New Carseats

[DisneyMomma81]

Actually you need to follow the manufacturers specifications on the seat. Many say that the 5 pt system/harness is good till X weight and X height. Height you have a little wiggle room in, because not all children grow the same. It has been a while, but I do believe that once your child's head is w/in 1 inch or less of the top of the seat, they have outgrown the harness option for height purposes.

Of course *former CPST here, haven't forgotten anything I learned, like to stay up to date on new info/seats* DD up until recently was in a Britax Fronteir *with room to grow still* There are bigger seats to accomodate heavier/taller kids* ~ now she's in a booster in my car, has been in a booster in others cars for a while now.

This talk of larger kids being harnessed with only their head/neck taking the force of the crash is concerning and makes sense. Yes kids until taller *doesn't matter their weight* need a booster to make the belt fit them correctly.

 

[cheer25mom]

Of course *former CPST here, haven't forgotten anything I learned, like to stay up to date on new info/seats* DD up until recently was in a Britax Fronteir *with room to grow still* There are bigger seats to accomodate heavier/taller kids* ~ now she's in a booster in my car, has been in a booster in others cars for a while now.

This talk of larger kids being harnessed with only their head/neck taking the force of the crash is concerning and makes sense. Yes kids until taller *doesn't matter their height* need a booster to make the belt fit them correctly.

Why doesn't height matter? I thought once kids were tall enough for the seatbelt to fit correctly a booster was not necessary? all the backless boosters really do is help the belt ir correctly, right? How does height not matter in that equation?

 

[khaoskat]

Because not all 54 inch children are the same (which is Ohio's booster seat limit to get out). My son is almost 5 foot tall.

I can tell you that while his feet may not have hit the floor, his upper torso is longer than normal. So, before he hit the 54 inch requirement, he was out of a booster. The shoulder strap hit him perfectly. If he was in a backless booster, it came across the arm at the chest level. Whereas my friend's daughter was shorter, in torso and longer in legs. She was touching the floor with her feet, but w/o a booster, the shoulder strap would be in her neck/face.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Why doesn't height matter? I thought once kids were tall enough for the seatbelt to fit correctly a booster was not necessary? all the backless boosters really do is help the belt ir correctly, right? How does height not matter in that equation?

Ooops that should read weight... On my way to edit now.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Because not all 54 inch children are the same (which is Ohio's booster seat limit to get out). My son is almost 5 foot tall.

I can tell you that while his feet may not have hit the floor, his upper torso is longer than normal. So, before he hit the 54 inch requirement, he was out of a booster. The shoulder strap hit him perfectly. If he was in a backless booster, it came across the arm at the chest level. Whereas my friend's daughter was shorter, in torso and longer in legs. She was touching the floor with her feet, but w/o a booster, the shoulder strap would be in her neck/face.

I agree ~ longer torso kids would be fine; some kids are all legs, sitting they're not tall enough for the belts to be in the right posisiton.

 

[cheer25mom]

Because not all 54 inch children are the same (which is Ohio's booster seat limit to get out). My son is almost 5 foot tall.

I can tell you that while his feet may not have hit the floor, his upper torso is longer than normal. So, before he hit the 54 inch requirement, he was out of a booster. The shoulder strap hit him perfectly. If he was in a backless booster, it came across the arm at the chest level. Whereas my friend's daughter was shorter, in torso and longer in legs. She was touching the floor with her feet, but w/o a booster, the shoulder strap would be in her neck/face.

You are definitely right about this, but I read the other poster to be saying kids need a booster regardless of their height. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Sheepdog23]

Hi! I live in sweden and the above posters are right the forward facing with a harness is extremely dangerous. Swedish testers agree that the booster is not perfect and are working on a better solution as we speak but we have to wait. Most of my links are in swedish but this website is great. www.carseat.se

 

[Mama Who]

The brand of highback booster I recommend, should you choose to let go of the harness days, would be the Nautiluses you already have. I just don't get why the OP would want to change brands when she has them already?

If they are expiring, I might switch from the Nautilus to the Argos. The Argos will HBB to 100 pounds and backless to 120. (And harness to 70.)