I haven't been to this site in a year, so hello to everyone that remembers me! And also to those who don't :wavey: . My kids will be 5 at the end of July. DS is 41lbs and DD is probably 43lbs or so. They're pretty tall and skinny for their age. So my first question is car seats. I still have them in their toddler car seats. The seat weight limit is 80lbs, I believe, and they're not so tall that the shoulder straps are below their shoulder line, so I do believe that they are safe in these seats, but I've been wondering about it because I never see kids their age in these kinds of car seats. When I drop them off at daycare or go anywhere, it seems that kids their age are in the "next size up" like booster seats or something. I've looked online at seats for some safety tips, but all I could really find are weight limits. So when did you put away the huge car seat and go for something smaller and more convenient? So now that you know about how big they are, my next question is about toddler beds. I know most people skip toddler beds and go right to twin, but to save space, we went with them. Now when they lay in them, their feet are flat against the bottom if they are stretched out. They don't sleep stretched out like that and they don't complain about it being too small, but in general, I'm wondering if it's time to upgrade everything. Which is so expensive when buying two of everything, as you know. So when did you all make the switch for these items?
We left the convertable car seats behind at age 3. I agree, at age 5 almost every child is in a seatbelt booster, and honestly, I think my kids would be very uncomfortable for the past 2 years if they were still in the 5 point harnesses. We also went right to twin beds, so I can't say about that transition.
I would go with booster seats at this age. Most start at 30 pounds and go up to 100, so they are safe for your kids now and will last them quite a while. Plus, they give them more of the feeling of sitting in a real seat and using the car seat belt. I know that safety is the first concern, but you also don't want other kids teasing them because they are in "baby" seats and kids can be pretty mean about that stuff. As for the beds, I also think a switch is a good idea. At 5, they are no longer toddlers and even though it's costly to buy the beds, you will certainly get way more years of use out of them than you did cribs or the toddler beds.
I would also switch to the booster seats- we switched the girls when they were 4. They seem more comfortable and it is nice not to have those big bulky seats. We also switched our girls to twin beds when they were 5. They were in toddler beds until then and their feet could touch the bottom too. They never complained but I knew we had to switch them and was just waiting to be able to afford 2 new bedroom sets. Anyway, we switched them a few months ago and they are so much more comfortable . They were so excited about the "big" beds and they sleep better too!
We switched the kids to booster seats at age 3 1/2,,didn't have much choice with another one on the way. We did get the full booster seats that have the top on them and will detach if you just want to use the bottom piece, but now that they are 5 they fight over the extra booster seat that is just the bottom piece,,it makes them feel like they are the big kid. As far as toddler beds, we tried them , didn't work, they have been in twin beds since 3.
We have high back boosters, but one set still has the 5 point harness. We went straight to bunk beds cause the boys were too tall. It looks like you will have some change coming up. The good news is that the regular boosters aren't very expensive. Bad news is beds usually are.
I'm just lurking in here... but FWIW, my niece (who is turning 5 in September) is still in her Britax Marathon. She's a skinny kid and her parents specifically bought that seat so she could stay in it as long as possible. Then again, she's not complaining about it as far as I know (or getting grief from her friends) -- maybe they'd move her to a booster if that were the case.
Still in 5 point harnesses and toddler beds here. We are moving back to the US next month and will finally graduate to twin beds. But we knew this expense was coming, so we've been saving the cash to buy the new beds, mattresses and bedding. As for carseats, they will remain in their 5 point harnesses until they outgrow the weight/height limits. We'll lay out the money for booster seats only when we have to.
My boys are 90% percentile 4 yr olds and we too are still in 5-pt harness convertibles and toddler beds. We have no reason to change it yet as it works for us. And to be honest, their safety is paramount so as long as they're fitting comfortably in those 5-pt harnesses, they'll be staying there! LOL! We'll probably be out of toddler beds in the near future however.
We still use the 5 pt harnesses because they are so much safer. There is only so much a seatbelt can do and they have been known to fail. The girls will be staying in their carseats for a while yet. We do have boosters in my mom's car and we take those on trips if we are traveling by plane but that's the only time we use them. If the kids still fit, by all means, keep them in the safer seats. With the toddler beds, I'm an advocate of the "If it's not broke, don't fix it" theory. If you set aside a little each month starting now, you can probably get them bigger beds for Christmas. Then you also get to combine Christmas with a practical gift.
