Too big for harness, too small for belt positioner

[mommie2m&r]

My 4 year old is currently 46 lb, 42 inches tall. He rides in Evenflo Chase DLX. According to the manual for his car seat the 5 point harness can only be used with a child who is 20-40 lb, and at least 29" and shoulders below the top harness slot. He is obviously above the weight limit for the harness, but when he sits in the sear his shoulders are below the top harness slot. I'm wondering if it is still safe for him to be using the harness in this seat?

We took the harness out at one point to try it as a belt positioning booster but the shoulder belt from the car, went right over his neck, and I know that is not safe. So we put the harness back on the seat. If he is too big for the harness, but not big enough to use the seat as a belt positioner, what would recommend. I really don't want to invest in a new seat, is there a device we could just ad to the booster to make the belt fit better for him??

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

[ffpmcps]

It is not safe to use the harness above the manufactuer's recommendations. You are correct in that what you describe with the way the seat belt fit him is also not safe. Unfortunately there is no add on device that is approved in this situation, that I know of. Unfortunately it sounds as though you are going to need to invest in a new seat. I know that is not the option you wanted to hear, however, it is the safest thing for your son. There are seats on that market that go up to 80 lbs with a 5 pt harness that are the best and safest long term option. The Radian80 and the Britax Regent both go up to 80lbs. Other Britax seats, Marathon, Decathalon and Blvd have a 5 pt harness up to 65lbs. If cost is an issue there is the Alpha Omega Apex65 which has a 5 pt harness up to 65lbs and then is a belt positioning booster after that. Maybe someone else will have another suggestion for your current seat, hopefully. However like I said I feel the safest option would be a new seat at this point. Good Luck

Andrea

	Britax - Click for more info Britax International has been producing reliable child safety products for over 30 years. Not only does Britax have decades of experience creating car seats and other children's safety equipment, Britax has a long standing reputation as an industry leader and innovator. Britax International is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but Britax car seats are designed and manufactured at facilities in Germany, Austria, and the United States. In the summer of 2002, Britax strengthened their commitment to creating the safest car seats with the opening of a brand new, state-of-the-art crash testing facility in North Carolina. Britax car seats have a reputation around the world for being some of the safest, most reliable, and best designed child safety seats ever made.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

	Britax Marathon - Click for more info Increasing the time a child can safely stay in their convertible car seat is a big issue and Britax engineers have come through in a big way with the introduction of the Britax Marathon with LATCH. A LATCH Compatible Convertible Child Seat, the Britax Marathon can be used rear facing 5 to 33 pounds and forward facing from 20 to 65 pounds. Compare the numbers and you will see it is hard to find a seat with these weight limits that is safe and functional.

	Britax Boulevard - Click for more info It is all about the wings with the Britax Boulevard convertible car seat - head and torso safety wings help keep your child from harm in a side-impact crash. And this matters - side-impact crashes are the leading cause of death for 6 - 14 year-old children. Of course, the safety wings are only one of the many safety features that the Britax Boulevard offers: built-in lock-offs, 5-point harness with front adjuster, tangle-free webbing, a push button release LATCH system with Versa-Tether®, and a sculpted base, ensuring an easy installation with a secure fit.

	Britax Regent - Click for more info The Britax Regent is the safe way to carry your older and larger passengers, all the way up to 80 lbs. Known as the "king of all car seats," the Britax Regent will accomodate your little king or queen for far longer than traditional car seats or booster seats. The Regent features a large roto-molded shell, comfy extra-thick comfort foam, washable covers, Patented Versa-Tether™, flexible buckle LATCH system, patented HUGS™ system, and tangle-free polyester 5-point harness.

[Papooses]

Right -- weight limits are VERY strict. You must replace this seat immediately. Otherwise, your child is at risk of being ejected I can empathize I went through this situation when my kiddo was only 2(!) but because she outgrew all the local convertibles/combination seats by height....

Here is the list of high weight harness options

What is your vehicle year, make, model?
Does kiddo ride in other vehicles often?
Do you travel frequently?
What is your budget?

	Convertible Car Seats Convertible seats are for infants and toddlers. The seat can be used as a rear-facing seats for younger children, and switched to a forward-facing seat on the child's first birthday if the child weighs at least 20 pounds. However, experts recommend keeping the child in a rear-facing position until he or she outgrows the weight or height allowed by the safety seat.

[mommie2m&r]

We took the harness out of his seat this weekend, and tried it again as a belt positioning booster. He must have grown a bit since the last time we tried this because the shoulder harness is now where it should be. I'm just wondering after being to the store and seeing the newer belt positioning boosters, how safe this seat really is for him. All the newer boosters have the wings on them and his doesn't have that. His also doesn't seem as high backed as the others. I'm wondering if we should replace his seat???

