Confused about boosters with harnesses.

I have a 'just turned one' yr old who has outgrown her infant seat. I also have a 30 lb. 'just turned 3 yr' old who fits fine in his Graco comfortsport.

To save on money we would just like to get a booster seat and move our 1 yr old into our son's convertible but I am worried about safety. Is moving my son to one of those booster seats with the 5 pt. harness an option? Or is the 4yr old and 40 lb. minimum still necessary even with harnesses.

Thanks for your help.
Yvette

4 years and 40 lbs is the recommended minimum to move into a booster ONLY seat.

A seat with a harness is not a booster, as a booster's ONLY job is to boost the child into position to be able to use the vehicle's 3 point belt properly.

So, if you are wanting to get something like the Safety 1st Apex (this seat needs to be installed in a position with a high seat back or head rest) or a Regent for your 3 Y/O, that would be a fabulous choice.

why dont you keep your son in the seat hes in since it fits him and get the baby a cosco scenera, its only $40 at walmart (big lots might still have them for $30 but i dont know) and then the baby can stay RF till he/she is 35#

ETA: 3/30# is way to young for a booster only, it just not safe enough

Amy, the older boy is in a Comfortsport, which isn't too likely to fit him for much longer...the top harness straps are SO short. My son outgrew the CS at 24 months.

It's ok, a seat with a harness is fine. The Graco Platinum Cargo or Evenflo Generations are excellent choices with tall top slots and front harness adjusters, they should get your kiddo harnessed to a full 40 pounds and about age 5. Make sure you are right about his weight, though, since those only harness to 40 pounds. If he's over 35 pounds, you'd be better off with a seat that harnesses to a higher weight, like the Cosco Apex (Safety 1st Signature Biltmore...it has a lot of names, all the same seat, harnesses to 65 pounds). If his shoulders are above the top slots on the Comfortsport, he's already outgrown it, and be sure to keep your 1 yo rearfacing longer in the comfortsport... rearfacing is by far the safest way for kids to ride until they have outgrown the convertible seat...30 pounds or when the head is even with top of the seatback, age 2-3 for most kids

ThreeBeans said:

Amy, the older boy is in a Comfortsport, which isn't too likely to fit him for much longer...the top harness straps are SO short. My son outgrew the CS at 24 months.

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ahhh i see, well in that case maybe the OP could give the comfortsport to the baby and get her son a HWH seat, such as the already mentioned APEX or a FPSVD or a MA or a regent or a radian, all better than a booster only.

Yes, I think that's what she was saying; she wants a combination seat that she can use the harness on now and convert to a BPB later...

You could put the baby in the comfortsport and your 3 yr old in a Fisher price safe voyage delux for about 129.00 I think, like people were saying. Your 1 yr old can be rear facing in the CS till 30 lbs and your 3 yr old if really only 30 lbs, can be rf till 33 lbs in the FPSVD. Then your 1 yr old can use the seat for the next 3 yrs and your 3 yr old can use the FPSVD for the next 2-3 yrs. At that point your baby can use the FPSVD and the 3 yr old can get a dedicated high back booster for 50-60.00. You could get a Radian even for the older one-that is about 200 and will last a yr to a couple yrs longer then the FPSVD.
Everybody will stray you away from a 3 n 1 seat-which is harnessed then turns to a booster. And it is so much safer for your 3 yr old to be harnessed anyway past 40 lbs. My dd was 40lbs right when she turned 4 so some kids don't last that extra yr in seats that only go to 40 lbs. Any 3 n 1 seats or combo seats only harness till 40 lbs, which is why it is just better to go with an extended harnessing seat like the FPSVD or Radian. If you can afford something better, a Regent would be great too of course, but it is over 100 more-

Your 30lbs 3yr old can still be RF for another 5 lbs which is far safer. I would go with a Scenera for those last 5lbs, ($40 or so) and then purchase the pricier Regent, or another HWH seat that have been mentioned, when he has to be switched to FF.

I am a huge advocate of extended rear-facing, but I would feel comfortable forward-facing a three-year-old, even if he only weighs 30 pounds.

That said, I would look at a seat such as the aforementioned Cosco Apex (or its clones), Recaro Young Sport, or Britax Regent (although the Regent doesn't turn into a booster).

• Each of these seats is FF-only.
• The Apex will harness to 65 pounds (or hopefully close to it, depending on height) and then will become a belt-postioning booster
• The Recaro YOung Sport will only harness to 40 pounds, but becomes a good booster afterwards.
• The Regent will harness to 80 pounds (or hopefully close, depending on height). It does not become a booster.

Joolsplus3 also mentioned the Graco Platinum Cargo and Evenflo Generations. Those are good seats too. They harness to 40 pounds and then become belt-positioning boosters. They are also good candidates for you.


Good luck!!!