Car/booster seat - what age did your DC stop using it?

[Nikee20]

What age did your DC stop using a car seat/booster seat all together?

and

Sat in front of the car without a car seat/booster seat?

Gov website seems to say 135cm for the first one, but my child is 8 and over this. It seems so young.

Yep - she's about a head taller than the rest of her class, size 3 feet etc. I'm tall and her dad is tall, so not particularly unexpected. Her 2 sisters are going the same way.

And to PP - it's not a race to get them out of a car seat at all. But when the belts stop fitting properly with a booster and her head is scraping the roof of the car, she fitted better in the safety features without it, it was sensible to look at LL options.

Over 140cm until their shoulders were too large from the HBB. Pretty close to 150cm before the seat belts fitted properly - taller for my car than DHs.
The diagram from viewfrommyhouse was pretty much what we went by.

I'm amazed people are saying 150cm. I'm only 153cm myself and I'm in my 30s 🤣. I would have still been on a booster until I was about 16 if I'd had to wait for 150cm.

The legal limit in other parts of Europe is 150 or 12 years old

Agreed - DS has just turned 9 and uses a booster although I imagine tall enough to go without. I mentioned on a chat about a year ago with his class mate mums that I couldn't offer a lift as I didn't have a spare booster seat and everyone came back with 'no worries DS doesn't use one'. And my DS is one of the tallest. I was a bit shocked!

DC1 until 1m50, around 11? 10 year old still uses one.

Small cars mean HBBs hit the roof of the car at the door side on the highest setting so this can't be used. I could have used a booster cushion for another couple of years but DS already found the HBB uncomfortable on the bum, we regularly drove an hour or an hour and a half, it was very hard compared with the seat of the car. That with the carsickness meant I moved him to the front where he passed the 5 point test.

Both my DC were in HBB in the back until they went to secondary school so both c11.5, they both complained a bit as none their friends were in HBB but safety is the most important to me so they had to put up with it.

Eldest probably around 8/9. He’s 11 now and a giant. Youngest is almost 8 and in her booster cushion seat as she’s not 135cm yet. She’s about 132 so maybe another 6 -12 months or so. They both sit in the front with air bags off

I don't even look like number 5 and I'm 39! I have a tiny car and the belt on the lowest setting and it still cuts me in the chin.

I would like to keep my dd on a booster seat until 145/150cm, but there's no way she'll be this tall by the time she's 12. I'll keep her on the booster seat for as long as I can although we'll probably have to stop using the hbb once she turns 12 as we won't be able to check it in when we fly (we don't have a car at home so we only use the car seat on holidays or when we hire a car or on the odd occasion when we get a taxi).

DS is nearly 10 and 133 and has outgrown his HBB as he's long in the back. We've switched him to a booster cushion which keeps the seat belt in the right place.
He doesn't feel nearly as secure but there is no other option.

Ds is nearly 11 and around 145cm. He’s fine in my small car without a booster but dh’s car is bigger/higher so he still uses a booster, especially in the front because his feet don’t reach the floor as easily as in mine. Dd is nearly 8 and around 135cm (she’s tall for her age) but I think she’ll still be in a booster for a while yet.

I'm a short adult and could honestly do with a booster myself! When driving I find the seatbelt cuts across my neck uncomfortably. I did buy a 'gadget' that is supposed to solve this problem but it is only partially successful.

My 8yo is almost 140cm but still uses a booster. Her seatbelt doesn’t fit properly without one so it’s safer, literally round her neck/ear if she’s not wearing it.

Also yes to this, unlike my kid I am a short arse and in some cars I could do with a booster to ride safely.

11 for both, weren't very tall and we went by the 150cm or 12 guidelines of the manufacturer of our car

Ive just moved 7 year old ds into a booster seat as 5 year old has high backed booster.., 7 year old is 130cm tall.

My DS is 9 and well over 140 cm (poss 145) - he’s just started sitting without a booster seat as it’s started to feel uncomfortable.

Not sure if it’s right or not!

Age 12 or 150cm was what I was working to....eldest just turned 12 and is going into Year 8 and we've got rid of the booster. He's still not 150cm though. My other kids are 10.5 and one twin is 146cm and the other about 140cm and basically all 3 have dropped the boosters at the same time. We keep finding the twins end up doing something same time as the eldest because they're all the same size.
Ideally I'd have them all on boosters really but I am happy they sit correctly and honestly they've been slouching around on the boosters and not sitting properly so I don't think they're any less safe.

Mine were in a HBB until 12.5
They still sometimes miss the cushioned head part that made napping comfy 😆

We ditched the booster for tall DD from age 9.

And she was allowed in the front seat for school/shopping runs because London traffic is so bloody slow we never go above walking speed 🤷‍♀️

We started talking about this at work and a colleague said her 8 yo DD was out a booster at age 8 as all her friends were and there’s no way she’d sit in one. I was a bit shocked and said DS (4th child) was in his well past 135cms and it was only when we said he’s going to high school we had better get rid of that that we got rid of it. There’s no way her small DD is safe without a booster. I said it’s not about friends it’s about safety and where the seatbelt sits on their shoulder , I don’t care if the DC moaned or not no booster no car. She seemed to think I was a bad mother.

it was the same 19 years ago when DD1 was a baby it seemed to be the “thing” to get babies out of the rear facing seats as fast as possible and into the forward facing seats some of baby group mums were putting their babies in at 5/6 months and looking at me as if I was crazy that DD1 was still rear facing at over a year. This was old guideline think it was 15kg/9 months she was teeny. It’s like a boast thing “oh I couldn’t have possibly kept DS rear facing he was too big/too nosey/too developed etc insinuating my DD was not”

Yeah, my DC is saying the booster is uncomfortable.
I think I’ll do no booster in the back in my car, forget about being in the front till older and I think OH wants to keep him in the booster as he’s lower in his car as it’s bigger.