Average height of an 8 year old?

[golfgal]

The booster law wasn't around when our kids were done needing regular car seats so we didn't use them after the kids were about 5/6. DS13 (almost 14) is going into 9th grade, he grew some in the past week and is now 59" tall and JUST hit 80 pounds (yes, he is very small for his age). There is no way in HECK he would have used a booster seat up until now and there is no way I would have made him use one past first/second grade.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

People are saying "law" and I think this is where it gets confusing. here in MA, I believe the law is still 5 yrs old. I am pretty sure they have tried to bump the law up to 8 yrs old, but it has not passed.

The 4'9" is a recommendation, not a law. At least not here. I could be wrong, and I if I am can someone point me to the place where I can see where I am wrong.

Also, people think it is against the law to let your child ride in the front seat with an airbag. There is no law, just a very strong recommendation that they don't belong there, which, unbelievably, I still see people letting there young child hop in the front seat. I want to grab these people by the ear, put them in a room, and show the the most graphic movie on what happens to children when hit with an airbag.

But none of these people will EVER get into an accident, so there is nothing to worry about. yeah, right.

 

[corie161]

I agree, it's not necessarily the 'law' and the laws vary by state. WI, I believe just changed theirs so that anyone under age 8 must be in a booster. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I just noticed because we will be vacationing there this summer.

 

[LynnTH]

Corie - I do beleive that WI just changed their law to 8 years/80 pounds.(or something like that) My DS is 7-1/2 and is just 48" tall and about 47 lbs. He is in a booster and will be until the seat belts will fit him correctly without one. Many of his friends are still in them also. We did have the high back ones but just bought the little chair ones - they seem to like them better. I asked at a Car seat training place if one was safer than the other and she said they were both equally safe. My kids don't always like it at times but their safety comes first and it isn't up for discussion.

 

[Laurajean1014]

OP, depending on how the laws proceed and the height of your recent ancestors, you may be a family of booster seaters...... :0 )

Really, 4'8" is the average height for ages 8-12. Children are taller than they have ever been, but that doesn't mean that a child should be in a car seat until they are 12. It is obsurd.

My generation never knew what a car seat was (or we at least thought it was the seat bolted in the car). We were in the car with out seatbelts on. I think we were under safe and now we are over safe. Why can't we just be SAFE?

 

[nuke]

My FIL fits car seats for the State of DE and has all the training and updates. I follow what he recommends and he says 4-9.
Illinois law is 8 years old.

My son is 8, he's 52 inches and barely weighs 55 pounds with clothes and shoes on. He will be in that booster until PopPop says he doesn't need to be anymore.

I really don't care what other parents or kids do. It's my child I'm concerned with.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

You know, it is funny, but I don't have my kids in a booster when I run around locally, but on long trips, I do have the two younger ones in a booster.

All of you saying there is no way you would be able to get your kid in a booster in 2nd, 3rd grade, ect. LOL! My kids are strange. They love when I pull out the booster seats, and actually fight over them. Not the 10 year old, but the 7 and 6 year old.

We are leaving next week for a drive to FL, so I pulled out the booster seats, and one was in the car, and until I got the other one in, it was a nightmare listening to them fight over who was going to sit in it.

 

[NAB]

My son just turned 9 and he is 59" tall which is as tall as a 11 year old I was told by the doctor.

We have that law here in Canada. Everyone who is 8 and under must have a booster. They are actually making booster to fit bigger kids. They are not doing this to for nothing. To many kids are getting killed because they are to light and fly out of their seats because the seat belt was enough. Safety should alway come first. I would never not wear my seat belt why would you not have a child buckled in right. I think ours is also limit of 100 pounds.

And for adults that are small yes it sound funny that they to should be in booster. My neighbour has a speical belt for her car because she has to sit close to reach the gas petal.

 

[luvflorida]

He is in a booster and will be until the seat belts will fit him correctly without one.

I'm 51 years old and 5 feet tall and my daughter, almost 16, is just a bit over 4'10" and under a hundred pounds. The seat belts STILL don't fit correctly. I can't understand why somebody can't make a seat belt that doesn't cut into the throat of short people! And, it sounds like my daughter should be in a booster seat to drive a car.

 

[jodifla]

OP, depending on how the laws proceed and the height of your recent ancestors, you may be a family of booster seaters...... :0 )

Really, 4'8" is the average height for ages 8-12. Children are taller than they have ever been, but that doesn't mean that a child should be in a car seat until they are 12. It is obsurd.

My generation never knew what a car seat was (or we at least thought it was the seat bolted in the car). We were in the car with out seatbelts on. I think we were under safe and now we are over safe. Why can't we just be SAFE?

People today aren't willing to accept any risk. That's one thing, but then they feel compelling to get laws passed so the REST of us have to follow their line of reasoning.

It is absurd. It attempts to make lawbreakers out of parents who are just trying to get their kids from point A to point B. It creates travel dilemmas (so if you have four kids under 8, you now have to drag two car seats and two boosters along everywhere you go) and forget if you actually need a cab to get someplace!

 

[KirstenB]

Our 8 yr old dd is 48 inches tall and 49 lbs. She's still in a booster seat, and will be for some time. She's not crazy about it, but tough luck. I did enlist the help of her pediatrician when dd told me she's the only one who still has to sit in a booster. Most of her friends ride in SUV's, so they'd probably be safer in a wreck. We have a Camry.

