FF seat for 8 yo

ortner.liz

New member
Hello friends! Hoping for some advice. I've got 6 kiddos, so I've been in the car seat world a long time - except it's been about 9 years since I last purchased one!! gah!!! My last two in seats are ages 7.5 and 9.5. They both ride in Diono Radian RXTs, but sadly they are set to expire in a year. They ride most of the time in our 12 passenger Nissan NV van. We also have a Toyota Highlander. The 9.5 year old rides in a booster in this car, and the 7.5 year old rides in an Evenflo which I LOVED because it's super light weight and we took it for travel a lot. But it just expired and I was going to purchase a new one, when I realized the weight limit is 50 pounds for the harness!! Gah!!! she's 49 pounds!!

So - what to do?? It's not urgent, she rarely rides in the other car, but we do need to be able to transport her in it if needed.

I'm imagining when the two Diono's expire, the 9.5 yo will be 10.5, and solidly in a booster so no issue there. We've got plenty of boosters lying around. But the 7.5yo I'd still like to ride in a harness for a bit longer than just 1 more year, I don't want to put her in a booster next year when her seat expires. So.... ideally I'll buy something now that we can use occasionally in the other car, and then will become her primary seat in the van next year. I'm thinking along the lines of the Evenflo seat, something light we can take when we travel (going to Hawaii in June), and something that won't break the bank. I'm not looking to drop $$ on another Diono that I'll only get 3 or 4 years out of.

Please hit me with recommendations!! I'm swamped and don't have a ton of time for research at the moment, so I would very much appreciate the wisdom of those that are in the thick of it right now!

I'm also open to hearing maybe she is OK just going into a high back booster when she's 8.5, but frankly, given that I need a harness seat now for occasional use, I might as well keep her in a harness since I'll have it.
 
ADS

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Hello friends! Hoping for some advice. I've got 6 kiddos, so I've been in the car seat world a long time - except it's been about 9 years since I last purchased one!! gah!!! My last two in seats are ages 7.5 and 9.5. They both ride in Diono Radian RXTs, but sadly they are set to expire in a year. They ride most of the time in our 12 passenger Nissan NV van. We also have a Toyota Highlander. The 9.5 year old rides in a booster in this car, and the 7.5 year old rides in an Evenflo which I LOVED because it's super light weight and we took it for travel a lot. But it just expired and I was going to purchase a new one, when I realized the weight limit is 50 pounds for the harness!! Gah!!! she's 49 pounds!!

So - what to do?? It's not urgent, she rarely rides in the other car, but we do need to be able to transport her in it if needed.

I'm imagining when the two Diono's expire, the 9.5 yo will be 10.5, and solidly in a booster so no issue there. We've got plenty of boosters lying around. But the 7.5yo I'd still like to ride in a harness for a bit longer than just 1 more year, I don't want to put her in a booster next year when her seat expires. So.... ideally I'll buy something now that we can use occasionally in the other car, and then will become her primary seat in the van next year. I'm thinking along the lines of the Evenflo seat, something light we can take when we travel (going to Hawaii in June), and something that won't break the bank. I'm not looking to drop $$ on another Diono that I'll only get 3 or 4 years out of.

Please hit me with recommendations!! I'm swamped and don't have a ton of time for research at the moment, so I would very much appreciate the wisdom of those that are in the thick of it right now!

I'm also open to hearing maybe she is OK just going into a high back booster when she's 8.5, but frankly, given that I need a harness seat now for occasional use, I might as well keep her in a harness since I'll have it.

The tallest harness systems are the Chicco MyFit and Britax Grow With You. The MyFit has taller standing height limit and will last longer for kids with long legs. It's relatively narrow, but not as narrow as a Diono Radian. Its harness system and booster mode adjust much taller than the Radian.


The GWY is the newest version of the Frontier and has slightly taller seated torso height limit than the MyFit. Both are fine seats, the GWY ClickTight models are typically easier to install. It is a bit wider than MyFit, which may be an issue if you have an adjacent or 3-across setup.

 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member

ortner.liz

New member
I would, quite honestly, choose a booster if buying a new seat for a 7.5 year old.

This might be good reading if you haven't read it: https://carseatblog.com/37513/mythb...-are-safer-than-booster-seats-for-older-kids/

What little evidence we do have suggests lower head excursion for kids in boosters over even tethered harnesses. In a crowded vehicle situation, that could be a really important factor.
Thank you. This is kind of where I'm coming back around to - been reading all sorts of reviews on car seats, and I'm suddenly finding myself wondering if keeping them harnessed as long as possible is necessarily better, like it is for rear facing. I will read that article, thank you, I very much appreciate it. I'm now thinking that since her current seat will last 1 more year, then I keep her in it for this next year and when it expires, she move into a high back booster. For occasional use in the second car, she will probably be fine in a high back booster now.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
I agree with ketchupqueen.

The harness v booster debate has been hotly contested for decades. Ultimately, there's no particularly useful data for kids that old in the USA to compare them. Properly used, they both are safe choices for kids 4+ years and over 40 pounds. The choice may come down to your opinion of the child's maturity. In a booster, the child tends to be more responsible for being safely restrained by buckling properly and staying seated correctly for a whole trip. In a harness, they are more dependent on the caregiver to have installed and used the car seat correctly.

Most kids above 5 years old are usually mature enough to be safe in boosters, but there are exceptions.
It can also vary with the vehicle or driver. For example, perhaps grandpa isn't all that trustworthy with car seats and they might be better with a booster in their car ;-)
 

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