Converting a Graco car seat into a backless booster isn’t so hard. But the fact that most people aren’t willing to do it because they think it’s so hard. But if you follow my step-by-step guidelines, then you can easily Convert a Car Seat to a Backless Booster without any hassle.
What Is a Backless Booster Seat?
Backless boosters lift a kid so that a safer lap belt may be placed around their hips. Yet, they provide almost no side force defense for the torso or the head and neck. But these types of seats are too much risky for the kids. Before using this seat you have to ensure your kid’s minimum height and age.
What Are The Minimum Requirements to Use A Backless Booster?
Due to the revised rules, kids must fulfill the following requirements in order to use a backless booster:
- be at least 125 centimeters tall.
- weigh a minimum of 22 kg.
- 7 years of age or older
Are Backless Boosters Illegal?
Backless boosters are now prohibited in the UK as of March 1, 2017. These seats are now only available for kids who are at least 22 kg heavier and 125 cm taller. In the UK, using a backless booster for a kid under 22 kg and 125 cm is now prohibited.
It indicates that new types of backless booster seats will only be appropriate for kids taller than 125cm or weighing more than 22kg. This does not imply that backless boosters are outlawed. According to the Department of Transportation website, current designs of backless boosters and booster seats are unaffected by the new regulations.
A new rule in South Africa made it against the law for a kid under the age of three to travel without being buckled into an appropriate car seat as of May 1, 2015.
Infants are defined as anyone under the age of three in Regulation 213. (1C). Reg. 213. (6A) A minibus, or bus running for hire shall not be subject to this section. The operator of a motor vehicle driven on a public road ought to make sure that an infant riding in such a motorized vehicle is seated on an adequate child restraint.
Therefore, even though using a backless booster for a kid is not against the law in South Africa, it is not the most secure choice.
When to Switch to a Backless Booster Seat?
The two most crucial child safety decisions you have to make for your child are car seats and booster seats. Knowing when to move from one seat to another is as crucial to choosing a safe seat.
You might be unsure about when to move to a backless booster if your kid is already using an adjustable car seat or a strapped high-back booster seat.
At around four or five years old, the majority of kids switch from their flexible car seat to a high-back booster seat.
Around six years old, children often transition from a high-back to a backless booster.
Your child may not be suitable for a backless booster seat just based on age.
How to Convert a Graco 4ever Car Seat to a Backless Booster Seat
You can find how to convert the Graco three-in-one everlasting car seat into a backless booster in this article. Now you’ve turned it around as in as above video, look for the metal where the seat belts are fastened together since you’re going to disconnect it. The bottom of the seat needs to be completely unbuttoned. These are the two red levers that we will locate.
You must draw them upward in this stage, okay? Once they are both together, you’re going to press them inwards toward one another, which may need some strength. By doing this, we’ll be able to fully remove the seat.
You’ll notice a lot of mess in your kid’s car seat once you’ve eliminated this component. After that, pull the red levers away once again, and then put them back in their original positions.
You might opt to keep the harness thereby placing it in the tiny storage space found behind the red ones. You need to button everything back up as if this had never occurred, and you now have a booster without a back.
However, I’m looking for a place to belt these together because I don’t believe we have one. You could need to figure out how to fasten this or how this works right now. These straps that you see will be important for pulling them into the small holes that you will discover in this method.
Okay, let’s locate them right here. There are an additional two on the sides, and the seat cover remains in place. Let’s investigate their whereabouts now. They are completely around the corner. To hold the seat cover in place, I think this little one will emerge and place them in the extreme corners.
So that it doesn’t move about, I suppose we could just tuck this bit between the seat, and it will remain in place. Now your Graco car seat is converted into a backless booster.
When is My Child Ready to Move from a Harnessed Booster to a Backless Booster?
Even though a child who has started school may not want to stay in a “car seat,” they are still probably too little and immature to wear and unlock a seatbelt by themselves. At this point, we could begin to consider when to convert to a booster seat without a back.
Keeping your kid in a strapped booster seat as long as you can is the best choice for security, but when is a child big enough and cognitively enough to switch?
When Your Child Is Ready for a Backless Booster?
