Moving from 5 point harness

[Anxiousbiscuit]

On the car seat instructions it shows that you must use the adult seat belt from:

4-12 years
>18.5kg
100-145cm

It does not use any words, it is just a picture with green ticks and red crosses etc. Does anyone know if we need to tick all 3 of these requirements or just 1? We currently hit 2 of them. I know you shouldn't use the harness beyond the stated age/weight but its not very clear.

Hi OP, what seat is it?

Check your manual but there’s probably overlap between the minimum for the booster and the maximum for the harness. So ours the harness was maxed out at 22kg and/or 105cm so if the child were over either you needed to switch to the booster. But the booster could be used from 100cm so if DC was between 100 and 105 and didn’t weigh more than 22kg then you could choose. 3 is usually the minimum age for the booster but if you’re not maxing out the height or weight I would personally wait until age 4 so their bones are more developed and because they’re more likely to sit safely/not mess with the belt. If you don’t have the manual it shouldn’t be too hard to find by googling the model of seat.

What car seat is it?
What is the age and weight of your child?

The weight is the most critical. It’s only crash tested up to the weight advertised, so if your child has exceeded that weight, then they shouldn’t use the harness.

However, if they’re under 100cm, or under 4 (depending which of the two criteria they meet), they really are not old enough for an adult seatbelt, so you’d likely need a new seat (if they have exceeded the weight).

If they haven’t exceeded 18.5kg, then they can remain in the harness even if over 4, or 100cm.

Which car seat is it? The max limits for the harness are what you need to be looking at rather than the minimum limits for the bet.

You should use the 5 point harness for as long as possible, as it's the most protective mode. However, the maximums must not be exceeded, as the seat may fail. There is usually an overlap zone because children grow at different rates in height and weight, and don't always hit both limits at the same time. Don't rush to move to the next stage as soon as the lower limits are met.

With the info you've given, in this seat the max weight for the harnessed mode is until the child reaches 18.5kg.

Age is only ever a guide, although minimum ages should be stuck to.

With the .5kg, and the 100cm minimum for the adult seatbelt I assume it is an R129 seat. Usually these also have a 105cm max for the 5 point harness use, rather than being a strict swap over at 100cm. Practically, it's less of an issue to slightly exceed a height limit on a forward facing seat because they are rated up to the max possible sitting height for that standing height, as long as you are within weight limit, but it's not a good idea to exceed weight limit. Officially, all limits must be observed.

Sometimes as well as a page with just symbols there are several pages with writing, often repeated in different languages, which refer back to the symbol page.

If a child is well under 4 then it is not a good idea to move to an adult seatbelt, even if they meet the height and weight requirements. Better to wait until over 4, which might mean getting a different seat.

Thanks everyone. My child is actually almost 6, albeit a slightly smaller than average 6 year old. The only thing that is not met yet is the weight (I actually thought it was 18kg but checked again and saw it was 18.5kg) they are bang in the middle of these weights.
I wanted to keep using the hatness as long as possible but obviously don't want to end up causing more damage by using them longer than I should.

It's a silver cross motion.

Thanks everyone

Ah at 6, it's no problem to change to the seatbelt/high back booster mode if they are over 100cm and 15kg. It's more about staying in the "younger" stage as long as possible if they are bigger for their age.

If over 105cm, then it would be best to change to the seatbelt now. The other thing that means it's outgrown is if the headrest won't come up any more with the straps attached and they are dipping down behind DC's shoulders, or the headrest is pushing the shoulders forward. For forward facing, it needs to be level with or above. OTOH if they are rear facing still, which is allowed, it's OK for the straps to be slightly below the shoulders (no more than 2cm lower). Shoulders do need to fit comfortably under headrest.

If under 105cm and the straps are level with her shoulders and she's comfortable then you're OK to keep using the 5 point harness until she reaches the 18.5kg.

The only time it causes a problem is if she is physically too big for the harness to fit her properly, or if she is heavier than 18.5kg, as theoretically the harness or even isofix could fail.

As this is a heavy seat, I would recommend keeping the isofix fixed in always in high back booster mode, even though I believe it's allowed to be used without. Do check the manual to see what happens with the support leg, though - I think that folds away.

This is really helpful. Thank you so much. We are over 105cm so will move to seat belt. Thanks again, it wasn't clear to me!