Extended harnessing

My opinion on extended harnessing

  • I will harness my child until there are no more harnessed seats that fit him even if he's 8+

    Votes: 17 14.3%
  • I will harness my child as long as his current harnessed seat fits him even if he's 8 or over

    Votes: 59 49.6%
  • I believe that harnessing past X point is not really important

    Votes: 25 21.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 18 15.1%

  • Total voters
    119

Maedze

New member
I'm curious because I see this advocated a lot here, and occasionally see mention of kids who are well beyond the minimum harness age (6, 7, 8 years old) and over the 40 pound minimum.

But I've never seen a study showing that say, a harnessed 60 pound 7 year old is safer than a boostered 60 pound 7 year old. Intuitively it seems to me that it might be dangerous due to load on the neck to have a child that heavy in a harness.

Poll coming.
 
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TerisBoys

Well-known member
I believe that after about 5-6yo it needs to be done on a child by child basis.

My older two were fine in boosters at 4yo (standard pratice at the time). Sat properly, didn't wiggle, etc. My youngest is a whole different story. He just turned 6 and will be harnessed AT LEAST one more year, if not longer. He's simply too wiggly to ride in a booster much further than home to daycare (4 blocks).
 

Mommy0608

New member
I voted other. I plan to harness for a long time, but I would like to do more research and make the decision at that time. Hopefully by the time DD is approaching the EH age/size, there will be more studies done on EH vs. booster use.

Based on current recommendations, my plan is to get her a Nautilus or Frontier after she's too big to RF. Little brother will get her current seat (EFTA) to ERF after he outgrows the infant seat and then the AO in RF mode, probably about a year from now.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I expect my child to fit in her Radians until somewhere around age 8. She's on the small side. At 8 -- or even now (she's 6y7m), if she had a huge growth spurt and outgrew the harnesses -- I would not purchase another harnessed seat in order to keep her harnessed.

She doesn't mind being harnessed. I would not move her out of a harness on a whim, but at her age, I would take her wants under consideration if she was seriously distressed about being harnessed for some reason.

(I'm considering buying a Nauti which does have higher strap slots, and if I do I'll probably leave her harnessed until she maxes them out, but I'm not going to buy it with the goal of harnessing until age 9 instead of age 8.)
 

TXAggieTech

Active member
I voted other.

Oldest son (7) is in a booster and has been since 5. His caregivers would not correctly use a harnessed seat so a booster is a safer option for him.

Our youngest son (5) is harnessed and mostly likely stay that way in our main car until he no longer fits. We may start trying him in boosters in other cars some time next year.
 

keri1292

Well-known member
My dd is 8yo and about 50lbs clothed. She can't sleep in a booster and prefers her Regent.

While I'm curious about the difference in neck loading, right now, it all comes down to comfort and "can we use it right EVERY time?" And she can't keep her head against the wings in a booster when she's sleeping. Her head hangs and there is slack in the shoulderbelt. She's a very deep sleeper (bed wetter until 1st grade) and I wonder if that has something to do with it. :shrug-shoulders:
 

Starlight

Senior Community Member
My son is 6.5 and still fits in a Radian. Why buy another seat when I already have one that he fits in?

(FWIW, I have ummm, like umpteen boosters too. I'm comfortable w/ him riding in them, too.)
 

scatterbunny

New member
I voted "other" because my daughter is in a booster full-time now, although she still has just a smidge of height room in the Regent (the only harnessed seat on the market she'd still fit in at this point). She's 7yo, always been large for her age (95th+ percentile). Harnessing beyond 40# is very important to me if the child is one who hits 40# at 2-3yo, and moderately important for kiddos who hit 40# at the more average 4-5yo, less important to me for kiddos who hit 40# at 6+. My reasoning is that being mature enough to sit properly in a booster is the key factor in a booster being a safe choice or not, and most 2-3yos are just not good enough at controlling their impulses to sit still in a booster all the time. Even many 4-5yos have trouble with this. The older a child is, the better impulse control they have.

My daughter started using a booster part-time at 4, but remained harnessed the majority of the time until right when she turned 6 (and about 50 pounds). At 6.5 we got a Regent to re-harness her, but then downsized to a Focus. :p She's really, truly mature enough to use a booster properly, though, so we sold the Regent and she's using a Britax Parkway 99% of the time now, at 7yo, 53 inches tall and 62 pounds. The other 1% of the time she's using a Britax Bodyguard or Britax Starriser/Comfy (when we need to fit three-across). She's also a deep sleeper (saw that mentioned above) and a bedwetter, still, in 2nd grade, but in her Parkway and Bodyguard, we've never had an issue with head slump when sleeping (thank goodness), even on the rural, twisty highway I have to travel to see family. It's possible if she had a sibling, she'd be more likely to get out of position in the car, but she's an only, and I never have to remind her to sit properly anymore.
 

finn

New member
My son is still in rf seat with a 25kg/55lbs limit and will stay in it until he outgrows it, then I have a recaro young sport for him which harnesses till 18kg 40lbs, once he reaches that limit he will use the cars seat belt with the recaro as a booster. Its pretty much impossible to get a seat over here that harnesses past 18kg/40lbs.
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I plan on using my current seat to harness as long as possible. If the kiddos outgrow the harness before age six, though, I will be looking for another harnessed seat. :)
 

Andie

New member
I have small children that usually grow out of seats by height first.

I plan on harnessing my 6 year old until he hits the limit of his Nautilus. Then we will put him in a booster. I'm hoping for another year in the harness. I tried him in booster mode of the Nauti the other day, and I really didn't like the fit, so I'm hoping he'll be a bit bigger by the time we have to use booster mode.

