Harness or Highback Booster for 4 year old

kristi · Aug 16, 2011

I'm going crazy with choices. My son is 4y3m old, 42 lbs and 42 inches tall. He is currently in an Evenflo Maestro. In the last month or so, he has started complaining about the harness straps rubbing his neck. We tried making sure his shirt was between his skin and the straps, and when that didn't help, we bought strap covers. Those aren't helping him either.

We had planned to keep him harnessed for about another year. I bought this seat just a few months ago. He is at the second from top with his harness straps. There is no way we can keep him in this seat for much longer. He is starting to dislike getting in the van where it was never a problem before.

We tried the Graco Nautilus today and while he loved the harness strap, it wasn't a good for him in the crotch.

He is our last child, so we have no one to hand things down to. I'd really prefer not to spend over $100 on another seat. I'm considering a highback Graco Turbobooster. Are their major concerns with this with hih weight and height? I have never noticed him fidgeting in his seat and he doesn't really move around.

Thank you so much, I'm very confused!

lorismurph · Aug 16, 2011

Are his straps too tight? I know we all focus on straps being too loose but they can be too tight sometimes too.

And of course, aftermarket products (like strap covers ) are always a no-no. You can use a thin sock with the toe cut out though.

monica-m · Aug 16, 2011

I would not booster a child that young. A booster rider is only protected if they sit correctly 100% of the time, even while sleeping. That is too much responsibility to put on a child that age. Most children are ready closer to age 6. The Britax Frontier might be a better fit for him. It has the tallest harness slots of anything on the market and makes a very tall high back booster when he is ready to be boostered.

kristi · Aug 16, 2011

lorismurph said:
Are his straps too tight? I know we all focus on straps being too loose but they can be too tight sometimes too.

And of course, aftermarket products (like strap covers ) are always a no-no. You can use a thin sock with the toe cut out though.

The straps you can buy are bad? They are pretty thin, I didn't buy the cushy ones, just the ones that are like a soft terry cloth.

As far as the straps being too tight, I'm not sure. There isn't a lot of extra space but we don't have to fight the chest clip or buckle to close either.

kristi · Aug 16, 2011

monica-m said:
I would not booster a child that young. A booster rider is only protected if they sit correctly 100% of the time, even while sleeping. That is too much responsibility to put on a child that age. Most children are ready closer to age 6. The Britax Frontier might be a better fit for him. It has the tallest harness slots of anything on the market and makes a very tall high back booster when he is ready to be boostered.

That is the seat that ie over $200, right? I know we definitely can't afford that one. I'm thinking about $125 is the absolute max. I wish I never convinced my husband to buy this darn Maestro. Then we would have more of a price range to play around with. He is our youngest of 4 and our last, so we couldn't get some of the cost back by handing it down to siblings.

Also, just have to say this forum is fantastic! I have learned so much.

Ninetales · Aug 16, 2011

Maybe you could sell the Maestro and put that to a new harnessed seat. 4 is just too young for a booster full time.

Any product that didn't come with the seat is a no-go. The seat wasn't tested with it so there's no way to know what would happen.

sirrahn · Aug 16, 2011

How close is he to the 2nd from top harness slot? If he's pretty close, going ahead and moving them up might help. Having the straps come out a bit too high isn't a safety issue at all.

Personally, I'm not one to jump up and down about a 40+lb 4+yr old in a booster. My oldest DS was boostered right at 4 (not really any other option back then though) and did just fine sitting still and keeping his seatbelt on. You have to go with what works best for your child and your budget. The Turbo consistently does an excellent job fitting the seatbelt on smaller booster riders.

mandynee22 · Aug 16, 2011

Ninetales said:
Maybe you could sell the Maestro and put that to a new harnessed seat. 4 is just too young for a booster full time.

Any product that didn't come with the seat is a no-go. The seat wasn't tested with it so there's no way to know what would happen.

Wouldn't that include socks? (serious question...I don't understand why sock is OK but strap covers that don't come with are not...)
I would try loosening the straps a little before buying a new seat, personally.

kristi · Aug 16, 2011

Thanks! I will try loosening the straps. As for how far his shoulders are from the top straps- probably about 2 inches or a little less. They definitely wouldn't be rubric at or slightly above his shoulders. Although I'm not sure what is considered slightly.

