do I remove harness

6 replies

jon61 · 10/06/2014 13:33

Hi,

Thanks in advance for your help. My son TB is 2 years of age and 2.5 stone and he is starting to grow out of the harness in his car seat. Whenever I look online it suggests that the child needs to be 4 and 15kg to move to car seatbelt and carseat. Well TB is around 15kg but only 2 and a half when should we remove the harness that is now starting to be uncomfortable for him

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SavoyCabbage · 10/06/2014 13:37

Can't you move the straps so that they are higher up?

AnythingNotEverything · 10/06/2014 13:43

I'd be very careful. When there's an age guide as well as a weight this is often because younger children's heads are bigger in proportion to their body, and therefore they would move differently in a crash.

Can you call the manufacturer?

katandkits · 10/06/2014 13:48

I wouldn't. Harness is OK up to 18kg. 15kg is the legal minimum for backless booster so your son has another 3kg that he can safely stay in a harness and hopefully that will give him another year. Check that you haven't missed a trick with adjusting the straps, and take his coat off before putting him in the seat. What make and model is it?

SqutterNutBaush · 10/06/2014 13:59

Which group is it?

If its a 1 it can't be used without a harness, its a 1/2 the harness should last up to 18kg then the seat can be used as a high back booster until 25kg.

The age is mainly just a rough guide to when the weight limit may be reached but all children are different. Personally I wouldnt put mine without a harness until at least 4 because their bones aren't strong enough to deal with the impact of an adult belt which doesn't distribute pressure evenly in the result of a crash.

AliceMum09 · 10/06/2014 21:30

Also, a two year old is not going to sit still and upright in a booster with the seatbelt across him - this also means that he will not be safe.

I agree with the others, harness right up to 18kgs. Don't dress him in bulky clothes when he's going in the car (this is not safe either, as it prevents you from getting the harness correctly positioned on the shoulders and tight enough too) and make sure that the height of the straps is correct. They should start at or only very slightly above his shoulders. They should not come out of the back of the seat below the level of his shoulders.

Finally, age has nothing to do with car seats, it's all done on weight. If your 2 1/2 year old did weigh 18kgs you'd have to use the seatbelt. But since he doesn't, the 5-point harness is safer.

HelicopterDad · 11/06/2014 23:27

Use the 5-point harness for as long as possible.
When you finally do transition to a booster seat, DO NOT BUY A BACKLESS BOOSTER for any child under about 6 years of age. Get a high-backed booster - the adjustable belt-positioning guides and side impact protection make them much safer than backless boosters. Also, any child that still fidgets and tends to fall asleep/slouch during journeys will end up in an unsafe position very often.

They have some great harness 2 booster seats in the US - Google "Britax Pinnacle 90 Review". Sadly, we can't get them here - very annoying. They look great.

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