Is there any reason to booster vs. harness?

mrswh

New member
Just curious . . . is there any reason that at some age it would be wiser to booster a child than harness her? My kids are little peanuts - DD is 6.5, 45 inches, 41 lbs. I have her harnessed in a FR85 and she has not complained nor asked to switch to booster. So far I just figure I'll leave her harnessed until there is some reason to switch.

I can't fathom any age where a child is capable of sitting properly in a booster for an entire car ride over 5 minutes - I can't even say I do it. There will always be instances of reaching for a dropped item, or poking a sibling, or falling asleep and flopping over. I'm not saying that a child isn't plenty safe in a properly fitted booster, just that it must be true that a child is safer in a harness simply by virtue of the fact that she is ALWAYS in proper position in a harness. (Maybe that makes it only .00000001% safer, but safer nonetheless. Also helps me when driving because I don't have to worry about whether she is sitting properly.)

I'm not saying whether a kid should or shouldn't be harnessed or boostered - and I'm not going to make my DD sit in a 5-point harness until 8th grade (she'll honestly probably still fit then), I'm just wondering, if the kid isn't asking for a booster, is there any reason NOT to keep her harnessed? The only thing I can think of is that she won't be "booster trained" in the event she would want to go somewhere that would involve a booster - but at 6.5, does she really need to be "trained," or can she just be told how to sit properly in the seat?

Thanks for any thoughts!
 
ADS

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
She doesn't need to be trained. I wouldn't worry if she had to ride in a booster. The first ride most kids are so shocked that they're in a booster they just sit as if they were harnessed still. It's the fourth and fifth rides and beyond you need to worry about more.

Piper can sit in a booster, and sleeps well in them (see my siggy pic). I don't hold completely still, but I certainly don't go out of position once every five minutes! Piper leans to get things, but she does it at red lights (we live in a city, there's a light or a stop sign every few blocks).

As for when is it safer to booster, we don't know. And there's no harm in leaving a child in a harness if there is no need to change.

Wendy
 

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