Booster Question for 5.5 year old

[MerRos]

Hi there. I have a 5.5 year old girl who weighs 40 lbs and I wanted to know which booster seat was the best kind to get. Additionally, I also read somewhere that you aren't supposed to use the 5pt harness after 40 lbs, but you are supposed to use the seatbelt from the car. If I prefer to use the 5 pt harness, is it still safe to do so and if so, until what age? Thanks so much.

[KathyO]

The age is not the question with the harness - it's whether the child is still the right height (i.e. harness strap slots are AT or ABOVE her shoulders, top of seat is no lower than the tops of her ears) and the right weight (as you say, 40 lbs or under, although there are some seats that are labelled and certified to go higher). Past that you'd be going beyond what the seat was designed for, and there's a good chance that this could be dangerous. If you want to go longer in the harness, you'd need to buy one of the higher-weight harnessed seats.

For booster seats, I recommend the Fields' booster seat review, available on this site. I've also heard that it's a good idea to give the child a say in choosing the seat, since it will make them more likely to use it, instead of suddenly deciding that it's "uncool", and putting up a lot of resistance.

Hope that helps!

KathyO