To be this dense about child car seat

[TellerTuesday4EVA]

This is probably a stupid question but do I fasten the seat belt on a high backed booster when the child isn't in it?

DD has just reached 18kg so I've converted her car seat to group 2 to use with seat belt & removed the harness.

I've followed all the instructions & watched a YouTube video but none of them actually mentioned when the child isn't in the seat.

Do I wait until she gets out then fasten then seat belt again?? Seems strange but presumably if I didn't then it would move about??

You can do.

Your choice OP

I always do. In a collision, you don't really want a car seat flying loose in the car.

If it isn't isofix then it could fly around in a car accident.

I probably would, if only to anchor the seat and stop it becoming damaged.

I don't because ours has isofix but without that up to you but you should so it doesn't fly if you crash.

I'd never thought about it but I suppose I should, I don't fancy it lamping me in the head if I crash.

If it’s not isofix then yes. Car seats can be a projectile and need replacing if they go flying

Yes, you should belt it in.

Two months ago I crashed the car with Ds1 (7) in his seat in the back. We spun while driving slowly on black ice and ended upside down in the ditch at the side of the road. Ds2's seat, which was empty and unbuckled, moved across the car as we tumbled and hit ds1's seat in the side. He was very luckily uninjured as a result of the collision but only because of the side-impact protection on his own car seat.

If he had been an adult or older child with no car seat he would have certainly been injured.

Please buckle it in if there's no isofix.

Oh no @RatOnnaStick sorry to hear that hope you're all getting over it now. Just shows how easily it can happen.

Thanks all, I was just really confused.

It isn't isofix, not sure why it was expensive enough. It's the recaro young sport hero, DH picked it & read all the reviews & I didn't really think it mattered about it not being isofix as it was secured with the seatbelt whilst it had the harness in. I'll likely be regretting that now if I have to keep strapping it in but I didn't think past the stage we were at the time!!

We are fine thank you. No lasting damage done except to the car and we had to get new seats of course.

Our old ones weren't isofix as our car was too old so while I drove dh's car with new seats I got the boys to buckle the seats up after themselves. They learned very quickly to remember and it saved me from having to do it every time.

New car is isofix so we just use that now.

How old is she?

Yes, do buckle it in. DH had an accident 5 years ago where his car was flipped over and the most serious injury he got was a cut to the head caused by something loose on the back seat. You certainly don't want that loose in an accident!

She'll be 5 in July @HighwayDragon1