Ex Husband Car Seat Argument-Need Advice

[Unregistered]

My ex husband has visitation with our daughter approximately 2x per month for 24-48 hours. She is 5 years old, ~55 pounds, and I have her in a LATCH-anchored high back booster seat using the car's seat belt. Her dad insists that a cheap $10 booster seat (that floats on the seat with no back) is safe because he "threw away the old seat when she reached the weight for this booster." I know that a booster alone is not safe, and she has plenty of weight to go before she reaches the max weight on her high-back booster. I understand that you don't go to the next less-safe seat until they max out the weight, but he doesn't get that. He finally agreed to buy her a safer high-back booster for a road trip, but now it's gone again and she's back in the cheap unsafe seat. He clearly is fighting me due not wanting me to control him when she's in his care. My goal is for my daughter to be safe. I even offered to buy her a car seat and have it shipped to him because I'm well aware of how safe a high-back booster seat is compared. Her safety is my priority and I've personally known people whose children suffered only minor injuries in terrible accidents because of the protection of good car seats. Advice on how to get him to use the safe high-back car seat please! I don't think I have a legal leg to stand on because technically she does meet the minimum for the less safe seat.

 

[wendytthomas]

Hi there.

Hate to tell you this, but there's no statistical difference in a high back versus backless booster in a frontal crash. We have no side impact data to use to know there. But if she sits properly 100% of the time, and she doesn't sleep and slump, and the belt is routed properly, then please know she'll be very very safe in a backless booster (my own daughter uses the $10 backless booster in one of our vehicles, and I've used it for my older daughter before, for her friends who rode with us, and they're my go to booster to donate since they have a GREAT belt fit for most kids, are light enough for kids to carry, and are inexpensive).

All seats pass the same safety tests. Cost does NOT equal safety. And no, having aluminum, steel, magnesium, or another metal, or having a high back booster, or using a harness at her age, none of that has been shown to be better at her age and size provided she sits properly. If she sleeps and slumps, I'd suggest she'd be more comfortable using a high back booster (she will be). But if she's using the Harmony Youth Booster, as I suspect, and she sits well, she's VERY safe. If the belt fit isn't 100% ideal, it has a shoulder belt strap she can use to help adjust the shoulder belt to her body.

Wendy

 

[NessieNess]

LATCH with a booster is also mainly there to keep the booster in place when unoccupied so it doesn't become a projectile, it doesn't offer protection during a crash.

Rather than trying to get him to use a different seat (which he may still use incorrectly), can you make sure he's using the one he does have correctly, ie the belt is routed correctly and fits your daughter properly, she knows how to sit in it, he buckles her and all other vehicle occupants for every trip?