What type (not brand) of carseat is your 5 yo in?

[Jennifer]

Nothing. Lap and shoulder belt only.

Backless booster

High back booster

5 point restraint

 

Please be honest-poll is anonymous!

[SonshineLearner]

So I won't vote, since my son is 8, but he's still in his Britax carseat. You can use it up to 80lbs and he's not there. I had my older kids (all girls) in theirs till pretty old, too. I watched a youtube of a family whose son was thrown from his booster. (and he died) They found out too late about Britax carseats. There was nothing wrong with the spot their son had been in... just died because he was thrown from the booster. It's much easier for a child to buckle in a carseat ...than in a booster, too.

[Terabith]

Well, my five yr old is now six, but we transitioned from her 5 point to the high backed booster when she was around 5.5, although she had been using the booster for awhile when she rode with Grandma. It had more to do with our car seat expiring than anything. She does use a backless booster in Grandma's car, now that the high backed booster is her "primary seat."

[bairnmama]

My 5 yr old is now 6 also, but he was in a high back booster from the time he was about 4.

[Impish]

Princess is petite, so still in a 5 pt seat. She'll be 5 next month.

 

Tazzie is 6, and in a high back booster.

[JaniceO]

My daughter will be 6 later this month and she's still in a 5 point harness.

[Food4Thought]

My 5-yr old is a wee little thing, so she'll probably be in a 5-pt for a while. Even though the boy was a giant, I didn't move him to a booster until he was almost 7. He was more comfortable in a big 5-pt seat.

[laundrycrisis]

Our almost-6 yo and 8.5 yo are both in 5 pt seats. DS1 is in the largest one I could find (Britax Regent) so once he is too tall for it, he will have no choice but a booster. Legally he is no longer required to be in a booster in IL but we will use it until the seat belts fit him properly.

[roxanne23]

.

Edited January 4, 2023 by roxanne23

[happypamama]

My now 6 1/2 yo was in a 5-point harness at 5, but he also used a high-back booster in one of our vehicles when he was 5.

[meggie]

We have the Sunshine Radian so it could go up to 80 pounds. He will stay in it as long as he can as I belive it's safer.

[ElizaG]

Our 5 year old is in a high back booster, and the 4 year old will probably go into one when she's too big to rear-face any more.

 

We do have forward-facing seats with high weight limits, but after looking into the arguments for and against extended harnessing (basically US vs. Swedish opinions), we decided that the booster was a better choice for us.

[sarah1615]

My 5 year old is in a Graco Nautilus. It is a 5 pt harness until 65lbs. Then it converts to a high back booster to 100lbs. It then converts to a regular booster. We love it!! It has great reviews and everyone that I know who has it loves it too.

[JenneinCA]

My youngest is over 5 now, but I remember buying him the Graco Nautilus for his fifth birthday. He finally hit the forty pounds and his old car seat was only good to 45 pounds, so it was time. He used the Nautilus with the five point harness until about his seventh birthday. He used the Nautilus with the seat belt from about seven to about seven and a half years old.

 

We switched him to a little booster seat about a week ago (he is seven and a half and weighs about 50 pounds) because when we moved kids around in the car and moved him to a different position, his seat was blocking my (the driver's) view out the back window and I decided that his safety was better when I could see than when he was in the big booster seat. And yes, he really does need to be in that position.

[Terabith]

My kids issues haven't been outgrowing by weight.....they're both well under the 80 lb limit, but outgrowing by height. And also the seats expiring after six yrs.

[courtney.byrum]

My almost 6 yr old is still harnessed in her Graco Nautilus. She moved up to the last slot a few months ago though so I'm not expecting too much longer before we removed the harness (she's got a long torso).

 

She does also have a Graco TurboBooster that we used on vacation but she'll be in the Nautilus a bit longer I think.

 

We moved her brother to a TurboBooster (and now back to his Nautilus in booster mode) just after he turned 6 as he threw up everywhere and his seat really really really needed to be cleaned. He is threatened with moving back to a harness if he doesn't sit right and is pretty good about making sure he's safe. Especially since it means he'd have to go in the purple nautilus (new in Nov. after we got hit at a stop light) instead of his gray one!