He either rides in my car a 1997 Toyota Corrolla or DH's car a 1999 Toyota Camry. He currently has two of the same seat, one in my car and one in DH's car, so we would end up replacing both if we were to replace the seat. If we were to replace the seat we would want it to be something that would last him until he no longer needed a car seat at all.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

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[MnMadhouse]

All seats are safe as long as they are used correctly each and every time. If you are questioning your seat and feel that you should get a booster and not use your combination seat, definitely look into one. I have a 5y/o that is still being harnessed in a Regent only b/c we feel her being in a harness is safer. The largest boosters on the market is going to be the Britax Monarch or the Britax Parkway. Those will likely get you through until your child passes the 5 step test Boosters Are For Big Kids

	Britax - Click for more info Britax International has been producing reliable child safety products for over 30 years. Not only does Britax have decades of experience creating car seats and other children's safety equipment, Britax has a long standing reputation as an industry leader and innovator. Britax International is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but Britax car seats are designed and manufactured at facilities in Germany, Austria, and the United States. In the summer of 2002, Britax strengthened their commitment to creating the safest car seats with the opening of a brand new, state-of-the-art crash testing facility in North Carolina. Britax car seats have a reputation around the world for being some of the safest, most reliable, and best designed child safety seats ever made.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

	Britax Regent - Click for more info The Britax Regent is the safe way to carry your older and larger passengers, all the way up to 80 lbs. Known as the "king of all car seats," the Britax Regent will accomodate your little king or queen for far longer than traditional car seats or booster seats. The Regent features a large roto-molded shell, comfy extra-thick comfort foam, washable covers, Patented Versa-Tether™, flexible buckle LATCH system, patented HUGS™ system, and tangle-free polyester 5-point harness.

	Britax Parkway - Click for more info The new Parkway Booster from Britax builds on their company's reputation as the maker of some of the safest seats on the market today. It's one of the only boosters to offer True Side Impact Protection - the EPS foam-padded headrest and side "wings" aren't just great for naps, they're engineered to provide vital protection to your child in the event of a side-impact crash. (Side-impact crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 6-14, making this an issue of major importance for booster seats.)

	Britax Monarch - Click for more info The Britax Monarch is another fine addition to the Britax family of car seats and boosters. UK based Britax is widely renowned for creating some of the highest quality convertible, infant, and booster car seats in the world – and the German designed Monarch is one of the latest and greatest additions. Both the Monarch and the Britax Parkway offer True Side Impact Protection, utilizing thick EPS foam lined side wings around the head and torso area. These provide not only side impact protection, but also the deep headrest makes a comfortable spot for your child to rest their head once they nod off. The deep side wings cocoon the passenger in an impact reducing shell. The back of the Monarch is removable and the belt threading positions are color-coded to reduce the potential for improper use.

[Papooses]

Yep, all high back boosters (even without head wings) are ~70% safer in side impacts than backless: however, the deep head wings filled with energy absorbing foam do contain the head better & often help kids more reliably remember to stay properly positioned.

If you have the $ to replace the seat, I would suggest looking into the Britax Parkway or Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe booster (both have low prices now), Compass B510, Recaro Vivo or Graco Airbooster.... Britax makes the FPSVD & performs side impact crash testing as does Recaro & Compass. Graco doesn't, but their Airbooster design is so similar that it stands to reason it would perform very well in side impacts. FPSVD & Airbooster can be used backless if necessary for travel & the B510 folds for travel.

You can always keep kiddo's current seat as a spare booster for friends

	Britax - Click for more info Britax International has been producing reliable child safety products for over 30 years. Not only does Britax have decades of experience creating car seats and other children's safety equipment, Britax has a long standing reputation as an industry leader and innovator. Britax International is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but Britax car seats are designed and manufactured at facilities in Germany, Austria, and the United States. In the summer of 2002, Britax strengthened their commitment to creating the safest car seats with the opening of a brand new, state-of-the-art crash testing facility in North Carolina. Britax car seats have a reputation around the world for being some of the safest, most reliable, and best designed child safety seats ever made.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

	Britax Parkway - Click for more info The new Parkway Booster from Britax builds on their company's reputation as the maker of some of the safest seats on the market today. It's one of the only boosters to offer True Side Impact Protection - the EPS foam-padded headrest and side "wings" aren't just great for naps, they're engineered to provide vital protection to your child in the event of a side-impact crash. (Side-impact crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 6-14, making this an issue of major importance for booster seats.)

	Graco - Click for more info Graco is one of the world's best known and most trusted juvenile products companies. They started the entire juvenile products industry with an invention called the Graco Swyngomatic. Since then they have invented products that have changed the way that parents travel with their children such as the travel system, which has made it so parents can lock an infant car seat into a stroller easily, without waking their sleeping baby. Their Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat is pretty much synonymous with the term “infant car seat” because of its safety and design features coupled with its affordability. Today Graco continues designing and developing top-quality products that inspire parents and keeps children safe. Check out the new Infant Safe Seat Step 1 and Toddler Safe Seat Step 2 for proof of Graco’s continued commitment to child safety.

	RECARO - Click for more info With over 100 years of company history and long standing experience in vehicle seat construction RECARO knows how to make long journeys a pleasure for the whole family. Materials, design and technical highlights ensure a pleasant journey for adults and children alike. RECARO uses its strength as the premier mobile seat manufacturer to engineer an innovative line of products for your children. No other manufacturer can apply experience from production vehicles, commercial vehicles, and race cars to design toward the comfort and safety of children.

	the First Years formerly Compass - Click for more info Compass was founded by a group of fathers who had spent years in the corporate world developing child care products. Disillusioned with the slew of problems that come with working for a giant conglomerate, this group set out the make their own mark on the child care industry in 2003. Compass' first innovative booster seat, the B500, started shipping in January of 2004. This was the first foldable belt-positioning booster on the market, and its design was so praised by the industry that Compass received a Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association (JPMA) Innovation Award 5 months after its release. The great minds at Compass have now taken the next step with their success by releasing some fantastic infant car seats and compatible strollers, all of which are designed with the same innovative simplicity that make Compass Boosters such a sought after product. No longer just "The Booster People", Compass is making a serious run at the competition by offering the I-410 and I-420 Infant Car Seats , as well as the Magnesium S330 Stroller and Magnesium T730 Travel System.