AIBU DD 6 wants to ditch the car booster seat

[littlewaltham]

How old were your kids when you ditched the car booster seat?

Oh and she still has the back on the seat too. I am evil personified

Hold on Saidar you have a point is it dangerous to keep them in when they are over 1.35m?

At this rate I'm going to be the shortest and heaviest in the house!

Saidar - once they reach the legal limit of 135cm you just have to see where the seat belt sits with and without the booster and see which looks the safest.

It all depends really whether their height is in their legs or their torso.

LtEve - at the risk of pissing DD off (not something you do lightly with pre pubescent girls I know!!) I would see where the belt sits when she gets to 135cm - some kids are 'all legs' and the belt is still far too high on them :(

Here's some info on how to tell if your child is ready to stop using a booster:
thecarseatlady.wordpress.com/boosters/5-step-test/
It is a US site but most of the info is still relevant.

littlewaltham have a look at where the seatbelt sits on them - that's the only way to know when it's time to ditch the boosters.

Saidar, Booster seat/cushions are for a weight range of 15-36kgs normally (33-79lbs roughly) so if he is still within the weight range and fits in the seat height wise then he should still be fine to use it.

Chipping I've got an all legs girls so a stronger case for holding on to the booster.

I wonder if we are distantly related to Superman or are kids just bigger in 2013.

There is no 'shame' in both using a booster seat and abiding by the law.

The sooner all parents continue using a booster seat until the child can safely travel without then the sooner children will accept that it is just the way it is and understand there are reasons.
When parents look for the first possible moment to stop using safety equipment this is when children start thinking there is something 'shameful' about using them or thinking booster seat are for 'babies' and 'big kids' don't have them.
All children want to be a 'big girl/boy. Parents need to stop presenting car safety equipment as something just babies and young children need to use.
It wasn't long ago that people though cycle helmets where embarrassing and children felt 'shameful' about being made to use them. I can't understand why booster seats are not now seen in the same way cycle helmets are and it has for to be down to the way some parents seem to see them.

Breathe.

Thank you Chipping and Ilove.

He's all legs like his ma, gangly tall thing and he is slight. He looks comfy in it and I like where his belt sits on his chest so I'll leave him in it for now.

Would be nice is there was a thinner booster to go between full booster and none at all. His booster is a fair few inches thick and it'll be quite a change in where the belt sits once he is out.

This is an interesting overview of what you should be looking at when deciding whether to ditch the booster for your child (once they are over the legal limit).

I have an 8yo DS begging to be out of his booster and DD 4yo begging to be out of her high backed booster to just a booster.

As they are both shorties there's not a chance its happening yet.

Another 9 year old still in a high backed booster here. He's not 135cm yet (I don't think). He still fits in it so we're keeping using it.

Saidar maybe that's your dragon den moment. The ever decreasing booster :)

Mine were 8-9 when we dumped the booster (at 135cm).

TBH, DD1 was finding it uncomfortable by then because of her big backside.

Ds1 is 130cm at 7.5 years and waiting for 135cm. He can wait though, I've made it very clear he stays on a booster until I'm happy a seatbelt fits him properly. It's a risk not worth taking.

There is no doubt that for safety reasons a child should stay in the booster as long as possible, but unclear whether it is illegal as the following link to gov website shows there are exceptions to the rule.

www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules/overview

I would still us it. My dd 6 uses a normal booster ( not a high back one)

Dd is 10 and 140 cm and still in a high back booster. She's comfy in it, and we don't live in a car-using environment (many of her friends' families don't have cars at all AFAIK), so it's literally never occurred to her to suggest that she could go without it - it only occurred to me because I got the government height/weight letter.

I thought they'd stopped selling booster cushions as suitable from 15kg (or they're being phased out)?

Either way... My 6yo will stay in his for a good while yet.

Although the minimum height to come off a booster is 135cm, it's recommended until they are 150cm.

How daft am I going to look having one on the drivers seat??

... and do the do them in 'lardyArse' sizes??

My 143cm ds is still on a booster. It is obvious if the adult seat and seat belt fit or not. They are nowhere near fitting my ds yet. =TolliverGroat's link shows it very well - the child in the photo is so much better in the booster and he is well over the legal limit, same height as my ds.

Adults in booster seats oh dear