OT - moving to a highback booster

[tms295psu]

When did you move your kiddos to a highback booster? Age?

My daughter is turning 5 in a few weeks. And she is outgrowing her britax marathon! I think we will barely make it thru summer with her seat. I've been looking at harnessing her longer in a frontier 85. But my family thinks I'm going overboard and should move her to a highback booster!

I know the rules on being able to sit correctly and bet position... I'm a car seat maniac! And would love to 5 pt my kids till they are 16!!

Looking for a realistic approach. She can move to a booster based on the rules, but I just can't kick the added security of 5 pt.

 

[Lilliputian]

I leave mine in a 5 point restraint as long as I can. My oldest two were incredibly tall in their torsos and outgrew the biggest Britax (it had a different name back then) when they were 4 and 5 years old. My 3rd is almost 6 now, and he's in a 5 point restraint and will be there as long as I can keep him there. He still falls asleep in the car sometimes, and the seatbelt wouldn't be in the right place if he were in a booster.

My second son fell asleep a lot in the car, too, and we always had to have my oldest pick him back up because he'd lay his head down on his lap. It was a big pain, for him and for us, and we'd have gladly put him in a regular carseat if there had been anything on the market made for someone as tall as he was.

 

[msmama]

My almost 5 year old still uses the 5 point harness in his Britax Frontier. (He was in a roundabout which he outgrew about a year ago).

I *do* have a high back booster which we use for travelling and carpooling for field trips. I DON'T like it. I can't imagine it's nearly as safe in a serious accident. I'm a bit car seat crazy, too and while I generally trust him to sit up straight, he is still young and sometimes disobeys just for the sake of disobeying. While it does get in trouble for it, if we're driving down the highway and he thinks its funny to undo his seatbelt or get out of the booster, there's really not much I can do!! Well worth it for the piece of mind, I think.

Others like the convenience of kids doing it themselves, but personally, I'd rather take the extra time and make sure he's as safe as possible (and I'm not a helicopter parent).

The Frontier can be used as a booster, too so if you do buy it, it could be the last carseat you ever buy.

 

[taylor3297]

My 6 year old son is in a Britax Parkway booster. It still allows him to have something to lean his head against if he falls asleep in the car and also the seat belt is where it needs to be.

 

[sritter78]

My 7 1/2 year old DD still is harnessed in a Fronteir (she is pretty tall for her age).
She will stay harnessed until she outgrows it (I'm guessing in the next year or so).

I could care less what other people say. My kids are VERY precious to me and I will not put them at risk when I can avoid it. Convenience or peer pressure is NOT a reason to move them to a booster seat.

We had a boy in the district that I teach in that got a traumatic brain injury. He was riding in a booster (for the first time) and someone hit his side of the car. Chances are he wouldn't have been injured as badly if he was harnessed.

 

[jenifferf00]

We have the Graco one that does 5 pt to 65 lbs then can convert to a high back and a backless booster. My daughter turned 5 in December and is a big girl, we do use a booster in my husband's truck but I'm not a fan. The 5 point is much better. She's 46" ( and hoping for 48 by May for triceratops spin lol ) and 51 lbs with no issues in the 5 point.

 

[amomma23]

My oldest and now middle sons both switched to booster seats at 6 1/2. The younger one is in a Britax Frontier in my car and I just took out the 5 pt. harness a few days ago. The boosters in my husband's car are the Diono Monterey. DS's say it's very comfortable, and I feel safe having them in it.

http://us.diono.com/en/car-seats/monterey-booster

 

[SweetMissy]

My older kids are 9 and 6 and both are still in a 5 point harness. I have smaller kids, so they still meet the criteria. Well my son is just now over 50lbs, so unfortunately I'll have to switch his seat to a booster. It scares me because as you know 5 point is safest. We have a graco nautilus for them and will harness until 65lbs but the LATCH system for the are only for 48-50lbs depending on the vehicle. Who cares what your family says...it's your child and you're obviously worried about her safety. I don't know why people make a big deal out of it....you figure they would want her to be safe too.

 

[bumbershoot]

But my family thinks I'm going overboard and should move her to a highback booster!

Well...who is this about? Her safety, or how people perceive you?


We couldn't do more than a Nautilus because of our particular car, and then he grew out of the harness on the Nautilus WAY earlier than I thought he would by height (though I shouldn't have been surprised, since he outgrew the infant seat by height before he was 4 months old). So I didn't go as long as I wanted with the harness, but even then people thought I was weird. Who cares?

My MIL always talked about how she HELD my husband in her arms during cross-country trips and that the car seats were "crazy". So because they didn't get into an accident, I must assume I won't? My mom's second husband's dad ran a tow truck/service station business in coastal CA, and as a teen he got to help clean up after the tragedies that happened during those times.

Anyway, my annoyance isn't at you, it's at the people in your life giving you opinions like that.

If you want to get the Frontier, if it's not going to hurt your checking account, if it will fit in your car, get it.

Otherwise we liked the Nautilus. DS is just so tall and it's all in his torso, and then he still fit in it as a backed booster until his shoulders grew so wide and he just didn't fit anymore. Then he turned 8, he's tall, he sits up correctly, and we realized he fit in his seatbelt, and there we are.


