When did you go from car seat to booster?

[alexandhadleysmommy]

ok i have to say that this will get me chewed out by many but HOW can you NOT have your child in a safety seat as long as possible??? i am 5'1 adult and seatbelts DON'T fit me that well how can we expect them to fit our children well? i don't want to EVER have any what if's and i want to know that if i am involved in an accident that i did everything possible to protect my children. alex who is almost 6 is still in a regent and will be. he isn't even on the top slot yet and he has never asked to be moved. he can buckle himself so i really don't see it as a *convenience* to switch him. hadley is in a marathon and will be in it till we buy her a regent. you don't have to buy britax at all but i figured the price over 6 years is pretty cheap. my dh owns a racing team where they wear 6 pt harness so safety is very important to us.

i have a friend whose 7 yr old was in a booster with regular seatbelt but she literally slipped out (seat belt stayed fastened) when the car flipped and she was thrown from the car. her body wasn't big enough for the seat belt to hold her in. she is no longer with us.

 

[lclark0621]

My son is turning 5 this month. He is very tall (though not sure how tall right now but last Feb he was tall enough to ride everything but Space Moutain & Rockin Rollercoaster).

He is in a 1 year old Britax Marathon in my car which he loves. He has never once questioned it. He knows it is where he is safest.

In DH's car he was in a Marathon but out grew it. I have ordered a Britax Frontier (which he will be in a 5 pt harness) for DH's car because the Regent wont fit in his car.

I shiver when I see little ones in boosters.

Before you consider switching your child, please do some reseaarch (beyond asking on a Disney board). Find some safety websites. Read everything you can. Talk to some car seat techs.

A child is safest in a 5 pt harness as long as possible. Seatbelts are just not meant to hold little ones secure!

Just because some boosters start at 40 lbs does not mean kids should be in a booster at 40 lbs!

 

[tanyaandallie]

ok i have to say that this will get me chewed out by many but HOW can you NOT have your child in a safety seat as long as possible??? i am 5'1 adult and seatbelts DON'T fit me that well how can we expect them to fit our children well? i don't want to EVER have any what if's and i want to know that if i am involved in an accident that i did everything possible to protect my children. alex who is almost 6 is still in a regent and will be. he isn't even on the top slot yet and he has never asked to be moved. he can buckle himself so i really don't see it as a *convenience* to switch him. hadley is in a marathon and will be in it till we buy her a regent. you don't have to buy britax at all but i figured the price over 6 years is pretty cheap. my dh owns a racing team where they wear 6 pt harness so safety is very important to us.

i have a friend whose 7 yr old was in a booster with regular seatbelt but she literally slipped out (seat belt stayed fastened) when the car flipped and she was thrown from the car. her body wasn't big enough for the seat belt to hold her in. she is no longer with us.

Your friends story is very scary. However, I don't want anyone to read this thread and think that booster seats are not safe. Booster seats are safe if they fit the child properly and the child is old enough to sit in the booster correctly all the time. Boosters are 100% necessary. Often times when we start talking about harnessing children for longer times we start knocking the booster seat. Booster seats are very import safety devices that keep children safe in the car.

 

[alexandhadleysmommy]

i do agree that they meet the minimum safety guidelines but so do a lot of other things out there. minimum is just that minimum. i know what i said was rude and such but if i can get 1 more parent to keep their child harnessed longer than i feel i did something right. i am very passionate about this subject. i would even buy them for my friends kids IF they would actually use them (which some don't and wouldn't).

i don't think bad of anyone who doesn't harness, i just think some don't realize what is out there and the dangers.

alex will go into a booster when he reaches 80lbs. sometimes i wish i had one since i hate sitting in cars with the seat belt that cuts into my neck even with the adjustable ones they have in newer cars.

Your friends story is very scary. However, I don't want anyone to read this thread and think that booster seats are not safe. Booster seats are safe if they fit the child properly and the child is old enough to sit in the booster correctly all the time. Boosters are 100% necessary. Often times when we start talking about harnessing children for longer times we start knocking the booster seat. Booster seats are very import safety devices that keep children safe in the car.

