how long harnessed?

M

momtoesther

New member

• Oct 8, 2011

• #1

Another thread got me thinking. How long/old did you keep your child in a harness? My DD is only 4.5 so we have a long long time to think about it, but at only 29lbs and 39'' she is likely to fit in here Frontier XT for a super long time. Is there any age that you say is too old for harnessing? I have a friends who is 31 who would still fit in the Frontier

 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants

• Oct 8, 2011

• #2

There is no age that is "too old" for harnessing if everybody's happy with it, but there's also no need to harness a physically and developmentally typical child past the age of 6-7. Boosters are very safe choices for children who are able to use them properly.

 

tjham

New member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #3

My granddaughter was harnessed to 7 1/2 (Radian and Nautilus). She was small, around 40 lbs and probably would have stayed harnessed awhile longer but mom's boyfriend started making disparaging remarks, so rather than argue, I got boosters for everyone.

My grandson, is 6 1/2, around 50 lbs and still harnessed (again, Radian and Nautilus). He uses a booster occasionally but either doesn't seem aware that a booster is supposed to equal being "more grown up", or he doesn't care!

 

cookie123

New member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #4

Brett and Hannah were harnessed to 7 and 8.5 respectively. No complaints during this time. This was when they outgrew the harness by height in the Nautilus. However when I set them up to use it as a booster, Brett commented that he was so glad and he'd hated the harness!

 

J

Jan06twinmom

New member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #5

I think that you only need to keep most children harnessed until they are around 6yo. At that point, most 6yo are mature enough to sit properly in the booster and their skeletal system is strong enough to withstand more forces.

However, my twins are still harnessed at 6y10m old. Part of the reason is that I like the extra support provided from the harness seat when they sleep in the car on longer drives. We also have seats that still fit them (DD in Radian, DS in Regent) so there isn't a compelling need to move them to booster seats. They will move to a booster seat full time probably in the next 2 to 3 months.

My DD is petite (44in and 44lbs) and could probably fit in the Regent until she is around 9yo, but I don't see any reason to keep her harnessed for that long.

Melanie

 

M

misstj9

New member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #6

I harnessed my oldest DS until this summer when he turned 7. A big part for me was that when sitting with his siblings in the car, he couldn'' be trusted to sit right every ride every time. He was booster training since 5.5 in my DH's car where he is the only kid, very different behavior. He outgrew his harness this summer as he turned 7 so we went to fulltime booster. There are times where I still have to tell him he could fit in a FR85 if I need him too!!! I expect I will harness his brother in the FR80 until he outgrows it, so at least age 7....we'll see!!!

 

VoodooChile

New member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #7

I removed the harness from my dd's FR80 a bit after she turned 5, when she was 40 lbs. It's a bit earlier that I'd ever thought I'd booster her, but she'd been asking for awhile and I decided I was willing to let her try. It turned out she's a great booster rider, no problems nearly a year later.

 

luckyclov

New member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #8

It's such an individual thing, there is no across-the-board answer. Too many factors involved.

My oldest DS moved into a highback booster fulltime at 5 years and a few months old. He was around 48-50 lbs (he had been in a Marathon). He had no underlying issues and he was mature enough at that age to sit properly the entire length of every car ride. He was also mature enough to know that he was responsible for buckling in his booster each time he got out of it. He wanted to be in a highback booster and I didn't really feel it was necessary to keep him harnessed any longer, given his maturity and understanding of what HIS resposibilities were.

My DD, on the other hand, is still harnessed now, at 7 years old. She will most likely be harnessed until she outgrows her Frontier 85, which will be in about 3/4 of an inch. She *does* have some underlying issues and does *not* yet have the maturity to sit and stay positioned for an entire car ride. She also still prefers to have a harness.

I don't know which way my youngest will go at this point, but if he's mature enough to stay positioned properly by the time he's inching up on his 6th birthday, I have no problem with him being in a booster. I'd like him to stay harnessed through age 5, I think. But 6 in a booster, provided we have no issues, I'm fine with.

 

christineka

New member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #9

As long as they need to be. My oldest two went to boosters at 5 years an 40 pounds back in the day before hwh seats were affordable. I, honestly think they were fine in those seats- or would have been if I had known how to route the seatbelt correctly.

My ds1 and ds2 will be harnessed in the tallest harness seat until they no longer fit. For my short-torsoed kids, that's around age 12.

I've let my 6.75 year old recently move to a booster. So far, she's sitting just fine.

My minimum age for full time use is age 6, but if the kid needs to be harnessed for behavior or for fitting reasons, then so be it.

 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #10

My oldest is 6 and I started letting her do short trips in a booster at 5. She went back into the harness in our ProSport when we got it, but when she grew out of it, she went into her Parkway full time.

DD2 is 4 and 30lbs and she is harnessed 99% of the time, but rides in the Parkway once a week. She won't be boostered full time until 6 or so, or unless she outgrows the Radian and ProSport before then, just because she's so petite. She's got about an inch in the Radian, and is just even with the 2nd-from-top setting on the ProSport, so she's got about 2" in it.

 

mommaon112903

New member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #11

Josef was moved full time at 5.11yrs of age when he was outgrowing the Britax Regent due to torso height.

 

skitle1802

New member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #12

misstj9 said:

I harnessed my oldest DS until this summer when he turned 7. A big part for me was that when sitting with his siblings in the car, he couldn'' be trusted to sit right every ride every time. He was booster training since 5.5 in my DH's car where he is the only kid, very different behavior. He outgrew his harness this summer as he turned 7 so we went to fulltime booster. There are times where I still have to tell him he could fit in a FR85 if I need him too!!! I expect I will harness his brother in the FR80 until he outgrows it, so at least age 7....we'll see!!!

Click to expand...

This!!! My oldest 6 y/o can sit great in a booster if he is the only kid in the car. Give him any distraction and he's all over the place! So until he outgrows his FR85 or I figure out a better seating arrangement, he'll be harnessed.

 

momtotwogirls

New member

• Oct 9, 2011

• #13

Our minimum is 6 and 40lbs. My oldest knows this and is excited for when she turns 6 because then she ride in the seatbelt. I think she will outgrow her FN85 around 6 anyway, depending on her maturity by then I will either buy another FN for my youngest so my oldest can keep using the harness on hers if needed if she is mature enough and can use a booster properly then I will buy a dedicated booster. I wouldnt harness past 8-9 barring any special needs.

 

Kat_Momof3

New member

• Oct 10, 2011

• #14

Damian was 6.5yrs old - giant boy outgrew the Britax Regent

Jeffrey was 6yrs old - he was over 50lbs and very mature... I let him choose to move on his birthday

Ruthanne was 2wks shy of her 6th birthday - long torso girl outgrew the Nautilus

if I had more petite kids (or at least with shorter torsos) it would be different, but there we are.