High Back Booster Seat ?

jplove

I plan on keeping DD in her 5 point harness as long as possible but was wondering if I am with the norm. DH's cousin just got a booster seat for their son who is just a few months older than DD. How old were your kids when you moved them to a high back booster? Also, what is the safest one out there or what do you have?

TIA!

SuperCuteBenz

There was a just a post about this the other day. Kids should really not move to an unharnessed booster before they are 4 AND 40lbs. So, no, I would not move her.

Plus, it is a maturity/physical issue as well. They must be able to fit correctly into a booster, and a lot of kids don't fit well. 

http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/child_restraints/default.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULJ8Vx79Vv4

This is an informative site as well:

http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/

You can find recommendations/reviews of seats here:

http://carseatblog.com/

jplove

SuperCuteBenz:

There was a just a post about this the other day. Kids should really not move to an unharnessed booster before they are 4 AND 40lbs. So, no, I would not move her.

Sorry, I totally missed it. I don't by any means think she is ready I was just wondering. She is only 33lbs and in-between 38-39in tall. DH was arguing with me that he thinks she would be ok and I disagree. I do believe I won that argument but I just wanted some other info/reassurance.

 Thank you for the info. Now I have plenty of time to decide on the best seat for her in the future.

Teresa

I'm keeping DS1 in his 5 point until it becomes an issue (I have no clue what that issue might be).  He's 45lbs and 44'' (and 4 yrs old).  I have the Graco Nautilus which is a 3 in 1 and he still fits fine with the 5pt. 

To each his own when you move them up (within what the actual law says), but if your DD still fits in her 5pt and you still want to use it, keep using it.  It's much safer. 

I know I would love to ditch the 5pt, and the high back for that matter just so I could actually fit 3 car seats across my back seat.  I would kill to be able to take an extra kid with me places, but for now that's the lesser issue and we'll just stick with the big bulky 5pts.  

SuperCuteBenz

Yeah, my DD is TINY. She was 36" and 26lbs at her 3 year check up. I weighed her the other day, and she must have had a growth spurt because she weighs 29lbs now.  Anyway, I plan on keeping her in her Marathons until she outgrows them, which will likely be around the time they expire or close to it.

I would love to switch her to a Frontier, but I can't justify buying anymore seats considering mine are still good. Unless of course, I make DS ride in her flowery seats. 

hvanack

Owen just turned 4 last weekend and he's about 43 lbs. I am in NOOO hurry to change him out of a 5 pt harness. He doesn't mind it at all because he knows no difference. DH sometimes throws a fit and tells me i'll have him in it until he's 12 but seriously, why not keep him as safe as possible while I can and he's not fighting it? I even tell my parents that when he is with them (like spending the night(s)) that he needs to be in a 5 pt harness and buckled properly, otherwise he will think he can do that (ride in a booster) at home. They are fine with that but I learned that Owen was in a regular booster riding around on the farm. I had to explain to him that that is the ONLY time he can do that since they are basically on dirt roads in corn fields, etc. and not on the highway/road.

hskrmommy

My son is 5 and in his 5-pt harness (the Graco Nautilus as well) in my car.  We have a booster in DH's truck...  The only thing we've been working on, which shouldn't be too bad because it won't happen much, is him getting out on his own.  When he starts school is fall, he needs to be able to jump out quickly when we're going through the drop-off line. However, most of the time he'll be in before care, so we won't have that issue much.  He's like 41 lbs...  Honestly, I'm happy with him in the 5-pt until he no longer fits.  (Or he starts getting made fun of by his school friends!    Haha!)