To still use a car seat for my 10 year old?

This and he will stay on one too until he grows more

It didn't offend me but I was highly entertained by the stealth boast.

I never cared what the norm was or what anyone else did. I followed the law and safety. I never parented by committee and would never put someone else's opinion or decision about their children before mine.

As an aside these posts are making me realise just how tall my 7yo is at 137 when there are so many 10 year olds the same height. My younger one is tiny so could well see her hitting 12 before 135cm - she was still well in her toddler car seat when she started school. It does go to show though an age based system doesn’t really work as so much variation in size.

Ds2 was over 135cm aged 9 and that's when I stopped insisting on car seats if giving his friends lifts locally.
He stayed in a hbb particularly on long/motorway journeys until he was almost 10.
I can only think of one of his friends aged 11 who still uses a seat but he's very small.

DD stayed in her HBB until she reached 148cm and outgrew it at 10.5. She made some noises about her friends being out of car seats, but accepted it was safer.

Mine were both in HBB until they reached 135cm. DD is older but same height as DS - she was 11.5 when she reached 135cm. She gave zero shits about it because she understood the risks. I'd rather have an alive 'uncool' DC then a 'cool' DC who's been mangled in a car crash 🤷🏻‍♀️

Im amazed at all the DC still fitting in a HBB - from a shoulder point of view! Both our DC moved to a normal booster aged about 8 when I realised that they were permanently leaning forward/wedged diagonally as their shoulders didnt fit anymore.

Then we stopped boosters once they were over 135cm. (Well, can't remember exactly for ds1 but ds2 was begging to stop using one and counting every cm he grew until he could stop using one).

Of course I said that numerous posts ago. The law is the law!

As soon as they turn 12 though that law is no longer valid???? Regardless of height????

So you would have a child under 135cm at ten years old in a hbb?
Good!

In my experience using a standard booster is fairly normal for smaller 10 year olds but not high backed ones.

I make no presumptions when it comes to safety!

@Bunnycat101 not sure what is confusing? I abide by the law. I explained and apologised to OP that I had missed the OP DS’s height. I only defended myself because I was demonised for allowing my child to partake in ‘high risk’ activities!

I presume as the child grows up their weight increases.

Id love an adult booster seat tbh. My car seat is height adjustable but not enough to get the seat belt to sit correctly.

My 10yr old is on a booster seat, same as my 8yr old. We took them out of HBB a few months ago as they were getting quite small (width as much as height)

Both are totally happy with boosters, no complaints.

@Beddgelert im a bit confused by your posts as well. You’ve got an 18 year old- car safety has moved on since then- in the same way that many more people are rear facing under 5s than would have been doing a decade ago. Things change and evolve as the evidence base grows.

My 7yo is 137cm but will be remaining in a high back booster because the evidence is quite clear that it is safer for her. She will also be going skiing, loves climbing and is an adventurous child. I don’t see the correlation between enjoying adventurous activities and car seat safety. I might choose to go skiing knowing the risks but ensure the children go to ski school, have helmets etc to reduce risk. Car seats are the same principle really- why the rush to move out of something that offers more protection if a crash did happen?

@Rummikub At 12 if OP’s child remains the same height the law says no need for a car seat. So no car seat. Does this then negate the risk of not having a car seat at 132 cm just because OP’s child has turned 12?

People are nosy and have nothing better to do. I've had this with other parents at my daughter's pre school. Seems like parents with one darling child have nothing else to think about than scrutinising what other parents are doing.

Why’s it different? Both about the law and safety.

Yes. And if you read rest of my post I says car designs don’t suit short people. So if there are additional safety measures for children then even better.

Im fully aware that due to my height I sit closer to the steering wheel and are therefore at increased risk in a collision.
For my children I wouldn’t take a risk.

Dd was on a high back booster until she was 10, then on a booster cushion until she was 11 and well over the height limit. For most other countries in Europe the limit is 150cm and it’s not like UK cars or roads are significantly safer than say France or Germany….

she is now 148cm and doesn’t use anything

No that’s completely not cool.

I see some children without seat belts on. Is that cool?

Because the entire argument OP is presenting about 10 year olds in car seats is because of their height!