5yo carseat suggestions:

If you had a 5 year old, 40# and almost 40", what would you use for a restraint?

Definitely a HWH seat, for us.

primary seat, hwh for sure. Backup/emergency seat, I could be okay with a dedicated booster, assuming child has decent maturity.

HWH seat for our primary car (likely a Nauti), but I'd be okay with a booster as a spare for other cars (sitter, etc.)

A high weight harness for sure!!! If they sit bad in other people's car's-another high weight harness seat... if they sit good mabey a booster for back up.

I wanted to harness till at least 7 with michael, but unfortunetly due to carsickness I couldn't(and boy parts).

I've used a Marathon with all 3 of my 5 year olds (all taller than 40", but 40-ish lb). If something happened to the Marathon Nadia's in right now, I'd definitely replace it with another harnessed seat (Nautilus, Frontier, Marathon, etc.).

My son has almost the same stats as yours (though he's a bit shorter and he doesn't turn 5 until New Years Eve). We have him in a Nautilus in my car, and a high back booster in my husband's car. He's only in my husband's car like twice a week, so it's essentially a "back up seat." When we first put him in that booster, when he outgrew his Graco ComfortSport (which was around THREE...ugh), he was tooo short for it. The shoulder strap hit across his neck. So I got him an Evenflo booster that harnessed to 40 lbs and then became a belt positioner. He's outgrown the harness weight on that, and my husband HATES belting it in his car (it's apparently difficult for some reason), so I tested him last week in the hbb again (it's an evenflo big kid deluxe...much like a turbobooster), and the shoulder strap hits his shoulder, so I guess I'm OK with him being in that in my husband's car, but for my car, his primary mode of transport, I absolutely wanted the Nautilus b/c it harnesses to 65lbs. He likes the Nautilus. Thinks it's "cool." I wouldn't feel comfortable having him in a belt positioning booster "full time" at this point. Maybe in a couple years...

*Spoiledinmyhouseofblue* said:

A high weight harness for sure!!! If they sit bad in other people's car's-another high weight harness seat... if they sit good mabey a booster for back up.

I wanted to harness till at least 7 with michael, but unfortunetly due to carsickness I couldn't(and boy parts).

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Did you know your siggy lists Michael's birthdate as 11/07?

DD is 5, 40 lbs and 47" tall (long and lean). She's in a Radian in DD's car (family car) and a Parkway in my car (for shorter drives). She sits surprisingly well in the Parkway and loves the headwings for naps.

I'd vote for EH but could understand why someone would/could put a well-behaved 5 year-old in a HBB full-time as well.

My son is 5 1/2 43 lbs and 45 inches tall and is in a marathon. He is close to getting too tall for it, when he does I will buy him a harnessed seat with taller slots.

bobandjess99 said:

primary seat, hwh for sure. Backup/emergency seat, I could be okay with a dedicated booster, assuming child has decent maturity.

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That's my plan! She rides in a GN and a TB as a back up. I just wanted to see if I was crazy for keeping her harnessed.

DD is 5 1/2, 41 lbs and 43"tall, sits in MA in grandparents car and Regents in my car and DH's SUV...I don't have any intention of putting her in a booster for awhile, we might replace the MA with a Nautilus when she outgrows it but we'd use it harnessed...we haven't done any booster training and I'd just as soon hold off until we have to and at this point the grandparents and DH have finally mastered the 5pt harness, not sure if they'd use a booster correctly.

BTW, all my kids, including Nadia, have started using a booster (HBB) occasionally at age 5. In our primary vehicle, however, they all definitely needed the harness for a couple more years.

HBB, Britax Monarch or something similar. It's as safe as anything else.

Adventuredad said:

HBB, Britax Monarch or something similar. It's as safe as anything else.

