Question Is a 3 y/o safe in a high back booster?

Ducky5306

New member
3 years old, verry tall and under 40 pounds (37lbs) Would this child be safe in a high back booster? if the child was able to sit still and not mess with the belt? (I thought boosters were for 40+ lbs? )

(*This is NOT about my child* He is happily riding in his new MA and no plans to change that until he outgrows it)

Just wondering..
 
ADS

An Aurora

Senior Community Member
In a word, no. The general minimum for booster use that you will see mentioned here is four years AND 40 pounds.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
It's legal and it meets manufacturer's minimums. It's not best practice. I wouldn't recommend it. If the child can sit still and not mess with the belt, though, I'd be hard-pressed to consider it misuse.
 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member
If the child can sit still and not mess with the belt, though, I'd be hard-pressed to consider it misuse.

While a three year old in a booster seat might not be outright misuse, more than likely the belt does not properly fit the child, which is misuse. There was an interesting study that I just read ("Seat belt misuse among children transported in belt-positioning booster seats", by O'Neil, Daniels, Talty & Bull, published in the May 2009 Accident Analysis and Prevention):

Children younger than 4 years were
more likely to have a mis-positioned shoulder belt and a seat belt
that was too loose or positioned behind their back. These seat belt
misuses reflect the child’s size which impacts the seat belt fit. The
association of age and weight to seat belt fit in our study is consistent
with the findings of Morris et al. (2000) who found that
children weighing less than 40 lb were at least 2-times more likely
to have booster seat misuse that those greater than 40 lb Likewise
children younger than 4 yearswere at least 1.2-times more likely to
have booster seat misuse than those older than 4 years.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
If it is actual misuse -- poor fit or unready child -- then obviously it's misuse.

I have seen plenty of 37# kids who fit okay in boosters, though. I don't think it's a good idea and I'm not defending it, exactly -- I am just fairly conservative about what I label "unsafe" or "misuse". Those are pretty strong words to me and I tend to save them for the worst of the worst (as opposed to not-great).
 

Ducky5306

New member
If it is actual misuse -- poor fit or unready child -- then obviously it's misuse.

I have seen plenty of 37# kids who fit okay in boosters, though. I don't think it's a good idea and I'm not defending it, exactly -- I am just fairly conservative about what I label "unsafe" or "misuse". Those are pretty strong words to me and I tend to save them for the worst of the worst (as opposed to not-great).

i didn't say anything to the mom (a friend of mine) It just made me wonder how safe that was?

Off topic but does anyone watch that silly Tori (Spelling) & Dean show? they had their not yet one year old in a rear facing car seat and it looked to be that the shoulder buckle height was ABOVE her HEAD! :eek: I kept hoping maybe that wasn't her actual car seat (it was a carseat that buckled into a stroller)
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
A three year old has no business in a booster short of escaping flesh-eating zombies. ;)

That said, even five years ago the options for an almost-40 lb three year old were limited. Eight years ago even more so. Ten years ago you had a booster and basically nothing else. Now, there are plenty of options, and one of them (the Apex) occasionally goes on sale for less than $100. No reason for a three year old to use a booster outside an emergency (short) trip.


:twocents:
 

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