HWH to booster - when did you switch?

delgirrrl

New member
Hiya all, I know there is an ongoing debate about the benefits of HWH over boostering, and I think I pretty much understand the pros and cons.

DS is 5, 46 inches, 50lbs. He is currently harnessed in a FR and FR85. Obviously he has ample room to grow in those seats. He is also a very 'responsible' young lad and I am sure he would behave appropriately in a booster.

What I am interested in is this: Do many of you actually get close to the limits of your HWH before switching to boostering? When did you switch? What was your MAIN reason for switching?

Would love to hear your experiences :D
 
ADS

mommyfrog

Active member
I switched my ds3 a couple of weeks ago. He'll be 8 years in 12 days. He was probably ready a while back but he could buckle himself in his harnessed seat and couldn't in his booster. Actually he is still having a hard time. I would switch him back but his seat has to be top tethered over a certain weight (50 pounds) and he is heavier than that now. I don't have tt where he has to sit. My youngest dd will be 6 years in 10 days and is still harnessed. She is not ready for boostering and in order to fit everyone in safely she has to be harnessed in a position that has a lap only belt. I let her ride in her brother's booster on short trips when he is not with us. She still needs LOTS of reminders to sit correctly. Drives me crazy!!!
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Leah's about the same age and a little smaller in the same seat. She's also been in a booster a few times. Enough to remind me that buckling a booster is actually harder than buckling a harness, so I'm going to keep her harnessed a little longer :whistle: She rides fine in her booster, but we find it maddening to be leaning over helping her buckle up, I'd much rather wait till she's more able to buckle herself with only a little supervision (for my other kids, they were competent bucklers after age 6, closer to age 7, it really does depend on the kid, though, some have excellent dexterity and strength and may be ready sooner).
Hope that helps!
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
Ds2 almost 5y is 48", 55# and rides in a husky in main car and booster in dh truck. He has been doing great in the booster. His husky expires in may and he is getting another. He is very responsible. I never have to remind him. He is our mellow kid.

I think its when they ask and you feel comfortable.

Stefanie, cpst in iowa - mom to 4 great kids
 

ginny4

New member
My DD was in a regent. on her 6th birthday she switched full time to a booster. at 5yo we started practicing the booster in our 2nd car. she was almost too tall for the regent but would MAYBE get another year out of it. 6yo was my goal. i was comfortable with that age.

oh yeah. my DS3 needed the regent as he was quickly outgrowing his convertible. we plan on 6yo with him too. BTW DD was able to buckle & unbuckle her boosters most times.
 
Last edited:

luckyclov

New member
My DD is 6 1/2 years old, long torso, and 56 lbs. She's harnessed - top slots - in a FR85 at the moment...and I'm waiting for cues that she's ready to switch. She rides in a Monterey in DH's car and she has to *constantly* be reminded to sit back and keep her shoulder belt on her shoulder. I'm hoping by Spring...but I said that last spring, as well.:rolleyes:
 

emandbri

Well-known member
Benjamin switched last winter at 6 1/2. He was nearing the top slots and Elizabeth was wanting to sit in his seat instead of hers which was rear-facing.
 

Mom-of-Two

New member
I think it's a personal choice for everyone, with their own reasons: what the child prefers, if they can buckle themselves in and out of a harness or seat belt easier, needing the HWH seat for a younger child, etc.

My 6.5 yo is happily in a Regent with TONS of room left, so fitting will never be an issue- she PREFERS it 100% to a booster, so we let her pick for now. We do not need the seat for my 3 yo, so are in no hurry either way since there is no evidence that one is safer than the other at this age. She has been riding more in a booster (Turbo) in dad's car for the 4 times a week he picks her up at school (20 min drive). She has been harnessed in a Nautilus in there, but we've been trying to get her more used to the booster, so the short trips have been helpful to get her more used to it. She does well in it and great for play dates. But again, she'd pick being harnessed in the Nautilus no doubt. :)

She can UNbuckle her booster but not yet buckle it.
 

karlatta

New member
My son is 4y10m. 35 pounds, 45" or so. He rides in a harnessed seat in my vehicle. In my husband's car, and on playdates and stuff, he rides in a booster.

