Keep you pre-schooler in a 5 point harness carseat!

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StJudePray4Me said:
Just popping in to point out, if your older child has a seat like the one linked to in this thread…it is important to take the 5 point harness off and use the seat belt according to the weight indicated in the manufacturers.

The seat linked to says it’s apprpriate up to 100+ pounds, but notice it says to use the harness to 65 pounds., then the car,s seatbelt after that.

If your child is heavier, the harness will not hold them properly in a crash.
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yeah…good point!
 
Serap said:
I just see it differently and perhaps I’m too black and white on this subject. I just know for me, that my kids would definitely not be allowed in the front seat until age 12. Those airbags are pretty powerful and can kill a kindergarten aged child if the child is not positioned high enough by the booster.
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I’m guessing pnewton meant a *front-facing booster seat? * In total agreement about kids riding in the front seat, and I think most parents are (considering it’s illegal!). I can’t believe my mother used to put my baby brother and me (3-4) on the front bench seat next to her in her old Cadillac. Wow, thank God again for guardian angels!!
 
We’re actually getting ready to buy a new seat for my 4 1/2 year old. He is outgrown his current seat and I want to keep him harnessed. But the problem is that we took him up to Babies R Us to try out the seats that harness to 65 Lbs. but he doesn’t have much height room in any of them. He’s already at the top slot in every single one of them. I can’t bring myself to fork out $200-300 for a seat that he’s going to outgrow within a year and we’re going to have to turn around and put him in a traditional booster anyway.

Are there any options I’m not thinking of? What seat gives the highest height allowance? I’ll fork out the $$ if I can find it.

Part of the problem is the store is in the middle of remodel and they didn’t actually have a lot of models on display so there weren’t many options to try. I see a lot of seats online that advertise a higher harness limit, but they don’t tell you the height limit. I can’t order something offline without knowing that information first. I want to make sure the seat fits him properly before buying it.
 
masondoggy said:
We’re actually getting ready to buy a new seat for my 4 1/2 year old. He is outgrown his current seat and I want to keep him harnessed. But the problem is that we took him up to Babies R Us to try out the seats that harness to 65 Lbs. but he doesn’t have much height room in any of them. He’s already at the top slot in every single one of them. I can’t bring myself to fork out $200-300 for a seat that he’s going to outgrow within a year and we’re going to have to turn around and put him in a traditional booster anyway.

Are there any options I’m not thinking of? What seat gives the highest height allowance? I’ll fork out the $$ if I can find it.

Part of the problem is the store is in the middle of remodel and they didn’t actually have a lot of models on display so there weren’t many options to try. I see a lot of seats online that advertise a higher harness limit, but they don’t tell you the height limit. I can’t order something offline without knowing that information first. I want to make sure the seat fits him properly before buying it.
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Yes, you’re right. The Graco Nautilus goes to 17 inches sitting height (sold at Babies r Us).

Your best bet, is the one I"m going with … Britax Frontier. It has a sitting height of 20 inches, so you’ll have a good 2 years at least.
 
Serap said:
Yes, you’re right. The Graco Nautilus goes to 17 inches sitting height (sold at Babies r Us).

Your best bet, is the one I"m going with … Britax Frontier. It has a sitting height of 20 inches, so you’ll have a good 2 years at least.
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The Frontier was the one that they didn’t have on display. I was specifically looking for it. Anybody know of the cheapest place to get one? Coupons? Discounts?
 
StJudePray4Me said:
The seat linked to says it’s apprpriate up to 100+ pounds, but notice it says to use the harness to 65 pounds., then the car,s seatbelt after that.

If your child is heavier, the harness will not hold them properly in a crash.
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Which link?

True that the harness cannot hold a child over 65 pounds if that’s the seat’s weight limit, but not true that the harness can always be used to 65 pounds. Most kids max out their harnessed seats in height before weight. As soon as the shoulders are over the top harness slot, the five point harness can no longer be used, even if kiddo is under 65 pounds.
 
masondoggy said:
The Frontier was the one that they didn’t have on display. I was specifically looking for it. Anybody know of the cheapest place to get one? Coupons? Discounts?
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are u in the U.S.? I found one yesterday for $239 USD. I can’t buy it here in Canada b/c it has to be bought within Canada.

Isn’t that retarded??? It’s the same carseat!!!

I’ll look for it for you. It’s an on-line sale with free shipping.
 
Mason doggy, Albeebaby has Frontiers at $209 right now, and they usually have coupon codes you can find AND it’s free shipping for orders over $100.

That would be a $200 well spent, since it would surely harness him till 6 and then be a booster afterwards.
 
sanctareparata said:
mason doggy, albeebaby has frontiers at $209 right now, and they usually have coupon codes you can find and it’s free shipping for orders over $100.

