Safety of 5-point harness for 40+ lb. children?

[lbess]

I just weighed DD (who won't be 3 until August) and discovered that she's up to 38 pounds. Her FP Safe Embrace seats are only good up to 40 pounds, so I'm preparing to shop for seats again. I'm reluctant to put her in just a belt-positioning booster because she's so young and because she's not overly tall (37.5"), but a friend of mine who is usually well-informed mentioned recently that 5-point harnesses increase the risk of abdominal injuries in a crash for children over 40 pounds. I hadn't heard that before, and wanted to check on the truth of the matter before actually spending $$ on new seats. Can someone point me to some correct information?

Thanks,
Laura

[Joolsplus2]

No, that's not true. If she's been reading online a bit, there is one seat, the Nania Airway, that has a tall crotch strap, that rides up on the belly a bit, and some people have speculated without any backup, that it *might* cause abdominal injuries. The fact is, children in 5-pt harnesses, at any weight, simply do not sustain those types of injuries at all.
I agree that keeping your dd harnessed quite a bit longer would be the safest choice for her, and there are a few seats out there..not many, but more than there were even a couple years ago :)
Britax has several models www.britaxusa.com the Husky, Marathon and Wizard are all suitable, and now that I've mentioned the problem, you may not want to look at the Airway, but it IS a perfectly safe choice http://www.123safe.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/scstore/c-secNania_Carseats.html?L+scstore+glbd9255fff294f2+ 1078619297 It's a more-difficult to use seat than the Britaxes, but it's less than half the price, so if your budget is limited, I wouldn't rule it out completely.
I've owned all these seats (except the Wizard, but I have a friend who has one, and it's basically the same as the Marathon) so if you have any questions about them, ask away!
Hope that helps,
:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[lbess]

Your answer to the harness question makes me feel better -- that was what I had always understood from the helpful people here, so my friend's comment threw me. Now I just have to figure out what to actually DO about new seats. We have the Safe Embrace in three cars right now, but I don't think that paying for 3 Britaxes is the right answer. At the moment, I'm leaning toward a Britax for my car (where DD rides most of the time), maybe an Airway for my husband's car (she's there 2-4 rides per week), and probably just a booster for my MIL's car (DD rides there about once a month, and for mostly short trips where she's unlikely to fall asleep and flop over).
The Husky seems like the better choice for us, over the Marathon, given that we don't move the seat much, and she may continue to gain quickly. BUT, that decision may rest on how it fits the car. We have an 8-psgr Sienna with the "front and center" middle seat where the new baby's seat will go in a month, and I'm hoping to put DD's seat in the second row next to the baby. I think she would be very disappointed to be "banished" to the 3rd row...

Thanks again!