Question Help finding a harnessed seat for a "BIG" 5 year old

camara

New member
I am new here so sorry if this is in the wrong place.
I am desperate to put my son in a harnessed seat after finding out how much safer they are through this site. (He is in a backless graco turbo booster right now:thumbsdown:)

The problem is that he is a very proportionately big 5 year old. He just turned 5 on march 14th and here are his measurements:

TORSO: 15 1/2''
HEIGHT: 49 1/2''
WEIGHT: 55 LBS
SHOULDER WIDTH: 12 1/2''
and the seating area from his bum to his knees is: 13''

Are there any harnessed car seats that would fit him? Or is he stuck in a highback booster now?
I live in canada so the regent is out of the question.
If his only option is a high back booster, which one would be best for his size?

My younger son is in a radian premier and my 5 year old is much too big for that. I drive a 2003 hyundai accent, latch equipped. Any advice would be much appreciated.:)
 
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mommy2env

Active member
I believe Canada will be getting the Britax Frontier. :)

I would feel comfotable with him in a high back booster as long as he sits correctly all the time. I am not sure what boosters are availble in Canada though.

So, for now, I will bump this up.
 

canadiangie

New member
Hi,

At his age and weight, and assuming he sits well in a booster (no leaning, reaching, squirming, un-buckling, etc) I'd probably keep him in a booster, BUT I'd get him back into a highback booster. What I would do is wait a few mos and get the Sunshine Kids Monterey when it comes here. I've seen pics of large 6y/o's in it and it fits beautifully. Tons of leg support, True Side Impact protection headwings, it's LATCH'able, it's extremely tall.... basically it's designed to fit the largest of children that still need the protection of a booster.

When you say he's much too large for the Radian, are you talking his shoulders are above the top slots? Or are you saying there isn't enough shoulder room? Or leg support? Or just overall he's too big sort of thing?? Just trying to get a feel for how he fits in the Radian, because the Frontier has the same top slots (18.25" ish -- give or take). Assuming he's just overall too big for the Radian, I'd probably not be considering the Frontier (to be honest). We know that boosters, when used correctly, by children who are big enough and mature enough to use one, do do a phenomenal job of protecting children. :thumbsup:

IIRC the Monterey should be arriving in the next few mos.
 

camara

New member
Thanks for your quick repsonses. My son is about 1 1/2 maybe 2 inches above the radian's top slots and at least 3 inches too big for the seat depth.
I posted a pic to show you how he fits in it. ( I tried to post more but it says I have exceeded my quota??)

I checked out the monterey and it looks great! :thumbsup::)I still would love to have him in a 5 point harnessed seat but If the booster is just as safe with his weight/height and ability to stay seated properly, than I guess the Monterey it is.
I'm still going to try him out in the Frontier( toys r us canada now has it now on there website!) but if that doesn't work out I'll go with the Monterey.

If the frontier does work out, can I use it latched(UAS in canada) untill 80 lbs? Thanks again!:)
 
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canadiangie

New member
Hi,

The Frontier and the Radian have the same 18.25" ish top harness slots, and because his shoulders are a good 2" over the Radian's top slots he'll likely fit similar in the Frontier -- meaning he's too big, it won't work. Also, FYI the Frontier will only harness to 65lbs in Canada since that's our max harnessing limit up here per Tranport Canada standards.

The Regent is not coming here anytime soon -- if at all, which would be your only other option (it has 20" top slots)...

So yes, at his size the Monterey will be your best bet IMO. Now let's just hope it gets here asap!! (so many people are anxiously awaiting it's arrival -- it's a great seat for big kids :thumbsup:).

hth's
 

QuassEE

Moderator - CPST Instructor
He looks even with the top slots in that photo? You'll want to stick your finger through the fabric hole for the slots and see where it lines up with the shell behind. Sometimes covers shift. It's possible that you won't find any harnessed seat in Canada (that's legal, anyways) and if he cannot sit properly in a full-back booster then you might see about the Traveller Plus as your only alternative. It's expensive though--I believe around $800-$1000.

I find that my five year old boy (who bounces off walls, I might add) can sit in the Parkway for 5-10 minute trips without a problem, but any longer than that he starts to move out of position. We do leave the seatbelt retractor switched on him (so the seatbelt is locked, making him psychologically feel that he's more restrained) and find that it improves his behaviour in the booster. Because my son cannot sit still and he's approaching the top slots in his Marathon, we have a Regent for him for our summer road trips back to California (where I'm from) because I'm NOT using a booster for him for a 16 hour drive two ways! Fortunately we live 5 minutes from the border, so we don't have to drive through Canada at all.

How long you can use LATCH depends on the vehicle manufacturer. The Canadian Frontier will only have a 65lb weight limit, but most manufacturers recommend discontinuing LATCH at 40 or 48lbs.

-Nicole.
 
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canadianmom2three

Active member
I have a son with pretty close stats (height 47", 17" torso, 12" bum - knee and 12.5" shoulders). He still fits in the Radian, but if I was faced with what to buy right now for him, I don't know if I would buy it or not. Given your torso measurement, he should still have a fair bit of growing room in it especially since SK allows use over the top slot (though I'm not comfortable with going much over, and most on here aren't either, what it means for me is that when he is right AT the top slot, I am not panicking). Torso growth is pretty slow at this age, iirc my ds was 15" torso when we got it more than 1 1/2 years ago, and he is just now approaching even with the top slot. It makes a difference for me, even between different cars, in our new car he has more room in it again, whereas in our van he was sitting just over. Also if I engage the ff recline that gives him more room. So I don't know rather it is worth it to you or not, we got a year and a half out of it and it was DEFINATELY worth it for me, I will be soooo sad to see it go! I guess if he can sit safely in the booster, the monterey looks like it is worth the wait! I am actually waiting eagerly for it as well. We just bought the parkway, but based on our few trial rides, I'm not really in love with it, and DS can't sit safely in it for more than a few minutes. He really complains in it about the seat depth, so if your son is even longer in the bum-knee, he might feel the same.

Anyway, do you have a back for the turbo? That would make it a bit safer.....or do you have another seat for the younger child?. You could have your older DS ride in the premier for a while to see if he gets used to it...maybe he is just used to the roomy backless, and if he rode in the premier a bit he might get used to it....I know when we first bought the Radian, my DS hated it, he had loved his turbo. Now he loves the Radian, it just took some getting used to.

If you are planning to buy a new hb while you wait for the monterey, we also have the evenflo big kid CONFIDENCE (not the plain 'big kid')and it is a pretty nice booster - lined with EPS, very roomy and adjustable. My DD still fits in it at 8.5 and 85+lbs. HTH

2559415082_9a07c8d938.jpg
this is today, sitting in the house ff recline engaged, I would say he sits a smidge higher in the car, but not much really.

2558642995_57c41c7c19.jpg
This is when we bought it, about 1 1/2 years ago, maybe a bit more.
 

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