We have tall boys. At 4.5yrs, they are 44 inches (we're keeping track for rides at Disney this fall). Ben is very lean..37lbs and Luke is 45 lbs. They both still fit very comfortably in their Eddie Bauer 5 pt harness high back convertible car seats. I'm waiting for Ben to get over 40lbs to go to seatbelt boosters. I can't switch one without the other. Major chaos! It just seems like he's taking forever to get to 40lbs. We switched right from cribs to twin beds. Sounds like twin beds are in your very near future. It does get $$$.
At 5 we're still in the booster seats with the five point harness but I've still got two under 40 lbs. They're getting there, and our next step will be the same large seats but using the van's seatbelt instead of the 5-point harness. That's what mine are built for. Have you tried that? It sounds like you'll need twin beds soon. We went straight from cribs to twins beds and a little tip: If they share a room, mate's beds are great and then you won't need a dresser in the room. Kids. It seems like every time you turn around they're outgrowing something!
I just wanted to say that my girls are 5 and we are still in our Sunshine Kids Radian's that go up to 65 lbs. I am the only parent in my girls class that still uses a 5 pt harness carseat. I did get some questions from our teachers in their preschool class this past school year. But I don't care. I wanted my girls to be safe. Of course Claire is finally 39 lbs and Emma is 35 lbs so we still don't meet the national criteria or state's with 4 and 40 lbs to at LEAST be in a booster. I'm a big car seat advocate and believe that they are safer in our 5 point harness car seats. I am thinking about waiting till the end of first grade and I will probably switch them to a booster then. I'm sure I will get a few odd stares and questions this coming year when they go to kindergarten this fall. But that stuff doesn't bother me. We got the girls twin beds right away so can't help you there. Elizabeth
Our boys are still in 5 point harness car seats and will remain so for quite some time. Their safety is my #1 concern. Our booster seats use the 5 point harness until 65 pounds. We are in toddler beds but will be moving to twin beds in the very near future.
My boys turned 6 in March. We still are using their 5 point harness carseats. I just feel that they are so much safer. And Griffin is still a peanut- he only weighs 35lbs. Alex is my "big bruiser" at 40 lbs. They are comfortable in the seats and I don't see a reason to change what is still working for them. As for beds- we went right from cribs to a full size bed for the each of them when they were 2.5years old. I didn't want to do twin beds and then when they were bigger buy another bedroom set- so we spent the money and now won't have to buy more meds in the future. We had this in mind when we built our house- the boys still share a room so we made sure to build them a big room so both beds, dressers and tables/chairs could fit. It may seem like alot of money to spend but in the long run you save since you don't have to upgrade again. Tracy Mom to Griffin & Alex :itwins_boys: 03/14/02 34wks
My boys will be 5 the first part of August. They have been in high back boosters for awhile now, (they reached the 40 pound weight limit shortly after their 4th birthday), but if they had fit their 5-point harness seats I would have left them in them longer! It is nice, though, because now they can buckle themselves. We practiced and I showed them how the belt had to fit under the armrest and fit snuggly on their laps. They can now do it themselves and I feel so spoiled when I just tell everyone to get in the car and only have to buckle Jake! I am curious about what brand carseat you have? If you splurged on the Britax Marathon, I would be all about keeping them in there for as long as possible! If you have a high back booster with a 5-point harness, you should be okay to stop using the harness and begin using the seats as boosters. Some people don't realize that their 'toddler seats' are also high back boosters! I just ask because there are very few 5 point harness seats that may be harnessed to 80 pounds....., and it would be dangerous to keep them in their 5-point harness, if they are not supposed to be harnessed past 40 pounds. We also went to twin beds directly from cribs. We switched around the age of 3 for that.
Noam started using a booster around age 4... mostly because Hadas started using a regular 5-point-harness car seat and a booster fit best with two regular carseats. Just recently we took one of the 5-point-harness car seats out of the car and put a simple booster (no back). Now Noam and Sapir fight over who will get the booster with the back and who will get the booster without the back. IKEA has some very resonably priced beds... and there are several that are not as wide as a "twin" size. The prices are reasonable too. Good luck. Change is exciting..
