Too Tall for Harness, Too Light for Booster

[Molly]

My five-year-old is very light for his age (36 pounds), and has an extremely long torso. He has outgrown the highest harness setting of his Britax Advocate, but is still four pounds away from being heavy enough for a booster. I see that the Britax Grow with You has a 1.5" higher top harness setting, but he's going to grow another inch taller before he gains four pounds. What do I do?!?

 

[ketchupqueen]

My five-year-old is very light for his age (36 pounds), and has an extremely long torso. He has outgrown the highest harness setting of his Britax Advocate, but is still four pounds away from being heavy enough for a booster. I see that the Britax Grow with You has a 1.5" higher top harness setting, but he's going to grow another inch taller before he gains four pounds. What do I do?!?

Hi!
You'd be surprised how growth changes after five. You might well get 4 lbs to that last inch of harness height. Even very long torsoed kids (I've had several) tend to grow legs faster than torso from five to 6 1/2 or 7.
Five is a little on the young end to booster, so I would go ahead and get the tallest harness on the market (the Grow With You being that) and max it out. At the very least, you'll know you didn't transition to a booster too soon.

If, when that's outgrown, your child is still under 40 lbs with clothes and shoes on, you could make an educated decision about what to do next. Options could include calling the company and asking for permission to use the booster at 39 or whatever lbs, using a Ride Safer Travel Vest, or looking for an older but unexpired booster with a minimum under 40 lbs, for instance. But cross that bridge if you come to it.