When I loosen straps, how do I check to make sure it is still snug enough?

monica-m · Aug 16, 2011

Try to pinch the harness webbing above the chest clip (shoulder area) and if your fingers slide off and cannot pinch any webbing then it is tight enough.

mommycat · Aug 16, 2011

Just to clarify, you pinch horizontally across the strap. This isn't always intuitive for some people. Here is a pictorial posted by Defrost: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=49030

When you tried the Nautilus, did you check that his bum was scooted all the way back in the seat? I find my boys tend to slouch forward in that seat, sitting too close to the crotch strap, until I remind them to sit back when I buckle.

I believe socks are ok because it is a solution that has been crash tested in the past and found to be ok, so it is generally accepted as a solution.

I think the question was how close is he to the harness slots he is using now because if he is quite close to being right at those slots and almost ready to move up to the next slot anyway, it is ok to jump the gun a bit and move up a little earlier. Not sure what the spacing is betweent the Maestro slots but if he is 2" from the top slots I imagine he is quite close to the 2nd to top slots (the ones he is using, yes?). If so, I would try moving the straps up as was suggested by PP.

Ninetales · Aug 17, 2011

I can't speak for socks because I've never done it, but there are things that are approved by manufacturers, like thin towels under the seat or noodles to help the recline. I used to think putting a rolled towel under a seat was insane and couldn't possibly be allowed, but it's ok if the maker says so.

Plus I've never seen an aftermarket strap cover that was as thin as a plain cotton baby sock.

kristi · Aug 17, 2011

Thank you for the link about the straps. I loosened them a bit and it seemed to help. After witnessing a low speed accident on my street yesterday that caused a lot of damage to a van, I have decided that we will now keep him harnessed as long as possible. Because of that, I may work on convincing my husband to buy another seat since the maestro is only up to 50 lbs with the harness. I will try the Nautilus again and make sure he is scooted back all the way to see if that helps. Otherwise, we will be on the lookout for something else. A friend recommended the Safety 1st Go Hybrid, so we may look at that too. I don't think it can become a high back booster though.

Do most kindergarten aged kids know how to buckle and unbuckle themselves from a harness? Travis what will hold my husband back from a harness in a year-end the school drop off line is not conducive to stopping, getting out and unbuckling and moves pretty quickly at pick up as well.

mommycat · Aug 17, 2011

The ability to buckle/unbuckle depends on the child and the seat. One of mine was able to buckle and unbuckle some seats but not others and also always tried, while the other one apparently has no interest in unbuckling anything, he can do his chest clip only but refuses to do so. You can definitely start practicing these skills with DS, you have a whole year. I would probably not go out and buy a seat just yet, hopefully the straps will not be an issue with your adjustments and as DS changes shape, etc. I think you probably won't max out the 50lbs for another year either, and the difference in maturity between 4yo and 5yo is huge. You may feel ok with a booster by the time school starts. In the end though, even if you end up getting another seat, you could still use the Maestro in booster mode for school dropp-off/pick-up or carpooling, and use the other seat for the rest of the time.

Kat_Momof3 · Aug 17, 2011

socks are okay because, with no padding, they are like wearing an extra t-shirt... there's no padding, nothing to compress... it just keeps the edge of the harness from chafing the neck flesh.

kristi · Aug 19, 2011

sirrahn said:
How close is he to the 2nd from top harness slot? If he's pretty close, going ahead and moving them up might help. Having the straps come out a bit too high isn't a safety issue at all.

kristi said:
Thanks! I will try loosening the straps. As for how far his shoulders are from the top straps- probably about 2 inches or a little less. They definitely wouldn't be right at or slightly above his shoulders. Although I'm not sure what is considered slightly.

mommycat said:
I think the question was how close is he to the harness slots he is using now because if he is quite close to being right at those slots and almost ready to move up to the next slot anyway, it is ok to jump the gun a bit and move up a little earlier. Not sure what the spacing is betweent the Maestro slots but if he is 2" from the top slots I imagine he is quite close to the 2nd to top slots (the ones he is using, yes?). If so, I would try moving the straps up as was suggested by PP.

Apparently I'm not very good at estimating measurements. He is about half an inch below the harness straps where he is now, so moving up to the next set (the highest set) of slots may be too high. What do you think?

