Does your child under 10 use a car seat/ booster

amother

Magenta

Wed, Sep 20 2023, 7:17 pm

My almost 6 yr old just switched from a 5 pt harness to a backless booster. I would have kept her in her current one and had her use it as a booster (it can fo that) but I'm moving my 3 yr old into it from her car seat.

I'm assuming my 5 yr old will be in her booster until 8 when it's legal to not be here.

amother

Lightpink

Wed, Sep 20 2023, 7:18 pm

My almost 5 year old is in a car seat. Will likely switch her to a booster seat soon. My 9 year old is in a booster seat. I drive my kids to and from school so being in other people's car isnt a frequent thing. She's also a real rule follower who wants to be safe so at least for now she wants one. My older dd was probably one of the last in her class to come out even though she's one of the biggest. This child is much thinner so not sure when she'll be ready. wish america had the rule 12 as well....

About short distances having different rules, Ive heard most accidents actually happen close to home.

amother

NeonBlue

Wed, Sep 20 2023, 8:12 pm

amother Tomato wrote:

So if you're driving a high school carpool, and my son's friend- a 75lb, 4'4" 15 year old gets in, you'd all insist that he sits in a booster?

After puberty is considered an adult. Since the body is fully formed they are safe even if they are too short. It’s about the bones fully fusing and being able to handle a crash better.

amother

Tomato

Wed, Sep 20 2023, 8:14 pm

amother NeonBlue wrote:

After puberty is considered an adult. Since the body is fully formed they are safe even if they are too short. It’s about the bones fully fusing and being able to handle a crash better.

Id suspect that a 75lb, 4'4" 15 year old has not gone through puberty yet, and I'm definitely not asking him before he gets in my car.

amother

Lotus

Wed, Sep 20 2023, 8:14 pm

I think, like anything else, it needs to be done with seichel.

I keep my kids in a carseat in my car for as long as is socially possible. I am not interested in her being known as the "baby" who sits in a carseat.

I do the same with boosters.

If you're in a carpool community, you will either need to be okay with boosters at carpool age (age 4, here), or you will need to drive your kids to and from school every day. Doable with your first, not quite as doable if you have four different kids at four different dismissal times at two different schools, as well as a baby and a toddler who have to get shlepped along with you for all that time.

I often keep my kids in a carseat in my car when they start school, but allow them to sit in boosters in carpool. I sometimes let my kids sit in the middle/middle seat of my van without a booster when they hit the legal age because they fit there correctly (the seat is very short). In other words, I try to find ways that they can not feel resentful about it.

Being the only kid in the carpool in a carseat is like being the only kid wearing a mask in school in 2020/2021 when everyone else had taken theirs off. I know some of those kids, and poor them...The downside just wasn't worth the benefit that their parents were trying to get (even if it was an N95 mask, for argument's sake).

amother

Tealblue

Wed, Sep 20 2023, 8:23 pm

Whenever possible, my petite 9 yo will use a booster. But never for carpool, even if I am the driver because it would be too embarrassing for him. He already feels terrible being the shortest in his class and I take his emotional well being into account as well.

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, Sep 20 2023, 9:18 pm

Quote:

About short distances having different rules, Ive heard most accidents actually happen close to home.

Absolutely true, but between booster to car seat, there's isn't much more safety involved in a harness if a kid fits a booster properly and uses it properly. But I don't trust my younger ones to sit on long rides without messing with the seat belt in boosters when they're only around 6 and starting to doze off... They won't do that on 5 minute rides (or they wouldn't be allowed in them!)

Regarding over 10 yo's not in boosters for just short car rides, while it's true that most accidents happen within a few miles of home, they're usually not at as high speeds and I have to weigh social clout with some extra modicum of safety to school and back when the rides address only 3 minutes long.

No easy solution!

amother

Nemesia

Wed, Sep 20 2023, 9:30 pm

amother Tomato wrote:

So if you're driving a high school carpool, and my son's friend- a 75lb, 4'4" 15 year old gets in, you'd all insist that he sits in a booster?

This. My kids are tall & thin & super lightweight. I'm all for carseat safety but when your kids don't fit the standards it calls for a bit of sechel.. someone above wrote her 4yo is over 40 lb & wants to switch to a booster. Guess what my super tall 7yo reached 40lb not too long ago & hasn't fit in a carseat in years due to super long legs. So she's been in a booster since 5 or so.

essie14

Thu, Sep 21 2023, 6:09 am

my 6 year old is in a high back booster.
I take her to school and pick her up every day, not worth it to carpool, almost everyone I know nearby are not careful about car seats and boosters.
The law in Israel is up to age 8 and recommended until 10.
I will definitely be keeping her in a booster until 8 and then we will reevaluate.

amother

Ultramarine

Thu, Sep 21 2023, 6:21 am

I remember being a short kid and actually liking my booster seat because it helped me see out of the window, and that was my entertainment back then before smartphones 😂

I don't remember when I stopped using it, but I do believe it was before age 10.

Does anyone else's kids like their booster seats, or was I an anomaly?

amother

Papaya

Thu, Sep 21 2023, 6:21 am

My 6.5 year old is still in a car seat. She is under 40 lbs. My 12 year old just stopped using a booster 2 weeks ago. I told him he could stop earlier but he said he preferred it because the seat belt fit better. He is 4'4" and under 70 lbs.

juggling

Thu, Sep 21 2023, 6:39 am

"Most accidents happen close to home" - that's because most people spend most of their drive time within a small radius from their home.

However, this statistic says nothing about where most "life-threatening accidents" take place. I'd gather most life-threatening accidents take place on high-speed roads and highways. Most local accidents are presumably fender-benders.

And that's the reason people tend to ease up on carseat rules for local drives. The odds of needing the protection is lower on a local, in-town drive.

amother

Vermilion

Thu, Sep 21 2023, 6:41 am

I'd love to meet all of you IRL. My DS just stopped using a booster when he was 8 and I don't think I've seen even one of his friends in a booster for at least two years before that.
DD just turned 4 and I switched her to a booster from a car seat. Kids made fun of her all the time that she was still in a car seat

amother

Lightpink

Thu, Sep 21 2023, 11:50 am

[quote="Hashem_Yaazor"]

Quote:

Regarding over 10 yo's not in boosters for just short car rides, while it's true that most accidents happen within a few miles of home, they're usually not at as high speeds and I have to weigh social clout with some extra modicum of safety to school and back when the rides address only 3 minutes long.

do you carpool to school? I don't, so there's no social aspect there for me. I understand the social dilemma. just saying that for me driving to school isn't affected by that and people seemed to be commenting specifically on the distance part so I was addressing that part.