How long did you keep your kid in a 5-point harness carseat? archived

The car seat should have specific poundage limits for use with the 5 pont harness and the regular seat belt. I want to say that 5 point harness should not be used after 40 lbs. At that point, you move to seat belt use. I'd check out your seat's user manual online and see what it says. By 5.5, I'd be using a seat belt with a booster. At that point, it's more about height anyway...and where the seat belt hits the child on the body.

Please tell me this child is not jammed in a regular convertible seat still???? ;-)

Our 6 year olds are very big (90th in height, 70th in weight), and the doctor just told them to stay in a 5 point harness until they were 8.

Posted By: mammabearPlease tell me this child is not jammed in a regular convertible seat still???? ;-)

Well, this was the case until Saturday. That said, the carseat weight limit is 65 pounds, and I don't think we'll hit that weight for several more years. I think we could be pushing it on height.

I think I might be less freaked out about losing that 5-point security, and more freaked out about sitting next to the door, and not secured in the center of the backseat.

Our kids made the transition from 5 point harness car seat to large booster with regular belt just before turning 5 and they are on the small side, didn't hit 40 lbs before almost 6. I think as long as you get a full booster, not just those shims they sit on you should be good.
However, I just looked at the Britax website http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats and they recommend those only for 40lbs and up.

Posted By: deiscaneOur 6 year olds are very big (90th in height, 70th in weight), and the doctor just told them to stay in a 5 point harness until they were 8.

8!?!?!?!?!?!?!

My understanding from looking into this a year or two ago is that many LATCH anchors have a maximum weight limit of 40 lbs. Above that weight you should be using a seatbelt to hold the carseat or move to an appropriate booster with a regular shoulder belt.

They just changed the guidelines for car seats too. I can't imagine, I think you have to be 12 and/or 80 pounds to get out of the booster. I would have been in a car seat until I was 16!!!!

Scarlet,
I think the rules are still at 8 years and 80 pounds. This from the state's website:
http://www.nj.gov/oag/hts/seatbelts.html

New Jersey’s Child Passenger Law:


Children up to age 8 or 80 pounds must ride in a safety or booster seat in the rear seat of the vehicle. If there is no rear seat, the child must sit in the front seat secured by a child safety seat or booster seat.
Children under age 8 who weigh more than 80 pounds must wear a seat belt anywhere in the vehicle.
Passengers age 8 to 18 (regardless of weight ) must wear a seat belt anywhere inside a vehicle.

I finally switched when dd started kindergarten at about 5.5. She was I think over 30 lbs but not over 40 at that point. I figured if I was going to be dropping her off at kindergarten I wanted her to be able to get out of the car easily. Definitely get the full booster which adjusts the seatbelt down to a better height. That being said she really missed the "big" seat on long car rides, not as easy to nap in the booster!

Scarlet, uhg. Just got rid of the booster for dd when she turned 10, guess I should have kept her in there. She won't hit 80 lbs til high school for sure. I was 85 lbs when I graduated!

My kids are 4 and just turned 7, average sized they are both in 5pt harness Britax Frontier85. It converts to a highback booster. They are huge seats but they work for us.

Posted By: jasper1664

Posted By: mammabearPlease tell me this child is not jammed in a regular convertible seat still???? ;-)

Well, this was the case until Saturday. That said, the carseat weight limit is 65 pounds, and I don't think we'll hit that weight for several more years. I think we could be pushing it on height.

I think I might be less freaked out about losing that 5-point security, and more freaked out about sitting next to the door, and not secured in the center of the backseat.

