Car seat 140cm

[PlumpAndDeliciousFatcat]

What car seat set-up do you have for your 140cm child, please?

@JS87 yes, it sounds like he's safe to go without now he's over the height and weight limit.

@SpringTides5 you seem very rigid in your ideas of what age HBB are no longer needed but age is a small factor.

In this case yes, the 10yo is beyond the weight limit but many MANY in this age are not tall enough or at the weight limit so it is in no way inappropriate for a parent to ensure that their children are safe. If you want to do otherwise with your own then go for it but don't answer at those who care about their own.

Answer = sneer 🤦‍♀️

The 36kg weight limit on booster seats is just the end of the legal standard. It's not possible to certify them any higher under the R44 law.

You should never ever exceed the weight limit on a harnessed seat, but a booster seat is just repositioning the adult seatbelt (which is of course rated for much much more than 36kg or most adults would be in trouble!) so it's not dangerous to exceed it. Unfortunately the only official source I have on this is in German but I can share it if anyone wants to see.

If the seatbelt fits a child better in/on the booster than not in the booster then they are safer in it even if they are over the weight limit. If the seatbelt fits them fine without the booster then there's no benefit to them being in it any more.

And UK law requires children to use a car seat (booster seat) until they are at least 135cm or 12 years old, so it's not at all inappropriate for a 10yo to use one.

Adults won't normally fit into booster seats because they aren't wide enough for adult (especially female) hips. If the seatbelt crosses your hip bones or thighs then it's OK and doesn't especially matter how tall you are. If it crosses your tummy instead you could consider one of the pregnancy seatbelt adjusters or they sell a "comfort cushion" in Halfords which attaches to the seat which is a similar idea to a booster seat.

I did wonder about the limit @BertieBotts that makes sense :)

I mean if you really want to you can change to one of the newer ones approved to R129 which have a higher (or unlimited) weight limit, but it doesn't really make sense to in my mind as the seat hasn't physically changed! Just the legislation. I suppose in the 80s when they made up the groups they indeed never imagined a 37kg child in a booster seat :o although initially it was for those child harnesses you could get to install in the back of your car if you had no seatbelts.

And it's only been since 2003 that children aged 3-12 needed to use boosters by law so again even when changes were made to the law there was probably no huge need to extend the weight class for booster seats. Considering most 36kg+ children are over 135cm anyway so technically don't need a seat by law.

But if it's a case of which is safer, you look at where the belt crosses their hips or tummy and whether they sit properly on the seat without a booster or slouch because their legs are too short to bend over the edge of the seat. Most children are still safer in a booster for a little while after they hit the limit, some are fine wihhout. Also depends very much on the car.

I think he looks ok with just the seatbelt but I also read a few sites saying the weight limit was just for legal tests and so I’ve decided to put him back in it for a few more months as we have a few motorway trips coming up. If we were in Germany or other European countries he wouldn’t be at the minimum height to have no booster seat so I’d prefer to go with his height.

A DC a of that height does not need and should not be in a car seat.

We live in Europe and children under 150cm have to be in a car seat. We have a maxi cosi rodi.

Thank you everyone. We have done some testing. She passes the five-step test in DH's car and we did a short test journey with no car seat. It was OK but she slips around a bit on the leather seats and I think will miss having the 'wings' of the HBB to fall asleep on on longer journeys. My car (a Golf) is completely differently proportioned in the back and she doesn't yet pass the five-step test so the HBB will stay.

Sometimes the difficulty with a hbb is that the car pillars stop the seat being fully extended. My 9 year old can't grow much more as I can't get the headrest any higher.

A backless booster is useful in that situation if they still need one for the hip position.

Thanks for all this info, my 8 year old was too big for his high back booster at 137.5cm so we put him on the seat but it didn’t feel quite right. Having seen this thread and something else recently on fb I’ve now bought a booster from Halfords (not a high backing just a seat one) and knowing the height limit in Europe is 150 will keep him on that for a while to ensure the belt is correctly placed.

Thanks guys.