Most 6yo can fit in a harness seat

Jan06twinmom

New member
Here's my compelling evidence that the vast majority of 6yo should be able to fit in a harness car seat.

DS 7y1m (birthday January 6, 2005)
69lbs, 53in tall (He has been in the 97th+ percentile for height and around 95th percentile for weight.)

He is riding in a Britax Regent, but is approaching the limit of the seat in torso length. He will be moving to the old style Sunshine Kids Monterey booster full time in the very near future. I've tried to find out whether he prefers the harness Regent or the booster Monterey better and he likes them both for different reasons.



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VoodooChile

New member
Aw, what a handsome guy!
How does the Regent compare to the Frontier85, height-wise? Since I know it's no longer available for purchase and the FR is. I could probably look it up, but I've been decluttering FlyLady-style around here and I've hit my lazy-wall.
 

mrosehughes

New member
That is good to know! With DS always near 97% for height, I was worried what our options would be for harnessing to 6; now I'm not worried :)
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
Aw, what a handsome guy!
How does the Regent compare to the Frontier85, height-wise? Since I know it's no longer available for purchase and the FR is. I could probably look it up, but I've been decluttering FlyLady-style around here and I've hit my lazy-wall.

The top harness slots on the Frontier and the Regent are at 20" so they should last around the same amount of time. I'm not sure how they compare in terms of width though. The Frontier looks narrower to me. With DS being built like a future line backer, the inside side-to-side depth is also important.
 

christineka

New member
The regent's top harness position is 19 inches, but the recline bar make the seat loose harness height when installed. The frontier85 lasts longer than the regent.

NHTSA recommends harnessing through age 7 or as long as the child fits in the harnessed seat. (Not saying to go buy a bigger seat, though.)
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
But considering most neurotypical 6 year olds can learn to sit still in a booster, and harness heights that tall are $200+, I'm not sure what you mean.

Every so often, I hear comments about how kids outgrew car seats and they had to move a younger child to a booster seat. However, seeing that my 97th+ percentile DS still fits in a harness seat at 7yo+, I don't think that is true in most cases. It's more likely that the parents either haven't searched for a seat to keep their child harnessed or they don't have the financial resources to purchase a seat like the Britax Frontier. For the occasional child who does outgrow the Frontier (or Regent) before 6yo, that has to be one huge kid.

In general, my goal is to get kids to stay in a harness seat until they are at least 6yo. I agree that by 6, most children are able to move to a booster seat full time. I'm pretty sure that the Regent (now the Frontier) are the only non-special needs seats that would allow me to get my DS harnessed to 6yo. The Graco Nautilus might have gotten him to just 6, maybe not. He outgrew the Radian at 5y10 simultaneously by height and weight.

Since we had a Britax Regent already, I decided to keep my DS harnessed closer to the limits of the seat. I like the extra support that the harness gives especially for sleeping in the car on longer drives. His petite twin sister still fits in the Radian with growing room. It also makes it slightly harder for DS and DD to get into each other's space in the car.

Melanie
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
The regent's top harness position is 19 inches, but the recline bar make the seat loose harness height when installed. The frontier85 lasts longer than the regent.

NHTSA recommends harnessing through age 7 or as long as the child fits in the harnessed seat. (Not saying to go buy a bigger seat, though.)

Thanks! I was thinking it was higher than that. I just went and measured our Regent that is installed in the car and I'm getting about 18.75" for the top slot.
 

tarynsmum

Senior Community Member
Every so often, I hear comments about how kids outgrew car seats and they had to move a younger child to a booster seat. However, seeing that my 97th+ percentile DS still fits in a harness seat at 7yo+, I don't think that is true in most cases. It's more likely that the parents either haven't searched for a seat to keep their child harnessed or they don't have the financial resources to purchase a seat like the Britax Frontier. For the occasional child who does outgrow the Frontier (or Regent) before 6yo, that has to be one huge kid. <snip>

Yeah, but my issue is this is *one* seat, one that happens to 1)be a beast to install, 2)has been discontinued for 2+years, and 3) is very expensive. Comparing the Frontier instead - it's still a beast (less beast-y than a Regent, but still a large, heavy seat), and is still very expensive, especially if it's only for 1 kid and there's no one to pass it down to. There are very few circumstances where I would say to a parent of a 5 year old, "go out and buy a Frontier so that you can harness another year", knowing that that 1 year is going to cost $200+.

I also should note that I own a Regent. It's currently in my closet, and DD's in a Vivo. I'll probably put her back in the Regent eventually, but I haven't gotten around to wrestling with it. I'm very lazy, and she is 100% fine in a booster.
 

zactayaus

Well-known member
lol. My almost 9yo still fits in an MR, RN, Frontier, GN, and I'm sure he'd fit in the Regent still too. He probably could make it another year or two in the Frontier.:p
 

Stelvis

New member
Of course overall height is less important than torso height. 97% for overall height kids can have a huge variation in torso height. DS is 3 and has 4 more clicks left on his Frontier. Will he still fit in the harness at 6? I suppose it's possible, but it's also very possible he won't.
 
Of course overall height is less important than torso height. 97% for overall height kids can have a huge variation in torso height.

:yeahthatlove: DD is at 96% for height but she is ALL leg. So she will fit in a harness forever. But my DS has the same torso height at 2 that she has at 4, so for him I will need something really tall (I am guessing).
 