 

[tanyaandallie]

i do agree that they meet the minimum safety guidelines but so do a lot of other things out there. minimum is just that minimum. i know what i said was rude and such but if i can get 1 more parent to keep their child harnessed longer than i feel i did something right. i am very passionate about this subject. i would even buy them for my friends kids IF they would actually use them (which some don't and wouldn't).

i don't think bad of anyone who doesn't harness, i just think some don't realize what is out there and the dangers.

alex will go into a booster when he reaches 80lbs. sometimes i wish i had one since i hate sitting in cars with the seat belt that cuts into my neck even with the adjustable ones they have in newer cars.

Keep in mind that most kids do not make it to 80 lbs in a harness. Most kids outgrow a harnessed seat by height well before they outgrow it by weight. The weight limit on the new Frontier is 80 lbs and there is no way my dd will make it anywhere near 80 lbs in the Frontier. She is 42 lbs and will likely outgrow the harness by the time she hits 50 lbs. This is the case with most kids. Most kids will have to be a booster before they are 80 lbs. And that is ok. As I said before, booster seats are safe if they are used correctly and the child is old enough and heavy enough. 4 and 40 is the minimum, we prefer to see 5 or 6.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Keep in mind that most kids do not make it to 80 lbs in a harness. Most kids outgrow a harnessed seat by height well before they outgrow it by weight. The weight limit on the new Frontier is 80 lbs and there is no way my dd will make it anywhere near 80 lbs in the Frontier. She is 42 lbs and will likely outgrow the harness by the time she hits 50 lbs. This is the case with most kids. Most kids will have to be a booster before they are 80 lbs. And that is ok. As I said before, booster seats are safe if they are used correctly and the child is old enough and heavy enough. 4 and 40 is the minimum, we prefer to see 5 or 6.

I don't agree that "most" kids would outgrow the harness of an 80lb seat at 50ish pounds. It is going to totally depend on the seat and the harness heights. I'd be very surprised if your dd maxed out the height at 50lbs since my dd is all torso and she's 55lbs in a Nautilus (65lb weight limit)

My dd is 2wks shy of 7yo and has a VERY long torso (routinely is 2 sizes larger in tops than bottoms) so she has historically outgrown her seats by height before weight (infant seat by height at 6mo-weight limit at 18mo/rear facing convertibles (33lb weight limit) by height at 22mo- weight limit at 3.5yo!). She was riding in a Husky (precursor to the Regent) for 4yrs before I had to stop using it in December (my car was totaled) and she is now riding in a Graco Nautilus. Dd is now about 55lbs and around 48" tall.

Dd has about 1" to go in her Nautilus before she outgrows the harness and had more than that in her Husky (ds has a Regent...I may have dd sit in it to see what she would have left in that).

I wouldn't discount a higher weight seat for an older child w/o sitting them in them and testing them out. Each seat is going to be different as far as harness heights so make sure you try out a variety of them.

I should add that I agree that boosters are safe... but the safEST thing to do for our children is to keep them rear facing and then harnessed for as long as possible.

The safEST way for a child to travel (assuming they meet height AND weight requirements) is rear facing, the next safEST way is forward facing in a harnessed seat. Once a child no longer meets the height OR weight requirements for a harnessed seat, then a high back booster is the safEST way for them to travel.

There is no difference in safety between a child who passes the 5 step test using a lap/shoulder belt and one that uses a low back booster seat.

 

[alexandhadleysmommy]

I agree with everything you said

I do understand to the pp that most outgrow by height but my kids are SHORT. My son who is almost 6 is only 42-43". He isn't even on the top slot of his regent yet. He is also 43lbs. My almost 3 yr old is only 23-24 lbs and only 32".

I don't agree that "most" kids would outgrow the harness of an 80lb seat at 50ish pounds. It is going to totally depend on the seat and the harness heights. I'd be very surprised if your dd maxed out the height at 50lbs since my dd is all torso and she's 55lbs in a Nautilus (65lb weight limit)

My dd is 2wks shy of 7yo and has a VERY long torso (routinely is 2 sizes larger in tops than bottoms) so she has historically outgrown her seats by height before weight (infant seat by height at 6mo-weight limit at 18mo/rear facing convertibles (33lb weight limit) by height at 22mo- weight limit at 3.5yo!). She was riding in a Husky (precursor to the Regent) for 4yrs before I had to stop using it in December (my car was totaled) and she is now riding in a Graco Nautilus. Dd is now about 55lbs and around 48" tall.

Dd has about 1" to go in her Nautilus before she outgrows the harness and had more than that in her Husky (ds has a Regent...I may have dd sit in it to see what she would have left in that).

