A 7 year old child should be in either a high back booster or a backless booster seat.
You should use a backless booster seat for children who are older than 5 or 6 years old or for children 7 to 8 years old.
Older children who need a booster seat typically prefer a backless booster over a high back booster as they are less babyish and they will typically be embarrassed riding in a back booster.
Once your child has reached a level of maturity where they sit and act appropriately at all times in their seat, then you may move them to a backless booster seat.
This typically happens around age five or six.
The weight requirement for a backless booster seat is at least 40 lbs.
Children under 40 lbs should be in a harness car seat or at least in a high back booster seat.
The difference between a 3 point harness and a 5 point harness is the 5 point harness has additional hip straps to help spread the force in the event of a collision.
A 5-point harness has five attachment points designed to restrain your child at the shoulders and hips, which are the most rigid parts of their body.
If there is a crash, the car seat harness transfers the forces of the crash to these rigid points of the body and into the seat.
The maximum weight for a 5 point harness is usually between 65 to 90 lbs depending on the model.
Some 5 point harness car seats may have a weight limit of 40 to 50 lbs.
A 5 point harness is much safer than a booster seat.
A child should stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible even if they are old enough to move to a booster seat.
In the event of a crash the child will be much safer in a 5 point harness car seat than they would be in a booster seat.
A 4 year old should use a 5 point harness for safety.
Although the 4 year old could in some cases move up to a booster seat it's best to keep the 4 year old in the 5 point harness to keep them safer.
A child can stop using a 5 point harness once they reach at least 5 years of age.
By 5 years of age the child can move up to a booster seat whether a backless booster or a high back booster seat.
A child should be in a harness car seat until they reach at least 5 years of age and then they can switch to a booster seat.
Kids can switch from using a harness car seat and use a booster seat instead once they reach the age of 5 years old and they typically stay in the booster seat until around 9 years of age.
Your 5 year old can sit in a backless booster seat as long as they are able to sit and act appropriately at all times.
Backless booster seats are safe.
A backless booster seat is safe and safer than no booster seat at all.
However a booster seat with a back is much safer for kids to ride in and will protect the child better in a crash.
The high-backed boosters are safer than backless ones because they do a better job of properly positioning the seat belt across the child's chest, hips and thighs.
A child can ride in a backless booster seat once they are at least 5 years of age and before then they should be in a toddler card seat with the harness.
Signs your child are ready to sit in a backless booster seat include.
Your child is at least 5 or 6 years old.
They can sit still without leaning forward or to the side, slouching, fooling around, etc.
Your child is at least 40 pounds.
Your child is at least 38-43″ tall.
Backless booster seats are often preferred by older children, since high back boosters and car seats with harnesses may seem “babyish.”
They're also lightweight, compact and inexpensive, making them a good choice for families with smaller vehicles, multiple children in car seats, or that need to move car seats between vehicles.
High-back and backless are 2 standard types of booster seats.
They do not come with a harness but are used with lap and shoulder seat belts in your vehicle, the same way an adult rides.
They are designed to raise a child up so that lap and shoulder seat belts fit properly over the strongest parts of the child's body.
While high-backs are the safest choice, backless boosters are still much safer than no booster at all, and we can see some legitimate reasons parents might choose a no-back model.
For one thing, backless boosters are generally less expensive, some costing as little as $14.00
Not having your child in a child car seat or booster seat when required is not only unsafe but also can get you a fine if pulled over.