Booster or 5 point Harness??

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vtmommy

New member

• Nov 26, 2006

• #1

Hello,

My Wife and I are brand new to this forum and are in need of some advice. By reading through a few threads this seems like the place to be!!

As I am sure many of you have seen, we recently viewed a devastating slide show of a couple who lost their son to a faulty seat belt used with a booster seat. I have my finger on the purchase button for a Britax Regent for our son but wanted a little further advice before we spend that kind of $$$.

Our son (Cullen 8/25/01 42#'s) is currently in a Compass Booster seat. Our daughter (Sophia 4/17/04 24#'s) is in a Britax Roundabout FF'ing. I want to make sure we are getting the best (ie - safest) seat for our $$. I am all for the tether and 5 point harness for as long as possible.

I was amazed at how much information there was documenting seatbelt failure aka latch failure or inertial latching. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Matt and Cindy

 

Dillipop

Well-known member

• Nov 26, 2006

• #2

How well does your son sit in his booster? If he can sit properly for the entire length of the trip, every trip, he is very safe at age five and over 40 pounds in a booster seat. It is pretty rare for a seatbelt to fail and if it did, even if he was in a five point harness, he could still be ejected, since the tether is there to prevent head excursion, not hold the seat in the car. That said, I will be keeping my son, 3 1/2, in a carseat for as long as he will fit. We have a husky (older version of the regent), that will last until he is 8. He will be riding in other cars in a booster before that point, though.

Your daughter, at 24 pounds has lots of time to rearface in her roundabout. Depending on DOM, the limit is either 30 or 33 pounds. THe stickers on the side of the seat, as well as the manual will state the limits for your seat. Rearfacing is much safer than ffing for any child. The child's back absorbs the force of the crash rather than the child's neck. If my son were less than the 33 pounds of his marathon, he would still be rfing at 3 1/2.

I don't know if any of this helps you. It really will be a parental decision of whether you think your son is ok in the booster or if he needs the five point again.

 

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vtmommy

New member

• Nov 26, 2006

• #3

Dillipop,

Thanks for your reply. To be honest our son most days will sit well in the booster though if not well rested tends to slouch down. Though after viewing the video I feel that if anything ever happened and I did not provide the safest option for my child...... well you know.

As for our daughter, you are absolutely correct we do have many #'s to go and she can still be RF'ing. I guess it was just force of habit from our son being FF'ing when she came along. I will discuss with my wife in the morning.

 

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twokidstwodogs

New member

• Nov 27, 2006

• #4

Matt,
I agree with Dillipop. Your son will be very safe in either a Regent or a good highback booster seat like the Compass. The video is tragic, but you have to be careful in drawing conclusions about it. It's unclear whether the booster was properly used, and that makes a big difference. And remember (a) that seatbelt failure is extremely rare and that (b) Regents used for kids heavier than 48 pounds need to be installed with a seatbelt in most cars anyway. (In a Honda, it's 40 lbs.) The final decision really comes down to your preferences and your pocketbook.

FWIW, I have my 4.5 year old daughter (45 inches, 47 pounds) in a Compass B510, and my 16 month old daughter (32 inches, 25 pounds) rearfacing in a Roundabout. To me, the rearfacing decision is an easy one, since there's abundant evidence to show that it's safest. The booster seat one is trickier. If my older daughter weren't so good about sitting properly in her booster seat, or if she often fell asleep in it, I'd have gotten a Regent for her when she outgrew her Marathon several months ago. Also, both our cars (06 Subaru Legacy and 05 Honda Odyssey) have top of the line crash test ratings and side curtain airbags for rear passengers. If we had different cars, I might have put her in a Regent. But I feel very comfortable with her in the Compass in our cars.

 

scatterbunny

New member

• Nov 27, 2006

• #5

Simply because rollovers and side impacts are so deadly, I strongly prefer a harness as long as possible. A harness will protect better than a seatbelt any day in a rollover or side impact.

My dd is 48 inches tall, 52 pounds and a month shy of 5.5 years old, sits reasonably well in her booster seat, but we harness her 95% of the time because in my heart I just feel she's much more protected that way. She's almost too tall for her current seat and we'll be replacing it with a Regent. I've been a regular poster on this board for 3 years now and have learned so much--extended rear-facing and extended harnessing are two things I learned here that I wholeheartedly believe in and strongly advocate.

 

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vtmommy

New member

• Nov 30, 2006

• #6

Thank you all for your replies, after consideration we decided to take the plunge and get the Regent. We felt that it would be worth the investment.

 

scatterbunny

New member

• Dec 1, 2006

• #7

Be sure to post back when you get it, if you have any more questions, or just to let us nosy folks in on your excitement!

 

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vtmommy

New member

• Dec 1, 2006

• #8

Jenny,

For sure we will. We pick it up Sunday on our way to the airport. We fly out to the BVI on Monday for my BIL's wedding. We are bringing both Britax seats (Roudabout for Sophie, Regent for Cullen) with us because we heard the ones provided by rental car companies are less than adequate. We will post our thoughts/opinions when we get back. Thanks again to all.

 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member

• Dec 1, 2006

• #9

Ooof, good luck traveling with the Regent -- it's a big, heavy sucker! My favorite seat, though (next to the Recaro Young Sport, also bulky & heavy) ... excellent seat choice, just be prepared for the size & heft of it!

 

scatterbunny

New member

• Dec 2, 2006

• #10

Yep, the Regent will be a bear to travel with, mostly due to its dimensions. I can handle lugging the weight of it, but the sheer size of it can make transporting it difficult.

 

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vtmommy

New member

• Dec 17, 2006

• #11

Well we are back and transitioning back to reality, leaving the laid back reggae lifestyle behind us.......sigh

I now realize what you are referring to when it comes to the Regent. After picking it up we decided not to bring it with us. I have to say the size was at first intimidating, in hindsight it was a good decision to leave it behind.

After returning home though, installing it was my first priority. I have to say we LOVE the Latch system. That combined with the tether, makes for an easier install than the seatbelt, though still very secure at the same time.

Thanks to all for the advice. Your opinions were very helpful in our decision.

 

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becca011906

Senior Community Member

• Dec 17, 2006

• #12

Just wanted to add in that you can only use latch till you child is 48lbs, after that you have to use the seat belt to install it, unless it's a honda then you need to install with the seat belt NOW b/c the latch limits on that are only to 40lbs.

 

scatterbunny

New member

• Dec 17, 2006

• #13

Glad to hear you got it installed fine. Yes, 40 pounds is the LATCH limit for some vehicles, 48 pounds for others.

 

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twokidstwodogs

New member

• Dec 17, 2006

• #14

But if you happen to have a Subaru, the limit is 60 lbs!