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5-point harness until what age/weight?

MirandaHobbesMirandaHobbes member
in Pre-School and Daycare
DS is 4 years old- 48" tall and 41 lbs. He is just now too big for his Graco ____ convertible carseat (forget the name- it's 5 point, not the nautilus). So I'm looking for a replacement. Costco has a Graco highback convertible booster. DS meets the weight and height restrictions for it. But it doesn't have a 5 point harness. Is there an age at which you don't need the 5-point anymore? For some reason I was thinking you're supposed to keep themin 5-point as long as possible (e.g. Nautilus, which we have in our other car).
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Re: 5-point harness until what age/weight?

  • stdldb29stdldb29
    My DS has the exact same stats-it depends on the maturity of your DS from what I hear. My DS will be sitting in his frontier for a long time...with his 5 pt harness.
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  • Angela814Angela814 member
    They need to be mature enough to sit properly in the seat 100% of the time. The minimums are 40 lbs and 4 year according to most "experts". We moved DD1 to a high back booster at 5 years. She was 44 lbs and 46" then.
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  • flyingsaucerflyingsaucer member
    The AAP now suggests that kids stay in 5 point harness "as long as possible". I am keeping my 4 year old in a 5 point for now.  Can you get a coarsest that has a 5 pt but then coverts to a booster? 
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  • MirandaHobbesMirandaHobbes member
    Thanks everyone- I don't think he's ready for the lapbelt. I never knew it was a maturity thing. I'll have to get another Nautilus or something else.
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  • ilovemygirlsilovemygirls member
    Lol- my 7.5yr old tiny child (44lbs) is JUST NOW about to get out of her 5pt harness in my car.  She's been in a high back booster (for 30lbs & up) in my DH's truck for awhile now & she's mature enough. I just figured as long as she wasn't complaining, I was going to wait until her shoulders got above the highest strap line & I'll put her in a high back full time by the time school starts. 
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  • brownmousebrownmouse member

    We have the Cosco Alpha Omega, and it turns from a 5pt to a booster. Actually, we have two of them. They are great!

     

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  • gimmietimmiesgimmietimmies member
    imagebrownmouse:

    We have the Cosco Alpha Omega, and it turns from a 5pt to a booster. Actually, we have two of them. They are great!

     

    The booster mode for this seat is not recommended for use - main reason is that the belt guides tend to let the belt slip out, or don't position properly. The seat also has an extremely short shell and will likely be outgrown long before they can booster. OP - your ds is a little shorter than dd3, she outgrew this seat completely at age 3, her ears were above the shell. I too was dazzled by the 3 in 1 option - the sales person talked me out of a Radian, I should have listened to my gut!

    Both dd2 and dd3 are still harness in their Frontiers, dd2 still has half an inch of shoulder height at age 6. She may only now just be ready to be unharnessed. I had to keep her harnessed, she was in the Graco Turbobooster for a whole week. I caught her standing on the seat while I was driving down the highway - she was 5 and trying to reach for a toy. There were other things too, like falling asleep, not sitting right and putting the belt behind her back.

    OP - I thought of another option. The Evenflo Maestro has fairly high height limits and is pretty inexpensive. Have a look at that.

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  • macchiattomacchiatto member

    I have heard good things about the Evenflo Maestro!

    Here's a good article that talks about booster seats, and yes, it's definitely a maturity thing as well as size:

    https://thestir.cafemom.com/big_kid/109817/few_booster_seats_are_safe

    I plan to keep my boys in 5pt harnesses as long as possible. They have First Years TrueFits, which have one of the tallest shells on the market and go to 65 lbs FF (harnessed). RIght now at 3.5 they are 37.5" and 38" tall and 33 lbs each so I'm thinking they should last at least another 2 years, if not 3+.

    fraternal twin boys born january 2009
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  • heymommyheymommy member

    Lurker here..

    I have a 8& 11 year old.

    My dd was in the 5 point harness nautilus untill the middle of second grade. She then moved to just the booster seat. She stopped using the booster back in October when she was 8 ( law in ga says booster untill age 8). She was just a smidge under the 4'9" guideline so I was fine with that. She is tall for  her age. My oldest was in a booster untill 3rd grade.  

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  • SuperCuteBenzSuperCuteBenz member
    imagegimmietimmies:
    imagebrownmouse:

    We have the Cosco Alpha Omega, and it turns from a 5pt to a booster. Actually, we have two of them. They are great!

     

    The booster mode for this seat is not recommended for use - main reason is that the belt guides tend to let the belt slip out, or don't position properly. The seat also has an extremely short shell and will likely be outgrown long before they can booster. OP - your ds is a little shorter than dd3, she outgrew this seat completely at age 3, her ears were above the shell. I too was dazzled by the 3 in 1 option - the sales person talked me out of a Radian, I should have listened to my gut!

    Both dd2 and dd3 are still harness in their Frontiers, dd2 still has half an inch of shoulder height at age 6. She may only now just be ready to be unharnessed. I had to keep her harnessed, she was in the Graco Turbobooster for a whole week. I caught her standing on the seat while I was driving down the highway - she was 5 and trying to reach for a toy. There were other things too, like falling asleep, not sitting right and putting the belt behind her back.

    OP - I thought of another option. The Evenflo Maestro has fairly high height limits and is pretty inexpensive. Have a look at that.

    I was just going to post this. :)

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