Is 7 too old for 5-point harness?
Although the laws vary, many states require that a kid remain in a car seat with a five-point harness until they're at least 40 pounds or 4 years old. Experts, however, recommend that you keep your child in a five-point harness until they outgrow the seat's height and weight limits. Don't rush moving to a booster.
On our Facebook group and on our Facebook page, we host a wide variety of questions but one that comes up a lot is: when should my child make the switch from a 5 point harness to a belt positioning booster? While each child and each situation is different, our minimum recommended age for booster seats is 5 years old.
Children younger than 4 must use a car seat. Children 4 through 7 years and less than 57 inches tall should use a booster seat. Adult seat belts are allowed at 8 years old or more than 57 inches tall.
Weigh less than 40 lbs: May remain in five-point harness car seat. Weigh more than 80 lbs, or are taller than 4 feet, 9 inches: May use vehicle safety belt without booster.
A child is ready for a booster seat when they have outgrown the height or weight limit of their 5-point harness car seat. This is usually when they reach over 65 pounds or 49 inches. You can check your car seat's manual for its height and weight limits and if it can be converted to a booster seat.
However, as your child gets older you'll need to switch to a car seat that uses your car's 3-point seat belt system. That's because a 5-point harness is designed for children up to 18 kg.
Young children under age 5 or 6 are safer in a 5-point harness car seat. Don't rush to “graduate” your child to a booster seat. If your child still fits in his 5-point harness car seat, leave him there!
Generally, the average life of a safety harness is around 5 years.
Stage 3: Booster seat
A booster seat is a forward-facing car seat that's used when your child is at least five years old and outgrows the height and weight requirements of their forward-facing car seat with a 5-point harness. Instead of using a harness system, booster seats incorporate the use of the vehicle seatbelt.
California's Occupant Protection Law
Children under the age of 8 are required to be secured in a car or booster seat.
Is a booster seat safe for a 7 year old?
California Law
Children under the age of 8 must be secured in a car seat or booster seat in the back seat. Children who are 8 years of age OR have reached 4'9” in height may be secured by a booster seat, but at a minimum must be secured by a safety belt.
Restraint System or Safety Harness
While the current ASTM standard only requires a three-point harness, our experts say that a five-point harness is better. It's important that the harness adjustment be easy to use and adjustable enough to accommodate a small or large child.
We believe that using a 5-point harness is the safest way for babies and toddlers to travel. That's why all our forward-facing and rearward-facing car seats for children up to four years old have this type of car harness for children.
To be safe, keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness as long as you can, until they are at least 5 years old, at least 40 pounds, and able to sit properly in a booster for the entire ride. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions on height and weight limits, installation, and expiration.
5 point harnesses have two lap or hip belts, two shoulder belts and a single crotch belt. 6 point harnesses have two lap or hip belts, two shoulder belts and two crotch belts.
5 points are usually safer, but they don't allow you to move much, and most people find them too much hassle to put on.
OSHA requires workers to wear a full-body harness, (one part of a Personal Fall Arrest System) when they are working on a suspended scaffold more than 10 feet above the working surface, or when they are working in bucket truck or aerial lift.
In 1998 the FIA introduced new harness Standards 8853/98 and 8854/98, which stipulated that the validity of a harness expires five years after the year of manufacture.
Renewals: The Safety Harness Course Certificate is valid for 3 years and after this, candidates can undertake a 1/2-day refresher course to maintain the certificate for a further 3 years.
Once your child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it's time to travel in a booster seat, but still in the back seat. Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly.
Are 4 point harnesses DOT approved?
Only four-point harnesses that are DOT-approved, such as the Schroth Rallye and Takata Drift (which is essentially a re-branded Schroth product) should be considered for street-driven cars.
Children should stay in a booster seat until adult seat belts fit correctly, typically when children reach about 4 feet 9 inches in height and are 8 to 12 years of age. Most children will not fit in a seat belt alone until 10 to 12 years of age.
Law: All children must be properly restrained in a federally approved child safety seat appropriate for the child's age, weight and height up to 8 years of age or 65 lbs. Children who are at least 8 years of age or weigh 65 lbs but younger than 16 must be properly restrained in a vehicle's seat belt.
- Your child weighs at least 40 pounds.
- Your child is at least 4 years old.
- Your child will stay in the booster seat the entire car ride with the seat belt properly fitted across the shoulder and below the hips.
Consumer Reports says high-backed boosters are safer than backless ones because they do a better job of properly positioning the seat belt across the child's chest, hips and thighs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says booster seats can reduce a child's risk of serious injury by 45 percent.
Even big kids need to be safe in cars! NHTSA recommends children remain in a forward-facing car seat with a 5-point harness until the child reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by the seat. At which time, the child can move into a belt positioning device.
Children aged 3 years to 135cm tall (approx 4'5") who are under 12 years. Must use an appropriate child restraint when travelling in the front seat of a car, van or other goods vehicle. They must use an appropriate child restraint when travelling in the rear, if seat belts are fitted.
Check out what the Academy of American Pediatrics (AAP) has to say about how long to keep your child in a harnessed, forward-facing car seat: “It is best for children to ride in a seat with a harness as long as possible, at least to 4 years of age.
Children develop slowly and both physically and mentally are not mature to sit correctly in a 3 point seatbelt until they are 4 or 5 years old; so for a child below 4 a 5 point harness is safer as it keeps the child in the correct position, over that age the child has to understand that they need to sit in the right ...
Children weighing more than 22kg and taller than 125cm can use a backless booster seat. Children of 12 years old or taller than 135cm do not need to use a child seat. Before this age or height they must do by law. Child seats must be fitted either using ISOFIX mountings or a diagonal seat belt strap.
Is 5-point harness safer?
We believe that using a 5-point harness is the safest way for babies and toddlers to travel. That's why all our forward-facing and rearward-facing car seats for children up to four years old have this type of car harness for children.
The difference between a 4-point racing harness and a 5-point one is that the latter comes with an extra belt and attachment point.
The job of the 3 or 5 point harness is to hold the child in the seat. A 5 point harness has additional hip straps to help spread the force of a collision. This is very important when forward facing as the harness takes a lot of force which is then spread across the child's torso.
There is no law against children sitting in the front seat, as long as they are using the right child restraint for their height and weight. However, as above it is illegal to use a rearward-facing child car seat in a passenger seat protected by an airbag.