Mifold crowd funding, thoughts about the seat?

[mikala]

I just saw this online and am curious what you all think, especially the techs. Thoughts? The small size is appealing but I wonder about the overall safety and ability to hold the seatbelt in the correct position.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/m...er-seat#/story

[georgiegirl]

My main question is how easy would it be for a 5+ year old to secure themselves safely in it? How would they get the shoulder strap in the right place? Looks complicated unless your child is 8+.

[azzeps]

Huh. Intriguing. I do wonder about the shoulder clip, but I guess if they've tested it, it's not a problem? Sure would be great to have something so small to send along with DD or DS in someone else's car, not to mention to pack when we travel and rent a car somewhere!

[AustenFan]

We are all still in boosters and carseats here, so maybe I'm not up on this, but I don't see how this is nearly as effective as a standard booster. In the photos, there are definitely kids whose legs are sticking out straight, calves hitting the edge of the seat. My kids would slide forward so they could bend their knees, thus maligning the lap belt. Yes, it positions the lap and shoulder straps correctly, but how does it not fail the other three steps of the booster test?

Does the child sit all the way back against the vehicle’s seat? and Do the child’s knees bend comfortably at the edge of the vehicle’s seat? (The kids pictured could do one or the other, but not both)
Can the child stay seated like this for the whole ride? (Mine wouldn't because they would not want to ride any long distance with their legs stuck out straight in front of them.)

But interested to hear what the techs say...

[wellyes]

Sounds like a questionable idea to me. Holding the seatbelt down instead of trusting the seat belt to work? My husband works in a company that makes seat belt sensors. They are fairly sophisticated in terms of applying the correct tension. I'll ask him.

As for kids legs sticking straight out, personally, there is no way I'd trust a 4 year old in a backless booster, but I know a whole lot of people do. That is who they appear to be marketing to.

[wellyes]

OK, he (my husband the auto engineer) says he's concerned mostly about the forced straightening of legs, vs the more natural way legs fall from a taller booster. Not unsafe, but not as good as a standard booster.

We've been looking to an alternative to our HBB since our daughter too often fails to sit properly. But looks like this isn't it

[mikala]

Hmm, it does seem like kids would be inclined to slouch so they can get their legs out far enough to bend them, thus sliding out of the seat or sliding it forward since it isn't tethered to anything. I find myself doing that as a short adult when I'm sitting in deep chairs.