Booster or bigger 5 pt harness?

My son is 6.5 and 48 pounds. He has 1/2" to 1" at the very most before he is at the top slot of his Nautilus. I'm a daycare provider and the seat is also used by a tall 45 pound *almost* 4 year old(rides in a booster occasionally w/ mom, turns 4 next month). Now that my son is close to growing out of the Nautilus, I'm torn on whether I should purchase a Frontier or put him in a booster(either the Nautilus or Monterey, which we own). I have read mixed things about harnessing older/heavier children. I want my son and daycare child to be as safe as possible. I wouldn't be purchasing a new seat or moving my son into a booster until my daycare child is 4+...as long as my son doesn't grow an inch next week! I could always swap out a booster for a 5 pt harness when daycare child is with me, but it would be most convenient to have one seat.
Also, we are going on a roadtrip in August and I think I'd feel most comfortable with him in a 5 pt harness so he is secure when sleeping. I've never had him fall asleep in a booster before so I'm not sure how that would work.

It sounds like you have 6 months to a year before this is going to be a real issue. Torso growth takes a while and they tend to grow legs between 4 and 7. That being said, I'd be perfectly comfortable with your DS in a booster at this point. If he's going to sleep on the long road trip, a harness might be helpful for that situation.

As for the daycare kid, it really depends on whether he stay seated properly, which the majority of newly turned 4 year olds can't. In 6 months to a year, he may be mature enough that its a non-issue. So I say, just wait and re-evaluate when your son grows a bit more.
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My answer would depend on what he rides in, in his own family car--Personally, I couldn't down grade a child's seat in my car...though, as a mother that cares about car seats. I've *always* bought my children's car seat for d/c. I pick it, buy it and take it there and install it. This last d/c lady was using *my* seats for 1 day/week for my children and 4 days a week for her other kids. But, her seats were expired and probably recalled too, so I didn't care.

How mature he is? Can he sit still? Does he follow directions?

How far/fast you are driving? ie is it a few blocks to/from school vs highway for 30+min every day.

Finally, past two years old, I've read that it takes an entire year to grow one inch of torso, so, you may be surprised at how long that it will take...

tam

Thanks for your input. The mom doesn't drive and when she goes anywhere he usually is in a low back booster He is extremely well behaved and I don't have any doubts about him being able to sit properly in a booster.
We just drive to and from school (2 kms each way, and going no more than 50 km/hr). There is the rare occasion we may go on a field trip requiring us to go on the highway, but that is only a few times per year.
My little man has been growing like a weed lately, so I just wanted to be prepared for when he suddenly shot up again overnight. I didn't want a Britax sale to come up and not know if I was going to buy one or not. *sigh* I guess it never hurts to have a new seat LOL

I probably wouldn't buy a larger harnessed seat for a normally-sized 6.5 year old unless I had some reason to believe the child couldn't handle being in a booster. Since you have the younger kid who shares the seat, I would just wait and see where you are when the Nautilus is outgrown. You may have more time than you think. I bet he'll still fit in August when you take your road trip. I really like harnesses for road trips (I wish I could wear one!). The day care kid might be close to age 5 by the time you really need to make a change, or maybe not even in your care at all (circumstances do change). And if he's not ready for a booster at that point you can still keep the Nautilus around for him.

Now as for keeping a child harnessed for an extended period of time...what are your opinions on it? Do you believe that it isn't as safe as a booster (as long as the child can sit properly in the booster)...or is there no clear research pointing one way or the other?

There is no clear research one way or the other. I am of the totally unsupportable opinion that a harness would be safer for all of us, at any age. But it's only an opinion and I can't back it up with any science. There are some theoretical risks concerning strain on the neck with harnessing, too. And we can't keep our kids in harnesses forever, simply because they're not available. At some point we have to recognize that our kids have to move into belt positioning boosters, and at age six it is an OK thing for most kids of normal size and maturity level.

I also believe that part of vehicle safety is teaching our children to feel good about making responsible safety decisions. I don't know how your son feels about being in a harness, but forcing a child that age to ride in a harness when he's old enough and mature enough and big enough to properly use a booster, possibly inviting ridicule from his friends, may have lasting psychological consequences. It's different if they are OK with the harness (and many children really like them), but there comes a point when how the child feels about his car seat is also important. After all, someday you're going to have to trust your child to follow your rules/advice without you present to force the issue. If the child believes everything you do and say and advise is overkill, how will that influence his decision when it comes time to say "no" to riding home with a friend who has been drinking or piling into a vehicle where there aren't enough seat belts for everyone? Where you draw that line is up to you as a parent (after all, I wouldn't give a 3 year old a choice, or probably even a 4 year old, or maybe not a 5 year old... but a six year old? Seven? Eight?).

Is it possible to continue using the nautilus harnessed for the day care child and have a seperate seat for your son?

Using a forward facing harnessed seat does not offer any safety advantage compared to a high back booster for kids 4 and older. There is no research, stats, data or real life experience showing this.

If kids have special needs a harnessed sea might be a good idea. In reality a booster cushion does basically offer the same protection for a child as a harnessed seat or a high back booster. We see this from research and real life accident stats. Exception would be when a child is sleeping which may caused poor belt placement. For the youngest 4 year olds a high back booster or harnessed seat is likely a better choice though since they tend to move around more.

In general a hbb and harnessed seat offer about the same protection. The Swedes, with car seat safety habits 30 years ahead of other countries, recommend against using harnessed seats for safety reasons. Reasons are mainly the high neck load. Hbb has other advantages such as being far more affordable, easier to use, easier to install and easier to move between cars. These "soft" reasons all make in difference in keeping kids safe.

What most don't realize is that side impact protection in forward facing seats is horrible. Both for hbb and harnessed seat. These accidents are less common than frontal collisions but also the most deadly.

Forward momentum and pre-impact breaking cause head/neck of children to often be in a forward and unprotected position at time of impact. This is a big problem which we can't do anything about. Stay rear facing for a long time is of course the best option but we can't keep our kids RF forever;-)

Overall your choice of harnessed seat of high back booster will both be good choices. Select the one you feel most comfortable with.