Extended Harnessing was introduced on the 17 September 2014; with the new Australian Standards for child restraints. The 2014 Australian standard, saw the introduction ISOFIX child restraints; as well as introducing the G type child restraint (extended forward facing); and the A4 type baby car seat (extended rear facing child restraint).
Why Use Extended Harnessing
The G type car seat is an extended harnessing forward facing car seat; allows your child to be harnessed, until approximately 8 years of age. Since the release of the 2014 standard; there has been only two G seats that I can recommend with confidence, due mainly due to the hassle free harness.
The G type (extended harnessing) child restraint that I recommend are the Britax maxi guard, the infa Emerge and the maxi cosi luna. All other g type seats, you must adjust the harness manually for each step of your child’s growth. The Safety 1st Sentry; has a complicated re-thread path; making me wonder what happens if it is threaded incorrectly??
Problems with Booster Seats
The law says a child must be harness until 4 years of age; sadly some parents; move their child to boosters seats when they reach 4 years of age.
The Australian standards board for child restraints realized this; and introduced shoulder height marker into the 2010 standard; unfortunately many parents are still moving children prematurely into booster seats. The introduction of the G type seat (extended harnessing) eliminates the problem of having small children in a booster seat.
Extended harnessing forward facing car seat solves the issue of parents putting their children into a booster seat prematurely.
A G type car seat is safer than a booster seat because
- it has a 6 point harness
- there is no chance of a seat belt being near the neck.
- smaller 4 year old child can safely use a g type car seat
- better for fitting three across the second row
Bum boosters and booster cushions should never be used. These boosters have no side impact protection and no back support for your child
Is ISOFIX Safer
The 2014 Australian standard saw the introduction of Isofix as a installation method. Isofix cannot be used on extended harnessing seats; it can only be used on seats that go to a maximum of 4 years of age.