[Diana B]

I voted my almost 8 yr old transferred to a high-back booster at age 4. His 5 pt was not safe for kids over a certain weight and he had surpassed it.

[RainySunday]

I won't vote, since my oldest is barely 4, but she is still in a rear-facing 5pt, and will be for quite awhile, as she is only 29-30 lbs. My younger is following in her footsteps too, at 16 mos and 18 lbs (so he will be rf in a 5pt for awhile too).

[chepyl]

How do you keep 4 year olds rear facing?? At 1 both of my kids were too tall to face back. Their legs went up and over the back of the seat. Had we been in a wreck, it would have severely injured their legs and hips!

 

My DS has been in a booster since he was 4. We could take the back off now for one car, but he needs it in the other; so we have kept it. DD 3.5 is also in a high back booster. We switched when she met the weight and height requirements.

[abacus2]

I voted both 5 point restraint and high back booster. My current 5 year old is in a 5 point restraint. She is small and hasn't outgrown any of our 5 point seats yet. My now 7 year old was in a high back booster at 5 because she had already outgrown the Graco Nautilus.

[Hypatia.]

DD1 is in a 5 point harness and will have another good year or two before she outgrows it by height. DS1 (7 in a couple weeks) just moved into a high back booster a few months ago when he finally outgrew his 5 point harnessed seat by height.

[kitten18]

DS will be 6 in Oct., he is in a 5 point harness.

 

DD will be 8 in Oct., she is in a 5 point harness.

 

They will be in the 5 point harness until they outgrow them by height or weight. They love their seats (Nautilus), think the cup holders are the coolest thing ever.:D

[raceNzanesmom]

My ds was in a harness in all vehicles at age 5.

 

Now, at over 7, he's in a 5 pt in my car (the one he rides in 95% of the time, a SK Radian XT) and a high back booster in dh's and older ds's cars.

[raceNzanesmom]

How do you keep 4 year olds rear facing?? At 1 both of my kids were too tall to face back. Their legs went up and over the back of the seat. Had we been in a wreck, it would have severely injured their legs and hips!

 

 

There's never been a documented case of leg or hip injury from being rear facing. There has, however, been LOTS of documented cases of the protection RF gives the head, neck, and spine in a crash. Besides bent legs don't break, and even if they did I'd rather deal with a leg injury than a brain or spinal injury.

 

It is highly recommended that kids stay RF to the limits of their convertible seat, or at the very least age 2. Up to age 2 RF is at least 5 times/500% safer than FF. Studies haven't been done to know about older kids, but it's safe to say the head, neck and spine protection is worth keeping them RF as long as possible.

 

hth.

[twoxcell]

My 5.5 year old is in a backless booster and will be until she is 8. She was in a 5pt Harness until her 5th b-day. She is very large for her age though, or else she would still be in the 5pt harness.

[HeidiKC]

Wow - this is a very interesting and surprising poll! I'm thinking the homeschooling population is a lot different when it comes to this. I am SHOCKED (happily, I mean!) to see so many in 5-pt harnesses and even high-back boosters. I can only think of one family I know who had their kids in a 5-pt harness at this age. I'd say most kids I know transition to the backless booster in kindergarten, although some are still in a high-back.

 

I'd guess the difference between homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers is the peer pressure kids face at school about booster seats (or carseats, although those are pretty much non-existent here at that age). I'd say by 2nd grade around half of the kids do not regularly ride in boosters. And when that starts, the kids still in boosters (such as mine!) become self-concious and don't want to sit in one when their friends ride in the car. I've had a lot of kids (guests) that age try to tell me that they don't need to ride in a booster.

 

I wonder if that is the main difference - homeshooler vs. non-homeschoolers??? I also notice a big difference between large and small families. The larger families (I'm thinking 4+) tend to move their little ones out of carseats/boosters much earlier and are more lax about it.

 

Also - we do a lot of carpooling for sports with the young kids (my young kids are in school). Which means sometimes the kids are more likely to not use a booster in those situations. This is a really embarrassing and stupid-sounding question...but do homeschoolers do much carpooling for sports or parties with kids K-2? The kids in school that age ALL carpool for that stuff. So it can be harder to work out the booster seats in those situations.

