How tall is he? How much does he weigh?

Several of my DD's friends (oldest turned five in December) are in boosters, although they're a lot bigger than her (she's just 40 inches, and 34 lbs). That being said, there are several of them, DD included, who are still in 5 pt harnesses.

I think your biggest problem would be the desirability of moving to the booster. I couldn't move DD to the booster in one car, because she'd want it in all cars. It's all or nothing for us. (We are lucky, though, to have 3 seats for her, one in my car, one in DH's, and one in my mom's.)

 

If he's big enough (size) and responsible enough to sit in one, yes.

 

Contrary to popular belief harnessing older children, 4 and up, is not any safer than using a high back booster. There is no data, research or real life experience which show harnessing being any safer. The most experienced car seat researchers, the swedes, actually recommend against harnessing any children forward facing due to safety.

If your 5 year old is of average height and weight it's just as safe to use a HBB. Good belt fit is important and so is low weight of the actual seat.

 

Adventuredad, could you please elaborate? Thank you.

 

He is 43inches tall and weighs around 40 pounds. Anyone have the latest Consumer Reports on Car Seat reviews? HHow does the Graco High Back Booster preform in the crash tests?

 

The graco turbo booster is a great booster seat, especially for smaller children. My 5 1/2 yo rides in one full time. A booster is perfectly safe provided your child can sit properly in one 100% of the time.

How much growing room does he have in the Marathon (where are his shoulders in relation to the highest harness slot)?

 

I wouldn't read consumer reports for carseats, their tests are largely considered to be useless since they don't release testing methodology and have had to recall recommendations in the past. The important thing about a booster is that it positions the seatbelt well for your child. The Turbobooster does seem to fit a lot of kids well, though!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by mainemommy1 He is 43inches tall and weighs around 40 pounds. Anyone have the latest Consumer Reports on Car Seat reviews? HHow does the Graco High Back Booster preform in the crash tests?

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested lots of booster seats recently and put the Graco Turbobooster in the "good bets" category.

http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/...s/default.html

 

THANK YOU MOMS! He still fits in the Marathon fine-we just need a second seat for when he rides with Grammy etc.....thanks for all of your input and expertise. I appreciate you all taking the time to help me out

 

We moved dd from a Marathon to a Graco HBB when she was 5 1/2. She was about 46" at the time and about 50 lbs, but my kids have long torsos, and so they outgrow the straps earlier than other kids. She's fine in it. I've had to remind her twice in the last 6 months to sit up properly.

 

You also have to think of what grammy will actually do and be able to follow through with. We have to remember that when we were young seats like these were not around and probably not seatbelts even. Not an excuse to go without but just saying some seats are hard for our parents to operate especially when the sometimes stiff buckles to keep it a proper fit. It would be safer to have him in a high back booster properly restrained with a seatbelt than not having a good proper snug fit on the harness.

The height and weight sound reasonable for a 2nd seat to be high back booster.

I moved dd to backless booster sometime between 5 1/2 and 6. She is tall for her age though. My mom used a backless booster starting at 5 she had to move the seat around a lot as well has has wrist problems I thought it would be safer than worrying if she was going to latch a harness correctly and completely. It was an alpha omega and had a puzzle type latch for the harness. It was hard for me to do at first with good wrist usage.