Question Boosters and flip-up arm rests

OK maybe this is a 'duh' question but after playing around with the Generations 65 a little yesterday I started wondering - OK, there's a convenience to having flip-up arm rests, but will they keep the lap belt properly positioned if the arm rests flip up? With all the threads mentioning how the Turbos need the screws to keep the arms in place, can't help wondering that if an armless Turbo isn't going to keep the lap belt in place, is an arms-up Generations (or other booster with flip-up arm rests) a safety risk?
 
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ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Most boosters with flip-up arm rests either a) don't do a good job with belt positioning on any child anywhere anyway or b) do fit older, larger kids, but not younger kids. So the older, larger kids will fit the booster without anything to hold it down, just based on how it's routed.
 

Niea

New member
I don't have much experience with boosters, but DD rides in a Frontier (harnessed) and it has flip up armrests. In harnessed mode, the belt path includes the portion under the armrests, the same place the belt would go in booster mode. It has a little lip under the armrest to keep the belt from riding up too far, even when the armrest is up. Now, I've never used the Frontier in booster mode for DD so I have no idea how it would fit her now (4yo, 42lbs) but I can say that at least in this case, the flipping of the armrest doesn't seem to affect the position of the seatbelt. But maybe the dynamics are totally different in booster mode, I don't know.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Exactly-- in the case of the Frontier, the way it's routed has another way to hold it down.
 

Niea

New member
Exactly-- in the case of the Frontier, the way it's routed has another way to hold it down.


Cool! Since I don't have experience with boosters, I didn't know how the Frontier differed from other boosters with flip up armrests. So the million dollar question. . why don't other booster manufacturers rely on something other than the armrest to keep the belt down?? :confused:
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Well, they do. It just works better on some than on others, and on some the way it's routed still doesn't fit younger kids. (Or anyone.)
 

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