If it were up to me we would ALL be in 5 point boosters. We would be protected almost like race car drivers (though I saw some images of the new safety gear in the Daytona 500 and that would drive me off the bend into claustrophobic, so I couldn't do that). I'm 5'3" and just *barely* fit my seatbelt, and that's on a "tall" day with the seat up high and the belt down low on its track... My grandma was so little she actually should have used a booster.

Do what you need to do. It's her safety that's important.

 

[DisneyKrazyKel]

Just this week I switched my daughter from a marathon to the frontier 85. I know I will want to 5pt harness quite a while longer but I like that when the time comes I can use it as a booster too. So far she loves it!

 

[Dominion]

My 5 year old was about to outgrown her Marathon, but the more immediate issue was that my almost 3 year old was outgrowing the Roundabout so we needed the Marathon for her. Rather than just buy a high back booster, I actually bought a Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 for my 5 year old. It seems to have more room for her to grow until she's too tall for it, although not as big as the Frontier. Once she's too tall, we'll convert it to a high back booster. Most people thought I was crazy too for spending more money on another car seat, but I just couldn't justify NOT doing it considering that it is safer. Even if I only get a year out of it, its another year of her riding in the safest way possible. We did also buy a Britax Parkway SGL to use in my husband's car or for carpooling, but for our primary vehicle and the one we use on long trips she stays in the harness!!

 

[Annie78]

I think it's a good opportunity to model "Do what you know is right even if others tease you for it" for your kids And yes, another vote for harnessing as long as possible. My 3 yo is still RF - the seat still fits and he doesn't know any other way of riding!

 

[momto3boysillbe]

Go with the frontier. My 7 year old is still harnessed in his and I'm about to buy another for the 5 year old who is outgrowing his marathon. Don't worry about what anyone else says. I have peace of mind he's buckled in properly every minute we're on the road. He's wiggly so I haven't converted it to the booster yet.

 

[blessedby3]

My DD5 1/2 has been in a Marathon, and about a year ago we bought the Frontier 85. I love this seat and she is still harnessed in it. She is a tiny thing at 33 pounds, and still sits in the Marathon in my DS17's vehicle.

She is able to buckle herself into the Frontier (YAY!), but still needs help unbuckling it. It is a great seat and she will be able to be harnessed in it for a long time because of her size.

She rides in the Cosco Scenara in my moms car, but she is getting too big looking in it. I was debating on getting a high back booster for grandmas car, but I havent been able to feel good about that situation yet...so who knows. She only rides in that vehicle a few times a month, but I still prefer her harnessed. I cant afford another Frontier for such occasional use.

I would not let the relatives influence you in deciding what to buy. Do what you feel is safest and best for your DD. She is your very precious cargo

 

[rizzo0904]

Check out Diono...used to be called Sunshine Kids. They have seats that FF to 80 and then become boosters until 120. Last seat you'd need. We have one for my 4 year old. He's 47 inches and 61 lbs and very comfy in the seat even though he's a big kid.

 

[nchulka]

OP, just want to point out that whenever a thread like this is started it's the hyper-vigilant, stay in a car seat well past the normal age people who respond, as evidenced by the responses so far. I can tell you the *norm* is to move kids to a high-back booster at age 4.

 

[ChitownFamily]

Here & im sure almost everywhere the norm is 3 -4 yr olds in boosters. I think many people who move their 3 & 4 year olds to boosters do not think about how boostering puts 100% of sitting responsibly on the child. I think many of them are fine w their 3/4 year olds bending over in the car, sleeping w half their body out of the seatbelt, pulling the shoulder belt behind their body. Bc I see the awful truth via pictures on FB.

I'm sure the poster above requires & enforces all the safety rules. So I'll save them the retort.


OP- if your child can sit responsibly, I think 5 is a great age for a booster.

 

[pooh4evr]

I moved mine to a booster at about 4 youngest was a little later because she has a smaller build than the other 2 girls (both were /are always in the 95-99% for hight 50s for weight) anyway I agree with the previous poster the norm is about 4 - 5.
My oldest is 12 and is 5'5 90 lbs my nine yr old is 5'1 and barely 75 lbs there is no way they would ever sit in any kind of seat past the required age of 8.

 

[ChitownFamily]

I moved mine to a booster at about 4 youngest was a little later because she has a smaller build than the other 2 girls (both were /are always in the 95-99% for hight 50s for weight) anyway I agree with the previous poster the norm is about 4 - 5.
My oldest is 12 and is 5'5 90 lbs my nine yr old is 5'1 and barely 75 lbs there is no way they would ever sit in any kind of seat past the required age of 8.

Did you know your 9 yr old who is 5'1 doesn't need a booster - not bc the law says so... But bc best practice says to booster to 4'9 & pass the 5 step test
http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm

If a 9 year old was only 4'3 they would benefit from a booster. If you merely go by laws, that makes floridas 4 year old in a seat belt alone- a great idea.

On the other side, there are NO studies suggesting extended harnessing is safer than a properly fitting booster. As a matter of fact, Swedish studies (the leading country in extended rear facing) suggest extended harnessing doesn't allow the body to move properly during an accident.

 

[itsmeamanda]

My 6.5 year old just moved to a high back booster in his dad's truck, but he is still 5pt. Harnessed in my car using a Graco Nautilus.