Kids in booster seat rule.

[morethananyonex]

You know speaking of rear facing I was always nervous about rear facing. When you think about it the only time rear facing would be benificial is in a head-on collision. It seems more likely and common to be rear ended which would cause a rear facing child's head to fling forward. Makes you wonder.

Search YouTube for rear facing vs forward facing videos. It's beneficial no matter what. I don't know if you have children of that age anymore but if you do make sure you research it as what you're picturing is incorrect.

Seriously those videos make me want to rear face till he's 18 haha.

 

[Hannathy]

Nope, didn't and wouldn't. We only went by the age, heck my DD would have been in it forever and no way am I doing that to her socially.

I seriously think they have gone to far.

 

[mad madam mim78]

Search YouTube for rear facing vs forward facing videos. It's beneficial no matter what. I don't know if you have children of that age anymore but if you do make sure you research it as what you're picturing is incorrect.

Seriously those videos make me want to rear face till he's 18 haha.

No more real little ones for me

 

[Coconut36]

You know speaking of rear facing I was always nervous about rear facing. When you think about it the only time rear facing would be benificial is in a head-on collision. It seems more likely and common to be rear ended which would cause a rear facing child's head to fling forward. Makes you wonder.

No it really doesn't. Watch some videos that show forward facing vs rear facing. It's quite clear rear facing is much safer. I don't wonder at all.

To me it is about what I know..I know what is safest..there is no doubt and plenty of evidence to support rear facing, to support 5 pt harnesses and to support booster seats to a certain height and weight. Knowing this I could never ever live with myself if I ignored that and something happened. I don't care how small the chance is..car accidents are not something you can plan or predict. They have nothing to do with how safe a driver you are as you are at the mercy of everyone else on the road. We were doing nothing wrong driving home from dinner when a 21 year old lost control of his car at 81 mph (in a 40mph zone right outside his apartment building). My Mom was driving within the speed limit and safely when another driver crossed into our lane of traffic (going the wrong way) and slammed into the side of our car. I was doing nothing wrong and driving safely and appropriately when I drove through a solid green light right up the street from my house and was hit by a red light runner. I was hit so hard my car spun in almost a complete circle. I look at every one of the accidents I managed to walk away from and think about each and every one of those when I put my kids in the car..any one of those scenarios or something new could happen when we go out on the road. There is tons of data that indicates their survival and safety is greatest when properly restrained based on height and weight..including being in a booster seat at 10 or 12 years old (as my kids are petite height and weight wise and likely to be older than average when they meet the recommended height/weight). I feel I am doing the best thing for them by restraining them. If someone else looks at that data and makes a different choice they have to live with that choice.

 

[indimom]

My son is 12 and will be in 7th grade this fall. He is 4'7" and weighs 80 pounds.
No, we did not follow that rule. And I don't feel bad about it. I understand it's safer, but we didn't do it. We made sure his seatbelt was adjusted to fit him properly and kept him in the backseat.
I just can't see my son getting out of a booster seat for a junior high football practice. Maybe I'm also a bad mom for allowing him to play football with kids who are easily twice his size... Hmmm.

 

[aprilgail2]

My son is 12 and will be in 7th grade this fall. He is 4'7" and weighs 80 pounds.
No, we did not follow that rule. And I don't feel bad about it. I understand it's safer, but we didn't do it. We made sure his seatbelt was adjusted to fit him properly and kept him in the backseat.
I just can't see my son getting out of a booster seat for a junior high football practice. Maybe I'm also a bad mom for allowing him to play football with kids who are easily twice his size... Hmmm.

I actually tossed my daughters booster seat when she went to Jr. High- there was no way I was going to make her ride in a booster seat in Jr. High school. She still doesn't sit in the front though even though she is going into 8th grade this year she is only 72 pounds.

I think after 2nd grade she was one of the only kids still in a car/booster seat around here. I know when she went out with friends she would go out the door here with her booster seat in her hand to get in their car! One time one of the kids asked me why she was still in a booster seat-I looked at them and said "well because I love her and don't want anything to happen to her, she is only 7 years old and needs a booster seat to keep her safe"

 

[tvguy]

You also have to make sure the car seat is properly installed. Between 70 and 80% are not.
The Highway Patrol does sting operations outside schools here, and they do write tickets.

I'm 55, and my parents didn't even own a car that came with seatbelts until I was 16. Not required in cars until 1968. Amazing how safety rules change.
Trivia fans, one (of many) reasons the Edsel was considered a failure....seatbelts were standard.


http://www.safeauto.com/blog/post/2012/05/01/Report-7025-of-Car-Seats-Are-Incorrectly-Installed.aspx


http://www.averageparent.com/our-word/80-of-car-seats-installed-wrong-get-yours-checked-for-free/

 

[cybrkitn]

Does anyone actually follow the 4ft 9in rule on boosterseats? My son is 4'5 and going in the 4th grade. If we followed the rule I guess most kids wouldn't be out of the seat till 5th or 6th grade. Even though I know it's safest, I can't imagine putting my 4th grader in a booster. Anyone follow this? Opinions?

