Choosing A Booster Seat: The Dilemma

Note:  Although I mention a number of specific brands and models in this post, this is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. 

Is it just me or is deciding on a booster seat really difficult? Bee had his 3-year check-up last week and it is time to move him out of his current car seat. The kid is literally off the charts in height, so he's maxed out in the Britax Roundabout we've had him in for the past couple of years. The time had come to move him up to the seat Zip has been using (Graco Nautilus 3-in-1, which I love), since it has a 5-point harness, and get a booster seat for Zip.

This will be the fourth generation of car seats we've bought. Isn't that crazy?! We've been through infant seats, convertible seats, 3-in-1s, and boosters. With a safety seat for each car, that will be eight seats total. Good lord, there is some serious money to be made in car seat manufacturing!

I've always been super neurotic about the boys' safety in the car. I have that I-must-do-everything-I-can-to-protect-them-or-I'd-never-forgive-myself mentality. I've always carefully reviewed safety ratings to make sure we bought seats the performed well in crash tests and met the recommendations for the kids' age and size, and I've been really happy with the seats we've chosen so far.

This time, however, I really struggled with which seat to buy. Here was our booster dilemma: Should we buy a plain ol' backless booster like most 6-year-olds are using or would Zip be safer in a highback model? And when (if ever) do social norms trump safety? With young children the safety guidelines are clear and in many cases the law provides additional guidance (e.g., in Pennsylvania a 5-point-harness is required until age 4). With the transition from car seat to booster, the recommendations seem to get a bit muddier.

I did some research on-line and couldn't find much information. One friend said she was told backless is actually safer, as long as the child's head is lower than the headrest. But our pediatrician told us "the more protection the better, as long as possible." Safety evaluations by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety are based on whether the booster places the seat belt properly and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration just evaluates how easy the booster is to use. So it seems boosters are not crash tested nationally (at least not as far as I can tell) and there is no objective evaluation of manufacturers' claims that their booster seats offer greater protection. Still, my hunch is that a highback booster with side-impact protection would be safest and, because of that, it would give me the most peace of mind.

I'd kind of like to keep Zip in a car seat with side-impact protection until he is 18, but I have a feeling he won't go for that and I would be setting him up for some serious teasing if I insisted. (Plus, okay, I know they don't make car seats for teenagers.)  I know that eventually I'm going to have to let go and rely only on the seat belt to keep him safe, just as it does me. Technically I could do that now. But I just don't think this momma is ready for that yet.

A few months ago Zip convinced us to get rid of the 5-point-harness and start letting him use the seat belt with his 3-in-1. We gave in, even though the harness is safer. He's asked once or twice for a booster, but we've managed to hold him off by explaining how much safer he is in his car seat. For the most part he doesn't complain and fortunately he's only in kindergarten so no one is teasing him about it. But I suspect the clock is ticking on that. When we went booster shopping, he was very clear about his preference: he wanted a backless "just like A" (his best friend).

I like Graco's selection of boosters and narrowed our choices down to 3 versions of the TurboBooster(R) that have ratings of "Best Bet" from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: the Backless, the Highback, and the Highback with Safety Surround.  In the end, we opted for the Highback TurboBooster. It offers some side impact protection for the head, but isn't as bulky and conspicuous looking as the Safety Surround. It is also narrower, which will allow a third person to squeeze into the backseat (slightly) more easily, and it was only $50 rather than $80 for the Safety Surround (not that I want to put a price on my child's safety).

The deciding factor: When I was standing in front of the boosters at Target, I just knew I would have more peace of mind with a highback, but Zip really wanted a backless booster. We compromised by agreeing on a highback that we'll convert to backless when kindergarten ends...I think.

What do you think? When will you move your child to a backless booster and how will you decide the time is right?