backless vs. high backed boosters

[robugmum]

Can anyone tell me whether my son (4.4 years, barely 40 lbs) is safe in a backless booster? We still have him in a five point harness in our van but my mil just bought a Graco backless booster with some kind of strap adjuster. I was planning to keep him in the harness for as long as possible but she is tired of having us transfer the car seat, I guess. I had told her that if she wanted him in a booster in her car it would be ok to buy one but I assumed she'd get a high back. Should I be worried?

[Trishy]

Backless boosters are perfectly acceptable as long as the seat back or headrest is higher than the child's head.

[TiredX2]

If it is going to be for longer trips, though, most kids like the wings for sleeping

[pinky]

I just wanted to mention that there are two booster seats that have weight ranges down to 30 lbs.--my dd is also petite, and it's hard to imagine her EVER weighing 40 lbs!! I know the Britax Star Riser Comfy is one, and Graco makes one two...TurboBooster, I think.

[robugmum]

Thanks everybody!

[Marsupialmom]

I think you can buy a back for that Graco Backless Booster. I would search/email their site. The type of booster seat she has is a bottom of the backed seat.

It still puts the waist strap over his leg. The other strap pulls the top part of the seat belt over his shoulder correctly.

Even though you might perfer a backed booster seat be thankful she apparently read the box. LOL Just make sure your son fits recommend specification for the booster seat.

[Larklinnet]

I have both a back-less and, hmmm...backful Graco booster for my ds, who is 4.5 and about 41 or 42 pounds. The one with the back is for my car, where he spends most of his riding time, and the backless one is in my dh's. While Consumer Reports said the backless one is just as safe as the other (with the caveat mentioned by another poster about the headrest), I've found that ds slumps over in that seat when he falls asleep, and to me it looks very uncomfortable because there is virtually no support for his upper body. He insists he likes the seat just fine, but I'm going to look for the backrest part to add to it. If your mil is mainly using it for short trips, though, it probably is just fine, and again, apparently from the safety perspective, there's no problem.

[LunaMom]

I have both kinds, too. I only have one child but I often have friends of my daughter's in the car for playdates or car pool or whatever. I moved DD into the backless one after reading that they are just as safe - in fact one thing I read said they might even be safer because the ones with a back might add momentum and throw the child further forward in a crash - don't know if that's really true, but anyhow...

My daughter never sleeps in the car, but if she did, she'd probably fall right out of the thing sideways, so if you have a snoozer, I'd say get the one with the back. Otherwise, the bottom-only is great. It's easy for kids to buckle themselves up, they don't feel overly restricted, and it's lightweight and a snap to stick in someone else's car.