If the seat goes to 65 lbs, you are fine...but double check height limits and weight limits with 5 point harness. There could be a cutoff for 5 point use. at that point, you move to the seat belt. (My last foray with this was with 9 year old, so it's possible things have changed. I just remember switching to the seat belt at some point due to weight)

Funny...I just did a bunch of reseach on the infant car seat thing...OY!! And even though I had two borrowed car seats in great condition, I had to buy a different infant seat. Both the new (ish) ones I had only went to 22 lbs!!! Yikpes...that will be next month with my chunker!!!

my 5 yo only weighs about 33lbs, and he's in a Cosco:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001J8DNM4/allbabyfind-20

he's also short in stature. so he's comfortable in the seat and we'll keep him in it until he's older. when i do get him a booster, i'm going to get one with a full back, as those guide the seatbelt straps to be exactly where they should hit your child to be safe.

here's some seat info(altho not boosters - check consumer reports!):
http://www.allbabyfind.com/baby-car-seats-strollers/top-10-safest-convertible-car-seats

I plan to keep mine in 5 pt as long as possible--ours go to 65 lbs.
That said, one of my 3.5 year olds is over 40 lbs and pretty tall, so per the manual, his carseat can't be LATCHed, has to be secured with seatbelt.
I didn't realize he was so big, I guess b/c he's in a class with kids turning 5 too?

Posted By: newstead77Scarlet,
I think the rules are still at 8 years and 80 pounds. This from the state's website:
http://www.nj.gov/oag/hts/seatbelts.html

New Jersey’s Child Passenger Law:


Children up to age 8 or 80 pounds must ride in a safety or booster seat in the rear seat of the vehicle. If there is no rear seat, the child must sit in the front seat secured by a child safety seat or booster seat.
Children under age 8 who weigh more than 80 pounds must wear a seat belt anywhere in the vehicle.
Passengers age 8 to 18 (regardless of weight ) must wear a seat belt anywhere inside a vehicle.

It might be in PA. I saw it on a news show (thought it was the Today Show) that guidelines are changing, including keeping your child sitting backwards until the age of 2 instead of 1.

Just looked it up, it is a guideline, not a law! Thus the difference :bigsmile:

http://children.webmd.com/news/20110318/new-guidelines-for-childrens-car-seats

can't you just use the 5 point on the long trip if it makes you feel more comfortable?

Corey

I know it's hard to keep older kids in these seats, but you should at least be aware of the research. The size of a child, not their age, determines the likelihood that they will be injured in a car crash. So, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently began advising that toddlers stay in rear-facing car seats until age 2, and that older children ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall, and 8 to 12 years old. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/health/policy/22carseat.html?_r=2&hp

Wow....my daughter will be 3 next month and is almost 40 lbs! We have one car seat (Britax) that goes to 65 pounds and the other one does not but I have to check the weight. That being said, she has been the same weight for a few months, just stretching up. She is always over 97% for height and weight.

I have been thinking that we would get the Britax frontier when she outgrows the other car seat but now I am so confused. Should I be keeping her in a convertible until she is 4y.o. even though weight/height wise she would be okay in a 5 point booster? She already gives us problems sometimes...

FWIW the guidelines to keep them in rear-facing until 2 came out right after she turned 1, right after we turned her around. She was already so uncomfortable rear-facing because her legs were squished that I just kept her that way. My ped was not concerned because of her height/weight.

eta: Now I see that the recs are to go according to size not age. This thread is timely as she is outgrowing one seat!

Mellie...we had a solid booster with a 5 point harnes, then moved to a removable back booster as they got older...maybe 4ish? I can't imagine using a solid huge booster until 65 lbs...

A full back booster is not necessarily safer than a backless booster. Unlike a child car seat, the booster seat itself is not what secures the child, it is there to make sure the seat belt sits at the appropriate level on the child. There were some safety tests done and a few of the full back AND backless ones came out as excellent in crash ratings, I don't remember the names off the top of my head. Scully bought one of the backless ones for my nephew based on that research, with my sister's seal of approval.

Like Mellie, I'm wondering about the "rear facing until two" guide they just came out with. Right now my son is only 27lbs, but he is tall. If I still had him rear facing his little legs would be stretched over the back of the head rest. If they want people to comply they are going to have to completely redesign the rear facing seats to deal with taller toddlers. There has to be a point where safety meets reality.

Spon...they did just redesign all the infant seats. I have a rear facing infant seat that goes to 35 lbs/32 inches. It's made to max out how long they can be rear facing. The seat is wider and deeper and weighs about 2 lbs more. It also allows for more leg room. I did tons of research and went with the Graco Snugride 35.

