# High back booster versus no back booster for 8-year-old



## greenemami (Nov 1, 2007)

It's been a while since I've researched car seats! My kiddos are 5 and 8, currently in a 5-point harness and high back booster respectively. 

My daughter just turned 8. In my state, legally she could get rid of the booster altogether, and it turns out that many (most?!) of her friends have. She is absolutely going to stay in a booster, end of story, period. However, I am curious if there is a great benefit to staying in the HBB versus the no back booster at this point. All of the research I've read only specifies up to 8-years-old-there isn't much about older than that. Specifically, I believe that the headwings provide more protection in a crash than a seatbelt alone, yes?

Dd is feeling sensitive about being the only one of her friends to be in a booster seat, and has asked if I'll at least let her take the back off as a compromise. So far I've told her that it's a no-go, because I'm not going to sacrifice safety just to fit in. I'm perfectly willing to stick with that stance, but also wanted to double check that I'm not just being a hard ass for no reason  

FWIW, she is tall and thin for her age, but still within the limits of the HBB (and likely will be for a while). I believe she would also meet criteria for the no back booster (i.e. there is a headrest in her seat that would fit correctly-I'll have to check the seat belt fit for sure). 

I appreciate any feedback!


----------



## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

Lol. Following with kids the same afe and DS turning 8 this month. Some related questions. Car was rear ended last month and replaced car seats with fancy new Britax for both kids. Booster for one and harness for another. I currently use a graco nautilus to transport friends but wondering if I might get a backless booster for friend use. An 8 year old regardless of size in my state can rude without booster. (Yuck). Why is it the smallest kids always lose them first? 

Is there a preferred booster? Some st Target today has latch. 

Also, our Prius has two radians and a Britax rhat Ds still uses with a harness (amazingly still can although hbe is huge) because they the three car seats are configured so tightly he can't reach the button for a booster woukd a backless booster be a better solution here?


----------



## greenemami (Nov 1, 2007)

Well, I ended up keeping the back on. She isn't thrilled, but oh well. I couldn't find a definitive answer, but the overall sentiment seems to be that there is no reason to take it off and it is probably safer with it on, so on it stays. She still has a bit until she'll outgrow it by height (in ours, the bottom of the headrest has to be level with or above her shoulders). 

I'm curious how others handle driving other kids who no longer ride in boosters. I've run into the issue of driving someone else's kid and being told they don't need a seat when I'd prefer that they did. Though, related question:

My center seat does *not* have a head rest. Therefore, most of the kids riding there would likely actually be too tall for that seat (which is the only open seat) in my car since their ears would be over the back of the seat when in a booster, but fit fine in the regular seat. So is it actually okay/better to have them sit in the regular seat, assuming they are 8+?! 

I cannot fit ds's and dd's seats next to each other, so moving the seats around to fit another booster is not an option.


----------



## alpenglow (Oct 29, 2007)

I'd say that head protection from whiplash/cervical spine fracture is priority. So in your case, in the middle seat I would skip the backless booster (or use a high back). If the lap belt rides up onto the abdomen, then a compromise might be sitting on a wedge cushion to help the lap belt stay below the hip bones.


----------



## Triniity (Jul 15, 2007)

The problem is (to my knowledge anyway) that a backless booster seat can easily slip under the kid in case of an accident. 

without the seat the belt is not at an ideal position, this can cause a mesenterical trauma (meaning bleeding inside the belly due to the blunt force caused by flying forward and being held by the belt at the non-ideal position) - seen this and done surgery on this already (both kids in a car on a backless booster seat, seats slipped in an accident, both kids had a mesenterical injury, I understood that this is a quite common injury in kids in traffic accidents, but mind you, this is anecdotal  )


----------



## crazyms (Jan 8, 2010)

My kids are 4, 8, and 10 and all three are still in car seats. Little one is still in a harnessed seat and the two older kids are both in high back boosters. My husband does have a Jeep though and when in the Jeep the oldest two both go booster less. The back row of the Cherokee doesn't have any headrests and the whiplash is a concern so backless boosters are out. I believe some high back boosters are safe in the seat without a headrest but theirs weren't. We could replace the boosters but the minivan is our family vehicle and we rarely ride in the Jeep. We bought their new seats only about a year and a half ago before getting the Jeep so I haven't felt the urge to spend money on more seats when they're both over 8 and we rarely ever ride in the Jeep. 

When I looked into I couldn't find any reason that you shouldn't allow backless booster as long as the fit is good in a low back and there is a headrest. I personally like the "shell" around the body in the high back though so I compromised with my kiddos and let them pick out new "big kid" high backs


----------



## TheBugsMomma (Mar 24, 2015)

High back boosters are safer. If there is no headrest they need to be in a high back booster. The high back also has side impact protection and seat belt guides. If the seatbelt is rubbing in her neck, then she still needs the high back to position it correctly. A lot of it depends on your car too. 

They can graduate out of a booster all together when they pass this test: 
I found this: 

In order to fit the belt correctly, the following must *all* be true. (Commonly called the 5-step test)

1. Shoulder belt firmly in the middle of the shoulder

2. Lapbelt low on the thighs

3. Bum all the way back in the vehicle seat bight

4. Knees bend beyond the edge of the vehicle seat and feet rest on the floor

5. Child can maintain this position 100% of the time without moving

If she still needs a backless booster and is embarrassed they make one called the incognito that blends in with the car seat. It's in the lower price too I think. 

I've learned a lot about car seats from car seats for the littles, I even joined their Facebook group so if I ever have a question I can ask them, and I have quite a few times 

Oh and if she never passes the 5 steps she no longer needs one when puberty starts, because then her skeleton will be as strong as an adults. I think I would have been one of those kids. Lol


----------

