which harness to booster for center position in Odyssey?

[kld182]

My 5 year old daughter has nearly outgrown her Recaro Performance Sport and her Diono Radian in 5 point harness mode. (Her shoulders are just below the harness at the highest settings.) The Radian will be passed down to my 2.5 year old son (RFing for now, FFing in 6 months-1 year). I'm happy to let my daughter start riding in the Performance Sportin booster mode (with the seat belt) in my husband's car for short trips. However, I'd like to keep her in a 5 point harness in our main vehicle.

I've read that the Britax Frontier 90 has the highest harness height. However, I'm wondering if the width of the Frontier will fit in the center seat of a 2012 Honda Odyssey with a RFing (or FFing) Radian and a Chicco Key Fit 30 on either side.

The Radian currently just fits on the second row center seat without over hanging at all. (Our seats are in the separated mode which leaves a gap between the seats.) I suspect the Frontier will overlap. Is that safe?

Or, is it OK to put my daughter in a booster full time at age 5? I'd really rather not.

Thanks for your help!

 

[lgenne]

You're talking about the 2nd row, right? The versatether on the FR90 doesn't work in that narrow center seat. It ends up going around the sides of the seat rather than over the top. I'm pretty sure there's also side overhang, which Britax doesn't allow.

(Let me just say that this post is eerie. We had a KF, a FR90, and a RF Radian in the 2nd row of our 2013 Odyssey for awhile.)

Anyway, for the seats you're considering, the only one that really works* in that center seat is the Keyfit. Actually loading the KF in and out was a giant pain. I would either look for a different harnessed seat with tall top slots, take a hard look at boostering her full time, or not put all 3 in the 2nd row. We have our FR90 in the 3rd row outboard with the captain's chair in front of it removed, the KF in that narrow center seat, and the RF Radian in the other captain's chair.

*rereading the thread makes me think you have the radian RF there right now. Is that right? There's some disagreement about whether it actually works there because of the way the recline foot interacts with the hinges, but most techs seem to give it a thumbs down. I've never tried a FF Radian there.

 

[bnsnyde]

I had the same issue!! My daughter had just turned 5. We hit 40 lbs. so I had to do seatbelt install with her Radian, and I didn't like that install. It wasn't as tight as I had it with latch at all.

She sat in the center seat of the 2011 version (should be same as yours there).
We bought the Kiddyworld booster. It has rigid latch and a totally awesome fit for her. And a crumple zone of sorts. I felt 100% good about having her in that booster. I should add she NEVER moved out of position. She was perfect. So I got lucky.

 

[kld182]

Thanks for the replies. To clarify, the Radian is FFing in the center second row right now. My son is riding RFing in an Evenflo Triumph, but it's getting cramped for him, hence my hope to move him to the Radian RFing.

Is the Kiddyworld booster for us in US vehicles? (Just wanted to clarify since I think there might be some Canadians on here?!)

Any other suggestions are welcome! I'd love to know if I can somehow manage to get three across in the second row of the Odyssey using a Key Fit 30, Radian and some other harness to booster seat. Thanks!

lgenne - Could you please clarify where the Radian doesn't work RFing in the Odyssey? Thanks.

 

[lgenne]

In the center 2nd row, aka the +1 seat. The "toes" of the recline foot fit right between the hinges, so it's "tight" at the belt path before you even tighten the belt.

 

[henrietta]

I would not booster most 5 year olds full time...many are too wiggly on the longer trips or when they are tired. Obviously, some are just fine! And your girl is a tall one, so I'm assuming she's at or above 40 lbs. My preference for full time booster use is 6 years old and 40 lbs.

I would find another seating arrangement that will allow you to use the Frontier 90. She's very tall!

 

[kld182]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Thankfully, we have some time before we need to rearrange.

If I put my daughter outboard in a Frontier, would it be OK for my (then) 3 year old son to FF in the Radian in the center, with baby in a Key Fit on the other outboard side?

Finally, I hesitate to move a child to the third row of the Odyssey because I've read that's the most dangerous place for a passenger (for fear of rear end crashes). Can anyone confirm if this is true?

Thanks.

 

[henrietta]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Thankfully, we have some time before we need to rearrange.

If I put my daughter outboard in a Frontier, would it be OK for my (then) 3 year old son to FF in the Radian in the center, with baby in a Key Fit on the other outboard side?

Finally, I hesitate to move a child to the third row of the Odyssey because I've read that's the most dangerous place for a passenger (for fear of rear end crashes). Can anyone confirm if this is true?

Thanks.

No, it's not true. Obviously, no one wants to be seated immediately in front of a back window with *nothing* behind them, but I can't think of any vehicles that have that set up, thankfully. And you don't want to be seated against a back window, such as in a extended cab pick up truck's back seat without proper head and neck support via a headrest. But as far as a van or SUV with a third row, it has not been shown to have a higher incidence of severe injuries in your average rear ender. There's usually a foot or more of space behind the third row seat. And most rear end accidents are at very low speed, with both cars traveling at the same speed or close to it OR one car stopped and another rolls into it. Clearly, if you are rear ended while at a stand still or low speed by a car going 50-60 mph, it could very well be bad for the third row passengers...just the same as getting hit head on would be esp bad for the front row. It certainly has happened...high speed rear end crashes, but much less frequently than severe front end or side crashes. And newer vehicles esp have safety features like reinforced bumpers and crumple zones. It makes sense that if you are rear ended at high speed by a larger taller vehicle, it may be more likely to have serious effects on the passengers in the third row, but we cannot prevent every single possibility on the planet. I have never been overly concerned about kids riding in the third row of my vans...and I'm on my 4th van and we use the third row most of the time.

It isn't something I would think twice about, other than making sure your kids seats are used and installed correctly and that you drive defensively and safely.