But my son is already 34", so too tall for that seat. If they want him to be rear facing until he is 40lbs, well, like I said, his feet will be over the head rest, unless I feed him cake and ice cream every night to put another 13 pounds on him quick.

The infant seat I had him in was rated to 30lbs/30 inches. He hit 30 inches awhile ago, and he still has not hit 30lbs. I don't know when he'll reach 40lbs like they recommend. If I want to keep him rear facing until he is 40lbs I'll have to buy a convertable so I can put the top down and have his legs hang out over the trunk.

Re rear facing until 2---apparently they are meant to fold up their legs like a frog or just bend their knees, and every car seat tech I have talked to (talked to a few) said it looks uncomfortable to us but isn't bad to them. She had her daughter rear-facing until 4. I will see if I can find pics to show you what I mean. Essentially, the studies show it won't harm their legs if there is an accident, and to be crass, it is better to have a broken leg than a broken neck, is the thinking.

car-seat.org is a great resource.

You mean like this picture? The only other problem is that [i]I[/i] won't be able to fit in the front seat if the big car seat is rear facing like that.:shocked:

spontaneous- That was our other concern with rear facing convertible seat...Hubby and I are both tall and it did not fit with the seats back to where we could drive comfortably.

Mamma- That is what I was thinking re: booster.


Glad we are having the conversation!

That looks so uncomfortable!

OMG, I cannot believe these new guidelines. My 9 yo is barely 45 lbs. My pediatrician told me last year the big issue is if the seat belt is comfortable for her. I do have a backless booster in the car for her, but for local trips she doesn't often use it. I am generally a stickler re: safety issues, but like Wendyn, it's highly likely this kid does not reach 80 lbs until HS.

I guess when I took my kids out of 5 pt. harness doesn't matter anymore, the guidelines have changed so drastically!

Yeah, this does seem crazy. It will probably change the whole carseat landscape, you would think.

Luckily, when I'm not a desperate housewife pretending to be cool in my audi, we have a giant SUV that is destroying the earth, so we can fit the seat rear-facing if need be.

My older kids are obviously forward facing--but to be fair, I did keep them rear facing until 20 months. With this baby, I will follow the 2 year guideline and hope that in a few months I can get a good rec for a convertible carseat that rearfaces up to 40 lbs and has some room for legs.

Yikes.

It isn't uncomfortable. My son was rear facing until age 3 1/2. He just sat cross-cross applesauce or put his legs up like he was king or something. He actually complained that his knees hurt when we turned him forward facing because then his legs dangled and didn't have as much support.

Yes, mammabeae, your research is very outdated, especially given the changes in car seats in the past 9 years. Glad you are brushing up so your new one is kept as safe as possible.

As to the OP, my now-5 1/2yo still uses a 5-pt harness. We have the Radian carseats that go up to 65lbs and have a shoulder height limit of about 19". For comparison, my 5 1/2yo is 36lb and measures 15 3/4" in shoulder height do we have a looong way to go in getting good use out of the seats. FWIW, when he has a playdate and goes home with another friend with only a booster, I'm fine with him driving in-town a few miles here and there but he really IS safer in a 5-pt harness seat, so why switch him?

My daughter was rear-facing in her Britax convertible until just a month shy of 4YO. She'd simply cross her legs or put them out or up, and she was fine. She grew out of rear-facing due to weight and is now 5 and still in the convertible in the 5-pt harness. It goes up to something like 65lbs., but I think she'll outgrow it by height before reaching the weight limit. Rear-facing until 2 is great, but children should rear-face as long as possible, as it's the safest way to ride.

In any case, the AAP's new guideline is as follows:
"In a new policy published in the April 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online March 21), the AAP advises parents to keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat. It also advises that most children will need to ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years of age."

http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/carseat2011.htm

I know that in Sweden, extended rear-facing is the norm, and the squished leg concern is a non-issue as dobler88 mentioned. Car-seat.org has a wealth of info. and is the go-to website for any car seat questions.