Question Is my 6 year old safer in a 5 pt. harness or a booster?

mlohry

New member
Background,I used to be a CPST about 10 years ago thru NHTSA, so I know some about carseats and try to be up to date on info. but it has been a long time since I have taken a class.

Anyway, my middle DS, that turns 6 next week is 42 pounds, skinny and I can't remember exactly, but average ht is in a GN harnessed, he just moved to the top slots, and when my oldest DS, similiar size was in a GN he lasted until just 7 in the GN harnessed. Anyway we looked at the new FR85 this weekend, not our intention were shopping for DD, but my 6 yr old tried the FR and loved it and seriously he could be harnessed in that seat until probably 9 so I considered buying it, but wanted to ask first if it was neccessary or not.

On the carseat board on BBC I was told that at 6 he is actually safer in a booster, because in a harness, his neck will be thrown forward. This is so news to me, I always thought they would be better off in a 5 pt harness. Well, this info. saves me some money, but now I am wondering if I should even have him in the GN, if he wasn't so skinny I would be more likely to want to switch him. I think I might do a PW SG if I do, I am nervous about the submarining in a booster. Just looking for opinions here, thanks!
 
ADS

cpstimedic

CPST Instructor
Hi,

Your instinct is right! He is much safer in a 5 point harness than a booster. Each step up in the car seat ladder is a step down in safety, simple as that, with a booster being less safe than a 5 point harness. Whomever gave you that crash rationale probably wasn't a tech, at least I hope not..lol.
Alot of people like the Frontier (I'm not one of them..lol) and it has tall top slots, so if he is skinny, he may last a few years in it.
I would say, Use the Nautilus until he outgrows it by height and then re-evaluate where he is then.
Good Luck!
 

mlohry

New member
My instinct does tell me he is safer to be harnessed, I could barely stand when ODS outgrew the GN by ht. I was sick with worry for quite a long time and I still would rather have him in a harness because I hate if he wiggles around. Thanks for the vote of confidence. I will however save the money and not get the FR.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
Well..I hate to disagree with the pp, but we actually don't have any evidence saying that 5 pt harness is safer once a child is of a proper age and size to be in a booster. And yes, there is at least 1 country (Sweden) who seems to believe that FF harnessing is unsafe due to neck loads, so unsafe in fact, they do not FF harness at all, they go straight from RFing to booster at around 4-5 years old.

Generally, we like to say that once a child is at least age 5ish, at least 40 lbs, and can sit properly in a booster, they are probably equally as safe in either option.

So..is it *necesary*? No, probably not, unless he can not sit properly in a booster (moves, fidgets, leans out of position, etc). Is it *harmful* Again, probably not. Either choice is fine. :)
MY 5 yo has been learning in a booster for a few months(a gradual shift from her nautilus to her booster), and will officially be full time boostered as of her 6th birthday next week. I have no worries about her safety.
I would not purchase a new seat to harness a child who is turning 6 unless they were of extreme immaturity or had special needs which were going to prevent them from being able to sit properly in a booster for some time to come. Most 6 year olds can learn to sit properly in a booster fairly quickly, if they aren't there already :) I agree that a child just on the top slots on the GN probably has a good year left, and there are very few 7 year olds who *need* a harness, so by the time he outgrows it, he will almost certainly be fine in a booster, if he isn't already.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Hi,

Your instinct is right! He is much safer in a 5 point harness than a booster. Each step up in the car seat ladder is a step down in safety, simple as that, with a booster being less safe than a 5 point harness. Whomever gave you that crash rationale probably wasn't a tech, at least I hope not..lol.
Alot of people like the Frontier (I'm not one of them..lol) and it has tall top slots, so if he is skinny, he may last a few years in it.
I would say, Use the Nautilus until he outgrows it by height and then re-evaluate where he is then.
Good Luck!

Do you have studies to back this up? As far as I know there are no studies comparing injuries or fatalities for six year olds over 40 pounds. Neither real life nor crash test studies. If he sits properly in a booster he's safe. If he sits harnessed he's safe. We have no way of knowing if one is safer than the other.

The rationale that was said, that the neck is safer in a booster, is the European way of thinking. The Swedes, for instance, go from a rear facing seat to a booster only. They consider forward facing harnessing to be very stressful on the neck. I don't know of any studies showing that after age five there's a difference (and here is the one study I do have showing the break in head injuries occurs at age five. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-01/esv/esv19/05-0330-O.pdf).

In the US we're trending toward higher weight harnessing, rather than boostering our four year olds. Whether that's because the carseat manufacturers are finding it's safer and not telling us, or we just have bigger fatter kids and so they're catering to their market, I don't know.

I don't believe there's harm in keeping a six year old harnessed. Nor do I think that a six year old who sits properly in a high back booster is unsafe. For the record, my daughter sat harnessed in her primary car until after her seventh birthday. I wasn't comfortable with full time boostering until she hit 40 pounds. Nor was she ready to sit full time in a booster. She asked to be reharnessed just before her eighth birthday, believing herself to be safer. So we did, and we eked out the last of her harness height. Race car drivers wear a five or six point harness. Granted, they wear a device to keep their head in alignment with their spine, but they're also traveling between 150-200 mph. Not the 30 mph at which a sled test is conducted. So I think there's merit to either the booster at five camp, or the harness forever camp.

The main point is, we don't know. There are no studies showing that after five years there's a difference in boostering versus harness, provided the child sits properly in a booster. I probably wouldn't go out and buy a harness for a six year old unless they were too figgity to sit in a booster. But I also wouldn't tell a parent who had a harness for their six year old to switch. Only you know your son best and know if he'd sit properly in a booster or not.

Wendy
 

mlohry

New member
AHHH, I feel like I just spent the last month deciding what to put my DD in and now I have to decide what to have my MDS in. He has sat in his brother's TB HB a few times, it's not that he can't, he could do it, but I really felt like I should use the GN to it's max for harnessing for his ht, obviously will never max it out by wt. My kids are sure not the heavy ones that seats seem to be marketed to now. I have always believed that you should try to max out your seats. So if DS has to sit in a booster, I won't freak, but for now I will keep him in the GN unless I see that he truely is unsafe in the GN harnessed.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
He is not unsafe harnessed. There's nothing wrong with harnessing older kids if the situation works for everyone. There's also no evidence to confirm that it is the safeST way to go, but it is definitely not unsafe and if it is your preference, it's fine. :)
 

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