I wouldn't discount a higher weight seat for an older child w/o sitting them in them and testing them out. Each seat is going to be different as far as harness heights so make sure you try out a variety of them.

I should add that I agree that boosters are safe... but the safEST thing to do for our children is to keep them rear facing and then harnessed for as long as possible.

The safEST way for a child to travel (assuming they meet height AND weight requirements) is rear facing, the next safEST way is forward facing in a harnessed seat. Once a child no longer meets the height OR weight requirements for a harnessed seat, then a high back booster is the safEST way for them to travel.

There is no difference in safety between a child who passes the 5 step test using a lap/shoulder belt and one that uses a low back booster seat.

 

[caroline1851]

My son switched to a booster seat with a back when he was about 3 1/2 and about 35 lbs or so. He's 6 and weighs 46 pounds and he still uses that. He has a booster that is backless, i just don't like it-he looks to small for it even though i know, technically, he's not.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I don't agree that "most" kids would outgrow the harness of an 80lb seat at 50ish pounds. It is going to totally depend on the seat and the harness heights. I'd be very surprised if your dd maxed out the height at 50lbs since my dd is all torso and she's 55lbs in a Nautilus (65lb weight limit)

My dd is 2wks shy of 7yo and has a VERY long torso (routinely is 2 sizes larger in tops than bottoms) so she has historically outgrown her seats by height before weight (infant seat by height at 6mo-weight limit at 18mo/rear facing convertibles (33lb weight limit) by height at 22mo- weight limit at 3.5yo!). She was riding in a Husky (precursor to the Regent) for 4yrs before I had to stop using it in December (my car was totaled) and she is now riding in a Graco Nautilus. Dd is now about 55lbs and around 48" tall.

Dd has about 1" to go in her Nautilus before she outgrows the harness and had more than that in her Husky (ds has a Regent...I may have dd sit in it to see what she would have left in that).

I wouldn't discount a higher weight seat for an older child w/o sitting them in them and testing them out. Each seat is going to be different as far as harness heights so make sure you try out a variety of them.

I should add that I agree that boosters are safe... but the safEST thing to do for our children is to keep them rear facing and then harnessed for as long as possible.

The safEST way for a child to travel (assuming they meet height AND weight requirements) is rear facing, the next safEST way is forward facing in a harnessed seat. Once a child no longer meets the height OR weight requirements for a harnessed seat, then a high back booster is the safEST way for them to travel.

There is no difference in safety between a child who passes the 5 step test using a lap/shoulder belt and one that uses a low back booster seat.

I just wanted to say that while that was your experience others my be different. My oldest was taller at 5 and heavier than your dd is at almost 7. I think that each child is different (height and weight) so you have to take that into account.

 

[tanyaandallie]

I don't agree that "most" kids would outgrow the harness of an 80lb seat at 50ish pounds. It is going to totally depend on the seat and the harness heights. I'd be very surprised if your dd maxed out the height at 50lbs since my dd is all torso and she's 55lbs in a Nautilus (65lb weight limit)

My dd is 2wks shy of 7yo and has a VERY long torso (routinely is 2 sizes larger in tops than bottoms) so she has historically outgrown her seats by height before weight (infant seat by height at 6mo-weight limit at 18mo/rear facing convertibles (33lb weight limit) by height at 22mo- weight limit at 3.5yo!). She was riding in a Husky (precursor to the Regent) for 4yrs before I had to stop using it in December (my car was totaled) and she is now riding in a Graco Nautilus. Dd is now about 55lbs and around 48" tall.

Dd has about 1" to go in her Nautilus before she outgrows the harness and had more than that in her Husky (ds has a Regent...I may have dd sit in it to see what she would have left in that).

I wouldn't discount a higher weight seat for an older child w/o sitting them in them and testing them out. Each seat is going to be different as far as harness heights so make sure you try out a variety of them.

I should add that I agree that boosters are safe... but the safEST thing to do for our children is to keep them rear facing and then harnessed for as long as possible.

The safEST way for a child to travel (assuming they meet height AND weight requirements) is rear facing, the next safEST way is forward facing in a harnessed seat. Once a child no longer meets the height OR weight requirements for a harnessed seat, then a high back booster is the safEST way for them to travel.

