My almost 11yo uses a backless booster. He’s not 70lbs yet, and I think he’s only 52”? So, yeah. His ass will probably be in a booster until he’s 14. Whatever.
My 7.5 year old is 3’9” so we’ve got awhile! She just moved to a HBB a few months ago.
Pretty much the same. My kid is a peanut at 40 lbs. and 44”. I’m sure she was the last person in her class still in the harness but whatever. Fortunately, she tells us she actually prefers feeling more secure in her seat and doesn’t care about peer pressure yet.
My kid is 2.5 and the only one I know still rear facing at her age. I get questions of “wait, still rear facing??” when they get in my car. So, I’m not at all shocked that many 8 year olds are not using anything.
Post by notsopicky on Feb 21, 2019 21:35:17 GMT -5
My almost 8 year old is in a backless booster in my car, and a high back in both of H's (a sedan and a Jeep). I think he could go to a backless in H's car, but we like the high back in the Jeep b/c we use it for roadtrips. E can't watch TV, use the iPad or read in the car (motion sickness), so he tends to fall asleep and the high-back keeps him upright.
I saw a 1st grader get into the front seat of her father's car regularly in the KnR line last year. It took every ounce of willpower I could muster not to say something to him--because I didn't want a huge scene in front of E's school. Perhaps I should have, but I'm surprised that not a single staff member said anything. Maybe they had the same concern about overstepping that I had.
My 8 year old (50", 42 pounds) is in a high back and will be for a while. My 10 year old (56", 68 pounds) is still in a booster most of the time. Many of her friends are not, and I will consider dropping it in the next 6 months.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Mine uses a backless booster. He will until he reaches the height and weight requirements to switch which since he is on the taller side might be when he is 9.
Post by bugandbibs on Feb 21, 2019 22:57:50 GMT -5
DD1 was in a backless booster until 11 because even once she reached the height/weight minimums the shoulder belt didn't fit her correctly. I can't remember when we switched from the high back booster- about a year before that when the seat width on her highback was tight.
DD2 is almost 8 and still in a five point harness and will be forever since she constantly falls asleep in the car.
I am extremely cautious about car seats because of my job and view stats like condom/birth control stats. There are differences between perfect use stats and average use stats.
share.memebox.com/x/uKhKaZmemebox referal code for 20% off! DD1 "J" born 3/2003 DD2 "G" born 4/2011 DS is here! "H" born 2/2014 m/c#3 1-13-13 @ 9 weeks m/c#2 11-11-12 @ 5w2d I am an extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering, baby wearing, pro marriage equality, birth control lovin', Catholic mama.
Post by thatgirl2478 on Feb 21, 2019 23:09:15 GMT -5
My 8 year old is 4'6" and she's still in a booster. She will be until she can sit in the seat with her feet on the floor & the belt is in the right place on her shoulder/hips. But she's only 50lb or so... so she may be in it a while... ETA she's in a backless booster.
For the school age kids that are in HBB in your car do they use a HBB in other people’s cars? Once we started carpooling to activities we stopped using the HBB except on long car trips where they might fall asleep.
Dd1 is 9 and 53” and is in a low back booster in my car, but just a seatbelt occasionally. Dd2 is 7 and 48” and is generally in a low back booster.
Post by melodramatic26 on Feb 21, 2019 23:24:43 GMT -5
My 8.5 year old is 4’ 5” and 70lbs and I just took off her back of the booster. Her pediatrician mentioned at her appointment in August that it could only be 1 more year in a booster because of how fast she grows.
My 6 year is still in a 5pt harness. She’s tiny.
I have to say that these answers are so not typical. Not just my area, but other friends in different districts- it seems “most” parents are not this conservative. Maybe because we are all on this board, we have more insider info on the benefits vs. risk? I do t know, but I do know that I have had parents look at me oddly when DD shows up with her booster to go in someone else’s car.
Post by JayhawkGirl on Feb 21, 2019 23:37:17 GMT -5
My 9yo is 4’ 8” and 87 l bs as of last week and still in a booster. He moved out of the HBB when it became uncomfortable shoulder wise last year as he’s a broad shouldered kid. He has us measure him often bc I won’t let him switch til 4’ 9” per our pediatrician & AAP. By state law he’s fine without. We do now know he just grew 1.25” since January 9th
EVERY friend of his who gets in my car doesn’t use a booster in their own car. He’s taller than every single one of them. But they use them in my car. I don’t make a big deal, just tell them our dr said to keep using them and I would feel awful if anything happened. We turn on to a 45mph road that averages a good 55-60mph in actuality. I’m not willing to risk it.
