Question What to do with 7 year old that is too tall for 5pt. harness?

I am new here. I discovered just today that my son who will turn 7 on Thanksgiving is right at shoulder height for his Graco Nautilus that we use the 5 pt harness with. I am panicking here, I was not expecting to have to have him use a booster yet. I really don't like the Nautilus as a booster as it is so bulky and it is tough for my son to buckle. (We used it this way a couple of times for some reason can't remember why.) I am kind of wanting to get him something new, or maybe I should try it as a booster. I need some advice!! I have been researching for 2 hours and I really like the Britax Parkway with the crotch strap, love that it is almost like a 5 pt. harness. I also see that people on here rave about the Monterey, I like that because it latches in. Help me out! I need some good advice! Thanks!
P.S. I believe my son is about 48 inches tall and 48lbs, he is square basically. We now have a Honda Odyssey and he sits in the back by himself, but we may also be buying an older Taurus wagon that we would have to have 3 sitting next to eachother all in seats. This one is my oldest and he would of course have to be on an edge seat. No side impact air bags in that so lots of side protection would be good.

Monica SAHM AP mom of 3, 2 crazy boys and 1 sweet little girl

Hi!
What year Ody do you have? I thought all the ones with LATCH in the back also had side curtain airbags (2005 and newer). I have an older one (2003) and love my old Parkway back there, since it can't LATCH and it has no curtain airbags. It's kind of tippy, side to side, but not horrible, the kids get used to it after a bit. The Nautilus might actually be fine, honestly kids learn to buckle themselves fast with a little practice, but all boosters seem tough at first. Make sure the lapbelt rides low on his thighs, not up on his belly...if it rides up, it's a poor fit and you definitely need something better. The Monterey is great if you have LATCH in his seating position, and probably great even if you don't (some people like heavy seats to be LATCHed in so they don't push on a kid in a crash, or so you don't have to worry about them flying around in a crash with all their weight).

I would try to use the seat you currently have. There is no reason to get rid of it just yet. Just make sure it fits him properly (lap belt across the lap, shoulder belt across the shoulders) and that he stays still.

That said... if you decide on another seat I advise trying out different seats. My kids HATE the monterey it's too wide for them and honestly it doesn't work well in my car (something about the way it sits). There is literally an inch to an inch and a half on either side of my one son even on the smallest setting and the belts just don't hit him properly. My nephew on the other hand, this seat was made for him! It fits him like a glove and I have no complaints with it in her car for that child. We LOVE the new pkwy sg, but I don't advise it for super wide kids they might feel a bit squished. Yes the SG does have that extra hook on it, but it isn't like a 5-pt harness. It stops the kids from sliding under the vehicle lap belt in an accident. I'm hearing rumors left and right of other companies making the same for their seats so you might want to hold off and use the Nauti for now.

Thank you so much for the advice so far. We do have side curtain air bags in the 05 Odyssey, but we may be switching to using a car that does not have them, so I just want to make sure the Natilus would be good enough for that. Do most of you agree that the Nautilus is just fine for a high back booster? I really liked the idea of the crotch strap on the PW, but if there are more coming out maybe I should wait. Really just want confirmation that the Nautilus is OK for a booster now I guess.

Yup, the Nauti is a fine, sturdy booster, just as long as the belt fits properly on the kiddo

If you want a new seat, get a new seat. I'm not planning on using the GN as a booster either. AJ is almost too tall at 6.5 and will get a new booster at tax time. I wanted to get rid of the GN anyways in the van to give us more room (adding more Radians). AJ wants the Clek Oobr so we'll get that one and try it out w/ him.

at almost 7, I would be OK with using a booster full time IF he can sit in it properly all the time---I suppose now would be a great time to start training him

my dd recently turned 6 and rides in a booster full time in my car---she does need to be reminded to keep her head back

she is very long-torsoed and outgrew her Marathon by height at age 4, but then switched to a Regent, but I gave mine away so she only rides in one with dh

well, as a mom who loved the Nauti as a booster, here is why I won't be using it as one for my daughter...

Sleep support... my daughter loves to rest her head on the headwings and will still fall asleep on longer/later in the day trips... and the Nautilus, while a great seat, simply doesn't hold her head well... without some reclining to the seat, and even with that, she flops her head (more without the recline than with). The harness keeps her body up, but in a booster, I can't rely on that.

In her father's car, she's already been in a booster being booster trained and even though she was sitting more upright, her head was properly and well supportive by the more closely spaced headwings of the fisher price booster we have.

So for her, I decided the Nautilus wasn't the RIGHT booster... it was a good booster... great belt fit already, that sort of thing... but she just simply needs headwings that will give her more sleep support.

My next step was to try her in her brother's Monterey... but not having the broader shoulders of a boy, and not yet being tall enough to have shoulders broad enough (we've noticed boys fit well sooner and girls are usually fine unless they are on the narrower side after about 48" tall) (even though her torso is longer than his was at this height), the belt didn't fit as well as I would like on her shoulder.

So all this crossed the Graco Nautilus, Graco Turbobooster (lighter weight version of Nautilus really), and the Monterey off the list. I have since purchased a Recaro Vivo (only because it was on sale, or I would have waited and ordered it closer to her birthday)... and she'll use that (right now she's using it as a spare because I wanted to test it for the sleeping and it is awesome... and now she won't ride in her fisher price booster until the pink booster is in my car) when she leaves the Nautilus in March.

I would just make sure your child will have the head support if he sleeps and that he has the shoulder room he needs.

Thank you all who have responded. I am going to try to bring all 3 of my seats in to a car seat clinic to have them looked at, it has been a while since I have done that. I will ask about if the Nati looks like a good fit for my son at the time. I really do not want to have him be without the 5 pt, but at 7 I am sure a new seat would just stall off the inevitable in a couple of months anyway.

Does anyone know if the Nati was reviewed on here? Is there a link to it? I am also wondering, I am pretty sure I can't use the latch with it as a booster right, how about the top tether? Pretty sure the answer is no, but thought I would ask.

Thanks!

Actually, you can use LATCH in booster mode with the Nauti if you wish to. Just make sure it's in a position where it's not offset so it doesn't interfere with the belt fit!

That is so great to hear we can ty the latch with the Nati. Do you know if we should still be tethering it also while in booster mode?

ketchupqueen said:

Actually, you can use LATCH in booster mode with the Nauti if you wish to. Just make sure it's in a position where it's not offset so it doesn't interfere with the belt fit!

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I thought the last official word from Graco was you can only use LATCH in booster mode if your manual specifically says you can?