DS10 was out of his when he turned 8. He's about 4'6 or so now and his feet touch the floor in my car without a problem. So he doesn't need one anymore.

On a side note, my mom is 4'8" (she's 66). My brother and I will sometimes kid around with her about the booster seat height . She was 4'10.5" tall a few years ago, but we do shrink a few inches when we get older.

 

[kerriemiller]

I know its hard kids dont want to be in a buster. I have my girls in britax marathons they can be in them till they are 65 pounds and that is my intent I will not have them in a buster.

The buster is designed to hold them in a safe position so the seat belt functions correctly in an accident. Seat belts if not warn correctly can do more harm then good in some situations.

Try something like a belt postitioner for kids

http://www.leapsandbounds.com/catal...m_medium=none&utm_campaign=none&utm_term=none

 

[PaulaSB12]

I am one of those adults who should still be in a booster seat and my daughters both tease me about it. I am 4'8" and the seat belt cuts across my neck. Honestly if I could find one that would work I would probably use it because having the belt diffing into my neck is uncomfortable and I hate using it.

Have you thought of using something like this



http://www.seatbeltmasters.com/

 

[spacemountainmom]

I am still on this planet because my parents used a car seat in 1970. I had just turned two and my mom and I were in a pretty bad wreck on the interstate. My mom was not wearing a seatbelt and was injured. My only injury was where my mom smacked me in the face as she was flying around the car.

The scary thing is that my car seat ended up all bent and mangled. My dad bent it back into the right shape and continued to use it. They also used it for my younger sibling and passed it on to friends when they were done with it.

I was pretty uptight about car seat and booster use with my kids. The rules were a little looser when mine were that size. The law was that kids only had to be in a car seat until the age of four. The pediatrician recommended a car seat or booster until eight. My kids were at the top end of the height and weight spectrum so it made a difference. I still remember driving for a preschool field trip with my dd17 and was shocked when the kids were sent to my vehicle without boosters. I was further shocked when all of the kids I drove made fun of my dd for having to sit in a "baby" seat. I just told them that we were making sure that dd was safe. It didn't bother dd in the least.

I have to laugh at some of the rules that go by age. No sitting in the front seat until the child is 12. My son was 5'6" on his 12th birthday and was 5'10" the day he turned 13. The rules really should go by height and weight.

 

[esk]

DS just begged us to get out of his car seat (we never took the back off, oops) because kids at school were making fun of him when I dropped him off and they saw he still had a car seat. But he's almost 11 and I would say is about 4"7 or 4"8. We sat him in the car, put the seat belt on, and it did not touch his neck, laid flat over his shoulder so we thought OK.

My kids are both small and there is no way I'd have taken him out earlier. Since he was about 5, we've rode with friends who didn't use a car seat, or used a backless booster at age 4/5, and that just wouldn't have worked for us.

Just one of the many times I have to tell my kids -- "sorry, your parents are short. You won't be playing basketball, or riding that stand up roller coaster, or reaching high shelves anytime soon. On the plus side, you have a great career ahead of you as a jockey and you won't complain about the legroom on the plane"

 

[clori]

My dd12 switched from a highback to low back booster at 8. She used a booster in anyone's car until she turned 11 and at her check up was 4'10". If anyone questioned her booster seat she just said that our dr wanted her in one until she was 4'9" and car seat safety is more concerned with height than age. It seemed that 5th grade was the time many kids stopped using booster seats but many of them were height based decisions - some of kids on the shorter side still used them at the end of 6th grade and kids view it as a height vs age issue.

My youngest dd turned 8 in June. She is 48 3/4in. She is now in a low back booster seat and knows she will be in one until she is 4'9" and can pass the 5 point test.

We keep an extra low back booster in the car. If either child has a guest they use the booster regardless of age as long as I can easily tell they are not tall enough.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Of course we follow the rules, which by the way, are the bare minimun for safety. They need to do away with ages actually, and go by height and weight requirements as around here we have parents take their kids out of boosters at age 8, yet they are way under the requirements. Around here we also have 4 year olds in backless boosters. Our DD was in a harnessed seat until about 6.5, and our son will probably be in his harness past that, and in a booster until he meets the requirements.

I don't really get why you can't imagine your son in a booster seat in grade 4. What in the world does age have to do with safety?

Some adults should be in booster seats, and that is why you see very short people sitting on pillows. Seat belts are made for grown adult males, and so boosters are necessary to ensure safety.

