Car Seat to a Booster

Yes there are!!!! Graco now makes a 5 point harness for up to 65 pounds!!!!

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8112222

My 4 yo is now in a Graco Nautilus & will be until it expires or he outgrows it. We do not trust my 4 yo w/ his own life, so we choose not to booster him at the average age of 4. I believe you will start seeing a lot more school age children in 5 pt harnesses. I agree, check out car-seat.org you will learn a lot about child passenger safety and feel more comfortable about keeping you LO in a 5 pt harness.

I'm in the same boat. (DD is 39.3 pounds)
We have a seat that coverts to a booster and my husband thinks we should start using it, while I think the 5 point harness is better; HOWEVER, I got out our instruction manual, and, with our seat, we are not supposed to use the harness once she weighs 40 pounds. (straps are only supposed to hold her up to that weight)

If you're using the 5 point harness, I'm not sure why you shouldn't use both the seat belt and the LATCH system. Seems like the LATCH system would have it covered, but maybe you can't properly use the seat belt while using the LATCH?

I know that for using a booster seat, you can't use the LATCH system, because they want the weight of the booster to push against the seatbelt, should it need to engage, but when using the harness, I'm not sure why you can't use both.

I took a 40 hour training course to become a car seat technician for the Junior League. You are correct to use either one or the other when it comes to seat belt or the latch system. It is not safer to use both. Using both can cause different stresses on the seat than it is designed for. If you use Latch and the seatbelt is in the way, just buckle it behind the seat. Most (if not all) backless boosters are designed for children 40 pounds and up. The high back boosters are typically designed for 30 pounds and up (check the owners manual for exact weights). My eight year old still sits in a backless booster simply because it makes the seatbelt fit her correctly. If you put her in a booster, make sure that the seatbelt goes across the upper thighs or lower hips NOT up on the stomach. Also make sure that the shoulder belt goes across her shoulder, not her neck. You can use the guide on a highback booster for this, or the strap on a backless booster or some cars have guides that hold the strap lower. Never use a booster with a lap belt only. Preferably, never put a child in a car with a lap belt only - this greatly increases the risk of spinal injuries. Even adults would be safer in a 5 point harness (notice race drivers), but that is not practical. When you move your child to a booster, make sure she in within the weight limits, the seatbelt fits correctly and there is no slack in the seatbelt. Let your child buckle herself in and you double check. My children are very good at doing that and very quick to tell another child they are not safe if they have not routed the seatbelt correctly. She will likely not always be with you, so teach her well and she will handle it when you are not around.

We also use the Britax regent and love it. My son will be in it until he's 80 lbs, even if he's 12 years old by that time!!! (OK, probably not at 12..ha ha). I just feel that the 5-point is safer. There are some seats now that have 5 point harnesses and look more like booster seats. Check out www.elitecarseats.com. They are fabulous and very helpful.

I just want to add: there are many seats on the market that harness to over 40lbs now. Britax makes several, including the marathon (65lbs) and the Regent (80lbs), Fisher Price makes one (with Britax help) that's to 50 or 60 and is significantly less in price, Graco makes the Nautilus I believe to ether 55 or 65lbs and the Cosco/Safety 1st Apex is to 65lbs as is the Sunshine Kids Radian. there may be more, but the are out there and they are designed to keep them safer than boosters. It's got to be something you'll stick to if you buy the seat, but it's well worth it in my opinion.

Yes, my 7 year old, 4'2", 68lb child still has a Britax Regent 5-point harness that she uses most of the time. If she's with her grandparents she sits in a booster, but with me she's in a 5-pt harness. She knows she must be in it, that it makes mommy feel safer and she herself thinks that it is more comfortable especially for sleeping if we are going to Shreveport or my parents. I've seen the crash-test video and don't feel comfortable with young children in a booster seat. you can get more info at babycenter's car safety board or carsafety.org i think is the site.
M.

With the booster seat what I had to do was find a booster seat that was made for 30 pounds or more and that worked great. My daughter met the height requirement as well but was not even 30 pounds until she was almost 6. So see if you can find a 30 pound booster seat.

you can still use the seat, just use the care seat belt. I do that with my 6 yr old. He is tall enough but not weight. I also feel better with him in the seat.

We have a very petite daughter who is only 45 pounds and is 9 yrs. old. She's very healthy, just little like many of the other ladies in our family. She started sitting in a booster seat with the 3 point seat belt across her when she was 5 and started 5K in school. She still sits on it to raise her up high enough to comfortably see out of the window. As long as they are mature enough to stay seated and wear the seat belt properly at 5, I believe they are safe to move to the booster seat. My nephews are also 5 and are now in booster seats.

we kind of had the same problem, but my son is not quite five yet. he was too tall for the five point harness, but only 39 lbs. we moved him anyway because i read that if they are too tall that it can break their back if you are in a high speed accident. i think they tell you not too use the latch because they need the weight of the carseat combined with their own weight to lock up the seatbelt in an accident. do you live in oklahoma? you can call the Safe Kids Coalition--they are the experts in car seats and car seat questions/installation. we went with the Graco backless turbo booster with the seat belt. but our car also has the side curtain air bags, so i felt better about the booster. he loves being a big kid now, able to help his sister reach things in the car.