Mysweethoneybee

New member
I have a 4.5 year old that doesn't fit in a harnessed seat anymore. He is 48" tall and 20" of that is torso. We have a Regent. I love that seat more than any seat ever. But I make half giants kind of like Hagrid on Harry Potter. I have a picture of the normal sized boy I babysit standing next to my son. It is kind of like putting a chihuahua puppy next to a great dane puppy.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
I also think it's important to qualify that your statement "most 6 yo can fit in *A* harness seat", doesn't mean it's the seat a parent has, or can afford. At this point, the regent isn't even available, and the frontier is really, really expensive.
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
Yeah, but my issue is this is *one* seat, one that happens to 1)be a beast to install, 2)has been discontinued for 2+years, and 3) is very expensive. Comparing the Frontier instead - it's still a beast (less beast-y than a Regent, but still a large, heavy seat), and is still very expensive, especially if it's only for 1 kid and there's no one to pass it down to. There are very few circumstances where I would say to a parent of a 5 year old, "go out and buy a Frontier so that you can harness another year", knowing that that 1 year is going to cost $200+.

I also should note that I own a Regent. It's currently in my closet, and DD's in a Vivo. I'll probably put her back in the Regent eventually, but I haven't gotten around to wrestling with it. I'm very lazy, and she is 100% fine in a booster.

In your situation, why don't you just sell the Regent? It doesn't sound like you really need it. I could pass along the Regent from my DS to his smaller twin sister, but I'm choosing to move her to a booster full-time at the same time I move him.

In general, I wouldn't recommend a Frontier for a 5yo who can sit properly in a booster. There are times when I might recommend it for a 5yo though - for a very immature child, someone who needs to harness for a longer amount of time for whatever reason, or for someone who is going to need the tall booster seat in a car without headrests.

Most parents who have large kids are probably figuring out that they need a bigger seat way before a child turns 5. My DS outgrew his first convertible car seat - the old style Evenflo Triumph with a 40lb limit - at 3yo.

In the long run, if we can recommend a long lasting seat like the Frontier to parents with large kids, we can actually save them money. My DS went from the Triumph to the Britax Decathlon to the SK Radian to the Regent. Financially, it would have been more economical to go from the Triumph to the Regent.

Melanie
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
I have a 4.5 year old that doesn't fit in a harnessed seat anymore. He is 48" tall and 20" of that is torso. We have a Regent. I love that seat more than any seat ever. But I make half giants kind of like Hagrid on Harry Potter. I have a picture of the normal sized boy I babysit standing next to my son. It is kind of like putting a chihuahua puppy next to a great dane puppy.


Wow, that is huge! It definitely sounds like he has a fairly long torso too. Sometimes I think it's hard on the kids who are so big because other people expect them to act older than they are because of their size.
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
I also think it's important to qualify that your statement "most 6 yo can fit in *A* harness seat", doesn't mean it's the seat a parent has, or can afford. At this point, the regent isn't even available, and the frontier is really, really expensive.

I would be curious to see how a 50th and a 75th percentile 6yo fits in some different car seats. I think a lot of children will fit in a more reasonably priced car seat until they are 6yo.
 

steph_s

New member
My ds was in 65% for height and 25% for weight at age 5 years 1 month when he outgrew the Regent. He hit a growth spurt and outgrew it in height. He is all torso with shirts 1-2 sizes bigger than his pants and super slim. My friends dd is 5 years 5 months old and she too has outgrown the Regent in height. My friends ds I worry about because he's only 4 and is dead even with the top harness slots on the Regent and already outgrew the Frontier 85 in height (again long torso). Yes some kids will fit in it until 7, but it seems me and my friends breed freakishly long torso's and our kids wouldn't fit until 7 in the Regent or Frontier.

Also, not all parents can afford to purchase a $250 seat for their child who is 5 years old and meets the minimums of boostering. My friends have been passing around ds old Regents for the past 3 years now because they can't afford to purchase a new seat (it will expire in 6 months anyways). What about people with space issues in their vehicle? A regent or frontier is not 3 across friendly!

While your ds is in the top's of his percentages, some kids have longer torso's and I suggested someone spend $250 on a seat to last someone another year anything else I say in that conversion will be thrown out the window since that sounds insane! I prefer to pick my battles, a 3yo in a booster seat, yes I will fight it but a 5/6 year old who is able to sit properly I will keep my mouth shut and recommend a good long lasting booster seat.
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
Here's my compelling evidence that the vast majority of 6yo should be able to fit in a harness car seat.

I feel like what I wrote has been misinterpretted. I quoted myself above. I didn't say anything about everyone should buy a Frontier or that I think we should recommend spending $200+ for a seat for a 5yo.

For parents who want to keep their child harnessed to 6yo and have the resources to do so, the Regent/Frontier are viable options.
 

momtoo3

Well-known member
I would be curious to see how a 50th and a 75th percentile 6yo fits in some different car seats. I think a lot of children will fit in a more reasonably priced car seat until they are 6yo.

Ds2 has been between the 50th and 95th percentile for height since birth. He was 19 inches at birth 5 weeks early. He outgrew his GN at 6 years, 5 months. I am pretty sure in June, when he turned 6, he was in the 75 % for height at 48 inches and 50% for weight at 50 pounds. He fit (barely) in ds3's EFTA until age 5. I just measured his torso at 17.5ish inches so obviously the GN loses height when installed in dh's car. He is very leggy but seems proportionate to me. He wears a size 8 shirt and 7 pants. So for us at age 6 ds2 fit harnessed in a GN (he had outgrown the Maestro just before age 6 by both height and weight) But I chose to booster him in our van and truck. He was harnessed in dh's car because of a tight 3 across.
 

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