High Back Booster or Harness for 5yo w CP? (Canada)

Hi folks!
My friends over at the JJB Pink Room suggested that I come here to ask for advice about the next car seat for my older daughter. She will be 5 in a couple of weeks and is about 107 cm tall (42") and is 20 kg (44 lbs) and has cerebral palsy. It affects all 4 of her limbs - low tone in the core and high tone / dystonia in her arms and legs. She currently is in a Britax Frontier or Sunshine Kids Radian with the 5 point harness. My in-laws need a new seat for their car (they have a Britax, can't remember the model, but more of the infant to toddler style and they can't lift my daughter up into it anymore). They originally purchased a backless booster, based on my daughter's height and weight, but I felt it didn't give enough support and my daughter really didn't like it.

I'm trying to decide between the new Britax Parkway SGL high back booster (we like the high back, side pads, clip for the belt in the crotch area to prevent her slipping down and the rating to 120 lbs (with the back on or off) as I feel she'll benefit from the support long term.

However, I'm wondering if we should get another Britax Frontier with a harness system instead? Their harness goes to 30 kg (65lbs) so that would give her a few more years in the harness. But then, after that, it's just the belt - and I like the idea of keeping a crotch strap as I know she can slide a bit. These are also twice the price of the high back boosters - and both are more expensive here in Canada with tax etc added all in.

Any thoughts or experiences??

Thanks so much!!
meg

Re: High Back Booster or Harness for 5yo w CP?

Welcome!

In general I recommend that children WITHOUT any tone problems use a harness until 5 1/2 to 7 years old, when they are usually physically and neurologically able to sit in a booster properly. It sounds like your daughter has special challenges, and would definitely benefit from continuing in a harness if possible.

What is your daughter's seated torso height? It sounds to me like she's of a size and age where she'd likely have room to grow in other seats besides the Frontier (which are cheaper, usually, and many of which go to the same weight limit in Canada.)

You might look, for instance, at the Graco Nautilus and the Evenflo SecureKid 400.

I've seen some older frontier at 250$ online. It's really less expensive than the new frontier clic tight and you get almost the same height limit, the weight limit is unchanged!

Re: High Back Booster or Harness for 5yo w CP?

Thanks for the input! I should say that of course her safety is most important so cost is secondary. My gut feeling is that a harness system is best for her. I just wanted to be sure to do my research and get what's safest for her. We like the Britax a lot - the Frontier. But, does anyone have thoughts on the Latch system vs the new Britax clip system that uses the car's seatbelt? I always thought latch was safest, and least likely to shift around, but I just read that Latch has a weight limit too.

It's very complicated isn't it!

For tone issues, I would lean towards another harness seat and revisit boosters later down the road.

What slot is she on in the radian? What size shirt does she wear? This will help determine which seat to get for torso height.

You can still get a few of the older frontiers on sale for $250 as they are clearing out.

http://www.snugglebugz.ca/2012-frontier-xt.html

The click tight offers a few different things than the older frontiers but is not for use on air planes.

The frontier has the highest harness height on the market right now at approx 20 inches. The nautilus and secure kid would be approx 18 in torso height (from bum to shoulders).

I didn't see this mentioned, but the Frontier is compatible with the slide guard clip, so you can order one and use it with the frontier in booster mode if desired.

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