Does a 4 year old need a harness

[Neednewfloor]

Ds is now 18kg so need next seat up.

Does a 4 year old need a harness ( I feel like I want him to have one, he still nods off on long journeys).

But does a seat exist that harnesses a little longer ?

We use the Britax Evolva 123 SL Sict for both my 5 year old and 7 year old. Does up to 36kg and uses the five point harness up to 18kg. Not sure if any use harness above that weight.

joie bold does a harness up to 25kg and then turns into a high back booster. Also Britax do a harnessed high back booster up to 22kg.

We used Joie Bold which gives the harness option up to 25kg.
The harness is supposed to be a good bet if your kid is likely to fiddle with a seatbelt/stretch it/poke their head out of it etc on journeys.
Although mine could undo the harness anyway! But luckily was sensible not to do it.

The word "harness" now seems very strange to me after writing it several times...

HBB is safe for that age, unless you have concerns he might undo the seatbelt? We have the Cybex Z Solution and the headrest adjusts so DD snoozes comfortably, she can’t resist a car nap!

It's completely up to you, if you would prefer him to have one you have a few options.

Forward facing -
BabyAuto Dupla
Joie Bold
Cozy n Safe Excalibur
Cozy n Safe Hudson

All convert to booster seat (but none are great boosters IMO) and need top tether.

You may want to look at Britax Advansafix or the Silver Cross Motion All Size. The harnesses on these can be used up to 20.5 / 21kg but you are limited by the maximum extension of the harness so you would need to check in store. No use getting one if the harness is already too small. They do better than the previous options as boosters.

Rear facing -
Axkid Move/Minikid/One
Britax Max Way
Besafe Stretch

No conversion to booster seat but a couple have much longer harness limits. Rear facing is a safer option even at age 4. These are all comfortable for older children as they can be adjusted for better leg room.

As others have said you do not necessarily need harness if it's only sleep you are worried about. Many booster seats have sleep comfort options built in, Britax have V-shaped headrests, Cybex have a mini recline inside the headrest. Go to a shop and try some out. I would avoid any actual recline feature of the seat itself unless it also has a hook to hold the lap belt in place.

Highly recommend the Cozy N Safe Excalibur. Brilliant seat with a harness up to 25kg. My tall nearly 5 year old is in it with no problems. It uses a tether though so check your car has this.