To think car seats until 12 is a bit OTT?

[ConvenientTruth]

I just looked up the actual law on car seats. Here it is: www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules/using-a-child-car-seat-or-booster-seat

Apparently children have to use car seats until the age of 12.

Am I alone in thinking this is a bit ridiculous? Parents of 11.5 year olds, do you all truly honestly still use a car seat?

zany Britain announced that they will stop making non high back boosters because they're not safe.

I too am perplexed by the childhood embarrassment argument.

Childhood embarrassment lead a classmate of mine to become severely disabled, that bike helmet was embarrassing.

I don't know how tall my 5.5 year old is but he's in a pretty bulky high backed booster at the moment that is no where near on its highest setting - I guess he will be in it until he physically grows out of it.

Are you my mil op?

135cm isn't even that big my 6yo is nearing 125 ......

It depends on their bodies and the seats of your car.

At 162cm, it is still appropriate for my ds to be in a car seat. My back seats have a dip in them.

His hip/bum/pelvis is very skinny and he is under 12. He sinks into the dip without a car seat. With a booster, he is perfectly positioned with the belt across the correct part of the pelvis, not the abdomen and the belt sitting comfortably on his shoulder, not his neck. In my friend's car, he goes without a car seat as her car has flatter seats that kids don't sink down into.

You should be able to see by looking at the child in the car with/without the seat whether or not it's appropriate.

My dd is 147cm and she is still in the same car seat as ds. Her pelvis/bum/hip is slightly bigger and more padded than ds so even though she's younger, I will probably take them out of the car seats at the same time.

Only in the case of OTT, bubble wrap parenting, I'd argue wit. The vast majority make these decisions rationally.

My 10 year old still fits in his high backed booster and will continue to use it until he is too big for it.
He's never complained and we often give his friends a lift (who sit in dc2's hbb if they fit in it).

Dd is 9 and 140cm, she is still on a booster seat as the seatbelt on most cars doesn't fit her properly. She's not embarrassed and even if she was she'd still be on one because I love her and want her to be safe. Car seat belts are designed for 150cm plus so children/adults under that will not fit them properly making them more likely to be injured in the case of an accident.

Personally I would like the law to be changed to make car seats compulsory until 150cm but I suspect it wouldn't happen due to the number neglectful parents who take them out of car seats earlier because 'it's a hassle' or 'they're embarrassed' so it wouldn't be enforced.

Dd1 only came off hers at 12 and 158cm ish. She was not embarrassed one bit in front of high school friends nor bothered. She only came off it because she sat on the arm and it hurt so we used it as an opportunity to take away. She was reluctant to come off it, and in fact was bought a new one at 10 😲 it was her who pushed to stay on it!
Dd2 is 9, 128cm and still on a high back booster.

In the rest of Europe it's 150cm, so 135cm is too early for many imo ( I guess mine will be over 135cm well before 12)

Howdoes - that's interesting, in that case I am glad I still have them.

For some reason it seems that parents see it as a sign of them growing up etc and can't wait to change the car seats, a friend of mine had her small toddler in a normal high back booster as it was easier for her to get him in and out of and he didn't like being strapped in the other one, there is no way it was safe for a 2 year old.

I remember the triangle things in the 90s as well, but they are terrible in practice, they make the belt less safe because they pull the lap part up across the soft tissue of the abdomen. This can cause children to submarine under the belt and/or cause internal injuries. It's really not worth it compared to a booster which will position the belt properly over their hips and collarbone.

Seatbelts are designed to spread the forces of a crash over the strongest parts of the skeleton. It's better to require car seat use than demand car manufacturers produce better seatbelts, because the majority of cars on the road aren't new, whereas car seats can be retrofitted to any car and are hence immediately useful. Seatbelt technology probably does increase all the time but making the belt height adjustable isn't very helpful when children are not only shorter, but narrower and wrigglier than adults.

