Older Child Opposition to Harness

U

Unregistered

Guest
DS is 6.25yo, 54 lb, 47" and has been in the Super Elite (Husky) for about a year and a half now I suppose. We've been very happy with the seat, and, until now, so was he. Now he's getting ready to be a big 1st grader in the fall, and is giving us some grief about still being in the harness. He wants out of the "baby seat" and into a bpb like his buddies. We've got the new 8/80 law in PA, and I think the SE will fit him until then (or pretty close). I really like the extra protection from the 5pt harness, but he is getting big, and I'm sure he could handle the bpb just fine. Anyone else dealing with this type of situation? Is it worth fighting about for a year and a half?
 
ADS

Robert

CPST Instructor
Its going to have to be your call. Even thou the 5-point harness does offer more protection then the lap and shoulder belt. Perhaps someone else has run into this situtation and can offer some advise.
 

bazanna

Senior Community Member
i think you can use it as a teaching opportunity for you son, explaining to him why and how a harness is so much safer for him etc....and if any of his buddies give him guff with you around you can correct them and explain as well.

i'm thinking they won't even see him in it anyway, that he won't be in it in front of them a whole lot...if he goes with another family you'd probably send a booster for him instead of yanking out the SE and installing it elsewhere....and other kids coming with you in their boosters again can be explained to...

if it were me and my child, i would not let him win this one. i've seen some sad pics and horrifying crash videos.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
My almost-6 yo ds is beginning to want to be in his booster more and more...but he also really likes knowing that his Super Elite has a seatbelt like "racecar drivers and pilots" use, and that's usually enough to keep him happy for awhile.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Good idea Jools, hadn't thought of that.

DD really wants a booster (instead of her Marathon) because they all have cupholders. She keeps asking when she gets big enough (she is 4.5 now) can she get one like her best friend. Well, I'm not thinking the Britax seats will have cupholders then so I always say, "we will get you whatever one is safest." A real advantage to the harnessed seats is that they sit up higher--- DD hated being so low in her Century seat, but if you have a mini-van that wouldn't be an issue.

Give us an update with what you decide to do---I'm sure I'll be dealing with that soon enough!
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Oh, I totally agree with that! I WISH Britax seats had cupholders! My minivan is loaded with cupholders, but my kids can't reach any of them. A cupholder would really be a hot selling point for the Bodyguard, IMO (mabye those clever engineers at britax can come up with a universal cupholder add-on for all seats?...hmmm...) ;)
Julie
 

mamamia

New member
here's a solution

Even though I have read that sippy cups are actually dangerous in a crash (flying objects and all) I still give my kids sippy cups (but everything else is bungeed down in the van LOL!). I bought a $12 car seat protector (car seat-as in the seat of your car, not child restraint protector) from Walmart. It has a little mesh pocket up front and my FF almost 3 year old keeps her sippy in there and can easily reach it as we drive. That may be a cheap solution for your kids too. ANd the mat really keeps the seat nice. I have removed the girls car seats and there is no indentation in my vehicle seats. yippee!
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
oh yeah, i have those...they made my seats slip around in one of our older cars, but might not with the LATCH in my new car...it's the Sassy one, with nylon on one side and fleece on the other, right?...it definitely would be too low for dd in her MA (that thing is HIGH), but might work for ds in his Airway....hmmmm....
(hey techs? are those ones safe to use?...there's nothing to compress...)
 

mamamia

New member
no that's not it

It is by munchkin I think. It is sort of faux leather actually. I forgot the MA is high. My kids are in the low-riding FPSE (which worked awesome in my compact, but now that I have my 2004 Sienna, I want a RF LATCH seat. I wish I new we would be getting a new car now or I wouldn't have gotten my second FPSE on Ebay last year. But it was truly the best fit in my old car. I had tried a RA 3 years ago, but it completely obstructed my view out the rear view mirror so I returned it!

I did go have my RF seat checked because I am unhappy with its slant, and the tech didn't say anything about the mat under the seat. Of course he also told me to tether my RF FPSE....I won't go there!
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Well, since I saw the Sienna brochure with the picture of the little girl sitting in the Marathon....that must be the seat you need! lol...of course, the Wizard should be utterly awesome...i hope it's in production already...i may feel the need to put one in my toyota prius, just for the side impact protection.
I've seen some soft car toyboxes that can be strapped in with the seatbelt...since i have my ds in the middle of the back bench, i could put one of those next to him for toys and drinks...or make DH go "all out" and get the sharper image minifridge with built-in cupholders (after all, he already went all out buying the loaded odyssey with the DVD player, what's one minifridge, right? lol...hey, anything to keep them harnessed longer is ok in my book ;) )
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
This goes along with the first post in this thread. My DS is 5.5 y.o. and 47 lb and 46 in. I don't like the convertible seat now that we've changed it to the booster, and I'm thinking about switching him to the Husky. Has anybody switched your kid back to a harness after more than a year? I don't want to mention it to him and deal with the politics until I'm sure I want to do it, lol! The racecar thing is a good idea, I never thought about that. Anybody else dealt with an issue like this?

TIA, Debbie
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Well, I know of at least one person who put her 5+ year old back in a Husky after booster time (and mine has been in a booster at least part time since age 3...he's very accommodating and will sit in whatever I put him in)....it probably has something to do with the child's personality, and the mom's calm, clear conviction that this is the right choice, and this is how it's going to be. Another friend's 7 yo went back into a Husky after the mom was in a crash in the car alone and the seatbelts failed to lock properly...the dd didn't want to do it at first, but the mom made it clear it was safer, and the dd is happy in her seat now.
Another option you might want to consider is the Britax Bodyguard....it is a booster with excellent side impact protection (and side impact protection is one of the key reasons to be harnessed in a five point in the first place). You can see this seat at britaxusa.com, or read Darren's review of it in the carseat review forum on this site.
Hope that helps,
 

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