 

And it's interesting because we live in an area where people are fairly well-off and educated and most tend to buy carseats such as Britax because they consider them safer. So I'm not sure why these same people are more likely to graduate the kids from carseats and boosters earlier than the people in this poll. I still think it's mostly peer pressure. I think there is a feeling of not wanting the child to feel or appear like a baby when starting K. "Big kid" now!

[bairnmama]

I can only think of one family I know who had their kids in a 5-pt harness at this age. I'd say most kids I know transition to the backless booster in kindergarten, although some are still in a high-back.

 

 

 

I can honestly say that I don't personally know ANY child still in a 5-pt harness at 4 yrs old! I even know some that were moved into a backless booster at about 2 1/2 because it was easier on the parents and the kids were unbuckling themselves from the 5 pt anyway. Many parents I know go for the cheapest model seat they can find, and low weight limit harnessed seats and backless boosters fit that bill.

 

I know that I turned my ds around when he turned 1 because he grew out of his infant seat and the Britax that was handed down from his sister wouldn't fit rearfacing in my car in any position while still allowing another person to fit in the front seat.

[Rai B.]

Dd has been in a high back booster seat since she was four, because she was getting too tall for her 5-point carseat. (Her head was no longer supported.) She is very tall though.

[SonshineLearner]

There's never been a documented case of leg or hip injury from being rear facing. There has, however, been LOTS of documented cases of the protection RF gives the head, neck, and spine in a crash. Besides bent legs don't break, and even if they did I'd rather deal with a leg injury than a brain or spinal injury.

 

It is highly recommended that kids stay RF to the limits of their convertible seat, or at the very least age 2. Up to age 2 RF is at least 5 times/500% safer than FF. Studies haven't been done to know about older kids, but it's safe to say the head, neck and spine protection is worth keeping them RF as long as possible.

 

hth.

My Dr, who I disagreed with tons, had me on one thing. He asked, if there is something broken, would you rather it be her neck or her legs? That's a horrible thing to say.... but... of course... if I had to choose.

[chepyl]

There's never been a documented case of leg or hip injury from being rear facing. There has, however, been LOTS of documented cases of the protection RF gives the head, neck, and spine in a crash. Besides bent legs don't break, and even if they did I'd rather deal with a leg injury than a brain or spinal injury.

 

It is highly recommended that kids stay RF to the limits of their convertible seat, or at the very least age 2. Up to age 2 RF is at least 5 times/500% safer than FF. Studies haven't been done to know about older kids, but it's safe to say the head, neck and spine protection is worth keeping them RF as long as possible.

 

hth.

 

My kids outgrow their infant seats before or around a year and they outgrow the rear facing height and weight well before 2. Ds also outgrow her 5 pt by height, the straps pulled down very hard on her shoulders. It seemed like over night we coukd no longer buckle it with out her slumping forward. She is 3.5. I guess I just have tall kids. (We did not to with the cheapest seats either. We did not have the mist expensive, but the seats recommended by our fire dept. I don't know anyone who has 5 year olds in 5 pt harnesses, and half of our family homeschools. It was a shock to me to see you many who do.

[raceNzanesmom]

My Dr, who I disagreed with tons, had me on one thing. He asked, if there is something broken, would you rather it be her neck or her legs? That's a horrible thing to say.... but... of course... if I had to choose.

 

Tis true. Gotta protect that head, neck and spine.

 

My kids outgrow their infant seats before or around a year and they outgrow the rear facing height and weight well before 2. Ds also outgrow her 5 pt by height, the straps pulled down very hard on her shoulders. It seemed like over night we coukd no longer buckle it with out her slumping forward. She is 3.5. I guess I just have tall kids. (We did not to with the cheapest seats either. We did not have the mist expensive, but the seats recommended by our fire dept. I don't know anyone who has 5 year olds in 5 pt harnesses, and half of our family homeschools. It was a shock to me to see you many who do.