He does really, really well in the booster. He doesn't fidget, lean, or anything. Yesterday he was riding in one and fell asleep and stayed completely in position. It (he has a Turbobooster) seems to cradle his body better than his Nautilus. I am planning to switch him to a booster full time in August, when he will be a little over 5. (Although he will probably continue to ride in a harness
for road trips for a couple more years.)
 

christineka

New member
Ds1 is the only kid so far to have really been harnessed past 40 pounds. (dd1 rode in the regent for a while, but just because she liked it and it worked.) I tried him in a booster one day when he was 5.5 years old. It didn't work. Then all the hoopla about kids not needing to be harnessed past 4 and 40 pounds came out, so I sold ds' seat and got him a booster. (Plus an infant seat.) He was awful! I found a deal and bought a radian. Then when he was 7, I decided he was plenty old enough and was going back to a booster. he was still awful, so I harnessed him again. Now he's nearly 8 and I gave away the regent. I've stuck him in the bodyguard because it hugs his body and locks the lap belt. He's forced into behaving better, but I've considered reharnessing him again.

My 6 year old weighs 34 pounds, but rides nicely around town in a booster. I'd let her go full time if it fit. (I might change my mind after a long drive, though.)
 

mommycat

Well-known member
I was going to start booster training at ~5.5, he was finally JUST 40lbs then (min to booster in Canada). He did so well that I replaced his Nauti in grandma's car in order to reduce install errors since ILs regularly need to take out the seats. Shortly after DS2 outgrew the Scenera RF in my parent's car so I put him in the Radian and got DS1 the TB there as well. He was harnessed in Dh's and my vehicles until this week. He is just turned 6 and ~42lbs, and still had 1-2" left in the Radian harness but lately really complained that it was too tight when it was adjusted properly (he also has a difficult time with sensory input sometimes) and was loosening the Radian when I wasn't looking. I decided just to booster instead of making a fight of it. He is still in the Nauti in DH's truck and will be until he outgrows it or some other issue crops up.
 

Mama Jo

New member
My DD started booster training in my car shortly before kindergarten because my mom was going to be picking her up from school every day, and she would be in a booster in grandma's car. I wanted to make sure she learned how to sit properly with me as opposed to placing the responsibility for booster training on grandma. And the trip from school to grandma's house was only about a mile, so she wasn't generally going to be sitting long enough to get antsy anyway, so this was a good way to ease her into booster use.

I kept her in a 5 point harness in my vehicle most of the time until she was about 6.5, and then I converted her FN to booster mode after cleaning the cover one night and just deciding it wasn't necessary to put the straps back in.

She really liked that she could buckle the harness herself very easily, and actually wasn't thrilled about boostering. But by that point, grandma wasn't picking her up from school anymore and so she wasn't riding in a booster in any vechicle. I decided I'd rather she get into the practice of buckling the seatbelt on her own so that when she started asking to go to friends' houses, I'd be more comfortable letting her ride in other vehicles.

She still rides in the FN booster in my vehicle, and then has a couple of Vivos for grandparents' and aunts' cars, and a backless Turbo for friends' cars.
 

Baylor

New member
Just this last November. With winter clothes he just seemed to be so tight. He was barely at the highest setting but he was ready. He uses the GN in booster mode.
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
What I am interested in is this: Do many of you actually get close to the limits of your HWH before switching to boostering? When did you switch? What was your MAIN reason for switching?

Would love to hear your experiences :D

I have 6y1m old boy/girl twins. How close I'm getting to the limits of our HWH seat will depend on lots of issues.

DS is now about 49in tall and weighs 63lbs at last check. I moved him to a booster part time in the fall when he was 5y9m. It was very pt at first in our secondary car, but a chance to teach him to sit properly. He was close to outgrowing the Radian and his twin sister really liked the Radian so I let her use it.

A month or two later, he outgrew the Radian. So it this case, I literally used the seat to the limit (65lbs and 48in, shoulders at the top of the harness slots). Then he moved to a booster in the nanny's car. He rides home from school in that car 4-5 times a week.

DS is still in the Regent in our main car and I might keep him in it until he outgrows it. My primary reason for keeping him in the harness seat in our main car is that we use it for long trips and he will nap in the car. I also do it because his sister is still harnessed full time.

DD is much smaller than her twin brother. She is 42in and 39lbs. She is currently riding in a Britax Decathlon in our secondary car and the Radian in our main car and in the nanny car. She rode in the booster seat for the first time last week and did great. She could probably stay harnessed in the Britax convertible for at least another 6 months, but I'll probably switch her to a booster seat for the secondary car sooner.

DD will stay harnessed in the main car and probably the nanny car for awhile. Since she is so petite, she still fits in the Radians and she finds the seats are very comfortable. She hasn't requested to move to a booster seat yet so that is also a consideration for me.