Also, agree, it's only short 12 year olds who still need a seat. Typically this would be a very petite child who looks more like 9 and probably hasn't yet started puberty. They would need it because again it's not only height which can affect seatbelt fit.

witsender amusingly when the law came in in 2006, there were articles about children being embarrassed at having to go back onto a booster, and the head of whatever government department it is that makes the rules said that he suggested parents blame him. As though offended eight year olds all across the country had any idea who he was! :o

Next age 9 clothes are upto 134cm so by 8 or 9 most children will not need a car seat.

If children are petite then you may need one longer.

It is to ensure seatbelt fits properly. No one would know as a booster isn't visible just ensures seatbelt sits properly.

All of my children are taller than that and two are much older than that, BUT if I had a child of 10 or 11 that was slightly under 135cm limit (130, say) I would DEFINITELY risk dispensing with the seat in the interests of protecting their psychological well-being. Nobody need to be given a complex about their height or be humiliated in front of their friends in Yr 6 or 7 for a tiny theoretical risk.

yabu
I am constantly shocked that many of dc's friends are being driven without car seat at all. age ranges 6-10.
we have been in an accident (motorway so high speed crash) and thanks to high back boosters only the adults were lightly injured (whiplash).

My Ds is nearly 11 and he is 148cm. He still has a booster seat in my car MX5 because the seats are sports seats and really low. The seatbelt doesn't yet fit comfortably across his shoulder and chest. Until it does he will use a booster seat.

He is not bothered by using a booster seat. He says it makes him feel safe.

my ds used booster seat until he felt he was tall enough for the belt to fit him properly, and that was at the age of 14

this is to protect your child and not to make you miserable!

I would DEFINITELY risk dispensing with the seat in the interests of protecting their psychological well-being. Nobody need to be given a complex about their height or be humiliated in front of their friends in Yr 6 or 7 for a tiny theoretical risk.
Why do you find a booster seat humiliating

fidel1ne - why would a child be humiliated or psychological damaged because they used a product that was entirely appropriate for them and their peers?

I also do not understand why parents rush to get their children out of car seats so quickly, it really doesn't make sense

It appears that some parents are more concerned with embarrassment and icky feelings than safety

YABU. I think it's ridiculous how carefree some are about their children's safety!
I really don't give a damn about my dcs street cred, I just like them alive and well.
In other European countries the limit is 12 years or 150cm, btw.

From RoSPA:

Seat Belt Adjustment
Several devices exist which are designed to attach to the seat belts in order to pull them into a different position or change the way in which they rest on an occupant.

A common form of seat belt adjuster changes the path of the adult belt over the shoulder of a younger occupant. RoSPA do not recommend the use of these devices, as no standards currently exist ensuring a basic crashworthiness. It is much safer to purchase an appropriate child restraint, as they are crash tested to a European wide standard.

Other devices, which pad the seat belt, may also degrade its performance in a crash and put an occupant at greater risk.

Dd3 is tallest girl in her year. Took her out of car seat and gave her a booster at 5, just like my older girls ( now adults). Only read on here about high back boosters being used much longer now so bought 2 ones for our cars. She is now 8 and still fits it very comfortably. Much better all round as on long journeys she can sleep. She will stay in it until she grows out of it, can't see that happening before 10.

My youngest came out of his high back booster when he was 10.5 when it started to become uncomfortable for him. It was a nice big roomy seat with side impact features so there was no reason to rush him out of it. It also reclined slighty which was useful on 8 hour drives as he could adjust his seating position. eldest wasn't in one at 10 but they didn't make that type then.

I can imagine that he will be in a low booster at 12 unless he goes through a masive growth spurt, at 11 the seat belt really is too high on him.

If boosters without a back are on their way out as howdoesironman suggested I struggle to see how you'll find boosters to fit older children.

Mine stopped using their booster-with-back seats when their shoulders no longer fit under the "wings". They are both long-bodied and this was well before they were 135cm.

Most children will be 135cm well before secondary school though. My 12 year old is 158cm and he's among the smallest in his class.