DS is 5 and still in a harness. I just bought him a new harness seat for our other car. He's 36 lbs, 4' tall. He still has room to move the straps up as he's leggy so he will be harnessed as long as we can. I have a large sedan and have no problem reaching to the back and undoing the bottom buckle, he does the top and if I undid the child lock he could open the door. He will be riding the bus so I don't have to worry. At the one private school we interviewed, I specifically asked about the harness seat and they said they don't do or undo the crotch buckle nor can we get out of the vehicle in the line.
Post by imojoebunny on Jul 7, 2015 18:56:30 GMT -5
My DD was in a 5 point until the end of second grade. Sorry for the 30 second delay, but her safety was more important than your 30 seconds sitting in line. My second child was much larger and in a booster at 5. I would pull forward a car, then stop and buckle. For unbuckle, I could do it by pretzeling myself to reach her.
Post by whitepicketfence on Jul 7, 2015 23:24:08 GMT -5
We just moved DD1 to a booster so that we would have the convertible seat available for DD3. DD1 is only 37 lbs and was no where near the weight or height limits for the convertible seat so I wouldn't have moved her otherwise. We also drive a minivan and she sits in the back row so I'm not able to get her in/out unless I either get out of the vehicle or crawl through the back.
Personally, if there's no pressing need to move her, I'd keep her in the 5-point harness as long as possible.