There is no difference in safety between a child who passes the 5 step test using a lap/shoulder belt and one that uses a low back booster seat.

Christine, I did not mean that most kids will outgrow a harness by 50 lbs. I meant that most kids are going to outgrow the seat by height before weight. Most kids are not going to make it to 80 lbs in a harness.

I am a CPST. Trust me, I am 100% supportive of eh and erf. My ds was rf to 3 and dd is 5 and still harnessed. My whole point is that very often when we start talking about eh vs boosters we often convey the message that boosters are bad. Boosters are not bad. Boosters save lives. A 6 year old in a booster is NOT unsafe.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Christine, I did not mean that most kids will outgrow a harness by 50 lbs. I meant that most kids are going to outgrow the seat by height before weight. Most kids are not going to make it to 80 lbs in a harness.

I am a CPST. Trust me, I am 100% supportive of eh and erf. My ds was rf to 3 and dd is 5 and still harnessed. My whole point is that very often when we start talking about eh vs boosters we often convey the message that boosters are bad. Boosters are not bad. Boosters save lives. A 6 year old in a booster is NOT unsafe.

I'm a tech as well.

And I agree that a 6yo in a booster is not unsafe (dd rides in a booster in dh's car) but it is still safER to be in a harness (which we agree on ). I'm more comfortable w/ a 6yo than a 3yo in a booster but I still think the take home message is to keep a child in their seat (rfing or ffing w/ harness) until they max it out by height or weight. It is what I tell my friends as well as anyone I assist at checks.

And yes most kids do outgrow by height before weight but I'm not thinking that any 50lb child is going to outgrow an 80lb limit seat by height unless they are projected to be well over 6ft tall as an adult.

Even though dd is only 48" tall at just 7yo, her shoulders hitmuch higher in her seat than most kids her height because she is all torso. When I was faced w/ purchasing a new seat for her at 6.5yo (previous seat totaled in car crash) I thought about just getting a booster seat for her but I couldn't rationalize not keeping her harnessed while I still could.

If this was five years ago we wouldn't be having this conversation. There were only a few seats availble that harnessed to higher weights and they were expensive. This is no longer the case. There are multiple options now at varying costs and the only barrier now is education. Parents need to know that it is safER for their 4, 5, & 6yos to be harnessed. In my experience, once they have the information most parents will choose to keep their child harnessed as long as possible.

 

[Tiger926]

I'm a tech as well.

And I agree that a 6yo in a booster is not unsafe (dd rides in a booster in dh's car) but it is still safER to be in a harness (which we agree on ). I'm more comfortable w/ a 3yo than a 6yo in a booster but I still think the take home message is to keep a child in their seat (rfing or ffing w/ harness) until they max it out by height or weight. It is what I tell my friends as well as anyone I assist at checks.

And yes most kids do outgrow by height before weight but I'm not thinking that any 50lb child is going to outgrow an 80lb limit seat by height unless they are projected to be well over 6ft tall as an adult.

Even though dd is only 48" tall at just 7yo, her shoulders hitmuch higher in her seat than most kids her height because she is all torso. When I was faced w/ purchasing a new seat for her at 6.5yo (previous seat totaled in car crash) I thought about just getting a booster seat for her but I couldn't rationalize not keeping her harnessed while I still could.

If this was five years ago we wouldn't be having this conversation. There were only a few seats availble that harnessed to higher weights and they were expensive. This is no longer the case. There are multiple options now at varying costs and the only barrier now is education. Parents need to know that it is safER for their 4, 5, & 6yos to be harnessed. In my experience, once they have the information most parents will choose to keep their child harnessed as long as possible.

Good point - it's getting the info out there in respect to extended harnessing, but even when it is known, it's not necessarily followed. I must respectfully disagree with your ascertation that most parents will choose to keep their children harnessed as long as possible. There are 2 sides to this and in my experience this is how most of parents that I know and see interpret that statement:

Most parents I know keep their children harnessed as long as possible in their current convertible seats, which in most cases, are the A/O or 3 in 1seats. These, as well as most common seats that most parents I know purchase at Walmart go to 40lbs. Therefore, since many of them don't want to spend money on another convertible seat, out comes the booster seat. In my opinion, it's all about money (I don't mean they don't have extra money to spend, I mean they don't want to spend it) or social pressure.

