Please tell me the truth about car seats…

Airbags are designed to work in conjunction with seatbelts - they are timed to go off at the precise moment the seat belt has pulled you back into your seat. A poorly fitting seatbelt can reduce the effectiveness of airbags. The additional risk of poorly fitted seatbelts is soft tissue damage and/or the possibility of internal decapitation. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security because of a fancy SUV (which is much more dangerous for children outside the car, of course, but that’s a different thread).

My 10 year old is currently the same height as me (dad’s height). She was definitely the legal height at the beginning of year 5 when she was barely 9 but I kept her in the hbb at the back seat for that year but when she got to year 6, she now has to sit without a car seat now as it’s now uncomfortable

Just so you know, it isn’t safe to wear a thick coat in the car irrespective of age (so including adults) as it affects the seatbelt. If you search for crash test videos, you see that they slide out under the belt because of the way the coat compresses.

DD is nearly 11. 134.5cm, short torso, long legs. She's still in a HBB. If I'm honest she has complained, and I've bluntly told her that her seat protects her, and I'm sure she'd rather be in a seat than in hospital or worse .

Mine are now 23 and 20 so isofix and ERF weren't really relevant to me although I would have used ERF if it had been an option.
I remember the car seat laws requiring children to use car seats until 135cm tall or 12 years old coming in and so many school parents (including an A&E nurse) complaining that their 4 and 5 year olds were going to need car seats. People putting convenience before their children's safety in cars is not a new thing.
My dad was a safety freak (I had a car seat and then a bolted in harness in the 70s) and it has rubbed off on me. My DDs were in HBBs until they were too tall for them - both at high school, one at 12 (as an adult she is average height) and the other at nearly 14 (now at 20 she is only just 5 feet tall). I remember a friend questioning why I still had my tiny 13 month old in the baby carrier; she still fitted it and her big sister still fitted the next stage seat so I wasn't about to either buy a second next stage seat when I would only need both DDs in the same stage seat for a few months or move both DDs up a stage before I needed to.

I've always been very strict about car seats, all of my children were in rear facing seats until around age 5/6 and then went into a high back booster. I switched my older two to backless booster seats when they were around 10/11. I think my eldest stopped using the booster at around 12 as he was quite tall by then , my middle child still uses a booster and will do for some time as she isn't that tall yet and my youngest is still in a high back booster. I have always ignored what other parents chose to do with car seats and did what I felt was safest. I had so many friends and family members telling me I was cruel keeping them rear facing past 9 months, then why were they in high back boosters/using boosters etc as their kids weren't. You just have to do what you feel is safest op

There maybe no law against sitting in the front seat but many cars now have multiple airbags and often say it is unsafe for young children (even if out of carseats) to sit in the front as airbags can cause serious injury to children. You can't always turn them off anymore either.

I am probably one of the only parents in my 11 and 8 year olds classes using car seats. My 11 year old is 143cm but only 29kg. Very slight. He is in an isofix booster seat as he doesn't meet the 5 steps yet. He came out if the high back 6 months ago once his shoulders were higher than the strap guide at its max extension.
My 8 year old is 131cm and also 29kg. He is in a high backed booster and like his brother I will keep him in one for as long as I can, then isofix booster if he doesn't fit in it properly.
I see much younger kids not in car seats. After 6 it seems most parents here ditch the seats.
My theory is because often people have 3 kids they need to fit in the back and can't afford a car that fits 3 seats across the back. It makes me cross that manufacturers don't accommodate 3 seats across the back when they are designed for 3 people to sit in the back. Make the car wide enough to fit 3 seats safely. That and what others have said. It seems to be a bragging thing that their kid is in the next stage seat, or not needing one etc.

We had a britax 2 way elite which would rear face till 25kg. I did trun DS round slightly earlier then this as he was a bit fed up at the time, we still used the 5 point harness until he was about 8 (hes always been quite light for his age). Then he went into a high backed booster.

I was always on the extra careful side with car seats. We had and isofix high backed booster which went to 12 years/ 150cm which is the European standard. I always made my two use the car seat, I felt also that many parents seemed to abadone them at to young/to small.

I remeber once giving DD friend a lift and her mum saying she didn't need one, but she was shorter then DD who at the time still wasn't 135cm. The cruel person that I am made her use our spare booster seat. The child wasn't to impressed, but she was in my car and as the drive I was responsible for her safety.

Most the 9 year olds I know are 135cm already

10 year old. Though if he carries on growing at his current rate his head will be out of the roof of all cars by the time he's 19!

A lot depends on the car and seatbelt position.

For those mounted to the back of the seat in a small car like a polo, my 19 year old would be touching the roof. So definitely wouldn't attempt a car seat or booster.

But we have a car where it comes from quite high up and even though he is tall enough not to need on paper, in the back he needs the booster.

In the front it makes him taller than an adult so it isn't used as it fits better without.

There isn't a one size fits all.

I haven't made it to the end of the thread yet to see if anyone else has said this, but just in case they haven't... the backless boosters can come with isofix straps so they don't slide out from under the child if you're in any kind of collision. DS1 is nearly 12 and 142cm tall, but in our Atlas, the seatbelt is still too high for his neck and he's using the above.

This is definitely an “ I don’t mind what so and sis mum does we do what’s safest for you “

We are having this discussion at the moment. My 8 year old is 131 so still needs a HBB legally but is moaning since she’s noticed that her friends (some of whom are shorter) aren’t using them. I originally thought she’d be safe in a normal seat once she reaches 135 but I’m apprehensive as the U.K. law seems to be more lax than other European countries.

I Prefer to be cautious when it comes to my children’s safety whereas my ex is the complete opposite. It’s been a struggle to get him to use car seats at all let alone properly as he just wants to do what ever is easiest so he doesn’t support her being in a HBB anymore.

My ds is 10, he's a bit tall compared to his classmates but not a lot. He's 153cm tall so been out of a high back booster for about 18 months.

My daughter has just turned 10 and she’s at around 135cm, probably nearer 140 now it but haven’t measured her.

I still make her sit in the seat most of the time. She’s not sat in it when her friends are there as none of them use one anymore. She sat in the front without a seat and she just looked so small.

We're in Germany and the law is they need to be at least 150cm or 12 years old. DS is 6 and in a HBB. He's nearly 140cm by now (yes, tall for his age but I find 128cm at age 10 really small) but will stay in his seat for a while, yet. We've got a Cybex and he doesn't look squashed in it. Some of his friends get to sit in the front (in a car seat) but I refuse to have him there. We don't have isofix points in the front seat so I'm not putting his seat there.

My DC are still in car seats at 11 and 9. DD1 in a booster cushion and DD2 in a HBB.

150cm is better.

The 5 point check is best. https://thecarseatlady.com/car-seats/5steptest/

Yep. Another plug for all women to read this book if we haven’t done already.

What another poster said about online safety. You're all for car safety, but have put his face all over a huge forum for what reason exactly?!

A booster cushion would make literally no difference in a crash. Utterly pointless. Only high back boosters actually help in a crash so you might as well go without.

It's not just arbitrary height guidelines that should matter, you should be looking at where the seat belt sits on the child's frame.

The trouble with this is loads of adult women find the seatbelt sits at their neck!! Cars are designed for taller men.

128cm sounds short for 10. My 7 year old (was only 7 3 months ago) DS is 132cm, i can easily see how he may not be required by law to be in a hbb by age 8.