My oldest will be 11 in a couple weeks. He just stopped using the backless booster in Dec. We got a new car and the seatbelt fit him correctly without the booster. The 7.5 year old will switched from the high back to the backless around the same time and since he is so short, will be using it for a couple more years.
I just realized my 8 year old is 1” away from technically being able to go without a booster. She’s 4’8” and 62 pounds. I’d like to keep her in her high backed booster for a little while longer. My 4 year old is 46” and still in a harness. He won’t be ready for a booster for a while because he’d be all over the place.
My 7yo is over 49” and is super close to outgrowing his high back booster. We will switch to a regular booster after that. It was less than 6 months ago that he outgrew the 5 point harness. All of his friends are still using boosters.
Post by fancynewbeesly on Feb 22, 2019 6:08:34 GMT -5
My 7.5 year old (4 feet and 52 lbs) is in a HBB (in our car). For carpools and grandparents she has a backless booster. All of her friends are still in boosters-primarily because DD is one of the tallest among her friends. (And DD isn’t tall. Her friends are super petite)
My kid is almost 7 and just over 40 lbs.... so unless he doubles in size in 2019/2020 he'll be in a booster for a looong time. That said, he's had a backless booster since this summer in one of our vehicles (so at 6yrs).
Post by penguingrrl on Feb 22, 2019 7:18:07 GMT -5
My girls were both a bit past 8 when they hit 4’9” and passed the 5 step test, so that’s when they stopped using boosters. In both cases at that point the lap belt fit better in just the belt than with a booster, so we felt switching was better.
We dropped the booster during their 8th year at some point. I checked the fit of the seat belt. We have smaller cars so the seatbelts were fine and did not cut across their necks.
DS is the same height as your kid and weighs almost as much and he's 8. He is still in a backless booster. We tried letting him sit on the car seat with no booster, and the seatbelt went right across his neck. None of his friends are in boosters anymore, although most are shorter. I feel pretty breezy related to most people regarding car seats, but I'm not willing to compromise on this one. DD is 6 and she is tiny. She'll be in a booster til she gets her driver's license, I think!
Our 9 & 10 year old DSs both still use boosters because they haven't met the height and weight requirements. Thankfully they still do so without complaint.
Yes, but my 8-yr-old is only 45 lb and just over 4 feet tall. Backless booster with seatbelt is what she uses. DD2 is 6.5 and we have her in the high-back booster.
My kid is 2.5 and the only one I know still rear facing at her age. I get questions of “wait, still rear facing??” when they get in my car. So, I’m not at all shocked that many 8 year olds are not using anything.
This. Everyone here is going to say that of course their 8 year old is in a booster. It's GBCN. My guess is that's not actually what most people in the real world are doing.
I mean---I'll use a booster as long as we need to, but I suspect that just like with rear facing people will think it's weird.
One dad from daycare picks his under 5 year old up in his 2 seater corvette everyday (no car seats). LOL
At 8 I would find one of those ultra trim boosters, so he feels more like he’s in a regular seat. Look at the Mi-Fold. There are a few travel models out there that are so thin it looks like the kid is riding without.
This morning we trialed using a backless booster with our almost 6 year old. The confined sides and bulky winter clothes combined with his school uniform has had him so uncomfortable. He basically sighed with relief over not being confined to the boxy area of a high back this morning. And I’m sorry, but who has time to do the jacket on / off in the car every day without it becoming a fight or inconvenience?
I’m all for safety, but a crying or loudly complaining kid isn’t safe while you’re driving. It’s distracting.
My almost 8 year old is in a high back booster, but it’s required by law for his height and we’ll keep him in it for as long as we can. I don’t see why he couldn’t continue to sit in a backless booster for a couple more years. It puts him up higher and is more comfortable. He had a 5 point harness which we stopped using due to the school pickup line, and just this weekend we got a high back booster (that converts to backless) without the 5 point so his younger brother could have his old one.
Yes, still not tall enough. My 10 year old does, too. However, she doesn't use one when we drive with her friends to dance b/c none of them use one and she was getting teased. Most of the time, my kids will use them until they are tall enough.