When Did You No Longer Use a Booster Seat?

Age doesn't matter, it's height and weight. If she's not tall enough, then the seatbelt won't fit her properly and she'll be unsafe. Keep her in it until she outgrows the height limit.

My DS is 9 also, but is also short so he's still in it. He'll be in it until he is tall enough that the seat belt doesn't come across his neck without it.

Most of his friends are tall enough that the seat belt hits their shoulder and not their neck and they don't need them. But he has at least 1 good friend who is the same height as he is, and still uses one. So, at least SOME 4th graders are still in boosters - I personally know 2 :).

My god, I am all for safety but it sounds like the laws have gone a bit nuts or are these just manufacture suggestions? My older daughter is 25, by the current standards one of her friends couldn't drive. That seems a bit nuts to me. I am not even sure if she is allowed in the front seat.

To me it comes down to if this is so serious, so needed, then why can these same kids get plopped in a school bus with no seat belt at all? I have seen some of these bus drivers in actions am I really to believe I should keep my kids in bubble wrap until they drive but they don't need a belt at all?

Anyway, rant over, my older two were out when they were three and it was mostly so they could see out the window, there were no car seat laws in our state at the time. My younger two were around five because that was the current law. God knows what it is now but all my kids are living in spite of my negligence.

I plan to keep my dd in hers to the limits. Her skeletal structure doesn't reach it's full strength until after puberty, so I want to offer every protection I can.

I know several parents who feel the same way... So even if extended seat use isn't popular right now, it is definitely gaining ground. And if anyone tries to reference how things "used"to be done, simply remind them that times change (more drivers at higher rates of speed) and that when we know better, we do better. :)

Morning
Regardless of age, we kept our son in one until he made the height, at which time, he was probably 9 1/2 or so... I will say that many of his classmates at that time were shorter than him and weren't in a booster seat, but I told him safety before popularity..

I'm completely surprised she does't rebel and refuse. I don't know any kids her age that are in anything but a regular seat belt.

Are you sure the seat belt doesn't go across her chest in the right spot?

I have a hard time with my seat belt though. It goes across my throat most of the time and I guarantee you that I will not sit on any car seat sort of thing...lol.

I think at her age she should be sitting in a regular seat with a regular seat belt. If it is anywhere near going across her chest then she's tall enough.

My 8 year old sits in the seat fine and the seat belt goes across his chest just fine and he's not a big kid. He's been in a regular seat and seat belt since he turned 6. In Oklahoma they can go out of car seats the day they turn 6.

Part of the age limit is because bones aren't fully developed yet. That's the reason an adult of the same height and weight as a child doesn't need a booster seat.

Definitely check what your state law says. I know some states are really cracking down on booster seat/car seat laws this summer.

We went by the age not the height.

I kept mine in a booster until 8 as required by my state's law. They are tall kids but didn't exceed the 4'8" height limit before then. I thought it was kind of silly since the height-adjustable seat belts in the car fit them well without it by the time they were six or seven.

I followed all of the requirements. My dd was actually out of a booster because she met all of the height/weight/legal requirements, and then a few months after her birthday, they raised the age limit, so back into a backless booster she went; she was not pleased! But, I felt it was important to teach respect for the laws of the land in addition to obeying the safety guidelines regarding height and weight.

ADDED: All of my kids were among the last of their friends to be out of a booster, none of them were happy about it. I just always told them that I was their parent and part of my job is to keep them safe, and different families have different rules, and riding in a car/booster seat was one of ours.

My son (also short) is 10 and going into 5th grade. He still uses a high back booster in our cars. That being said, he has gone without in friends cars...but he will not be out of it for a few years. (My 6 year old second grader is still in a 5 point harnessed car seat).

Car seats, boosters, etc make riding in a car so much safer. Also, my kids loved being able to see more when they sat higher.

There is no reason to take her out of it....especially if she doesn't make the height. Even if she is the only 4th grade in a booster...who cares.

My 11 yr old just got out of her booster at the end of this school year. It's about safety, not about what they want. When I was a child and booster laws were less strict, a friend got in a car accident and her spleen was ruptured and she almost died due to a seatbelt not fitting her properly.

Check the fit on her when she's not using a booster. If the belt doesn't hit her well on the shoulder and across the lap, she should at least use a backless booster. I sympathize - I'm short and my DD is tiny. Some cars also have the ability to lower the shoulder strap, so see if that is possible in your car and if so, does that help?

ETA: I just realized you said height not weight. I'm tired. ;) I would keep her in a backless booster til she makes the height requirement. I can pretty much guarantee my DD will be in the same position and I just teach her to tell people "It's safer for me this way."

My kids used boosters until they were about 12. They were both quite short and thin until puberty hit and they shot up/filled out. Other kids we know outgrew boosters by physical size by age 8.

Here is a 5-step test link to see about a seatbelt fit:
https://thecarseatlady.wordpress.com/boosters/5steptest/

A kid might fit the seatbelt in one car, but still need a booster in another, so check the fit in each vehicle she will ride in before you get rid of hers..

Better safe than sorry. She stays in if she was my child. I am the wife if police officer and Mom to firefighters, I have seen too much to bend the rules
Even just a bit.

Our son had some major growth spurts at 4, 6 and 8 yrs old (each of those years he grew 4 inches - the growing pains were horrible!).
He was finished with booster seats by the time he was in 2nd grade.

I never used a booster seat. When she got too tall for her baby car seat, she used a seat belt.

I'm not sure of the regulations but I know you can get a seatbelt adjustment device, either at the dealer or for less money at auto supply stores. They make them for kids and just short adults. You really want that seatbelt to go across the chest and not cut into the neck. That's essential.

I think you should look around at school pick-up and see what's what, and also ask her (or be aware of her comments about) when kids stop.

My kids are big so they were all out before the age limits because they fit the height and weight requirements. However, my daughter had an 11 year old friend in 6th grade that still sat in one because she was so tiny. I followed the height and weight because that's when a seatbelt fits them safely.