 

It truly depends on the seat. Nearly all kids outgrow infant seats by age one (except some of the new bigger ones). They should then move to a convertible seat RF. The difference in height can be pretty great, and weight limits can vary from 30-45 lbs depending on the seat. Some are also simply more comfy RF than others. The same with FF harnessed seats. There's ones with 15" top slots and 40 lb weight limits, and there's ones with 18-19" slots and 80-85 lb limits.

 

I mentioned in another thread, but as a reminder to all, booster seats are not child restraints. All they do is boost a child up so an adult seat belt system fits them better. They are no better protected than older children and adults that ride in seat belts alone. A 5 pt harness is safer, esp for kids under 6. Kids should then ride in a booster until they pass the 5 step test (see carseat.org) which generally is 10-12 years old and usually at least 4'9". Moving out of a booster too soon increases the risk of head, spine and internal injuries (often times even in minor crashes).

 

FTR, I don't know many people IRL that keep kids RF pass 2, harnessed past 5, or in boosters until they pass the 5 step test. That doesn't mean they shouldn't, cuz they should. But my job as a CPS tech is to inform/educate people about CPS so they can make better decisions. And it's working. We have more techs educating, more people keeping kids properly buckled, and the number of deaths and severe injuries IS going down. I did a lot wrong with my now 18 y/o. But when I knew better I could do better. That's what education is all about. Now you (generic you) know, so you can do better and educate others too. :D

 

hth.

[lailasmum]

I think at 5 my dd was still in a 5pt harness but transitioned into a high back booster when she was around 6. The 5pt was a nice generous seat though so easy to keep her in the 5 pt harness, my son is using it now but we will have to replace it as its soon to expire.

[ElizaG]

I mentioned in another thread, but as a reminder to all, booster seats are not child restraints. All they do is boost a child up so an adult seat belt system fits them better. They are no better protected than older children and adults that ride in seat belts alone. A 5 pt harness is safer, esp for kids under 6.

As mentioned, we looked into this at length, and there didn't really seem to be hard evidence as to which one is safer (assuming the child is able to sit properly in a booster for the whole trip). It was pretty much theoretical, and there were arguments for both sides.

 

On the one hand, the 5-point harness keeps the child in the seat more securely. It seems likely that a child in a booster has more risk of "submarining" out of the seat belt, especially if the car rolls over or is hit at an angle. Harnessed seats also tend to have more padding and side-impact protection than boosters, though this depends a lot on the specific seats that are being compared.

 

On the other hand, in a head-on collision, a forward-facing harnessed seat holds the body back securely but lets the head keep moving forward. This is most dangerous for infants and toddlers, but could potentially cause a neck injury at any age. (Race car drivers, who wear 5 point harnesses, generally have their helmets tethered with a HANS or similar device to prevent this happening.) A seat belt allows the whole body to move forward somewhat, along with the head, which could make for a less traumatic ride-down of the crash forces. In addition, the seat belt is an integral part of the vehicle, so one could argue that there are fewer potential points of failure than with a harnessed seat, which are often being recalled for one reason or another.

 

In the end, all we could say for sure was that US child passenger safety experts tend to favor extended harnessing, while Swedish ones favor boosters for children aged 4 and up (and have an impressive real-world track record). It seems to me that they're both good options, and it's pretty much a personal judgment call as to which one to go with.

[weddell]

My 5, almost 6, year old is in a 5 point harness. She has a graco nautilus. For the person who mentioned their child outgrowing their 5 point harness seat at age 3, if you want to keep them in a 5 point harness, you just buy a bigger 5 point harness seat. My dd went from a graco snugride (an infant seat), to a britax roundabout, to a graco nautilus. When she outgrew her britax roundabout (her first 5 point harness), we bought the bigger nautilus which can be used as a 5 point harness until the kid is quite large and then converted into a booster.

[momma aimee]

it makes me so :D:D to see so many other 5 year olds in 5 point still ... DS1 attended the local pre-school 2 days a week last year for services, when i'd pick him up -- 4 and 5 year old class -- he was the only one in a 5 point.

 

he is almost 6, and He'll be in it till he is 65 pounds (or too tall, but i do not expect that).

[mamato4girls]

My dd rode rear facing till 4, and she would just sit "criss cross applesauce", and she preferred to be rear facing.

