seats. I hate to feed the market but i bet half the returned seats go to yard sales. I'm planning on bring up the issue at the local town meeting in my town and my friend will do the other town for me. We're going to try to put a city wide ban on the sale of used car seats! :) (can you tell i'm bored being home all day? I have too much time on my hands!)
 

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