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When it can be used correctly Misuse in a booster is much more likely than a harness, though, especially if the parents haven't taught the children about the necessary increase in responsibility. This is why my spirited (but very booster savvy) 6 year old still rides in a HWH or vest when we have the choice. I don't worry too much when we don't have a choice, but I do make sure that someone other than the driver will be able to focus on reminding her to SIT STILL.

I promise I will not hijack this thread as I apparently always do. Misuse is actually at least as common with harnessing because of more complicated installation. :twocents::twocents:

Adventuredad said:

I promise I will not hijack this thread as I apparently always do. Misuse is actually at least as common with harnessing because of more complicated installation. :twocents::twocents:

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Quick hijack. If it were MY kid, I'd have them in a harness. But, I do agree with Adventuredad that misuse has to be at least as common and probably more serious with harnessed seats. Most people here think all you have to do is put the seatbelt through the back of the seat and have at least one of the buckles buckled (and not tightly mind you).

To me, a harness means one less thing I have to worry about while driving.

Adventuredad said:

Misuse is actually at least as common with harnessing because of more complicated installation.

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Only for the adults -- most parents put kids in boosters because they think they're easier, but they're easier for kids to move around in . . . making the CHILD's misuse risk greater: making the child's risk of injury greater, especially with parents who aren't as aware of the responsibility required (which is why it's irrisponsible to claim that boosters are just as safe in the public area of the forum where any unaware visitor could be viewing without asking for clarification)

If it's a small 5 year old, they would also have a higher risk of submarining out of a booster regardless of correct use, much like a large toddler....

I would choose to harness, but I would not panic if another parent chose a good high-backed booster.

chickabiddy said:

I would choose to harness, but I would not panic if another parent chose a good high-backed booster.

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Panic is a good choice of wording I have provided parents/children with the information for kids 3-5 to use a HBB (even without deep heads is ~70% safer during side impacts than backless) ... sometimes I have been fairly confident in correct use, especially with both conscientious adults + calm children :thumbsup:

Far too often, however, I am presented with situations that do not meet my definition of an ideal environment for correct booster use under at least 5 years old When there are older siblings concerned about the issue who can take over the supervisory role while the parent drives, all the better! With bickering kids & a stressed out driver the only person capable of being responsible both for the road as well as the safety of the children quareling in the back (moving either to the front is *not* a best practice option when a seatbelt exists for them in the back :twocents then a harness is required to ensure the kids will be positioned more like the crash test dummy so the seat they're in can provide its fullest potential for protection.

There are very few unwiggly children in my daughter's 1st grade classroom. Most of the wiggly children's parents have vehicles without Switchable Locking Retractors, eliminating an sometimes vital safety feature option of providing an automatic reminder to the child so the parent can more easily focus on the road. Best practice solution for this IMO is the Recaro Start booster with the best shoulder belt lock-off that I'm aware of. However, it is too expensive for most of these families & has relatively low weight/height limits. Newer deep energy absorbing options are still too expensive for some of these families & tend to lack the shoulder belt lock off.

Sometimes one must resort to something like a Graco CarGo or Evenflo Generations, etc. For a child under 5 who cannot use a HWH, I suggest a high level of proper use education for both parents & children. Must implies obesity, though because most children with a diagnosed special need, including learning disabilities, should hopefully be able to reach out to various sources to get a vest if not a more traditional HWH. The sooner the planning is begun ahead of time, the less likely that use of a CarGo or Evenflo would be, but if it must be used even temporarily then the whole family must be aware of the giant leap in the child's level of personal responsibility Visiting a local CPST for an extra voice to reinforce the message from home is a good idea, just make sure to stress that you want to learn all about best booster practice. Not all CPST's job descriptions entail an inclusively comprehensive tutoring session. That's usually left up to the volunteer out of uniform

However, when one truly must resort to a booster for a wiggly kid who meets the size requirements, we shouldn't panic It's not the end of the world, it will provide some protection, it is likely to be safer than a harness that has been outgrown/expired/crashed. Don't panic as long as you're following the manual's instructions to the best of your abilities.