Why use a five-point harness?
A car or booster seat tethered and anchored to the car and equipped with a properly fitted 5 point harness is the safest way for a child to ride in a car - even if that child is now a "big kid" who has graduated to a booster.
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| customer image from Amazon.com |
Five-point harness seats like the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 or the Britax Frontier 85 (for children age 2 and up) work in concert with the way a child's body is built to provide the best protection possible.
It's a simple idea, really - the straps that fit over the shoulders and across the hips fasten to a buckle that comes up between the legs (crotch). The harness sits snugly against the bony parts of the child's pelvis, shoulders and rib cage. When properly tightened, this harness securely holds the child and in the event of an impact, it spreads the force of the ensuing crash across these strong bones. There is no impact, no sudden stop. The child is not "caught" abruptly in flight foward by a thin strap across less stable and softer body parts. The child does not move out of the seat before the restraint kicks in - it is already loaded prior to impact.
In this day and age, most people have become aware of the dangers to children in even low impact crashes when the adult seat belt used to restrain them does not fit properly. Briefly stated, upon impact, as a child body continues forward as it will do in a crash or sudden stop, it may impact the seat belt, which can potentially cause severe or fatal injuries to organs.
In extremely rare cases, seat belts can fail, leaving children with no protection in an accident.
Of course, the seat MUST be properly anchored and tethered to the car for the safest possible ride.
