Harnessed seats past 7 yrs. old?

[AnnieW625]

DD2 will be 7/1/2 at the end of October. She is 50" tall and 48 lbs. She is in a harnessed Frontier 90 in my car, and a Peg Perego Viaggio high back booster in DH's car--06 Honda Pilot (she has been in this since she was 5 and outgrew her BLVD. by height) and routinely rides in a booster in others cars and she is well behaved in the car. Last night DD2 asked for a booster in my car--17 Subaru Outback. I swear this is her first comment ever about a car seat (but she was also wet and tired from swim class as she didn't pack her dry clothes to change into so she was a bit uncomfortable). FWIW DD1 was quite the opposite and hated car seats in general and was in a high back booster full time by 5/1/2 so I am just happy DD2 made it this far. So if I do honor this request I will take the harness out of the Frontier, but I am just curious what others here are doing. Six years ago when I moved DD1 to the high back booster I felt like I was the only one doing so before 7, 8, or even 9 yrs. old.

(Posted here for traffic)


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[123LuckyMom]

I think of myself as pretty car seat conservative, but I go by skeletal strength and behavior. I rear faced both my kids until almost age 4, but my understanding is that at age 5 and up, even a small child has the skeletal strength to be front facing and for a well-fitted seatbelt (using a high back booster or a low back booster with a shoulder positioner) to be safe in the event of a crash. If the child is capable at the age of skeletal strength to sit still and make sure the seat belt stays in position, that child is safe in a high or low back booster. A harness is probably safer, because it doesn't allow for movement, so the straps definitely stay in place, but a well positioned seat belt will restrain a child in a crash. I just moved my 5 year old peanut to a high backed booster for kindergarten. If she hadn't been complaining, I would have kept her harnessed as long as I did my son, which was until mid-first grade, I think, but she was complaining, so I took the plunge. She's very good about sitting still. At age 7, I would think most typically developing children would be able to sit still so a seat belt could do its job. I wouldn't hesitate to let your daughter be in booster mode.


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[PZMommy]

I move my kids to boosters when they start kindergarten, as it is easier for drop offs and pick ups. I would have no problem moving a child of your daughter's age and size to a booster.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We switched over to a booster in the primary car when ds2 was 8. I was willing to switch him sooner but he preferred the harness. It was faster and easier for him to buckle.
I think we moved ds1 to a HBB when he was 6.


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[mackmama]

DC just started 1st grade and is the only one in the class who still uses a harness. All of the other kids were in boosters at the start of K. DC doesn't seem to care so I'm not changing it.

[lalasmama]

I think I read somewhere (here on the BBB?) that the research is about equal for crash injury rates after the age of 6 for harness vs booster (properly positioned, of course!).

We moved DD (13) to a high back booster at 1st grade (to ease drop off, honestly). I think she was booster-free at 9-10 years old (long, lanky frame meant she met all the 5-point booster-free conditions).

DGS1 (6y4m) was moved to a HBB at 6. He's very safety conscious, and potentially a little afraid of Grammy's threat, "If you don't sit properly in a booster, the hospital doesn't have superhero heads, so you won't ever have a head again," and, "If you don't sit right, I'll get another baby seat like DGS3's seat, and put you in that to keep you safe!" He does very well with it :) I hesitated a little with the decision to move him, but remembered the study I had heard about above, and decided to give it a go.

DGS2 is 5y3m and knows that he doesn't get a booster until he's 6, and he's looking forward to it. He's a scrawny kid though, so I may try to get him to 6.5 in a harness. Heck, he's not even 40# yet, so I have some time to decide!

[legaleagle]

I let my kids move at 7 though they would have continued to fit in the harnesses seats we have. DD (5) occasionally rides in a HBB.

[citymama]

DD2 is the exact same age as yours, a little tinier (48 inches tall and 42 lbs). She is in a harnessed Frontier. For the past couple of weeks she's been in a backless booster because we had to move the Frontier out to fit some Ikea purchases and I haven't felt as comfortable. But I guess she's ready based on the comments here.

[doberbrat]

I think I read somewhere (here on the BBB?) that the research is about equal for crash injury rates after the age of 6 for harness vs booster (properly positioned, of course!).

(properly positioned, of course!) This is the key and why I have my nearly 8yo (52in and ~58lbs) still in a harness for all but very short trips. I still occasionally have to tell my 11yo to sit still with her back fully on the seat back, not leaning over etc. No way is dd2 going to do is 100% of the time.

I think that boosters vs harnessed are similar in safety when they sit properly but when they dont, the chance for injury probably skyrockets

[lizzywednesday]

DD outgrew her BLVD and MA about 2 years ago; she's been in a Graco Turbobooster high-back (converts to low-back) ever since. I was concerned about her behavior in the car, but she's really surprised me. What's been really nice about the booster is that she can buckle her own seat belt, so I don't have to stand up to my ankles in the rain when loading her into the car, etc.

We have a BubbleBum for traveling, which is great because it gives us a lot more flexibility about the kinds of vehicles we can take as a family - we've taken Uber from the airport to the ILs', Uber around DC from Union Station, and had a quick way to transport my nephew safely when we spent time at my mom's last summer.

[jbbhb]

DC just started 1st grade and is the only one in the class who still uses a harness. All of the other kids were in boosters at the start of K. DC doesn't seem to care so I'm not changing it.

This is us too. DS1 is newly 7, 47" and about 55 lbs. Harnessed in a pioneer 90. He has ridden in boosters for carpool etc and he says his seat is more comfy.


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[niccig]

I'd be fine with a booster at her size and age.


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[AnnieW625]

Thank you all for your input. She didn't mention anything yesterday.

In general she is well behaved in the car and DH never complains about her when she is in his car so I don't think in general she would be worse off in a booster I just want to see how long she will stay in (kind of silly if you ask me, but I think part of me is still trying to make up for all of the shortcomings car seat wise with Dd1....didn't rearface past 1, booster seat at 5/1/2 as soon as she asked for one, etc.)

I have no clue what kind of seats her classmates are in. I am sure most are in boosters.


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[twowhat?]

Definitely old enough for a booster if she sits properly. I'm pretty conservative and rear-faced our kids to age 4.5 years in our van (a little younger in our Subaru Forester due to space constraints) and mine were in boosters at age 7. We do have high-back boosters (Recaro) in DH's car because the seat belt geometry is terrible (it's a Ford Explorer - company car), but in our minivan and Forester, the belt geometry is great and belts hit in the right places. Our kids are very petite (at that age my more petite DD2 was only 48 inches tall and less than 50 pounds) but the Harmony Youth worked really well. And we're still using the Harmony Youth since our kids are still pretty petite, and because they're also lightweight and easy to tote on the plane or carpools.

[Pear]

Dd could fit in our frontier harnessed probably through her teen years. She is still just in a regular booster at 8. The convenience factor is huge. We just all hop in and out of the car now.



Even with a high backed booster last year, we held up the car line every day. When she was harnessed in kindergarten we had to get special permission from the school to park and pick Dd up in the office because they would not help her with the harness and they would not budge on us getting out of the car.