High back booster seat with 5-point harness for a 5 yr old...is this overkill?

[SpawnChorus]

DD is about average height, but very light (just over 17 kg) and from what I can see, the recommendation is to keep children in a 5-point harness until they are 18kg. We're going to have to move DC3 into a Group 1 car seat soon (i.e. hopefully into DD's Britax Renaissance seat), but I'm wondering if it's a bit OTT to find another 5-point harness one for DD. Should I just go for a high back booster that uses a seat-belt?

Surely she'll be at 18kg before too long - suggest you try her in a high back seat-belt type seat and see how it fits. As long as she is comfortable and the seatbelt fits snugly then shouldn't be a problem. If however you try her in it and it doesn't seem very secure to you then you have your answer I guess.

DS is over 18kgs and so I bought the Britax 2 Way Elite - it harnesses up to 25kg as I think its safer to be 5 pt harnessed for as long as poss

Sometimes being in a 5 point harness for too long can be more dangerous than moving the child to a seat with just the belt.

Because if the harness doesn't fit because they are too tall it will provide less protection than a 3 point harness with a shoulder clip.

Fab - why is it dangerous? I've done lots of research on the net and it seems that even past 18kgs, in a 3 point harness, they are still at risk of serious injury due to the organs squashing against the belt or serious neck injuries. A 5 pt harness will spread the impact out and help stop serious neck injuries

Race car drivers wear 5 point harnesses for a reason!

i can't remember the weight but iknow that over a certain weight the child is heavy enough to drag the car seat forwards if in a 5 point harness in a crash! (which would then crush them against the seat in front) so fab is right, its not about keeping them in 5 point as long as poss

Oh I'm with you now, you mean staying in a 18kg limit 5 pt harness past 18kgs..in which case that isn't safe...

Note to self - read posts properly before posting!

Anyone who is doubting the safety of a 5 point harness should read this

but race car drivers harnesses are attached to the actual seat, not to something attached to the seat via seat belt! the man at halfords was explaining it to me as i thought dd would be safer in her 5 point but no, not true

Yes but I've got the two way Elite which is designed to be 5 pt harnessed up to 25kgs

how about one of the seats with the impact cushion?

Blimey my 5 year old used a booster cushion!

thats your descision cece,
my 5yo uses a highbacked booster, i know thats not the safest thhing there is,but i need to fit 3 carseats in my car so there has to be a compromise,i would not put him in the car in just a booster,even for the shortest of journeys,as it offers no protection in an accident.

The trouble was he is too tall for the high backed boosters - they dug into his shoulders.

I too have three car seats in the back. Well soon to be 2 as DD is now 135 cm! Just in time for DS2 to go in his ff car seat at the age of 12 months plus! Hoorah.

Oh lots of replies! Thanks all.

Actually I've re-read the info regarding DC3's RF baby car seat, and you're quite right...he should fit it for quite a bit longer. I had mis-remembered the weight limit as being that of an average one yr old, and DC3 was immense at birth (11lb 8oz) so I thought he'd be on the way to needing a bigger seat. I think he's prob got quite a while to go still!

DD seems quite comfy in her current seat, and certainly doesn't look too big for it, so I guess I can hold fire for now

The hoorah was no more car seat for DD! Not that he was moving to FF. I will move him once his head is past the top of his RF as per instructions. No rush to mive him but iff DD hadn't moved out of car seats then there would be no room in the car for all of them! That was the hoorah!