Our daughter is going into grade 4, and we had to remove her booster just last week, as she turned 9, as she is very tall for her age. She was at the point where her ears were at the top, so no more seat for her. So despite the fact that she was way under for weight, so maxed out the height requirement. She was actually upset about it too! She sat in a Britax Frontier, as does her little brother. Very safe!

I could care less about ages and what people think, and I don't really get the thing about it being embarassing either. None of my daughter's friends are in my car, so not sure how it's relevant what goes on in my car?

This is a really hot topic for me, as I see so much lazy parenting when it comes to car seats. Parents seem to put more time and effort into buying a car, and showing off that car, then in ensuring their kids are safe in said car.

Tiger

I bolded. I disagree. Age, height , weight, are subjective. They do not take into account body type. If you have a child with a long torso and their head is almost touching the ceiling of the car with the booster it is not safe. Also, if you have a broad shouldered child then the high back on the boosters are very uncomfortable. I am not saying you ( a general you) should just throw caution to the wind but not every size fits all. IMO each situation is unique. We use Britax seats etc. and eventually move up to boosters when they are the correct size and an age where we feel is appropriate within the law (varies by child) Each one of my children are built differently. We do an immense amount of research etc. I see you mentioned the Frontier and I believe that goes up to 100lbs. Now I do think they can be great seats but they are huge. Most cars cannot accomodate a couple of them. That doesn't make a lazy parent. Although I will agree that some people are very lax with the carseating but that is their decisions and it is not my place to tell them how to parent. Even if I don't agree.

 

[marcyinPA]

Nope. My DS13 is just about 4'9" now. He is very short for his age. I can't imagine dropping him off for 8th grade in his booster seat. He'd be mortified.

I JUST let him start sitting up front this summer though. We have the air bags that turn off if you don't hit the safety weight. It was a BIG DEAL for me to allow him to ride shotgun!

 

[usd2bmd]

My point of view on this issue is from the other side. I never had to worry about my daughter being tall enough to get out of her booster seat. I was worried about her being too tall to sit in the back seat. The car she spent the most time in as a minivan with bench seats and no head rests in the back. On a trip to the Ped., I asked about her sitting back there in the booster seat when her head was above the top of the seat and the Dr told me to put her in the front, but move the seat all way back. The injuires she would sustain to her neck would far out weigh the injuries she would sustain in the front seat with the air bag.

I am so glad that I listened to the Dr, taht summer we were in an accident, I rear-ended the car in front of me and the air bags were deployed. Although my duaghters nose and lips were swollen, there were no major injuries.
THe laws are there for a reason, but I would have gladly paid a ticket if I got one for her being in the front seat.

 

[alex9179]

My 8 and 7 yr olds are in boosters while my 4 yr old (turns 5 in Sept) is in a 5 pt harness. My middle child is little (2nd percentile) so he's one who could remain in a booster until high school, it hasn't been that long since I stopped using the harness! He'll need some kind of belt positioning thing when he's older, I think.

I'm one who errs on the side of caution for child seat safety. My youngest will remain in the harness until he's too tall, and it looks like we'll have another year or so.

I don't care what anyone thinks, they will use child seats as needed. Right now they prefer the boosters because they offer a better view out the windows

 

[Coconut36]

THe laws are there for a reason, but I would have gladly paid a ticket if I got one for her being in the front seat.

Most laws though are extremely outdated and not the safest choice. That is the problem many parents face...especially those that are not educated regarding car seat safety. If they go by laws in my state they are legally allowed to have their children age 5 years and up ride around with no seat belt. No car seat, no booster and no seat belt is legally allowed. It's the reason parents should by all means be aware of the laws of their state but also be fully aware of what the AAP and NHTSA recommendations are as those are more accurate in regards to safety. You are unlikely to be violating a state law by adhering to their standards/recommendations (you will be doing far more than required by law..laws take forever to change and are not up to current safety standards).



You child is the exception not the rule as I am sure you are aware.

 

[scrapquitler]

Does anyone actually follow the 4ft 9in rule on boosterseats? My son is 4'5 and going in the 4th grade. If we followed the rule I guess most kids wouldn't be out of the seat till 5th or 6th grade. Even though I know it's safest, I can't imagine putting my 4th grader in a booster. Anyone follow this? Opinions?

I did. My DD was in a booster seat until she was 11. DS is 9 and still uses the booster.

 

[sookie]

Does anyone actually follow the 4ft 9in rule on boosterseats? My son is 4'5 and going in the 4th grade. If we followed the rule I guess most kids wouldn't be out of the seat till 5th or 6th grade. Even though I know it's safest, I can't imagine putting my 4th grader in a booster. Anyone follow this? Opinions?

My 11 year old is petite and going in 6th grade. She is in a booster.
I've been involved in helping with too many ER traumas because of lap belts improperly placed in small people (kids, and usually petite women). Yes, boosters can help save people.