Any Boosters that Utiliza LATCH for greater stability?

[Elizasmom]

I’d like to buy a booster for my five-year-old, but I am not happy with the fact that the seat will be loose in the car when she’s not in it (unless I take the time to buckle an empty seat in). Are there any boosters that utilize LATCH to securely attach the booster to the seat? This would also help in situations when boosters tend to be unstable even when occupied (such as when the vehicle seat has a hump in the center). I keep holding out for Britax to add this feature to the Parkway or some other booster. Anyone know if such a design is in the works? I would certainly be willing to pay more for this.

[uccomama]

Right now are no boosters that are designed to be used with LATCH in the US. There are two boosters that can (should) be used with the tether the Recaro Start and the Recaro Young Sport. I have both boosters although I am using the Young Sport with the harness so it is installed. The Recaro Start's base is designed to be anti-submarine and it sits very securely on the car's seat with the tether giving it extra stability.

Having said that there is a booster in the works, the Indy Plus by Jané, a Spanish company, that is slated for the US market, which does have LATCH. You can read all about the booster here: http://www.jane.es/seguretat/index.php.

Deborah

[uccomama]

double post sorry

[Joolsplus2]

I agree, it's taking too long for this feature to become optional (even standard!) on boosters... but honestly, I don't have a problem with my Parkways...you leave the seatbelt looped through the shoulder guide, and I'm really not afraid of mine going anywhere. They don't slide around at all when the kids climb in and out of them. And the crashtest footage of their side impact testing is phenomenal...that head stays contained in the wings amazingly (I saw it at a tour of the Britax facility, I WISH they'd upload it for us to see online!).
The Bodyguard clamps the lapbelt in and really keeps the seat super secure, but I found my kids' heads were always bobbing forward (of course, the rest of their bodies were attached, lol...) and it took a LOT of reminders to get them to sit back with their heads in the wings (the Parkways aren't so restrictive so it's not so much of a problem).
Sooo? Recaro Start or Sport it is for now... or Husky if you want to go all out (my 8 and 6 yo's are still in theirs and love them...)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Elizasmom]

I always thought it could be thrown in an accident and hit someone else in the car if it wasn't buckled down. Is that not really a concern? My rf 9 month old will be seated right next to the booster.

We have both of them in Wizards now with those same head wings. It's great to hear that they work well. My older daughter's head came within a few inches of being smacked by the bumper of a pickup that hit us on the side at 40mph and totaled our Highlander. We had a Marathon then, and I think the small wings on it would not have been enough to save her had the intrusion been slightly greater. After that close call, we have stuck with the Wizard. In that accident, the contents of our car went flying everywhere. That's why I wonder about the booster hitting the baby. I think adding LATCH is a convenience/comfort issue and a safety issue for that reason. Not many parents would take the time or always remember to buckle an empty booster. Can we start a letter-writing campaign to Britax about this?!

[Joolsplus2]

Well, you ARE supposed to buckle in unused boosters... I just don't *worry* about doing it too much, since I get that false sense of security from the belt running through the belt guide and hanging on the side wings <blush>.
You know...the Recaro Start has no expiration date (no plastic to break down), so you could use it till your baby is too big for it (and it's high enough quality it would stand up to that many years of use...)...it has the top tether and well-tested side impact protective headwings and some other nice features and accessories (www.recarodealer.com keyword SHOW is a nice place for a bargain on that one...).
There IS data leaking in slowly that top tethered seats DO perform better in side impact crashes, so the change will come... unfortunately, there was data to show that rigid latched backless boosters (in the EARLY days of latch) increased abdominal injuries, so people shied away from designing/making them at all.

Hmm...I wonder if letter writing would help... I know that Britax and others have changed a lot based on customer input, though...probably the biggest impetus to change would be seats with LATCH and top tethers sell well.....then everyone will want to get in on the action :)


Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx