When did you stop using a booster seat for your child(ren)?

[beckanoah]

My 7.5 year old is still in a 5 pt harness. It goes to 65 pounds, and she's only 45 pounds. The seat then turns into a booster for 100 pounds. She has 2 more inches before she's too tall for the straps for the harness. Poor thing will probably be in a booster in middle school. LOL!

A few kids at her school use boosters, but not that many. It makes me crazy.

I hate seeing unbuckled/improperly buckled kids.

 

[Becky2005]

My 9 year old is still in a car seat. In NJ the law is 8years old and 80 pounds, not or 80 pounds. She isn't 80 pounds yet so she will be in it or a while yet. I always thought it was either or but my husband, who is a police officer, said that it is supposed to be both.

This part I don't get because what if they are like my DD who just hit the 80 pound mark when she went for her 8th grade school physical. She was 13 but if I had her in a booster, her head would be above the headrest. I thought the headrest was there so if you got in an accident, you neck would have something stopping it from snapping completely back. I didn't think your head was supposed to go ABOVE it at all.

So...kind of a catch-22 there. If I had to wait until she was 80 pounds, to me it would feel like I was putting her more in danger because she would be too tall with the added height, not to mention I think her hips would be too big to even fit in the booster seat.

 

[Minnie_me]

My 9 year old is still in a car seat. In NJ the law is 8years old and 80 pounds, not or 80 pounds. She isn't 80 pounds yet so she will be in it or a while yet. I always thought it was either or but my husband, who is a police officer, said that it is supposed to be both.

This baffles me. I weighed 80 pounds in high school!

 

[nuke]

My son is 10 and still sit in one in my car but in DH's car he doesn't need it anymore.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

My youngest came out of it on his 8th birthday (it's not the law that he stay in it until 8yo here, but it was my rule). He's over 80 pounds, so he was fine weight-wise and is tall enough for the seat belt to hit him correctly.

 

[Mkaz]

This baffles me. I weighed 80 pounds in high school!

Me too. I wasn't 80 pounds until halfway through 9th grade. DS8 just stopped using his booster seat.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

NY is 4 years old or 40 pounds. They RECOMMEND 8 years old or 80 pounds but at that rate my daughter would be in one until she was 20 years old- she is 8 years old and 45 pounds but she hasn't used one since Dec. No one we drive around or who drives around my daughter uses a booster seat, most stopped around Kindergarten-first grade. My daughter stayed in one longer than any of her friends, she was in it up until Dec of thrid grade and only becasue she is smaller than the rest.

It is 4 years and 40lbs to USE a booster seat, however it is 4'9" an 100lbs before they are supposed to be out of one.
(I live in NY)

 

[dcgrumpy]

NY is 4 years old or 40 pounds. They RECOMMEND 8 years old or 80 pounds but at that rate my daughter would be in one until she was 20 years old- she is 8 years old and 45 pounds but she hasn't used one since Dec. No one we drive around or who drives around my daughter uses a booster seat, most stopped around Kindergarten-first grade. My daughter stayed in one longer than any of her friends, she was in it up until Dec of thrid grade and only becasue she is smaller than the rest.

I don't think that's right. Like the pp said they have to be 4 and 40lbs before they are supposed to move from a 5 point harness to a booster. I'm pretty sure the new law is they have to be in a booster until they are 4'9".

New Booster Seat Law In NY Going Into Effect

POSTED: 1:12 pm EST March 23, 2005
UPDATED: 2:21 pm EST March 24, 2005


If you plan to load the kids in the car and go out over the holiday weekend, make sure you're up-to-date on the new booster seat law for New York.



Booster Law Goes Into Effect


Car crashes are the number one killer of children ages two to 14, but when the child is in a car seat or booster seat, the risks go down dramatically. New York already had a child safety seat law, but it did not have a booster law until now, and it takes effect on Sunday.

Kids not only need to buckle up in the car, but to buckle up in a booster seat.


New York's new law applies to 4, 5and 6-year olds, or until a child is 4 feet 9 inches tall and big enough to safely use the car's seat belt.Cars and their systems of safety harnesses are designed for adults. The American Medical Association reported the use of belt-positioning booster seats lowers the risk of injury to children by as much as 59 percent.

What's the difference between a car seat and a booster seat? The harnesses in a car seat are built in, and it's designed for a younger child. A booster seat relies on the seat belt system of the car, and is designed for an older child.

Just like car seats, you'll find boosters in a range of prices. Some have removable backs to accommodate growing kids.

Parents sometimes have difficulty installing car seats and boosters, and national figures show the majority of seats are improperly installed. Typically, local police departments will help parents with installation, and if you live in New York, NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall said you just have to dial 311 to find help.

"You can come down to one of our safety city sites, or come down to our headquarters at 40 Worth St. A technician will come down, show you how to install a booster seat, actually do it for you, and if you want to bring your child, show you how to fasten the child in," Weinshall said.

Violators of the new law face fines of up to $100, but the commissioner said writing tickets is not the objective -- keeping kids safe is, even when they're not your own.

With the addition of New York, 28 states and the District of Columbia now require booster seats. New Jersey already has a booster law, while Connecticut does not.

ETA
DS is 7 and small for his age so he still uses a booster. If he's in the third row of our SUV he doesn't need it but everywhere else the seat belt doesn't fit correctly.

 

[KirstenB]

Our almost 10 yr old dd is still in a booster. She sometimes complains about it but she's short and skinny for her age, so it'll be a while before a regular seatbelt goes across her shoulders correctly.

 

[JVL1018]

My 9 year old is still in a car seat. In NJ the law is 8years old and 80 pounds, not or 80 pounds. She isn't 80 pounds yet so she will be in it or a while yet. I always thought it was either or but my husband, who is a police officer, said that it is supposed to be both.

You were right the first time, the law is 8 or 80.

From: http://www.nj.gov/oag/hts/childseats/index.html

Effective December 1, 2001, New Jersey's child passenger safety law requires:

Children up to age 8 or 80 pounds must ride in a safety or booster seat in the rear seat of the vehicle. If there is no rear seat, the child must sit in the front seat secured by a safety or booster seat.


Children under age 8 who weigh more than 80 pounds must wear a seat belt anywhere in the vehicle.

Passengers age 8 to 18 (regardless of weight ) must wear a seat belt anywhere inside a vehicle.


My daughter switched out of a booster seat on her 8th birthday-she was counting down the days. LOL She's tall so she sits well in the seat.
She weighs about 60 lbs it will be years before she hits the 80# mark.

 

[shelly3girls]

We are in NJ where the law is 8 or 80lbs. We took DD out of her booster when she turned 8 but only after making sure she passed the safety test that tell you if your child fits in your car appropriately without a booster.

My kids are very tall for their age (off the growth charts) so I was comfortable taking her out. I cannot believe the size of some kids who do not use boosters. Many of my DD7's friends do not use one and complain when they get in my car. I like that I can say it is the law and in my car we obey the law. That usually stops the complaints.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Poor DS is in 6th grade, but he is about the size of a 3rd grader.

In DH's car he always sits in the back seat so we stopped making him sit in a booster when he was about 10. (He is 12 now and weighs less than 70 lbs.)

In my car he was usually in the front because I am a nanny and the younger kids went in the back. I made him sit in a booster in the front seat until last summer when I got a new job with just 1 toddler. Now DS sits in the back without a booster. My front airbag has a weight sensor and turns off when he sits in front, and the shoulder portion of the seatbelt is height adjustable.

TX does not have very strict booster seat laws, so he could have been out of the booster a long time ago. My friend and I were talking about it last Fall and she said "Your DS is in MIDDLE SCHOOL. You can't keep making him sit in a BOOSTER SEAT." Good point. By that time he had been moved to the back seat so it wasn't an issue anymore, we were just talking about it.

 

[mrsv98]

In IL, it is 8 yo or 80lbs. DD will be 8 next month but she is quite petite, not even 50lbs so she will be in the booster for a long time. In fact, the joke in our house is the she will be taking her driver's test in a booster.

As for the front seat, kids have to be pretty grown, my cousins can ride in front but they are 13 and 14 and quite tall (actaully taller than me!) but younger than that, no.

 

[bigbabyblues]

When they are the the right height that the law says they have to be to get out of one.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I stopped when my daughter turned 8. She is approx 92 pounds.. not sure of her height.

My toddlers will be in a 5pt harness until they are 65 pounds or to tall and than go to the booster.

 

[creativeamanda]

buckleupnc.com says this:

Children may be secured in a properly fitted seat belt at age 8 (regardless of weight) OR at 80 pounds (regardless of age) - whichever comes first.

Our 8 yo is not in a booster, 7 yo is, and 5 yo (very tiny) is in a 5 pt harness.

 

[ICF]

Here in WI, it's 8 years old or 80 lbs. My DD is still in a booster seat and she's almost 7.

If a kid weighs 80 lbs as an 8 year old that is likely one overweight kid.

 

[mjkacmom]

8 and 80 here (thank goodness). Dd11 was out when she turned 10 1/2 - she was almost 5 feet tall and 80 pounds. Ds9 got out when he was 8 - he was 4'9" and 85 pounds. Dd7 is 43 pounds and about 45" tall - I'm guessing when she's a teen! Dd5 and Ds5, according to how they're growing, will be in them until about 8 - 10 years old. I have 5 of them - why wouldn't I have them use it until they're big enough, since they're safer?

 

[mjkacmom]

If a kid weighs 80 lbs as an 8 year old that is likely one overweight kid.

Actually, mine was - he was in the 95th % for height and weight. I think height is more of an important factor than weight, anyway.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

If a kid weighs 80 lbs as an 8 year old that is likely one overweight kid.

I wouldn't really call my child overweight. If I were to compare him to his siblings when they were the same age he's definitely bigger. More than anything he looks like a kid who's going to go through a height spurt. Wouldn't hurt for him to lose a couple pounds, but I think he'd still be 80 pounds. He has broad shoulders and a football player look.