Oddly enough, her friend always wants to ride in the booster when we go somewhere (she doesn't ride in one in her car). To each his own.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

My DS is almost 10 and going to 5th grade. He is 53" and weighs between 61-63 lbs. He still sits in a booster seat in my car, but in DH's car he just wears a seat belt because it fits him properly. He is 15% for weight and 20% for height. He is easily the smallest boy in his class. NONE of his friends still sit in boosters, but the thing is, he is TINY. I would rather have him embarrassed and safe than let him go without the booster and get hurt. I really think he will probably have to bring his little booster to Driver's Ed class with him. He just doesn't have "big" DNA!

 

[luvmyfam444]

My neice is 11 - don't know her exact weight but she still wears about a size 8 in clothes (really petite) & she's tall - her mom said she knows she's nowhere near 80 lbs....

 

[taximomfor4]

I have helped in a lot of the child seat fittings that are done at car dealerships, etc. and we had to go through training. I have NEVER seen anything that says that you can stop using a booster at 4 years of age. It says that most can start using booster seat at about age 4. Here is the link:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/ParentGuide2005/pages/WhenDoYou.htm

The guidelines used to be 8 years old AND 80 lbs. Not one or the other. The child needed to meet both. The guideline is now 4'9", because as you pointed out, it is very difficult to assign size to an particular age and it confused people that didn't pay careful attention. So, a flat out 4'9" guideline is much simpler, don't you think?

No, how you get a 12 year old to sit in a booster seat, is a whole other issue, I agree I guess it just depends on what each family deems is an acceptable risk for them - and that is their perogative, outside of the younger child restraint laws.

Gotta love the 80n lbs thing. My dd is 5'3" now, at almost 13 yo, and is JUST over 80 lbs. If I put her in a booster, her head will be all the way above the headrest. THAT doesn;t seem very safe!

 

[FreshTressa]

I'm all for safety and all, but sometimes I think it can be taken too far.

One of these days they are going to have us all wearing helmets in the car.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

My 8 year old doesn't know that not using his booster seat is even an option. He's about average in height but the seatbelt doesn't come close to fitting him correctly so he's staying in his booster until it does. Where I live it's 8 years/80 pounds and I surprised every day when I see kids I know are under 8 not in a booster. I don't get to a second chance to protect my child.

 

[sha_lyn]

Another mom of a tiny 8yr old chiming in here. DD does not get a choice in the van. It is the booster, or she doesn't go.
In DH's truck and DS's car, she fits very well without a booster. She's 50 inches and 59 lbs. At this rate she'll meet 4ft 8in long before reaching 80lbs.

 

[aprilgail2]

My daughter may be in a booster seat until high school at the rate she is going. She is 6 1/2 has yet to reach 40 pounds-she wears a 4t and is not 48 inches tall....which I know because she has meltdowns every carnival and amusement park we go to because she is to short for rides she wants to go on! In my car I have extra booster seats and when any of her friends come they have to use them, rules of my van. One kid went home and asked her mom why I wanted her to be safe in the car and they didn't care if she was safe in theirs! I just recently let my daughter start using the seatbelt only in her car seat rather than the 5 point harness! She is going into second grade and out of the 16 kids in her girl scout troop only one isn't in some type of booster seat still...

 

[cepmom]

Gotta love the 80n lbs thing. My dd is 5'3" now, at almost 13 yo, and is JUST over 80 lbs. If I put her in a booster, her head will be all the way above the headrest. THAT doesn;t seem very safe!

this is my thought too....DD8 has been out of her booster since she was 6 years old. DH's friend is a certified Car seat installer (he is a police officer) and told us if her knees bend at the edge of the seat and the shoulder belt fits her properly (across the hips, not the abdomen and across he chest, not across the neck) then she was fine.

DD8 and I were talking one day about the booster seat issue and the 4'9" rule and she decided she needed to sit in the booster since she is under 4'9". Well, she climbed in and her head was way above the head rest, which is just as dangerous as a small child not sitting a booster seat. All my booster seats say to discontinue use when the child's ears are above the back of the head rest. How can a child that is 4"8" and under sit in a booster and not have their head be above the head rest???

 

[Aneille]

People are saying "law" and I think this is where it gets confusing. here in MA, I believe the law is still 5 yrs old. I am pretty sure they have tried to bump the law up to 8 yrs old, but it has not passed.

The 4'9" is a recommendation, not a law. At least not here. I could be wrong, and I if I am can someone point me to the place where I can see where I am wrong.

Also, people think it is against the law to let your child ride in the front seat with an airbag. There is no law, just a very strong recommendation that they don't belong there, which, unbelievably, I still see people letting there young child hop in the front seat. I want to grab these people by the ear, put them in a room, and show the the most graphic movie on what happens to children when hit with an airbag.

But none of these people will EVER get into an accident, so there is nothing to worry about. yeah, right.

I do believe the law is still 5 years old in MA. My DD will be 5 in Nov. and I still have her in a 5pt carseat. She'll be in it for quite some time and has no problem understanding why she is in it. She is 40# and her 5pt will sit her until she's 65#. She also owns a booster for her Dad's car and for when we travel and rent a car but its seldom used.

I understand your frustration with people allowing kids under 12 in the front seat due to the airbag but I also wanted to state that in almost all new cars the front airbag can be shut of. Even in my old 98 Ford truck you could use a key to turn the airbag off. I have a 2004 minivan now and the airbag shuts off automatically if someone sits in the front seat that doesn't meet the height requirements. There is a light indicator on my dash that lets me know its off. However I still believe children belong in the backseat. It is safer than the front, airbag or not.