 

How do you keep 4 year olds rear facing?? At 1 both of my kids were too tall to face back. Their legs went up and over the back of the seat. Had we been in a wreck, it would have severely injured their legs and hips!

 

My DS has been in a booster since he was 4. We could take the back off now for one car, but he needs it in the other; so we have kept it. DD 3.5 is also in a high back booster. We switched when she met the weight and height requirements.

[Carrie12345]

Didn't vote since I don't currently have a 5yo., but my 8yo is in a high back booster, about to switch to a no-back booster. We took the 5pt harness out about a year and a half ago, so she was still 5pt'ed at 5. My 4yo will still be 5pt'ed next year.

[mlktwins]

My boys just turned 6 but they are still in Britax 5-pt harness and will be as long as possible -- that is the van they ride in most of the time. They are in high back boosters in their dad's big pick-up truck because they were the only ones that would fit and I wanted at least a back on them. They don't ride in the pick-up very often.

[Carrie12345]

My kids outgrow their infant seats before or around a year and they outgrow the rear facing height and weight well before 2. Ds also outgrow her 5 pt by height, the straps pulled down very hard on her shoulders. It seemed like over night we coukd no longer buckle it with out her slumping forward. She is 3.5. I guess I just have tall kids. (We did not to with the cheapest seats either. We did not have the mist expensive, but the seats recommended by our fire dept. I don't know anyone who has 5 year olds in 5 pt harnesses, and half of our family homeschools. It was a shock to me to see you many who do.

 

We've always gone with seats that have high weight/height limits, since I'm notorious for having tall kids.

We've had issues following the law for regular boosters (I've had two not-quite-8yos who's ears were at the top of seats and could otherwise wear a seat belt properly), but all of our 5pts have been rated to accommodate kids even larger than ours.

[RoundAbout]

My son will be 5 in December and will still be in his Britax Frontier 85 five pt harness. He has always been extremely tall (95th percentile or above) so I intentionally bought the Frontier for its 20 inch top slots. It's a great seat and converts to a booster later - just FYI for moms with tall kids.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I didn't vote, but when kids were 5, they were in high-back boosters. DS1 is 8 and small for his age. He could still fit in a high-back booster, but DS2 just turned 7 in June and he is much taller and heavier than DS1. He really is uncomfortable in a high back booster. I moved both of them into low back boosters about 9 months ago.

[TheAutumnOak]

My 5 year old is in a highback booster...My almost 7 year old is in a booster without the back...My almost 11 year old sits with just the shoulder strap...

[mom2jjka]

My 6 and 8 yr olds are both in 5 pt harnesses, and my 11 yr old is in a booster.

 

I'm a former car seat tech, and my training taught me that every step UP in carseats is a step DOWN in safety.

[Renee in NC]

Mine is in a high back booster. She is somewhere in the 50-60 pound range and over 4 feet tall.

[naturalhomestead]

My daughter is 5 and in a backless booster. She is taller for her age so it fit better for her.

[texasmama]

She is 60 pounds and very tall. She is in a highback booster.

[twoxcell]

I feel like I kept my dd in a 5pt longer than anyone one I know of. She was in a Nautilus until age 5 because she had outgrown her other one. My dd has always been in the 95-100%. In fact she is larger than my sisters 8 year old who uses no car seat now. I feel fine with her in a backless booster at this point, and she will be in that until age 8 per Oregon law. My ds just got out of his and he is quite large for his age also. What frustrates me is seeing so many people not even following our state laws. Rear facing until 1 and 20lbs, 5pt until 4 and 40lbs, and then in a booster until 8 or 4' 9".

[6packofun]

My current 5yo is the *only* one of our kids to still be in a 5-pt restraint seat at this age and it's because he's small. At 6, we'll move him to some kind of booster...we have a backless one but it's very old and I'll probably want a newer one.

[UnsinkableKristen]

My 7 yo and 5 yo are both in backless boosters.

 

DS5 is over 4 ft and almost 60 pounds.

[Parrothead]

When dd was 5 she went into lap/shoulder belt. She is a big kid and back then car seats for kids bigger than the toddler car seat weren't known to us.