Booster Chair Safety

I would leave her in the five-point harness as long as she lets you. I was recently in a car-accident and by daughter is 4 and 50 pounds and that saved her over the selt belt. Selt belt is still wonderful but with the five point she didn't move on impact.

Michelle,

If she is over 40 pounds and the seat manual says 40 pounds to harness yes you MUST stop using the harness/it is NOT optional as another person indicated (there are also heigh restrictions too that many children outgrow the height before the weight)...it is not a "loose" guideline but based on crash testing...it sounds like you have one of the 3 in 1 seats..alpha omega etc....they are notorious for this problem...the children reach 40 pounds but are not ready for a booster....for a great resource go to www.car-seat.org.

GREAT thinking on your part to keep her in a 5pt harness....like the others suggested the Graco Nautilus available at Walmart and TRU/BRU is a great choice to harness much longer and then it converts to a good high back booster...the Britax Frontier is more expensive but will last even longer...it harnesses to 80 pounds and also converts to a high back booster...it's more expensive because of some extra features but honestly the Nautilus is getting excellent reviews....

I'll add a very links to this to best explain why keeping children in a 5pt harness is best....it's a lot of info but great info..especially if a grandparent or spouse wonders why the other kids are sitting in boosters and your child is in a 5pt harness!

B.

Here are some facts why a 5 point harness seat is safer than a booster seat:

                * The crash forces are spread over the skeletal body over five points rather than three.

                * The crash forces are spread to the strongest parts of the child's body.

                * Forward head excursion (the distance the head is thrown forward) are lessened.

          * The child is secured in the correct seating position rather than being able to wiggle
around, lean forward etc

  In 5-point child restraints, there is also the added safety of the top  tether (so long as the vehicle has this feature). The top tether or top  strap (as its sometimes called) helps hold the top of the child restraint   back against the vehicle. In a frontal crash at 30mph with a car seat  installed properly and no top tether, there is a 32" frontal head excursion.

 In the same seat, same crash, child restraint installed along with the top  tether, you reduce that frontal excursion to 4-6", thus making it more likely that the child will not hit the seat in front of them.

When used correctly, 5-point harness car seats provide significant safety advantages over securing your child in a booster seat using the  adult seatbelt.  A child is safest in a 5 point harnessed seat.  A child should remain in a 5 point harness until they outgrow it.

Here is a great link with detailed information and a video clip of a vehicle crash test video comparing a 5 pt harnessed seat vs a booster seat:

http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/pages/4211/Car_Seat_Safety...

  
If you want to go straight to the crash test video, here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2kO8AxKbrM

Highly Recommended 5 Point Harnessed Seats:

                1. Graco Nautilus and it turns into a booster after the harness is outgrown but
is a 5pt until 65 pounds)
                2. Britax Regent will harness to 80 lbs and/or 53 inches tall
                3. Frontier a great new seat can harness to 80lbs and then can be used as booster to
100 lbs and/or 60 inches tall
                4. Britax Marathon is a good seat to harness to 65 lbs and/or 49 inches tall
                5. Evenflo Triumph Advance is also great

I don't know what the right answer is, but if I were you, I would go to the nearest police station that has certified people to inspect it. They will be able to tell you which is the safest way to have your daughter in her seat.

Good luck.

I kept my kids in the chairs after their recommendations. the recommendations are based on average and do not take into account shorter stature or just slightly heavier. If your child is fitting properly, I don't see why you should not continue as you have it. Of course, if she gets much heavier, you definitely want to consider changing it since the added weight can cause the seat to jerk forward.

Go to
http://www.usa.safekids.org/skbu/cps/index.html
that is the Safe Kids website. They work in hospitals and with the police/fire dept to make sure people know the proper way to install use car seats.

It's a combination of height and weight, as other have mentioned. I read through the responses and didn't see that anyone mentioned the specifics on height requirements for a 5 point harness to fit correctly. The slots for the harness must be above the child's shoulders for it to fit properly. If your daughter's shoulders are above the slots, she is too tall for the harness, and you should either get a new carseat as described by others or stop using the harness.

my dd is almost 5 46 inches 45 pounds and loves her nautilus it is an awesome seat
kind of heavy but great

J.

It's a manufacturer's guideline. Meaning, it has not been tested as safe above the 40lb limit. If you want her to stay harnessed look into a different seat. The Graco Nautalus harnesses to 65lbs and turns into a belt positioning booster to 100lbs. Or Britax has a new seat that harnesses to 65lbs (or 80lbs, not sure) and then turns into a belt positioner to 100lbs. It's booster feature provides the most side impact protection, imo. You can see it here: http://www.albeebaby.com/britax-frontier-convertible-boos...

M.
I am assuming you are talking about a car Safety seat? I would call the 800 number for the manufacturer, go on line to the manufacturer, or if you can't get help that way, call your non-emergency number to the police or fire dept. Many have public service programs that have researched the safe way to use all the different types of seats and will even help you install it properly. Insurance companies like State Farm or Allstate have similar programs, and even have had public awareness days in our community where you can drive up and get help with your car seat to make sure it is being used properly.

We put our 4 year old in a Britax Regent. It's a bit pricey but we figured we couldn't put a price on our sons life! We got it at BRU and just waiting until we got a 15% off coupon. The only downside is that it is a really BIG carseat. We have a BMW X3 and we can't place two carseats side by side in the back seat. Other than that we love the regent.

I believe the reason the instructions say to switch to a regular seat belt at 40 pounds is because the harness will no longer be able to provide the same amount of safety in an accident. The harness belt is not rated to give enough strength to keep the child in the seat during an accident at that weight. Your seat should have a seat belt positioner to ensure it is in the right spot for the child. I would put her into the seat with a regular belt just to be safe.

you can only keep them in the harness up to the weight it says on the booster seat. If you do it past that weight they are not going to be protected by the harness. There are car seats that harness up to 65 or 80 lbs. Radian is one (but it's expensive). I know there are others but can't think of which ones.
N.

I just want to reaffirm what the previous posters said. If she is over 40lbs, it is not safe to keep using the harness. The Graco Nautilus will be a great option as it also turns into a booster - a much better one than most all the combination harness boosters do because it adjusts tall and has open belt guides.

The vast majority of kids do get too tall for their forward facing seats before hitting the weight limit. And, to confuse us further, Dorel, the maker of all the 3 in 1 seats doesn't allow the top slot to be used with the harness (it's written in the plastic on the back)so most kids are actually too tall for the seat between age 3-3.5. The very newest ones with the 50lb harness limit I think may allow for top slot usage but not the older ones. I think it is so deceptive that they call it the last seat you'll ever need but the harness gets outgrown before the booster seat can be used (some models require the child to be 40lbs to use the booster - not to mention 4yo/40lbs is minimum best practice). And then the booster doesn't adjust tall enough to make it all the way to 4ft9in.

You need to make sure to use the seat belt as well because after 40 lbs. the harness isn't designed to hold a child that heavy from falling forward. If you want, just use both.