My son just turned 5 and has been 40 lbs. for a while now. I keep him in a 5-point harness and will for quite some time. It is designed for children up to 80 lbs. He's very comfortable in it and after researching I have discovered it's much safer than a conventional booster. (His is the Britax Regent, btw).

Rear-facing in a five point harness is the safest way to ride. The next step up is forward-facing in a five point harness, then in a belt-positioning booster seat and finally in just a vehicle seat and seatbelt. Each step up is a step down in safety. Thanks to Kyle Miller's parents (www.kyledavidmiller.org), yes, there are more 5-6 year olds in harnesses. If your daughter is too tall for her current harnessing seat, a Sunshine Kids Radian or a Graco Nautilus would be a great next seat.

For more information, check out car-seat.org

When you are ready to put her in a booster, I would recommend the Sunshine Kids Monterey. My 10 year old is in one and has plenty of room to grow since it will accommodate her to 5'3" and 120lbs.

Hi J.,
My girl isn't as big a girl, but she is underweight for her age (according to the Ped.-she's 35 5/8" and 28lbs.) she is still in a rear facing seat.
Daddy and I keep going around about this, I know she would feel "big" if she turned forward facing, but Daddy always says "Would you rather she have 2 broken legs, or a broken neck"? HOW do you argue THAT point...
My Point= I"m SURE I will have this conv. w/ her SOON, and I'm gonna tell her it makes Mommy feel better about her being in the car-that she's safer and that once she is a little bit bigger we will talk about it again. I feel this is one of those things where you have to do what you feel in your gut is best and perhaps even ignore your child if they whine...If being in a 5 point is safer, is there any choice?? I don't feel so.
Hope this helps,
C.

I would read the manual regarding weight-if it says not to put a child over 40 lbs in a 5 point harness then don't. I think you may be able to find a booster that will fit a 30 lb child using the harness and then convert to seatbelt when she's bigger, that may make her feel like she's in a big girl seat instead of a baby seat.

Regarding the seat belt vs latch question-I think the way the seat belt pulls on the car seat may interfere with the latch system and not get as tight a fit as you need. I know the latch system is supposed to be the better choice so if you have the choice-use the latch!

My preschooler is very tall and really skinny. We wanted a 5-point harness b/c it's just safer (and she can undo a regular seat belt by herself). After lots of research, we bought the Graco Nautilus ($150) at walmart. It has really tall strap slots and can be used w/ the harness until 100 lbs.
It's awesome and comfortable. Worth every penny. It's also on sale at Toys R Us in Dothan for $130 (with a coupon that they have in the store). Good luck to you.
PS - It's also much more affordable than Britax seats and gets good ratings.

Keep them in a 5 point as long as you safely can. It is the safer than the booster with an adult belt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2kO8AxKbrM

Cathyd

A high back booster will provide more support than the ones that just go under their bottoms. She/you may feel more comfortable in this until she grows a little. Many that have the 5-point harness can be used as a booster with the harness removed.

Hi, Love your question and concern. I have my 6 year old(and 4 year old) in a 5 point harness and will until they are 65lbs or 57inches(the requirement of the Apex 65 Booster Car Seat by Safety 1st). I boutht this for him when he too was 4years old, 39lbs and 41inches. I have heard too many storys from my family members who are firefighters about kids in bossters with the carseat belt. Our police station has certified Car seat officers(taken a three day course about all types of car seats) and we had one talk to us at our MOMS Club. At any time I can go to our police station and have an officer instal and/or inspect our seat's. I do recoment the Apex 65. You can get it from $90to $140.( http://www.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/IWCatProductPage.pro... ) I think your question on the seat belt/latch syestem has been answered by others. The only thing I could add is that the officer told us that not all seats are made for all car's and to read your car manual as well as the carseat manual for how to instal(but I would recoment you check with your police station and see if they have a certified officer who can do it for you, they will know about your car and the seat you are using best, and have first had knowlegd of how car seats work in ancidents. The officer also told us to never buy a used one because the plastic wears down with time, especialy if that seat has been in an acident! Good Luck, and be strong if she wants to change and you know it is not in her best interest. I tell my son that I know this is safer and I love him to much to put him in an unsafe seat,but he loves the color of the one I got him so it has not been a problem.

In Oklahoma a child is to stay in a booster seat until they are 4'9 so as long as she is under that height don't just buckle her into the car. On the second question EMS told me when they checked my car seat that if you hook a carseat into a latch system and use a belt it keeps you from getting either one as tight as they need to be and if in an accident it can do more harm than good. We use the latch system it seems to be more sturdy and hold the car seat base in better than the seat belt. You might go by your local EMS and have them do a car seat safety inspection it will give you more peace of mind and they know what they are talking about. As soon as my daughter converts to a forward facing car seat I plan to go back to EMS and make sure everything is correct.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5716971

This one only requires 30+ pounds. We have it and it's much easier.

My older two kids are 6-1/2 & 4-3/4 and both 39 lbs. They're in the Graco Nautilus with the 5-pt harness and when they move out of that they'll use it for a booster. They'd love to be in a booster now but know that I won't go for it.

Using both LATCH and the seat-belt to install puts too much stress on the seat. During normal use and a crash it gets pulled in several directions with both methods used.

http://www.car-seat.org/index.php is an excellent source of info.