Angela
New member
*Mods please keep here, since I am linking it to a FB discussion I've been having and want to make sure everyone can see it. Let me know if that's not alright.*
I've been having a nice discussion on a group I belong to on FB about the harness vs. booster debate with older children. One person wondered why car seat manufacturers are producing these high weight harnessed seats, when most of us say that boosters are okay for kids over 4 and 40. I emailed Sarah at Britax, to see what she had to say. I thought she gave a good response. I figured some here might want to see it along with the FB members I wanted to share with. Here was her response:
'Higher weight harnessed seats are being driven by consumer demand. Technicians are doing such a good job of educating caregivers that 5-point harnesses help to retain the body in the vehicle better than a 3-point. If you look at many of the CRSs on the market today (regardless of manufacturer) they all have similarities in some way of a NASCAR vehicle seat – maybe 5-points harnesses, side impact protection in the head and/or torso area. Granted, we don’t all drive as fast as NASCAR drivers do every Sunday, but the end result is the same – retention in the vehicle. As well, many parents do not understand the performance difference when moving their child from a harness to a booster. As you know – that child must sit upright and in position consistently the entire ride to be properly protected.
You have many children who are of a heavier weight at a younger age (we know all 40 lb. children are not physically built the same, regardless of age or height as well) and the maturity level of children will play a part of selecting a 5-point harness over a belt positioning booster. There is then information developing as people realize that a high back with some type of side impact protection is better than a backless booster: kids fall asleep, fall out of position, sleep against doors and c-pillars in the deployment zone of side/curtain airbags.'
I've been having a nice discussion on a group I belong to on FB about the harness vs. booster debate with older children. One person wondered why car seat manufacturers are producing these high weight harnessed seats, when most of us say that boosters are okay for kids over 4 and 40. I emailed Sarah at Britax, to see what she had to say. I thought she gave a good response. I figured some here might want to see it along with the FB members I wanted to share with. Here was her response:
'Higher weight harnessed seats are being driven by consumer demand. Technicians are doing such a good job of educating caregivers that 5-point harnesses help to retain the body in the vehicle better than a 3-point. If you look at many of the CRSs on the market today (regardless of manufacturer) they all have similarities in some way of a NASCAR vehicle seat – maybe 5-points harnesses, side impact protection in the head and/or torso area. Granted, we don’t all drive as fast as NASCAR drivers do every Sunday, but the end result is the same – retention in the vehicle. As well, many parents do not understand the performance difference when moving their child from a harness to a booster. As you know – that child must sit upright and in position consistently the entire ride to be properly protected.
You have many children who are of a heavier weight at a younger age (we know all 40 lb. children are not physically built the same, regardless of age or height as well) and the maturity level of children will play a part of selecting a 5-point harness over a belt positioning booster. There is then information developing as people realize that a high back with some type of side impact protection is better than a backless booster: kids fall asleep, fall out of position, sleep against doors and c-pillars in the deployment zone of side/curtain airbags.'
:duck:
