Thu 2 Oct 2008
Your kid is out of the car seat, so that means it is time to go to a full on seatbelt, right? Well, not really. Regular seat belts are meant for adults and only work properly if the person using it is 4’9” or taller.
You already know your child is too big for the car seat, but he is not big enough for an adult safety belt yet. What’s the solution?
A booster seat.
Okay, you’re all ready to buy a booster seat for your kid. Now all you have to do choose which one to get. You know they can’t all be good, so which one do you choose?
Choosing a Booster Seat
Fortunately the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has made an in depth study of booster seats. They have determined which booster seats are safe and which booster seats are not so safe.
They have based their study on two very important factors, where the lap belt falls and where the shoulder belt lays. Accurate placement of these two belts is really the booster seat’s whole purpose in life. Where a booster seat places these belts determines whether or not it is a safe booster seat.
Problems With The Safety Belts
The lap belt has the tendency rise up and lay in on the soft abdomen instead of resting on the hard pelvic bone. If the belt is too high the belt can cause serious internal injury. That is where the booster seat comes in, the better it keeps the lap belt on the bone the safer the booster seat is.
The shoulder belt has the tendency to either ride too close to the neck or two far over on the shoulder, both of which can cause serious damage in case of an accident. Booster seats have the goal of keeping that shoulder belt right in between those two areas.
Highbacks usually do a better job of this than back-less booster seats, because of the control that they have over the shoulder belt.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has created a list of booster seats that are your Best Bets, Good Bets and not recommended. Fill free to check this out and see where your child’s booster seat ranks.
The Best Bets you can feel pretty safe about, but it still comes down to seeing which booster seat fits your child the best. By fitting the booster seat with your child’s needs you can be assured that your child has the best protection available in case of an accident.
For more information you can go to the official Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website.
Not Recommended (click here for pictures)
Safety Angel Ride Ryte backless
Cosco/Dorel (Eddie Bauer) Summit
Graco CarGo Zephyr
Evenflo Big Kid Confidence
Cosco/Dorel Traveler
Compass B505
Compass B510
Evenflo Generations
Dorel/Safety 1st (eddie Bauer) Prospet
Cosco Highback Booster
Cosco/Dorel Alpha Omega
Evenflo Chase Comfort Touch
Safety 1st/Dorel Intera
Best Bets (click here for pictures)
Graco TurboBooster backless with clip
Fisher-Price Safe Voyage backless with clip
Combi Kobuk backless with clip
Fisher-Price Safe Voyage
Britax Parkway
LaRoche Bros. Teddy Bear
Safeguard Go Backless with clip
Volvo booster cushion
Recaro Young Style
Britax Monarch
Good Bets (click here for pictures)
Graco TurboBooster
Safety Angel Ride Ryte
Recaro Young Sport
Combi Kobuk
Safety 1st/Dorel Apex 65
For the latest reports Check out the 2009 Safest Booster Seats report
October 3rd, 2008 at 9:55 am
This study and the reporting of it is a complete disservice to families! Media should have asked more questions and given caregivers the “full story.” This study is very limited in scope. The study’s own authors state: “The current procedures do not evaluate the belt fit of booster seats for children of different sizes. Further work is needed to quantify belt fit in boosters for a wide range of body sizes.”
While the concept of encouraging proper belt fit is a good key message, the list of “not recommended” seats is inappropriate. Because of the differences in children’s sizes between the ages of 4 and 10 (the recommended age range for booster seats), those seats on the “not recommended” list will fit many kids just as well, if not better, than the seats on the “best bet” list. Since IIHS admits it didn’t look at varying sizes of children, it should withdraw its ratings and simply focus on the proper belt fit message.
Caregivers, the message to take from this study: Take your child with you when shopping for a booster seat. Try it in the cars your child rides in most. Check for proper belt fit. Disregard the “IIHS list” and choose the one that fits your vehicle and your child properly. Because vehicle seat belt designs vary widely, you may need more than one booster for multiple vehicles. That is an issue with vehicle design, not booster seat design.
October 5th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
“A Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor Says:”
You made the statement “those seats on the “not recommended” list will fit many kids just as well, if not better, than the seats on the “best bet” list.” I was wondering from which study you base this claim?
http://www.iihs.org is a reputable organization that has research using the average size child which booster seats are more likely to provide the best protection.
Along with this report is information on what to look for when choosing a booster seat.
October 11th, 2008 at 9:54 am
A Caregiver Says:
You made the statement “those seats on the “not recommended” list will fit many kids just as well, if not better, than the seats on the “best bet” list.” I was wondering from which study you base this claim?
http://www.iihs.org is a reputable organization that has research using the average size child which booster seats are more likely to provide the best protection.
————–
I know both agencies and the study authors and yes they are well respected. However, I do not believe it was responsible of them to release this study without further clarification of its limited scope. Furthermore, I think it was wrong to publish the list they did, when many of those seats will fit many children who are NOT the size of the ONE dummy they used.
I think the following press release from Safe Kids USA gives much better advice for caregivers:
http://www.usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=26331&folder_id=300
October 11th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
buy essay Says:
October 11th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
You made the statement “those seats on the “not recommended” list will fit many kids just as well, if not better, than the seats on the “best bet” list.” I was wondering from which study you base this claim?
——-
There is no one study for booster fit for children of multiple sizes. The closest thing would be the studies from http://www.chop.edu of real world crashes and the experience of Safe Kids USA, which, with its 300+ coalitions, has checked over a million car seats/booster seats. Additionally, I have over 20 years of experience helping families and have personally checked over 10,000 car seats/booster seats.
Finally, IIHS itself admits in the study conclusion that its study was limited to ONE size dummy. All children between the ages of 4-10 are not the same size.
Bottom line: The best booster seat is the one that fits your child, fits your vehicle, and is used correctly every time.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Thank you for your comments.
Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor, thank you for your input, because of your comments, NorCalCars.com has decided to edit this post to further clarify that the most important test on a booster seat is how your child fits in it.
December 14th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
I always fear that if any accident happen then it will be really difficult to unlock from these seats.
January 11th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I am surprised that this article does not mention that using the LATCH System with a booster seat is dangerous. This isn’t the topic of the article, but parents looking for information on safe booster seats for their children could obviously benefit from the knowledge that using LATCH and a seat belt at the same time is dangerous.
January 20th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Interesting! I’m a little surprised NOT to see Peg Perego in the list of good ones above…
One thing to keep in mind is the INSTALLATION of the car seat has a huge impact on its safety. A recent study indicated that an improperly installed car seat (not a booster seat, in this case) was more dangerous than simply using a lap or shoulder belt!
So…Make sure you install the seat correctly as well! You can find good videos on many sites, including Youtube…
Also, aside from safety (which is obvious) you need to select some criteria (including price) and then eliminate the car seats that dont match your criteria.
What other criteria? Well, how about quality, durability, test ratings, features, comfort, etc…
Note that some car seats last longer than others as well (which affects value of course). Peg Perego car seats are heavier and more expensive, but they can also accommodate larger/heavier children which means you can keep then in that seat for longer. they’re also made of better materials, and better designed than most, so they can be used/re-used for longer too!
Lots to consider: Just remember to come up with some criteria, do some research and it will be WAY easier to find the right seat for you and your child!
Best of luck.
February 22nd, 2011 at 2:05 am
Yeah i also always have fear, god knows that if any accident happen then it will be really really difficult for me to unlock from these seats. thats why. thanks for sharing with us.