HBB or booster cushion for petite 10 year old?

[IntimidatedByFlorals]

DD10 is petite and is only just on the cusp of hitting 135cm. She usually sits in the middle seat in our car in a HBB with an older sibling on one side and younger sibling in another HBB on the other. Is there any data to show the difference in outcomes for a HBB vs a booster cushion for her in this scenario?

I know her HBB will provide more side impact protection but she doesn't slouch and doesn't fall asleep in the car, which can be disadvantages of booster cushions, and she's also in the safest position. She'd love to just use a booster cushion (and will be doing so for the foreseeable future) so how much difference does the HBB make at her age?

I don't think you'll find a direct comparison, but certainly the position of the lap belt is the important thing. If she's in the middle and comfortable enough on a backless booster, I'd be comfortable with that personally. The main reason to keep using a high back booster is side impact protection, which doesn't matter in the middle, and better support for overall positioning, which includes if they are too short to get a comfortable shoulder belt position without the high back. I remember my older son used to find it very fun to push the booster forward with his bum and kind of sit behind it, which obviously negates the point of being on it in the first place! He was probably about 8 or 9 when playing that game - a group of them discovered it during a lift to a birthday party.

There is some evidence in this study by Volvo showing that high back vs backless booster does not make as much difference as we tend to think for children over the age of 6. It is worth bearing in mind that Volvo are incentivised to find this result because it is in support of their integrated booster seats, but I think it's useful information all the same. https://developer.volvocars.com/assets/eva/2020-2029/Jakobsson_et_al_23-0187_ESV_2023_1.pdf

Thanks, I'll have a read of that. Thankfully, DD's not one for messing around on it - your experience with your son does not sound fun!!