How long did you keep DC harnessed before going to a booster?

[HIU8]

DS is about to outgrow his MA. He is 5 yrs old, 37 lbs and 43 inches. We are going with a frontier for more harness time. How much more time can I expect to keep him harnessed (My goal is until age 6 or even age 7 if that is realistic--both according to his stats and safetywise)? I guess I want to know how long others have kept their children harnessed?

[SnuggleBuggles]

We moved him at 5 for a few months till I felt guilty and moved him to a Nautilus. He rode in that until 7.5 now is in a high backed booster. I got freaked out by the whole neck excursion thing and decided that I wanted to move him.

Beth

[HIU8]

So I could actually keep him harnessed until 6 or a bit longer? He is not mature and falls asleep almost every single car ride. He refused to do any part of the harness himself. Is there anything out there that speaks of the safety of harnessing until at least age 7?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I haven't read anything. I just told ds that the harness was safer and he accepted that without any problem. He fought me to keep his Nautilus because he felt safer in it. He's been buckling himself since he was 4 (memory is a bit fuzzy...could be +/- 1y!).

Beth

[Joolsplus2]

DD1 was wearing size 7/8 shirts in this picture, she was a wee bit over the top slots at 8 y 8 m... (she outgrew the Marathon about age 6) http://picasaweb.google.com/joolstag/Frontier#5208123831531927778

My kids had Huskies (Regents) and could have easily been harnessed till 10, but I moved them to boosters around 7 full time (part time boosters from 5ish, though).

[HIU8]

Thanks Jools. DS will remain harnessed for awhile (due to his immaturity in addition to his height and weight). I am 1) attempting to justify the cost of the Frontier (mostly to myself), and 2) trying to make sure that I'm not doing any harm to DS by keeping him harnessed passed a certain point in development.

[bubbaray]

I moved DD#1 to a booster in my van (which she rides in most often) full time at age 5 (1m after her 5th b-day). Will probably do the same for DD#2, though it depends on the child's personality (and DD#2 is a bit more of a monkey, so who knows). DD#1 is very compliant and was HIGHLY motivated to get a pink seat.

DD#1 is still harnessed in DH's truck (Nautilus), though we are contemplating another booster for that vehicle. We purchased the GN when he still has his old SUV that had less than stellar side impact scores. His new truck (Toyota Tacoma) has much better safety ratings and I feel completely confident that DD#1 could be in a booster full time in that vehicle too.

HTH

[Joolsplus2]

I just hope we can find you a really good deal on the FR. Like, under 200 would be nice, huh?

I've been reading the carseat boards so long I've really seen the pendulum swing back and forth on harnessing.... the excitement of having seats that went past 40lbs led a lot of us to harness to 8, 9, 10, when in reality 5,6,7 is fine for most kids to be able to sit safely in a booster. Car sleepers definitely benefit from big harnessed seats, though :thumbsup:

[HIU8]

Thanks Jools. I'm on the prowl for a Frontier at the best price now.

[mikeys_mom]

We moved DS to a harnessed FR a few months before he turned 4. He had outgrown his MA but I did not feel he was ready for a booster yet. I bought the FR knowing that I would pass it down to DD#1 when I needed her MA for the twins and buy DS a booster at that point if he was ready.

A few months after he turned 5, I needed DD#1's MA for the twins and felt that DS was mature enough for a booster. Had I not needed the FR for DD#1, I might have kept him harnessed a bit longer, but it has worked out fine.

In terms of justifying the cost of the FR, it lasts 9 years, so between your 2 DC, you should get a lot of use out of it. At least that was part of my justification for spending the money on it ;).

[Momof3Labs]

DS1 is now officially outgrown all harnessed options (outgrew his Regent). He is off the charts for height at almost 7.5yo - like 55" tall, maybe more. He was 43" tall before his 4th birthday, so went from 43" to outgrowing the Regent over 3.5 years. Does that help?

Note that he has been in boosters off and on for 1 year or so (longer in Grandma's car - he doesn't ride there too often or too far) but was still in the Regent in one of our cars until I checked him yesterday and saw that his shoulders were at the top slots.

[DebbieJ]

My 6yo is still harnessed in a Nautilus.

We do own a TurboBooster and he has started riding in it occassionally. I was so glad I had reinstalled the Nautilus yesterday. We had a 45 mile drive at dusk and it started snowing and blowing horribly. Then DS fell asleep. I felt so much better knowing he was harnessed (although I still white-knuckled it a good part of that drive).

[HIU8]

I'm glad I'm hearing people harnessing longer. I was in a debate about whether to put DS in a booster or a frontier. I figure I will get at least a year of harness mode and then move to hbb mode. I'm a little scared to put DS in a booster to be honest. Scared mostly of 1) how DH drives and 2) other drivers, 3) DS still falls asleep at almost every single car ride (long or short).

[niccig]

DS is about to outgrow his MA. He is 5 yrs old, 37 lbs and 43 inches.

My DS has similar stats, 5 years old, 37.5 lbs and 41.5" tall. He still fits in our Safeguard and the Como, so he's staying in those. When he hits 40lbs, which will probably be when he's 6, I look at the Parkway SG and other boosters that work well for smaller kids. DS could probably sit in a booster now, but I think another year and a few extra pounds will be better - that's my gut feeling. We'll use the booster part-time until I'm sure he can ride it in full-time. I do think we'll move around 7ish or so. If DS was a bigger child, then I might move him earlier, but he's not.

[AnnieW625]

DD#1 is very compliant and was HIGHLY motivated to get a pink seat.


Melissa, I can see this being my daughter in the next year, she's attracted to anything pink. She told me she wanted the pink Turbobooster at Target yesterday. I told her nope, she already has big kid seats! Maybe for travel starting when she is 5 or an extra seat for field trips at school once she is in kindergarten. I am very grateful she has yet to see a pink Frontier though! :yay: :cheerleader1:

[tarahsolazy]

My son went into a HBB full time over this summer, he was about 5.5, and weighed about 48lbs or so. He outgrew the MA by height, and I decided I was OK with a good booster. He mostly rides in a Monterey in DH's Sienna, which has side curtain airbags. In my car, he's in a Turbobooster, and rarely uses it. It really fits him well, though, it seems like a nice booster for younger kids. My car is a VW that also has side curtain airbags.