To re-harness or not?

Dragoness

New member
My daughter is 7 and a half, she's 47 inches and 47lbs. When she outgrew her 40lbs carseat at 4 and a half there were not options for us to get a seat that harnessed over 40lbs with the exception of Britax which is way out of our budget. At that time we retrofitted our car with shoulder belts in the rear so she could ride in a high back booster. It was about a year later that seats like the Apex and Nautilus became available to us, but then she was a few weeks shy of 6 years old and we opted not to put her back in a harnessed seat. Now she is 7 and a half and still under 50lbs but not for long since she is in a major growth spurt.

Zoe was in a HBB but one day I had to take the back off for some reason and I realized that without the back there is actually a better fit. When the back is on she was so far foward in the seat that the seatbelt just would not sit in a safe AND comfortable manner, clearly we opted for SAFE. But with the back off not only did the belt fall in the correct position, but it no longer dug into her. This is only true in our van (primary vehicle), in other vehicles we use have to use the back. My daughter has excellent posture and tends to sit upright at all times, she does not wiggle in her seat EVER, doesn't slouch, and never sleeps in the car. I got lucky as all 3 of my kids are excellent in the car.

BUT i see so many kids (here) that are still harnessed and clearly older/larger than my daughter and it makes me second guess how safe she is.

So if your 7 yo was properly seated and the seatbelt was being used properly and safely would you re-harness her just because you could? Or would you allow her to remain in her booster?
 
ADS

DaniannieB

Ambassador - CPS Technician
At 7 years old and properly using a booster & seat belt, I'd say she's fine. If she were younger or unable to sit properly, I'd say harness, but not at her age and maturity.


Just wondering, but what booster/car combo did you have where the backless booster worked better than the HBB?
 

Genevieve

CPST Instructor
I wouldn't re-harness her in this case. Since you are confidant she can sit correctly I think she's fine in a booster.
 

Dragoness

New member
Its one similar to this but an older model since we bought it in early 2006

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10745673

The only difference is that with the back she sits farther foward which makes the belt sit funny. In our truck (which we only use with kids in extreme snow which hasn't happened this year) we have to use the back or the shoulder belt sits too far out, the total opposite. We also used it in our friends 2003 Suburban and 2004 Tahoe and in the Suburban its also better backless but not much different that with the back, in the Tahoe its better for her with the back.

Oh and now I remember why i took the back off (I think.) I had to go to the recycling center and the back was filled with cans but on my way there my friend who dd was visiting for a playdate had a minor emergency meaning I had to pick her up right then. Because the back was loaded dd had to sit in the front for the 4 blocks to the recycle center and I took the back off and moved the seat back so she would be farther from the airbag. Once I got to the recycling center and unloaded I put dd back in the back but since I cut my hand on a can I was having trouble snapping the back onto the seat so I decided to leave it off till I got home, that is when we realized it was working better backless.

I KNOW you should not put a child in the front especially with an airbag, but there was an emergency and I had to put her in the car somewhere, it was only one of two times dd has been in the front. The other time was also an emergency when we broke down and both had to ride in the cab of a tow truck about a mile to my dh's work.
 

tanyaandallie

Senior Community Member
At 7 she is fine in a booster. I would not put her back in a harness if she can sit properly. At her age and weight a booster is perfectly safe option!
 

Dragoness

New member
Just want to add I was once inch and 1 lb off. She is 46 inches and 46 lbs, I just weighed and mesured her when she got home from school.
 

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