Denise's question got me thinking. Are high back booster seats *better* than no back boosters?
My oldest daughter is in a high back booster in my car and a no back in my husband's car. His car has headrests that are not adjustable/removable so the high back doesn't work with that particular model. Most of the people I know in real life (as opposed to those on the interwebs) seem to feel that a high back is better.
S.N: The high back doesn't sit flush against the back of the seat because the headrest bumps out. Normally you can just pull out the headrest and either do away with it or reverse it so that it is flat but these you cannot remove. Her head is below the back of the seat so, according to my research, she is just as safe in the no back booster as she is when she is in my car.
I don't know about all kids, but with my son the high back is better because the seatbelt goes through the loop on the side. If he were in a no back booster, the seatbelt would rub against his neck.
Again, your child, your vehicle, YOUR situation needs to be evaluated by a certified inspector! www.seatcheck.org
This is not a matter of opinions/hunches/etc by other moms, 80% of whom are doing it WRONG anyway!
matters on size of child, weight of child and seats in the car...
I know it is a little late in the game, but a high back booster has the side impact protection and also what I liked about Britax....they have the high back booster that latches into the car seat. MUCH safer.
Personally, I think so. The backs are just extra protection especially for the head. My 9 year old is still in a high back booster.
It depends on the child and the vehicle - the main function of a booster is to position the seat belt properly so that the shoulder portion of the belt crosses mid-shoulder and the lap portion of the belt sits low against the hips/upper thighs (see photos here: http://carseatblog.com/3966/the-5-step-test/)
For younger booster riders, a high back is often preferable because it can position the shoulder belt better than a backless and the back (esp. if it has torso and head wings) helps remind the occupant to sit properly and also provides support for snoozing in the car (one of my 9YO's still prefers her high back booster for long trips because she likes how it keeps her from flopping around if she falls asleep in the car)
here's a helpful article by a certified Child Passenger Safety Tech regarding the statistics of high back versus backless.
http://carseatblog.com/8243/to-backless-or-not-to-backles...
excerpt:
"While there is no harm in suggesting a high back booster for a number of reasons, there could be harm in suggesting that a backless booster is not a safe choice. That is because for some parents and kids, the choice is not between a backless or a high back booster, it is between a backless booster or no booster at all. To summarize, based on the latest information we have, technicians and advocates should not be discouraging parents from the use of backless boosters, when used properly in accordance with the owners manuals. The main exception is when a high back booster is required to provide the necessary head support, for vehicles with low seat backs or inadequate head restraint."
http://carseatblog.com/8806/the-move-to-backless/
I think it depends on the car, height, weight of child, etc. My son has a highback booter in my husbands car because it has a loop for the seatbelt to go through. The backless booster doesn't have that and I've noticed without it the seatbelt doesn't hit him right. It hits him more by the neck, so in my opinion the high back was better. My car has a built in 5 point harness, so completely diffferent :)
High back 5 point harness booster is by far the safest... but they're spendy. They go up to 65-80 lbs depending on the model.... but do people really 5 harness their 3 or 4th grader? Not sure.
I'm confused as to how your daughter's high back doesn't fit in a car b/c of the headrest? I've never had an issue with this. What type of car does he have?