I'm not sure how long "awhile" will be though. I'm guessing until she will be in a harness seat to at least 6.5 years old. Maybe 7 or 8? If she expresses a strong preference one way or another, that will influence my decision too.

Melanie
 

christineka

New member
What I am interested in is this: Do many of you actually get close to the limits of your HWH before switching to boostering? When did you switch? What was your MAIN reason for switching?

I have small torsoed, light kids. As long of none of them become (or are) special needs enough to need a harnessed seat extra long, I will likely never have a need to allow a kid to outgrow a hwh seat. My 11 year old can still fit into a few hwh seats. It isn't necessary, though.
 

Lulu

New member
My oldest is very tall, but not super long in the torso. Still, he'll be six next week and barely fits his Regent in our sedan, and probably has a year or less in the fr85. I actually think he'd have less time that fr85 if I had that seat installed in a different car- for some reason the kids kind of shrink when they're in the captain's chairs of our minivan. Anyway, I'm guessing he's at least 51 inches these days and I know he weighs 54lbs. I'll put him in booster mode before his 7th birthday. I have no reason to go out of my way to booster him, so I'll probably just do it when he's outgrown the seat. I don't think he'll need much booster training.
 

delgirrrl

New member
Thank you all for your replies :D

In NZ, it is very rare to RF beyond a year, and very rare to harness beyond turning 4. Many are in boosters by 2 or 3. My 3yo DD is still RF and DS as mentioned before is harnessed. I'm anticipating (maybe unnecessarily) that come the first school trip, which is next week, DS is going to realise he's the only one in a harnessed seat. He may not mind. But he might. While I agree that "but everyone else does..." is never a good reason for anything, I also do want to protect my little fella from any ridicule from riding in a "baby seat".

I'm also contemplating turning DD FF. I don't need too, despite being a big and tall girl, she has ample room in both her seats and has never complained. But if I do, then I'll need to make another seat purchase as I don't fancy using the multi-tech FF or as a booster. If DS is going to a booster, I'll get him a dedicated booster and DD can have one of the frontiers. If DS is going to stay harnessed, then I see another Radian in our future. (We have less seat options over here, and I've narrowed it down to the Radian or CA, leaning radian because of the continuous loop harness on the CA)

Decisions decisions...
 

Mom-of-Two

New member
In Ohio, car seats and boosters are I believe, used at the bare minimum and many not used at all even with new laws finally. My 6.5yo has NEVER cared that all the other kids ride in boosters (most all in backless boosters or some NONE at all), her cousins in boosters by 3, her personality is not such that she cares. I wouldn't assume he will care if he sees the other kids not in a seat, and some kids you can simply say it's safer for them and more comfortable, and that's enough.

Like we've said, at that age, either is safe and appropriate. So you can't go wrong. For your younger, if she is happy and fits, so be it- RF till the age of 4 is awesome, having her RF till 3 was also great since it's not common practice in NZ! Good for you! :)
 

CTPDMom

Ambassador - CPS Technician
She's also been in a booster a few times. Enough to remind me that buckling a booster is actually harder than buckling a harness, so I'm going to keep her harnessed a little longer :whistle: She rides fine in her booster, but we find it maddening to be leaning over helping her buckle up, I'd much rather wait till she's more able to buckle herself with only a little supervision (for my other kids, they were competent bucklers after age 6, closer to age 7, it really does depend on the kid, though, some have excellent dexterity and strength and may be ready sooner).

:yeahthat:

We've got two GNs in our primary vehicles for ds, who is 5.5 and maybe 42-43lbs. He's got plenty of growing room, and I have no intention of discontinuing use of these seats anytime soon.

However, I've had the TB in my car on and off for 6 months also and I have been booster training him. He does very well with it.

When my uncle takes him to get his haircut or out to a movie I let him take the TB. And when we're visiting my mom (or she's visiting us) and she wants to take him someplace in her car I let her use the TB. And I'm perfectly comfortable with that.

But for daily in an out in the car, the GNs are WAY better for my sanity! :D
 

finn

New member
I have started booster training ds, he is 4 years 1 month, its much easier to put a booster in everyone else's car, than to move the frontier or install the radian. I hope to have him full time in a booster by the time he is 5. He does really well, he sits still & straight :)

What booster will you buy? We have a Graco Logico L from baby on the move, it fits ds so nicely, but I dont think I could use it full time, not sure why except that it feels a bit flimsy.
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,656
Messages
2,196,897
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top