He did sit in a Britax Frontier today and he said that rubbed too. Maybe he's just sensitive. Just for kicks, I took a Turbobooster out to our van to see how it fit. It didn't. The seatbelt was more on his neck. I'm frustrated with the Babies R Us employee who came out with me. She said it was fine if it was on his neck- as long as it was close. I don't think they should have people giving car seat advice if they don't know what they're talking about. I know the seat comes with some sort of positioning clip, but that's not what she was saying. Anyway, it was good to see and not even have to wonder if it's a good option right now because it isn't. I don't feel comfortable that he can sit properly 100% of the time.

heyruthie · Aug 19, 2011

also, if you are dead-set on getting a booster, after all is said and done, maybe the Britax SG would work for you, since it has the "optional" 4th point (kind of a hybrid between a normal booster and a 5-point harness.) they say it's especially better for younger, smaller booster riders. the "new" model is closer to $125, but the "older" model (not old, really!) is still available for about $100. I'm about to buy one for my 6 yo, but part of the draw is that I know I can use it in a pinch for my 4 yo, if i'm driving around another younger child/toddler who really has to have the harness. (while my older kids are in school, sometimes the 2 yo will have playdates, and i'll need to "shuffle" people to different seats, if a second two year old is in the car with us!)

here's one of the SGs that is $100:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4393271

kristi · Aug 19, 2011

heyruthie said:
also, if you are dead-set on getting a booster, after all is said and done, maybe the Britax SG would work for you, since it has the "optional" 4th point (kind of a hybrid between a normal booster and a 5-point harness.) they say it's especially better for younger, smaller booster riders. the "new" model is closer to $125, but the "older" model (not old, really!) is still available for about $100. I'm about to buy one for my 6 yo, but part of the draw is that I know I can use it in a pinch for my 4 yo, if i'm driving around another younger child/toddler who really has to have the harness. (while my older kids are in school, sometimes the 2 yo will have playdates, and i'll need to "shuffle" people to different seats, if a second two year old is in the car with us!)

here's one of the SGs that is $100:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4393271

Hmm, I haven't looked at these seats because I figured if we bought a dedicated booster, it would just be a Turbobooster. I just checked out the Parkway at Elite Carseats and it said it was similar to the Sunshine Kids Monterey. Both of those look really nice. The anti-submarining feature seems pretty cool and adds another level of safety. I liked one of the reviews for the Monterey where someone's daughter said it was so soft and she wanted to sleep in it. My little boy loves soft things.

The Parkway says True Side Impact Protection and the Monterey says Side Impact Protection. Is one SIP better than the other? The Parkway has a strap that acts like a crotch strap for the anti-submarining feature but the Monterey says it has an angled seat. It seems like the strap would be better?

At this point, I think my husband is ready to just let me do whatever I want to do because he knows I'm obsessing about it. I talked to him again tonight and he said that he agrees with me and wants him to be safe and comfortable and he's probably just hoping I'll pick a darn seat already.

Honestly though, I think he'd very much prefer to spend more money than a Turbobooster on something like one of these that will pretty much be the last seat he'll ever need vs still needing a dedicated booster later. Maybe not, but I can tell by looking at the Maestro that it will not make a good booster seat for us, which is why I chose this seat (the last seat we'll ever need). The angle for the belt positioning isn't a proper angle for our vehicle.

The Monterey is okay for kids 30 lbs and up, which I guess makes me feel better about that over the 40 lbs Parkway since he is 12 lbs over the minimum for the Monterey.

So much to think about!

Brigala · Aug 19, 2011

Just to muddy the waters a little:
Although the Monterey is rated to 30 lbs, it says right in the manual that they recommend children under 40 lbs ride in a harnessed seat.

In spite of the numbers on the box, the Britax booster will probably fit a 42 lb child better than the Monterey. Although it depends a lot on your child's shape. The Monterey is especially nice for kids with broader shoulders, for example.

mommycat · Aug 19, 2011

Did you try the highback Turbobooster or a lowback with a srap? I would definitely get a highback if you decide to go with the booster. You can adjust the back on the TB up or down so that the belt sits in the right position, as long as the shoulder belt guide is above the shoulder.

Which van do you drive and what position does he sit in (or would in the booster)?

I have both the highback TB and the ParkwaySG, and have tried out the Monterey since I desperately wanted one, but it didn't fit my son. DS1 is quite narrow in the shoulders and the Monterey just isn't good on smaller, narrower kids, so the shoulder belt lay too far off to the side of his shoulder. (I was so sad!) The TB fits him best, it has great belt placement all around. The PWSG is good but is a bit wider so again, we ran into the issue of the belt going off to the side if he leaned the other way. I had to bump it to the next level up and do some educating to get him to sit right, and I keep an eye on him if he is likely to fall asleep. It functions very well now but I do feel I need to be aware. If your DS is not as narrow then the PWSG would be a nice fit. He sleeps very well in both (in Honda Civics/Accord of varying years). BTW he is 6.5yo and about 43lbs/45" and we've had the TBs for about a year and the PWSGs a little less than that. In case it helps to see his proportions in the seat, here's his first TB ride (40lbs exactly) and a more recent PWSG pic.