How old it too old for a child to be in a booster seat?

[ChrisCountryGir]

Times have sure changed since I was a kid. I can't imagine forcing an older child who is about to enter puberty or the "teenage years" to sit in a booster seat.

If they're gonna make laws about putting children who are at least 4ft. 9in. in a booster seat, then that should apply to adults who are short as well. Most 10yr. olds are 4ft.9in. but some don't make it that height until highschool. Then there's adults who are under 4ft. 9in.


I think there's some people who take safety too seriously.

[hoodedclawjen]

you're never too old for a booster seat. if i was too short to see over the dashboard, and at risk of whacking my head into it in the event of a crash, or at risk of having my seatbelt not work correctly, due to my height, i'm pretty sure that i'd want a booster seat. i'm 27. it wouldn't bother me if i looked uncool... i got over trying to be cool long ago.

my mum is pretty short, and to drive some cars she's owned in the past, she's had to have the drivers seat put on blocks so she could see over the bonnet (which is like the built-in equivilent of a booster seat).

i don't really see the big deal- in fact, its a bit of a bonus to be higher up- my bf and i rented a sportscar last year, and in my lowslung seat, with my inbuilt short-arsed-ness, all i saw from the passenger seat was the wing-mirror and 3 inches out of the bottom of the side window... i wish i had a booster seat that time. maybe if i was 11 i'd feel differently though.

i'm sure quite a few shorter pre-teens will express their displeasure at having to sit on a boosterseat, for reasons of cool... but its too bad, especially if being cool means a bigger risk of being dead. we all have to wear seatbelts, and helmets on motorbikes, don't we? is putting a big chunk of styrofoam on your head to protect it (when riding a bike) taking safety too far too- or just sitting on one when in the car?

[Wolfie]

I think there's some people who take safety too seriously.

I agree. It's stupid to take things like spleen and neck injuries from an ill-fitting seatbelt seriously.

[Thalia]

I didn't answer because it depends on the child's size.
http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm


Remember, seat belts are made for adults. If the seat belt does not fit your child correctly, he should stay in a booster seat until the adult seat belts fit him correctly. This is usually when the child reaches about 4' 9" in height and is between 8 and 12 years of age.This is an issue that wasn't brought to the public until very recently. Recommendations have changed once there were more studies and discussion of the many serious and sometimes fatal results of children being in seatbelts that don't fit properly.

For those of us raised decades ago, it seems weird for an 8 year old to be in a booster seat, but we know have more knowledge and we act accordingly. Used to be most baby seats weren't even very safe, but studies and consumer groups changed that. It used to be cars had metal dashboards and no one wore seat belts. Now we know better.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/research/boosterseat.htm

[TrailMix]

Well, since "Never" isn't an option, I chose 18+.

If you're a minor (under 18), your parents have a responsibility of doing everythnig they can to ensure your safety. So, if you're under 4' 9", you should be in a booster seat until you are old enough to decide on your own.

On a related note, they should probably extend the rearfacing age to at least two years, too. But that's another subject.

[eggplant]

Gee, I'm glad I made it to 4'10"...

[Iria]

I'm 4'11". I'm not sure what age I stopped using the seat, but I think it was before I entered school, and I was always short. Then again, my brother always called shotgun, even when he was much too young to be sitting in the front, so I was safe. Now when I drive I either use a seat that moves up mechanically or I sit on a special car seat pillow (it's deeper in the end that meets the back of the seat). I'll use the car pillow in the passenger seat if it's in the car because I'm used to being able to see over the dashboard now, but otherwise I don't care. I would have refused to sit in a booster seat after kindergarten (and my parents would have thought it was ridiculous if someone told them I had to), but I probably would have been okay sitting on a pillow then. Would that have been just as safe? It's something I'd consider for my own kids, if I ever have any (doubtful).

EDIT: All the cars we've bought recently that have passenger airbags have warnings on them saying that children should not be in the front seat. I think that is more reasonable than forcing older children to sit in booster seats.

[Jinga]

I'm still not used to the whole booster seat idea. To me, it seems strange to have school age children in any type of car seat. As a non-parent, a person who grew up before booster seats were required and having no research experience on car safety ... I think 4'-9" is extreme. Regardless of those feelings, when I have kids I'll be putting them in a booster seat or whatever other safety device is in existence until they're big enough to go without, even if it's not until adulthood.

[hoodedclawjen]

thinking about it now, at 5ft 3, i could probably use a booster seat in our current vehicle- booster seats are designed to raise children so that the lap and shoulder belts fit correctly, and my shoulder belt never seems to fit correctly- its always digging into my neck when it runs diagonally across my body.

currently i have this clip on thingy that goes on the lap part of the belt. by hooking the lower edge of the shoulder strap under it, it flips upper part of the shoulder belt sideways a bit and away from my neck (hard to explain) but i doubt that it'd hold up in a crash, and i'm not too keen on having my seatbelt take a big chunk out of my neck.

hmmmm.

[Wolfie]

EDIT: All the cars we've bought recently that have passenger airbags have warnings on them saying that children should not be in the front seat. I think that is more reasonable than forcing older children to sit in booster seats.

Airbags and seatbelts that don't fit are two different issues. If the seatbelt doesn't fit correctly, the kid can end up with a broken neck, ruptured spleen, slide under the belt in an accident, etc. There was local 5yo who died not long ago when she slid under the too-big seatbelt and was caught by the neck. (Ugly things can happen to adults with those automatic seatbelts, too, when they don't bother to fasten the lap belt to go with the shoulder strap.)

