Well, Jeez.
I believe I asked at what point it was safe to put a child in a low backed booster. I mentioned the other circumstances because I think that they are factors -- deal breakers, no -- worth consideration, yes. I am in the habit of taking my kids' feelings seriously, even if I ultimately opt to exercise my parental veto in a safety circumstance.
Clearly a high back booster is preferable, however she is rarely in the car for more than two minutes at a stretch, given her schedule. Most of her friends stopped riding in *any* kind of restraint 5 years ago (yes, at 3): she long ago understood that in *our* family we do the best we can for safety regardless of others' choices.
However, I was under the impression that at some point, when a child is mature enough and compliant enough and physically large enough -- a low backed booster would offer safety in terms of positioning the seatbelt. I simply want to know when that point is reached.
Now, I did not take into consideration side impact airbags, etc. That is why I ask here -- because others frequently have something to add, constructively. Unfortunately my van, which is a 2001 Chevy Venture, does have some airbag on one side but is not well known for its safety ratings. We cannot afford to replace it right now. Given that factor, then clearly the high backed booster which has the SIP is a necessity.
What does she not like about it? Apparently she is quite frustrated by the van's seatbelts, which lock constantly and require me to climb into the back, undo the belt from the seat guide, retract it completely, and then re-assemble. Every time she gets in. It's annoying and frustrating for both of us. I don't know why these belts do this, but they do. I guess she figures it would be easier for her to do alone in a LBB (it would); she cannot do it on her own as it is now. Obviously it has to be done because it's a very exasperating quirk of the van itself; but it's embarrassing to her in front of her friends that her mom is climbing in the back of the van to do her seatbelt! I can certainly understand that. She's a third grader, for heaven's sake. She's not out for a popularity contest, and she knows what's safe, but this must be excruciating from her perspective.((I can't really move her to the middle bench b/c I have two harnessed kids there and it's too hard to climb into the way back to harness them each time we go somewhere).