There is some controversy and confusion on when it is safe to switch children from a forward facing harnessed seat to a belt positioning booster. Experts will tell you never before 5 years old and before 6 most children are not mature enough to sit properly in a booster (you can find my checklist for booster safety here). But there is no real evidence that a harnessed seat is safer than a properly used booster seat (note the term properly used). And most parents will transition their children to a booster long before necessary (just as many forward face too early).
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But the great news is, there is really no reason you have to transition to a booster before you are comfortable and your child is mature enough because there are plenty of long lasting car seats currently available that will keep children harnessed for years and years.
A majority of car seats now harness up to 65 pounds when used forward facing which is the weight of an average 9 1/2 year old boy and a few that go even higher. And there are options in every budget to harness tall children well into middle-childhood as well.
For heavier children, look for a seat with a higher weight limit for using the harness.
Long lasting car seat options for weight (affiliate links):
Harness weight to 90 pounds:
Harness weight to 85 pounds:
Harness weight to 80 pounds:
Harness weight to 70 pounds:
For taller children, look for a seat with high top harness slots since forward facing straps need to come from above the shoulders (unless allowed to be below per the individual car seat manufacturer). The top slots indicate the child’s maximum torso height which can be measured by sitting your child against a wall and measuring from the floor to the top of his/her shoulder. It is generally estimated that children will grow 1” of torso per year in middle childhood.
Long lasting car seat options for height (affiliate links):
20.5″ high top harness slot:
19.5″ high top harness slot:
19″ high top harness slot:
18.5″ high top harness slot:
18″ high top harness slot:
- Graco Nautilus
- Graco 4Ever
- Evenflo Maestro
- Maxi Cosi Pria
- Evenflo Evolve
- Graco Tranzitions/Wayz
- Evenflo Sonus
- Graco Extend2Fit
- Graco SlimFit
- Graco Contender
Read more about car seat safety.