I used booster seats in my car for my nephews and niece even after their parents stopped. I can't control what their parents do, but when they're with me, their safety is my responsibility. I almost bought a built-in booster seat for my youngest nephew. I figured it would look less 'babyish' for when he's older, because you just flip the seat back down and there was your booster seat. But I ended up getting a car off the lot that didn't have it, plus I didn't want to spend $300 on something I wouldn't use every day, when I have a seat that cost $15 in my basement. I figure I'll just tell him like I told the older kids--if you want to go to the fair, fireworks, parade, etc., you will sit in the booster seat.

That's the good part about being an aunt. I mostly take them to the fun stuff, so I didn't get much of an argument. :p

[Thalia]

Airbags and seatbelts that don't fit are two different issues. If the seatbelt doesn't fit correctly, the kid can end up with a broken neck, ruptured spleen, slide under the belt in an accident, etc. There was local 5yo who died not long ago when she slid under the too-big seatbelt and was caught by the neck. (Ugly things can happen to adults with those automatic seatbelts, too, when they don't bother to fasten the lap belt to go with the shoulder strap.)Thanks for clarifying. The booster seats are for any seatbelts. I am not sure, but I think the airbags are bad with kids probably because kids in the front (and probably not in boosters) in booster seats and thus were not high enough and not restrained well enough to reduce injury from the airbag. And this would apply to anyone who is under 4'9".

I think people can pay to have seat belts that won't adjust properly for shorter people even more adjustable. Sad that you would have to do that, but what else can you do? (I wouldn't trust those plastic adjuster things they sell.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD9fWlyL_hk

[Spidergrrl]

I teach at a school with kids age 7 to 11. We had to buy 6 booster seats to use to transport children smaller than 4 foot 9 to ball games and such. And the law here says something like 4 foot 9 (or below age 12) so older short kids wouldn't have to have a booster seat.

Personally, being a short person, I would have loved a booster seat. I had a permanant mark on my neck where the seatbelt rubbed me becuae I was too short for it to fit properly. It finally went away age 33 when I moved to England and stopped riding/driving a car.

[Iria]

Personally, being a short person, I would have loved a booster seat. I had a permanant mark on my neck where the seatbelt rubbed me becuae I was too short for it to fit properly. It finally went away age 33 when I moved to England and stopped riding/driving a car.

I always tucked mine under my arm. Forget what they say about safety; if it's choking me on a normal drive, it can't be safe in an accident. It started fitting a little better once I hit puberty and I had some, er, curves to hold it in place.

[Spidergrrl]

I always tucked mine under my arm. Forget what they say about safety; if it's choking me on a normal drive, it can't be safe in an accident. It started fitting a little better once I hit puberty and I had some, er, curves to hold it in place.

Yeah, i tucked under my arm for years until I was in a bad accident and was injured quite badly because I was wearing it improperly.The hopital said all of my injuries were due to wearing it under my arm. I have had years of back and neck pain since then. So i started wearing it correctly and forever had an angry red slash mark on my neck.

[Iria]

Yeah, i tucked under my arm for years until I was in a bad accident and was injured quite badly because I was wearing it improperly.The hopital said all of my injuries were due to wearing it under my arm. I have had years of back and neck pain since then. So i started wearing it correctly and forever had an angry red slash mark on my neck.

Wow. Did they say what would have happened if the belt had been across your neck? Neither one seems safe. :worried:

I'm tall enough now that it doesn't choke me anymore, especially if I'm sitting on my pillow. This thread's going to make me paranoid anyway.

[zoebird]

when my mother was a baby, they didn't have a car seat for her.

times change.

[rabid_child]

There's also this video made by former VB'er who lost her son in a car accident due to a seatbelt malfunction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ&mode=related&search=

I personally like being "taller" in the car, and I think being safe is paramount.

[Iria]

That video made me cry.

I'm always the one that gets put in the middle or in the back of a truck or van with just a lap belt... I'm never getting in a car again... :worried: Well, at the very least you've all convinced me about the upmost importance of automobile safety, as though my cousin's recent wreck wasn't enough (she had done all the right things--but there's not much more you can do to protect yourself from a head-on collision with someone who shouldn't have been driving).

I've got to stop reading threads like this.

[bethanie]

My daughter now sits in the front seat no booster. She's nine and above five foot...so it's legal and everything.

This is a good question actually. Yes, everyone's very safe now....but sometimes I to wonder if we're bordering on being neurotically safe. The other day I went on an errand on my bike without my daughterrr, and was all the way to the store (about a mile away) before I realized my hair was blowing in the wind. No helmet. Now, as a child I never wore a helmet, but I wear one whenever I use my bike which is fairly often.

I personally don't mind being safe....and keeping my child reasonably safe. But at the same time, I think we worry over these things a bit much.

[Spidergrrl]

Sorry to sound like an old lady, but........

"when I was a girl back in the 70s there weren't seatbelt laws and my parents let me sleep in that shelf in the back seat where the seat meets the rear window. Let me SLEEP in there on long trips and my dad just used the wing mirrors as my small body was covering the back window."

It is a wonder I am not dead. No one would ever THINK of letting a child sleep in the "turtle" as I called it because the rear window was like a turtle shell on your back.

It was only when seat belt laws became enforced that I had so many issues with the seatbelt chafing me. Thank goodness I don't have to be in a car anymore.

And no, I never had a helmet as a child either. Sometimes I think we are overly cautious--I think, well I did it and survived. But then you hear about accidents and you re-think your position.

[Hebecarrot]

I'm four foot eleven. I probably needed a booster seat well into highschool.

[rabid_child]

If you are under 5'2 it is legal and safer to have your air bags turned off in your car.

You can also get clip-on seat belt adjusters that make it so your shoulder belt doesn't cut into your neck. Most newer cars have adjustable seat belt height, however, so you can lower it so it fit's you better. I'm 5'3 and mine is as low as it will go.