Most of my family and friends are highly university educated, yet they don't feel the need to educate themselves further in respect to car seat safety. They figure if the government has passed booster seats, and that is what most kids ride in, then that's what their kid will ride in as well. I am the only one of my family/friends (there is one other friend) who extended harnesses and rear faces and most of them just say that we're obsessed with child safety, tease me about buying so many car seats and leave it at that. They don't want to learn more because they are just fine with putting 3.5 - 4 years old in booster seats as it means they don't have to spend time, money and energy on purchasing another seat. This is the biggest complaint I hear from family/friends - seriously, it makes me nuts as we have spent almost $2,000 on car seats for our just turned 5 year old and just turned 1 year old and that is not counting what we have gifted in car seats to family or friends. We are the ones who have reason to complain about buying lots of seats, not our friends who have been using the same car seat for 5+ years for several kids, but we never would as it's an essential part of being a parent.

This debate could go on forever, and sadly it will as people want to make it about car seat brands and that is not what it is. It's about knowing that one method of child safety is the safest and choosing to do otherwise, or, not wanting to educate one's self about different car seat options and just going with the status quo.

Booster seats are safe, if used properly, but as many of us know, extended harnessing is the safest, and that is what is important in our household, period.

Tiger

 

[Minniemouse07]

Good info. I must respectfully disagree with your ascertation that most parents will choose to keep their children harnessed as long as possible. There are 2 sides to this and in my experience this is how most of parents that I know and see interpret that statement:

Most parents I know keep their children harnessed as long as possible in their current convertible seats, which in most cases, are the A/O or 3 in 1seats. These, as well as most common seats that most parents I know purchase at Walmart go to 40lbs. Therefore, since many of them don't want to spend money on another convertible seat, out comes the booster seat. In my opinion, it's all about money (I don't mean they don't have extra money to spend, I mean they don't want to spend it) or social pressure.

Most of my family and friends are highly university educated, yet they don't feel the need to educate themselves in respect to car seat safety. They figure if the government has passed booster seats, and that is what most kids ride in, then that's what their kid will ride in as well. I am the only one of my family/friends (there is one other friend) who extended harnesses and rear faces and most of them just say that we're obsessed with child safety, tease me about buying so many car seats and leave it at that. They don't want to learn more because they are just fine with putting 4 years old in booster seats as it means they don't have to spend time, money and energy on purchasing another seat. This is the biggest complaint I hear from family/friends - seriously, it makes me nuts as we have spent almost $2,000 on car seats for our just turned 5 year old and just turned 1 year old and that is not counting what we have gifted in car seats to family or friends. We are the ones who have reason to complain about buying lots of seats, not our friends who have been using the same car seat for 5+ years for several kids, but we never, would as it's an essential part of being a parent.

This debate could go on forever, and sadly it will as people want to make it about car seat brands and that is not what it is. It's about knowing that one method of safety is safest and choosing to do otherwise, or, not wanting to educate one's self about different car seat options and just going with the status quo.

Booster seats are safe, if used properly, but as many of us know, extended harnessing is the safest, and that is what is important in our household, period.

Tiger

I guess we "hang" with different kinds of people then!

I'm a member of a regional parenting group and I would say 100% of 3-5yos are in harnesses... and about 75% of those over 5yo are harnessed (some as old as 8yo). There are about 125 families in our group.

Not sure why our demographics are so different from yours... but I'm grateful that we are above average so to speak.

I've been a member of the group since 2003 and have been their car seat resource all that time. I do presentations about every other year and I'm always available on our group's message board for questions, etc.

We may have a higher percentage of harnessed children because of the extra information available to them, but that just stresses my point. If we educate parents, starting from before their first child is born and continuing throughout childhood, then the majority of them will make better CPS decisions.

FWIW, I don't come across many A/O or 3 in 1s anymore. I did when I was first certified back in 2003, but now the majority of seats I see are Snugrides for infants, Marathons/Decathalons for convertibles (with a smattering of Triumphs) and Regents.

Wow and I have to say we have two kids (now 7 and 2) and we have only spent about $1300... without including the two seats we replaced at 2/3 of the price (boulevard and Husky replaced by two Nautilus)!

 

[tanyaandallie]

I guess we "hang" with different kinds of people then!

I'm a member of a regional parenting group and I would say 100% of 3-5yos are in harnesses... and about 75% of those over 5yo are harnessed (some as old as 8yo). There are about 125 families in our group.

