Car Seat Dilemma - 5pt or Booster?

So many people have different opinions on car seats. Do you need the top model? Are they all the same? What about using a 5pt harness for a longer period of time? Did you know they actually expire? When do you turn them forward facing? I have tons of these questions and I need other moms and dads to chime in.

Lets start with the last question. When do you turn them around??? According to a NYTimes article in 2011, Children should be rear facing until age 2. The advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics,  is based primarily on a 2007University of Virginia study finding that children under 2 are 75 percent less likely to suffer severe or fatal injuries in a crash if they are facing the rear. Now I turned my first child around the day before her first birthday. The second one we turned around about a week after her first birthday. Now with the third, they are telling us until age 2. Will you follow that recommendation? I know all of our children survived when they were forward facing at 1 but it only takes one time for that to change. I know it's frustrating to have a kid backwards. They can't see anything and it's easier just in general. Since my kids are so small, I think I better listen to the recommendations. You see online about those horrible accidents and the kid lived because they were backwards. Good advice. What will you do?


As for which seat to use after they are in their "convertible car seat", I have to recommend a model in which the child can stay in the 5pt harness for up to 85 pounds. Yep, 85 pounds. It's called a Frontier 85 from Britax and I love it. It's not more expensive than the other seats such as a Marathon or a Boulevard. Both my children who are 3 and 5 have them. I know people complain about keeping their 5 year old 50 pounds kid in a 5 point harness but until she complains and it becomes a daily struggle that I can't handle it anymore, she is staying in it. I got her the fun cow print so she actually loves her seat. She shows it to everyone. It's got a flat bottom and it's very roomy. You don't have to re-thread the straps so it just lifts up and the straps get bigger. My mini 24 pounds 3.5 year old is also in one. Hers is on the lowest setting. My 5 year old still has plenty of room. We went from the Graco Nautilus to this one. The crotch strap on the Nautilus was getting too tight and it was on the largest setting. Could we use a booster? Well, for the older one, yes. The younger one, no. I don't know why I don't like them. I just don't. They feel flimsy. I guess we could use the Nautilus as a booster, but we have it in dad's car for the 3 year old. I'm just not ready to rely on a seat belt for a child. Am I being paranoid? Yes. Is this making it harder on myself? Probably. I just hope no one tells my kids that they don't have to be in a 5pt harness at 5 years old and they can be in the one with the seat belt. Here is the Frontier 85. I paid $219 for it on AlbeeBaby.com. We have one in hot pink and one in cow print :

Do you see how it's flat at the bottom? I like that. Lots of room for the kids legs. I like the double cup holder. The backrest goes up and down. The arm rests are not huge. I'm just a big fan. Check online for good deals but I find amazon.com and albeebaby.com have good sales.


If you want to be more informed, check out these videos on the benefits of keeping your child in a 5pt harness longer. 


Kyle Miller's Story of 5pt Harness Safety
Belle's Gift - 5pt Harness Story


As for seats expiring, they really do. The plastic begins to breakdown. Even if it has not been in a crash and has been stored covered and inside, they still expire. We have to get a new convertible car seat for our third daughter which is why I'm looking now and starting to think about new seats. Back to the research board on getting a rear facing to front facing car seat. Hopefully this is the last or second to last one that I will ever buy!


Happy Baby Thoughts :)
R