The 13 Worst Booster Seats For Your Child: Study

You’ve done everything right.

You’ve got snacks in the car, the kids buckled safely in the back, and you’re ready to pull out of the drive way.

But before you go, US researchers warn, you may want to double check that booster seat.

The study found that there are 13 devices that do a poor job of positioning children to fit in their supposedly secure position. The seats are used by children between the ages of four and eight so that safety belts designed for adults are in the right position to restrain kids.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is based in Virginia, conducted crash tests of new vehicles. The study was done in conjunction with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

They allege that some seats aren’t doing their job.

These are the 13 worst:

• Compass B505
• Compass B510
• Cosco/Dorel Traveler
• Evenflo Big Kid Confidence (pictured)
• Safety Angel Ride Ryte
• Cosco/Dorel Alpha Omega
• Cosco/Dorel (Eddie Bauer) Summit
• Cosco Highback Booster
• Dorel/Safety 1st (Eddie Bauer) Prospect
• Evenflo Chase Comfort Touch
• Evenflo Generations
• Graco CarGo Zephyr
• Safety 1st/Dorel Intera.

The Costco Highback Booster and the Safety 1st/Dorel Intera have been discontinued.

According to IIHS President Adrian Lund, the boosters “may increase restraint use by making children more comfortable, but they don’t position belts for optimal protection.”

But one company has rejected the findings.

One company said that they conduct extensive tests of the seats. Evenflo called the IIHS study was “misleading as it fails to consider the real world use and performance of the seats tested.”

Evenflo also pointed out that they had sold more than four million units of the seats cited by the Institute and “we are not aware of a single incident in which a child was injured as a result of an improper fit.”

Dorel Juvenile Group said it “welcomes the opportunity to review the evaluation conducted by the IIHS.”

Graco Children’s Products said in a statement that “safety is always a top priority and nothing is more important than the well-being of the children who use our products.”

Here are the 10 best seats:

• Combi Kobuk
• Fisher-Price Safe Voyage (with plastic clip)
• Graco TurboBooster
• Britax Monarch
• Britax Parkway
• Fisher-Price Safe Voyage (highback)
• LaRoche Bros. Teddy Bear
• Recaro Young Style
• Volvo booster cushion
• Safeguard Go when it’s used as a backless booster.

Five Good Bets

• Combi Kobuk (highback)
• Graco TurboBooster (highback)
• Safety Angel Ride Ryte (highback)
• Recaro Young Sport (combination when used as a highback)
• Safety 1st/Dorel Apex 65 (combination when used as a highback)

Confused? Read more about booster seats here.