When I was 5, less than a month away from 6 my mother and I were in a car accident where I was sitting in the front seat. We hit a tree on the side of the road (the lesser of two evils in this case a semi being the other option). The impact was on my side of the car. Had I not worn my seatbelt I would have been thrown into the windshield.

During this era in time boosters were unheard of and car seats were just starting to reach the market. The resulting injuries of my accident were definitely exactly what they describe in this and other articles. I now have a half of a stomach and had to have a spinal fusion. I spent 9 weeks in the hospital recovering and had 4 surgeries, all before my 7th birthday. I was a tall kid, not heavy but tall and it didn’t keep me in the right place for sure.

Now I am a nanny and a big advocate for placing children in THE MOST appropriate safety devices in a car. I have even taken the responsibility on my shoulders and purchased top notch car seats for use with the children I care for so that moving seats around isn’t necessary.

Kate CPST–There are plenty of children who can fit in a marathon past age 4. My daughter turned 7 in April and she still fits in her Marathon. I promised her a booster for her birthday, though, so that’s where she is now. My son is almost 5 and still has plenty of room in his Marathon. He’s 39 inches tall and 32 lbs.

Every child is different.

My daughter is 4 years old and we switched to the Britax Regent a few months ago. We absolutely LOVE this seat. It is expensive but this will be her last car seat that she is in and she will use it for a while. Most of her pre-school friends are in boosters without a 5 point harness and that just scares me. The Regent is like a booster but has a 5 point harness and it makes both me and my daughter feel secure.

I know she’s unusual but my almost 7 yr old granddaughter still fits fine in her Marathon. It all depends on torso height. She has another 1/2 inch before her shoulders are even with the top slot.

Great article!

My older daughter grew out of her Britax Marathon in height at 6y4m which is when I switched her into a Britax Regent to keep her harnessed in my car. She rides in a Britax Parkway booster in my husband’s car which she isn’t in that often.
My daughter also extended rear faced in her Marathon. I love that seat!
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/chloeMA.aspx

Thank you for posting this as I know it will reach thousands of families. Car crashes are the #1 killer of kids under the age of 15. We are so careful not to leave young children alone in the bath because of drowning yet too many parents put their kids in boosters too young which is a WAY bigger threat to their lives.

Lanna

I belive the Frontier and the Nautilus have the same harness slots but I may be wrong. Check out car-seat.org they have lots of reviews of both seats.

Actually, the Frontier and the Nautilus have almost the same top harness slot height (around 18.25″). If anything, the top slot on the Nautilus is a fraction higher than the Frontier. : )

Thanks so much for this series on car seat safety – our kids deserve to have parents as informed as possible when it comes to their safety!

I’d be curious to see a review of the new Britax Frontier (has higher harness slots than the Nautilus – my kids always outgrow height limits years before weight limits)… That’s what we’re thinking of putting out 4.5yo in when I need his Marathon for his younger brother in a few months. I’m keeping my wiggly kiddo in a 5-pt harness for as long as humanly possible, and since we homeschool and don’t do preschool, he doesn’t know any different and is just excited about the possibility of having a red carseat.

For those wondering, the first picture is a Graco Nautilus. Harnesses to 65 lbs, booster to 100 lbs. Great seat for under $150. Yes, the chest clip appears a little low, but when I look closely it is at armpit level.

Andrea, great article! Keep up the good work!

Kate, great reminder. Seats are outgrown when the child hits the height or weight limit, which ever comes first. Many heigh weight seats are outgrown by height before weight.