When Did Your Child Start Using the Adult Shoulder Belt?

I also didn't reach that height/weight requirement until I was a late teenager... really I'm only 2 inches and 10 lbs from it now. Even in drivers ed, they made me sit on two phone books.

I will go with the age of 8 years old, but also will get a seatbelt positioner or tightener. If my children are extremely small, then yes I will wait a few more years since it's for their own safety. The height/weight requirements is a recommendation, but the age of 8 isn't just about size, but also bone strength and such. If the children are that small, safest place for them is in the back seat, even if they are older.

In my state(WA)it is also the law that children be in a at the very least a belt-positioning booster until age 8, preferably 4'9 and 100lbs. My 7 year old will turn 8 this Sept. and while I realize that by law we would be doing things correctly by letting her ride in the car seat belt we will not until the belt fits her properly. This will most likely not happen until she is closer to 10. She is currently 3'10" and 63lbs so it could very well happen before then.

I get to why parents are so adamant about not wanting to keep their children in car seats/boosters but I also know that you can't argue with physics and doing the bare minimum as required by law is not worth my child's life.

My daughter was 10 - and only because I was putting the infant seat in and her knees fit right (in our car but not all cars!). She is now 12 - only 74 lbs and just hit 4'9". At a car seat check last summer they actually used her in a booster to train someone because technically she could have been in one. I do have a rule she is not allowed to sit in the front. Which she's not so happy about because most of the kids at school have been in the front for about 6 years! But I won't give on it. ...and I didn't reach that either til high school. I'm about your size(5' & 130 lbs)

I will not under any circumstances let them out of a small booster at least until they are over 8 years and 4'9". I've been in a fatality car accident and being cool won't matter if you're not around to enjoy it. I'd talk to your pediatrician if you're concerned they wont meet the height and weight requirements on time!

Booster seats save lives because without them, the seatbelt is in a position to decapitate one who is too short without the boost!!

For my kids (who are 9YO and still use boosters), it'll be when the lap and shoulder belt fits them properly enough without a booster - this link has a great explanation and illustrations to show what proper belt fit looks like and why it's important (lap portion of belt needs to be low across tops of thighs so force is absorbed by hip bones, not by soft tissue/organs in the abdomen) http://carseatblog.com/3966/the-5-step-test/

I am not there yet. I have a seven year old. She is in a Britex booster with a full back. It does both a 5-point harness or a shoulder belt. She is still in the 5-point harness because it is safer. I suppose at some point we will move to the shoulder belt position, but I won't put her in just a shoulder belt until she is the right height (4'9") which won't be for a while. I think she is about 4'2" and 50 pounds. I don't know what you do if you are a petite person and are late to reach the heigth. But I know my grandmother was 4'11" and needed a lift to driver the car and see over the steering wheel, so it is not so crazy to think your pre-teens/teens might need a boost :) I don't really know how you handle that?

I will add that boosters not only save lives, but prevent debilitating injuries because they position the child better. Further, as for the back seat, it is the safest place for everyone, not just children. So sad that some parents give into peer pressure from other kids...

I think in my state it is age 8 and over 80 lbs. My kids are the same age as yours so it will be a few years at least for them to be close. My 5 year old is over 50 lbs and almost 4 feet but I still have him in a car seat not a booster. When I worked for a state agency we weren't allowed to put kids under 12 or about 100 lbs in the front seat. I think the booster is more about the seat belt being in the right place which can depend on the car. I'm 5'4" and my seat belt needs a positioner in my car (just a snap on thing that adjusts the height of the shoulder belt). I think when my kids are over 80 lbs and 4'9" they should be okay with a belt positioner.

my daughter is 4 and primarily rides in a carseat with a 5 point harness. she has however rode in her booster seat with her seatbelt in my sisters car (this is a once in a while thing). my daughter is 41 inches and 38 lbs and will not be riding in just a seatbelt for a long time. she will probably be tall enough to go with out around 8 years old providing shes tall enough.

I'm going to let my daughter sit without one when she turns eight, and she won't meet height or weight requirements unless she grows 9 inches and gains 50 lbs in two years. Highly unlikely. But I do agree that at some point you need to just let them sit. You can get seat belt adjusters that position the belt properly, and to me, that makes sense. You hardly notice them...I think that'd be more appropriate for younger children. I just have a hard time believing that booster seats are saving so many lives. Carseats, yes, I get it...but seriously? Boosters? My daughter is only in one because the law requires her to be.

Does anyone else remember laying down in the back seat as a child? Or laying on the floor? Or, if you had a van (we had an astro van)...literally, just sitting on the floor and playing? Because I seem to remember that's how I grew up. :)

:)

Your local DMV will be able to answer your question per the regulations of your state.
We just started letting our 10 year old stop using the booster this past summer because it was uncomfortable and then when we changed vehicles it was difficult to fit a teenager, a booster and a full sized car seat. It makes me sad because there is no way she meets the minimum requirements for height and weight...and I am not trying to minimize the importance of our children being safe. I just know that the booster seat is relatively a new thing and don't believe that they have adequate statistics to prove that it is really that much more safe. Then you also have the fact that it really has not been that many years ago that car seats were pretty new as well ( my mom did not have a carseat for me when I was newborn how crazy is that? I am not So old LOL...just 37!) That being said, my almost 4 year old is small for his age and he will be in a 5 point harness for several years to come!

**also if the safety regulations were the same I too would have been in a booster until I was in HS...I might have weighed 100 lbs soaking wet as a Senior! And My mom is not even 4'9...should she still be in one? ; )

Check with the DMV website in your state. There are usually age guidelines as well as height and weight guidelines.