That would be a $200 well spent, since it would surely harness him till 6 and then be a booster afterwards.
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i so so wish i lived in the us right now!!!
 
surf(name removed by moderator)ure said:
I’m guessing pnewton meant a *front-facing booster seat? * In total agreement about kids riding in the front seat, and I think most parents are (considering it’s illegal!).
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It is not illegal in Texas. Yes, I mean a front-facing booster seat. That is all that he can have considering his height and weight. A child can die in the front seat or the back seat. An adult can as well. I guess I prefer to put the emphasis on accident prevention first. As a parent, I have tried to just ignore the child in the back and came up wanting. Once he outgrew his 5-point, I tried the front seat and found it far less distracting. It is much easier for me to keep eyes ahead. The real crazy part is that if one has a car full of people, then the child can ride anywhere and there is no obligation to even seat belt.
This section does not apply to a person: …(2) transporting a child in a vehicle in which all seat*ing positions equipped with child passenger safety seat systems or safety belts are occupied.
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I was wondering, since the back seat is statitically safer in an accident (up to age 50), do all of you ride in the back seat when you are a passenger, or does your spouse? If not, think about why and perhaps you will understand my reasoning. I do hope also every leaves their cell phones off. That is a far greater risk than anything else we are discussing here.

FYI - airbag deployment is not an issue for me. his booster has no back and the seat is back, as per the instructions with the booster seat. I know the airbag could not reach him. He* might* be able to reach it if the seat belt’s inertial lock failed.
 
pnewton said:
It is not illegal in Texas.
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I’ve lived here all my life, and since I was old enough to drive I was told it’s illegal for a child under (however many) inches to ride in the front seat. I don’t have time to look up a source right now, but I’ll have to check it out later.
 
surf(name removed by moderator)ure said:
I’ve lived here all my life, and since I was old enough to drive I was told it’s illegal for a child under (however many) inches to ride in the front seat. I don’t have time to look up a source right now, but I’ll have to check it out later.
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The law changed a couple of years ago, when the went to mandatory boosters until age 8. When I read through it, I was surprised to see nothing about car position, so I ran it past a couple of troopers. They both said there was nothing in the the law that required it, at least as far as they were informed in their update class. I apologize for not linking the law earlier.

txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_information/seatbelt.htm
 
Which link?
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True that the harness cannot hold a child over 65 pounds if that’s the seat’s weight limit, but not true that the harness can always be used to 65 pounds. Most kids max out their harnessed seats in height before weight. As soon as the shoulders are over the top harness slot, the five point harness can no longer be used, even if kiddo is under 65 pounds.
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See post #25.
 
pnewton said:
The law changed a couple of years ago, when the went to mandatory boosters until age 8. When I read through it, I was surprised to see nothing about car position, so I ran it past a couple of troopers. They both said there was nothing in the the law that required it, at least as far as they were informed in their update class. I apologize for not linking the law earlier.

txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_information/seatbelt.htm
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As far as I know here in ,my state, there is no law regarding kids in the front seat. However, auto manufacturers highly discourage it, because the force of an airbag deployment can seriously injure a child in the front passenger seat. A rear-facing child in the front seat can be killed instantly by an airbag deployment.

If you have a pick-up truck with no back seat - well, than there’s no choice, but you must remember to de-activate that airbag (if there is one.)

In my home, we made up our own rule – no front seat until you’re 13.
 
pnewton said:
The law changed a couple of years ago, when the went to mandatory boosters until age 8. When I read through it, I was surprised to see nothing about car position, so I ran it past a couple of troopers. They both said there was nothing in the the law that required it, at least as far as they were informed in their update class. I apologize for not linking the law earlier.

txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_information/seatbelt.htm
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Wow. Thanks for the info. I’m surprised that they changed it, given the current use of airbags (I suppose in theory the booster is supposed to compensate for that?). I personally still wouldn’t put a kid in the front until he’s tall enough not to need a booster.
 
sanctareparata said:
Mason doggy, Albeebaby has Frontiers at $209 right now, and they usually have coupon codes you can find AND it’s free shipping for orders over $100.

That would be a $200 well spent, since it would surely harness him till 6 and then be a booster afterwards.
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Thanks! I have the link saved in my favorites and plan to order Thursday when we get paid. Definitely $$ well spent. 👍 DS is sooooooooo excited about getting a new seat. We’re even letting him pick the color. But we had to overrule his first choice of pink, lol…
 
masondoggy said:
Thanks! I have the link saved in my favorites and plan to order Thursday when we get paid. Definitely $$ well spent. 👍 DS is sooooooooo excited about getting a new seat. We’re even letting him pick the color. But we had to overrule his first choice of pink, lol…
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get the Cowmooflauge. I love that one 😃
 
I still find it interesting that several people on here that have said no amount of $ is worth comprimising their kids safety…yet they also admitted to taking their kid on a plane as a Lap Child. One patch of bad turbulence and your baby is going to hit the ceiling with 100lbs of force.

I think the best we can hope for s to try the best with in reason to keep our kids safe and pray.
 
sanctareparata said:
Unfortunately, in David Kyle Miller’s case, the seatbelt failed completely. It had nothing to do with his being in a booster. If he had been in a higher weight car seat (which needs to be installed with a seat belt rather than LATCH once the child reaches 40 pounds), the seatbelt still would have failed and his car seat, with him in it, would have been ejected.
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Can a booster that can be tethered to the car remain tethered once the child is at the age where a seat belt must be used? I would think this would give a little extra safety since the seat belt wouldn’t have to hold back weight of the booster just the weight of the child. Plus the tethered seats can pretty much be made completely immobile where a seat belt would seem to give more room for movement.
 
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