I was thinking about boosters this morning. Our older child is still in a high back booster with a 5 point harness. I see almost none of her peers in the same style of seat. Most of them are sitting in the backless booster using the seat belt.
When did you move to a seat belt instead of a 5-point harness?
59 votes
squash / 13208 posts
DS is 7.5 and still in a 5 point harness in my car because its so much easier/faster for him to get in and out that way - the seatbelt lever is really far down and impossible for him to reach alone -hate it! ugh!!
He started using a booster with seat belt in DH's car at age 6
DD is 5 and still in a 5 point.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
5, still in a 5 point and will be for a long, long time . He doesn't sit still in the seat without it.
pomelo / 5298 posts
@Mamaof2: Does he ride with you to/from school? Can he do the five point harness himself? LO can do the chest clip but not the buckle at the base.
pineapple / 12566 posts
We switched my older child a month before he turned 5. But we only drive a few times a year. If we drove every day, he would still be in the 5 point harness.
squash / 13208 posts
@MamaG: yes he is in my car 90% of the time - he does it all himself - my 5 year old can buckle her harness but cant unbuckle it
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@MamaG: @Mamaof2: No one asked me, but my 5 year old can unbuckle himself, we have the Britax Frontier and the Britax Boulevard.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
My son will be 5 in June and I doubt I will think about going without the harness until 6 at the earliest. I don't trust him to sit properly for awhile yet.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
DD is 5 and sits in a full back Clek oobr. She's been sitting in it since she was 4.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@Mamaof2: I love that seat, I am considering getting another. We also have the Graco Nautilus, but for the extra $75 and click tight.....Frontier for the win!
squash / 13208 posts
@chopsuey: so seatbelt? Does she sit still at age 4? My 7.5 old doesn't sit still 
pomegranate / 3983 posts
My 4, almost 5, year old is still in a harness and will be for a good long while. I got the ride safer vest for a recent trip to try it out and see if he could sit properly- nope! Which means I definitely wouldn't try a backless booster.
honeydew / 7488 posts
My 7.5 year old is still in a 5 pt harness but she hates it. She says none of her friends have one and she feels like a baby. Sorry, it cost me a pretty penny and we aren't changing it any time soon. But for car pools, etc she uses a Bubble Bum and she loves it.
cherry / 235 posts
We just took out the 5pt harness for my almost 6 year old and are now using it as a high back booster with the seatbelt. Have the Britax Frontier.
I find the same to be true of other friends of his...no longer in a high back booster.
DS1 is 50th for height and weight, but that really didn't factor into my decision to switch. Felt he's now mature enough for the seatbelt. And so far he has proven that to be true.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
We are in a 5 point harness still. T will be 4 next month. He's small so I imagine we will keep him in it for a long time.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
@Mamaof2: yep! she's 5 now, and has always been good in her seat
pomelo / 5298 posts
We have the frontier, which I love! And I had intended to use it as a high back booster with a seat belt at some point (remove the harness). But in my Acadia it doesn't work well because of how the seatbelt anchor is positioned. My LO would really struggle to get the seat belt on.
I'm impressed by the kiddos that can do/undo their own buckles. My girl can't accomplish that for some reason.
I'm intending to make the change sometime this summer around her birthday when she turns 5.
squash / 13208 posts
@MamaG: yes, I have an Enclave (very similar to your car) and guess that is my issue too?
pomelo / 5866 posts
My 5.25 year old is still in 5 point. I have had a high back booster sitting in the house for months just dying to be used but it looks more uncomfortable than her expensive car seats. LO is very petite for her age.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@MamaG: We have a similar issue with my husband's car. For some reason, the seat belt latches are sunk into the seat and do not extend out. So you kind of have to reach around and down to buckle.
pomelo / 5298 posts
@looch: Ours extend out, but then sort of arch back in toward the middle of the seat. The way the frontier fits in the seat (captains chairs in the second row), you sort of have to scoot the frontier seat away from the seat belt anchor to create space to connect it.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@MamaG: Yeah, I can imagine that would be challenging for a kid sitting in the seat! I have enough trouble getting my own seatbelt on sometimes!
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
My 5, almost 5.5 year old is still in a 5 pt harness, but I was recently looking into the Diono Monterey as a potential future booster. Not sure when we'll make the official switch, though I trust her to sit still in it. I'm thinking if I wait til she fully outgrows this car seat, maybe in a year or two a better model will come out, and then she can sit in the booster until she outgrows car seats completely?? She knows how to buckle herself in in the 5-pt harness, but can't unbuckle!
pomegranate / 3438 posts
We have three cars and three different car seats but they all use a 5pt harness up to 65lbs. We plan on keeping the 5pt harness until he outgrows it. Luckily two of our seats convert to a booster and can be used up to 100lbs.
I actually just had this conversation with my pediatrician and she really recommended staying in a five point harness as long as possible. It is so much safer.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
DD1 is almost 4 and will be in a 5 point harness for a while longer. I definitely hear you though...a lot of her friends are already in a high back booster using the car seat belt.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
Ds1 is a bigger kid and we just moved him into the frontier a couple months ago. We will use it for a couple more years. He's almost 3.5
bananas / 9227 posts
I live abroad and could not find a 5-point harnessed, high-back booster approved for a kid that's over 40 lbs. The fine print of everything available says the harness is only good for up to 18 kg. Britax has recently come out with one approved up to 25 kg, but it's only available in a few countries and I'd rather not buy a convertible at this point.
DD is in a Cybex Solution M and loves it! She's almost 4.
cantaloupe / 6687 posts
I voted wrong - she's 4.5 and still in a 5 point harness. I think she is fine to use a seatbelt bc she sits very well in the car but as long as the harness works I'll use it. I think it's pretty evenly divided between her friends that are using just boosters and those with a 5 point - most kids I know using backless boosters have a carpool situation that kind of necessitates it
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