Not sure why our demographics are so different from yours... but I'm grateful that we are above average so to speak.

I've been a member of the group since 2003 and have been their car seat resource all that time. I do presentations about every other year and I'm always available on our group's message board for questions, etc.

We may have a higher percentage of harnessed children because of the extra information available to them, but that just stresses my point. If we educate parents, starting from before their first child is born and continuing throughout childhood, then the majority of them will make better CPS decisions.

FWIW, I don't come across many A/O or 3 in 1s anymore. I did when I was first certified back in 2003, but now the majority of seats I see are Snugrides for infants, Marathons/Decathalons for convertibles (with a smattering of Triumphs) and Regents.

Wow and I have to say we have two kids (now 7 and 2) and we have only spent about $1300... without including the two seats we replaced at 2/3 of the price (boulevard and Husky replaced by two Nautilus)!

Wow, Christine, I must say your area must be different from mine as well. I live in a nice area and most kids here are out of harnessed seats by 4. I have a few friends that I have converted and I also have friends whose kids are in Marathons so I am hopeful they will stay in them until outgrown. But, I would say the large majority of the kids in her class were in boosters or nothing. It sounds like you are doing a great job educating your moms group.


Oh, and i have 2 kids and have only spend $750 on seats for them. And it's only so high now b/c dd is ougrowing the MA and went into a Frontier.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Wow, Christine, I must say your area must be different from mine as well. I live in a nice area and most kids here are out of harnessed seats by 4. I have a few friends that I have converted and I also have friends whose kids are in Marathons so I am hopeful they will stay in them until outgrown. But, I would say the large majority of the kids in her class were in boosters or nothing. It sounds like you are doing a great job educating your moms group.


Oh, and i have 2 kids and have only spend $750 on seats for them. And it's only so high now b/c dd is ougrowing the MA and went into a Frontier.

Ahhh... this is my parent group (regional across the Philly area, but mostly North and West suburbs)...not my dd's school.

When I do a seat check or talk to my parents group I'm dealing w/ parents that are halfway there to wanting more information (in most cases). For seat checks they have to make an appointment, so they are taking time to go out of their way to attend. As for my parent group, they are all into researching what is "best" for their kids so they are VERY receptive to any info I can provide and generally follow through on it.

Now when it comes to dd's school (K-3 elementary school, ~150 students) I have yet to see any of them harnessed and often see dd's classmates (under 8yo...in PA the law is 8/80) riding in the front seat w/o any restraint.

Dd often gets upset when she sees her peers in these situations. She knows what is safe and is concerned about them. Interestingly, no one has given her grief about being in a harnessed seat... at least that I know of (dd would tell me that...she's very big on what is "right").

I don't often run into other parents from my town at seat checks either, although we have a station about 5 miles away.

I'm still working with the principal and our local Safe Kids chapter to do some education at least at the booster level. Everyone seems receptive to the IDEA of it, we are just short on the execution!

 

[Tiger926]

Wow! That is fantastic - I am the only one out of an extensive group of friends/family with Britaxes and Radians. Like I said, most people buy whatever seat is on sale and then switch to boosters at 3.5 (which is illegal here) - 4 yrs old. They all say they like our seats, but then when they found out the cost, they run away! Makes no sense since most of them make very good money and drive very expensive vehicles.

For anyone who is wondering, I live in the automotive capital of Canada. The climate here is very frugal - most people buy whatever is cheapest, coupons, tons of fast food joints, etc. Our city is very fast paced and busy with the worst drivers. We pay the highest auto insurance premiums in the province (higher than Toronto is what has been reported), due to high accident rates, yet parents are very casual about car seats, even though they spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on automobiles. Priorities for most people I know are new cars (most of the city leases) every 1.5 - 2 years as they want the latest and greatest.

I wish people around me cared more about car seat safety, but sadly, they don't as they look at car seats as a nuisance.

Tiger

 

[vcgirl925]

Sadly to say i'm in a very nice middle class neighborhood and when i pick up and drop off my ds (40", 40lbs, and 4.5 years old) he is the ONLY kids that is harnessed. All of the others are in high back boosters or just boosters. Like i said i fully intend to keep my son harnessed until he grows out of his Radian 65. Which i assume he'll grow out of height wise before weight wise. I'm hoping another year or two.

But let's all remember that the safest carseat is one that is used properly!