I do however, have him in a Bodyguard in the other vehicle he rides in. With the lock offs and the way the head wings are, he stays in position very well, and I'm comfortable with that.

ETA: He's 50# now, and 46". Has about 1-1.5" of harness height left.
 
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fyrfightermomma

New member
If my kids outgrow their current seats before age 6 (which would never happen in a million years) then yes, I would look for another seat to get them to school age.

Once school age (6ish) I will do it case by case. If I feel they can sit properly then I would consider a booster. After age 6, I will also take their feelings into consideration at this point as a booster is not UNsafe. If they can't sit properly, then they will be harnessed. If they can sit properly, I would probably booster them, even if they still fit into a harnessed seat (which I know they will with room to spare)

However, my state is 4 AND 40 and my daughter will be nowhere near 40 lbs even at age 6, so I'm not sure what I will do then. :rolleyes:

I guess I am just not in the harnessing as long as humanely possible camp unless there is a specific medical or behavioral issue. There isn't a huge spike in car related deaths in the 5-6 age group in harnesses vs boosters (probably because there are hardly any who are harnessed so who knows what it would really be!) and I've been on more car accidents than I can count and every boostered child I have seen, regardless of age has been uninjured. And we are in a freeway/rural highway location. There are many bad and fatal accidents here, and the majority of kids I see after hundreds of accidents walk away uninjured or minor injuries after serious accidents even if they are in boosters. I've only seen 3 kids die in my career and they were all improperly restrained. So since I see it first hand, I don't have the "fear" (not sure if that's the right word) of boosters that some others have. I honestly have not seen many injuries with them, and no serious injuries with them, even in the 4-5 age group (I also work in a level 2 trauma center ER as a nurse and I rarely see seriously injured children). The strange thing is my area is HORRIBLE with CPS stuff. No one rear faces past 1 or harnesses past 3-4. Few booster to age 8 even though it's the law. Most seats are old, expired, or improperly used and I still rarely see serious injuries. I can't explain that part though.

That was a long rambling speech that completely didn't answer the question....sorry! I guess my answer is since I've seen hundreds of accidents and no serious injuries in the 4-6 year old age group while in boosters, I am not afraid of boostering after age 5 or 6. It just doesn't concern me the way it concerns some others I guess. Which is completely fine! Everyone has their own reasons. These were mine :)
 

Gypsy

Senior Community Member
My daughter is almost 8 and no longer fits in any harnessed seat that isn't marketed towards special needs.

She has been in a booster 90% of the time since she was a little over 6 and 50 pounds. She is mature, sits properly and does great in a booster.

I'll also move ds to a booster at about 6 AND 50 as long as he is mature enough to use one properly.
 
My dd is 6.5yo and 50lbs. She still rides in the MA and fits in the Radian. She also has a pink PW and an Air TB. She rides fine in the boosters, but her head slumps forward when she sleeps still. I don't use a booster for long trips where she may fall asleep.

It is really hard for me to not get her another harnessed seat at this point. I'd really like a Frontier or GN, but we'll see once she outgrows the seats she has. I really prefer her to be harnessed throughout the winter here in WI.
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
I voted for other. I do plan on harnessing Sofi longer then her current seat allows. I know J is 5 and is too tall for the Marathon (that Sofi is currently in), but has plenty of time in the Nautiuls. So, when Sofi needs to be FF, I plan on buying a Nautiuls (unless something better is out), and I will harness her in that as long as possible. But I don't see myself buying a Regent to harness her until she's 12 :)

J is 5, and in a Nautiuls. I expect to keep him harnessed in it until he's too tall, or too heavy. That should get us another couple years at least. However, by age 7 or 8 I will take his wants into consideration :)
 

BW1426

Well-known member
I voted that I would keep the kids harnessed as long as the seats I have allow.

With that said, I am extremely interested in the neck load difference of boosters and harnessed seats. If I could go straight from RFing to 4 or 5 to a booster I would. Unfortunately, that's just not really option and there isn't enough research for me to make a firm decision. I do feel strongly about Britax's tethers that rip and the Safe Stop--I think those are both great features.

With that said, I really think E will go to the Vivo full time when she tops out the LATCH limit for my car and the Radian.
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
The brain synapses that govern impulse control dont begin to develop until 5-6 years old. After that, most kids are capable of sitting properly in a booster. I have no problem with a 7 yo in a booster, although I wouldn't recommend a backless.
 

abacus2

Well-known member
I would buy necessary seats to get my child to 4 AND 40lb AND able to sit properly. After that point I am willing to choose seats based on what I currently own and what fits well in the car in question rather than by booster versus harness. My almost 5 year old has outgrown the harness limits of the Nautilus and can sit properly in a booster. Aside from the fact that I dislike the seat and need to fit 3 across in my car, I don't believe that the Regent would offer her any more protection than the high quality boosters I have.
 

Peony

Member
DD1 is almost 6, under 40 lbs and can not sit properly in a booster. She will remain in a regent for some time to come. The age that pops in my mind is 8 but we'll see as she gets older.
 
U

Unregistered1

Guest
I have the Graco Nautilus which will keep A harnessed as long as I want her harnessed. I would harness her longer if I had a seat that would harness her longer, but I don't, and I'm poor, so this is it.

My main argument for extended harnessing is this: EH prevents two things that have been proven by various studies to contribute to injuries and death in crashes - kids getting out of position and kids submarining. Until the child is mature enough not to get out of position and big enough not to be likely to submarine, I think EH is the way to go. My goal is 6 or older, which we will definitely reach because A is even with the second to top slots at 5.5.
 

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