The age of your child is at least five or six.
They are able to maintain their posture when seated without slouching, moving about, or slumping forward or to the side.
Your child weighs at least 40 pounds.
Your kid is between 38 and 43 inches tall.
When using a booster, the seat belt strap rests over the shoulder and collarbone rather than the neck.
Are Backless Booster Seats Safe?
Are You eager to know how safe the backless booster seat is? You must still place your kid in a booster seat for their protection even though they may have outgrown their car seat. The seat belt in your vehicle should be placed over your child’s chest, shoulders, and hips when using a booster seat. Without it, your youngster might be hurt in a collision instead of being protected by an adult seatbelt.
However, if you already have older children, you might be wondering if backless booster seats are secure enough for them to utilize. The ones without backs are undoubtedly less work to use and carry, especially if you plan to switch cars when taking your kid to and from school and other events. Backless booster seats, though, have given rise to certain safety worries.
Backless boosters do assist maintain the lap belt in place on your kid’s hips, but if the top belt hooks in your car are not lined up with your kid’s shoulder, there might be a risk to their safety. Since high-back boosters have upper-back supports that hold the shoulder belt in place, this is not a concern.
This may be a problem, especially for children who can’t sit still in the car, because even a clip that’s designed to maintain the shoulder belt in place won’t work if the youngster begins moving around.
The absence of side bolsters, which are present in high-back boosters and can assist absorb the blow to the kid’s head in a side-impact collision, is an additional safety issue with backless boosters that may have you wondering “Are backless booster seats safe?”
The majority of backless boosters come with guidelines saying they cannot be used in cars if the kid’s ears or midline elevate over the head strap or back of the seat. Utilizing backless boosters is OK if your car has headrests that are high enough to safeguard your child’s head.
According to a parent site, backless boosters should only be used for children older than 12 years old, based on how well they fit in the security belts of the cars they would be traveling in. Follow the minimal requirement for children who will utilize backless boosters to be on the safe side. Compared to versions with high backs, these models frequently feature greater weight minimums.
Your child is still a lot safer with backless boosters than if you don’t put one in at all. Parents may favor backless booster chairs for a variety of reasons. Typically, they are less expensive than high-back boosters. They are also simpler to shift from one car to another and travel.
You may carry your child much more securely and feel more at rest while driving if he or she can sit comfortably in the car seat with the security straps in the correct places while utilizing his or her booster seat.
Conclusion:
In summary, statistics and crash test results demonstrate beyond a doubt that children under 1.5m (150cm) are most effectively safeguarded by a booster seat, even if it is not legally required for children above 3 years to ever use any form of the booster seat.
Although it is permitted for kids above 125 cm and 22 kg to use a booster cushion, data indisputably demonstrates that highback boosters are safer for kids than backless boosters.
FAQ on How to Convert a Car Seat to a Backless Booster?
Q-1: Does a Graco backless booster seat need to be anchored?
A: A high-backed or backless booster seat may include tethers that may be used to secure it to the LATCH anchors in your car. Although holding your booster seat in one location could be easy, it is not required for utilizing the booster seat. The booster can be placed in the seat where your kid will sit if you are not using LATCH.
Q-2: Do you LATCH a backless booster?
A: Some backless boosters simply sit on the car seat while others can be fastened to it using the LATCH technology. Your kid’s ears should be in line with the top of the seat back of the car if you intend to utilize a backless booster seat to safeguard their head and neck.
Q-3: Is a high back booster safer than backless?
A: Any booster seat will increase the security of your kid and perhaps also his comfort. However, it’s likely that a high-back booster seat will outperform a backless booster on both counts.
Q-4: What is the strap on a backless booster seat?
A: Have you ever wondered what that odd-looking plastic component and strap are that come with your booster? When employing a backless booster, a device known as a shoulder belt adjustment clip is employed to maintain the shoulder belt in the proper position.
Q-5: How long do Graco backless boosters last?
A: For seatbelt-positioning boosters, steel-reinforced belt route car seats, and plastic-reinforced belt path car seats, Graco defines “useful life” as 10 years and 7 years, respectively.