AIBU to say the new booster seat law totally confuses me?

[CharlieDimmocksbosoms]

Just that really. I know from April the law changes on what age/weight/height child can use a booster seat but can someone clearly explain it for me please?

[peggyundercrackers]

I'm only 160cm and i wouldnt get in a child seat, not even close to it. we couldn't fit two seats in the rear and get an adult in between as well, we have a cybex seat for DD and a jane seat for DS - weve tried these in a merc C class, kia sportage and a countryman and an adult definitely doesn't fit in between them, my niece who is a skinny 9yr old struggles to get in between them.

[peggyundercrackers]

the change is only for advice really - they wont be able to tell when you bought the seat, you will be able to buy a seat no matter what age or weight your child is - a shop wont ask for these details before they make a sale even if they do you can lie and no one will stop selling the seats unless they are made unlawful. so in effect the changes to the law are pointless and unworkable.

[AlmostAJillSandwich]

I wonder if the shorter high school kids in their first year get really embarrassed turning up to school in booster seats. I know when i was a kid i'd have felt like a baby if i had to be in a car seat/booster even by the age of 5. I understand that they're safer, but it's not great for your self confidence surely.

[5moreminutes]

Almost in countries where children have never known otherwise a hbb til age 8 or so and then a backless booster don't seem to bother the kids, though those who are 150cm plus are keen to make it known - it is a right of passage but DD happily hops onto a booster cushion next to her same age 170cm tall mate who obviously doesn't need one, whilst DD1'S shortest, slightest mate climbs into DS2's HBB if DS2 isn't in the car (he had borrowed DS2's spare clothes when his were muddy too) even though DS1 is pushing 150cm and on a cushion. Height is a subject of discussion but doesn't seem related to self esteem especially, and the fact there is the 12 cut off avoids teens on boosters which would be embarrassing!

[BertieBotts]

They did acknowledge that when they changed the law in 2003 to require all children under 12 years and 135cm to use one. The idea is that if all children are using one, nobody will be singled out. Certainly under current law, all 5 year olds should be at the very least on a booster, so nobody should be embarrassed. At 11 it would be rare.

My nephew was still short enough to need a booster when he started secondary so my SIL let him use a cushion booster, it's not like they need to be in full padded high back ones with Disney Princess designs splashed all over them. Plus, most secondary school kids go by bus or walking, and it's not like you are allowed to park really near to schools anyway, so all people would see is the child sitting in the car, not what seat they were on.

DS has never commented his is babyish and he is 8. But he walks to school so perhaps it's not an issue there.

[5moreminutes]

Rite not right

[littledinaco]

Thanks for taking the time to explain Bertie. I understand what you mean about the wriggling being safer than the getting out of a harness. I have always taught mine not to lean out of seats, etc but I've had DC school friends in the car who have been leaning forward to get stuff from the floor, pulling at the seatbelt on their shoulder, just general wriggling about and it's seemed so unsafe.

Good point about using as a stretcher. Emergency services do sometimes lift the harness seats out (cut the seatbelt behind if necessary) but maybe not as easy to do as HBB.

Are there wider HBB to accommodate older children who do not fit into the seats?

Agree there is a big problem with children being made to feel 'babyish' for being in a HBB. My DD frequently asks to go on a booster cushion as that's what her friends do. It's something I'm not prepared to compromise on though, I would never forgive myself if we we involved in a serious crash and I had knowingly put her in a less safe seat.
I do feel annoyed at the parents who don't use HBB or any seats at all for primary age DC. I can't get my head around putting them on a booster cushion and not HBB. Obviously, if you don't know it's safer, I can understand but once you know the safety issues, why wouldn't you use a HBB?
Hopefully, it will become the norm' in a few years, just like car seats and seat belts did.

[RedBugMug]

we have a cheap (ish) graco hbb that fits 10yo dc well

[irishbaby]

I actually can not believe for the life of me that you all have children yet do not understand the law !!!

Amazes me how some ( alot on here ) are allowed to have children........

[BertieBotts]

Well you know deciding who is and isn't allowed to have children is called eugenics and is generally frowned upon these days.

[dementedpixie]

Maybe it's because there are several bits of legislation running in tandem so some people don't know or are confused about which legislation applies to them and their seat!

[mummyB1]

I bought my dd6 soon to be 7 this chair she loves it I feel she's a lot safer in it than just the booster and I got it on offer was £25 I'm confused by all the new seat laws I have a quite tall ds10 he doesn't sit on any kind of booster as if I can remember his height and weight is over recommended if using a booster

[EwanWhosearmy]

My 9 year old is the only child in the world not allowed to sit booster-free in the front seat of the car.
Apparently.

Mine too Iggy

DD is almost 10, 139cm tall and still perfectly comfortable in her HBB. She has a Britax Kidfix in my car and a Recaro Monza in DH's. She will be using them until she no longer fits in them, despite the fact that 90% of the kids at her school sit on the front seat without any sort of child seat.

[SirVixofVixHall]

My smaller dd, who will be 10 in 3 months, but is smallish and light, is still in her HB seat. Older dd, who has just turned 12, hasn't used hers for 10 months or so. Now I am wondering if she would be safer still in a Hb seat? She is 150cm, so on the cusp, but light. I haven't weighed her for a while but she is definitely well under 36kg. Would it be a good idea to keep her in a booster for another year? What do they do in Sweden/Germany? (Both dds were in rf seats until 7 for DD1 and 8 for dd2, as we have Swedish friends and so had been aware of the safety of rear facing).

[angielou123]

Great, looks like I'll be buying new boosters.

[dementedpixie]

Will your existing ones not be ok? There is no requirement to replace existing seats

[masterchef98]

The rules are there to provide a minimum safety standard. Many kids in times past, or now may travel around in seats that do no meet the current safety standard and have lived to tell the tale but I believe it's there for a reason and not something to be taken lightly. My oldest is 8, but over 140cm tall and over 40kg so by any standards can legally travel with no seat at all. He still has a high back booster for main journeys - he fits, we are all happy about it (I argue with him over lots of things but car seats has always been an absolute area of no compromise and is one of the very few things that we don't argue about, despite the fact he has friends much younger who will sit in the front seat on a booster cushion). He can't physically fit his shoulders in our second highback booster anymore so has a cushion for short journeys.

[Iggi999]

Off topic but does anyone know if it's safe for a nine year old to sit in the passenger seat if there's an airbag? (I know passenger seat isn't the safest, but trying to establish if airbag on/off makes it better).

[Iggi999]

Sorry, meant to say in hbb in passenger seat with airbag.

[Singasongofsadness]

Yanbu

[5moreminutes]

SirVix we are in Germany and children over 150cm do not use a booster - children of 145cm do not protest about using one in my experience but equally children of 150cm are very aware that they no longer have to!

My DD has friends of roughly the same age but a wide range of heights (as happens in early secondary where some are well into puberty and others are not despite being the same age) and the small ones hop onto the booster seat when we give them a lift and the tall ones just quietly move it onto the floor :o Judging by eye (comparing them to myself and my own kids) they are aware of their height and whether they need a booster.

It's about how the seat belt sits on them, not about weight, when you are deciding between a seat belt with a booster/ hbb or a seat belt alone. The HBB provide impact protection if the child can fit into them properly and not at an odd angle ... but that is also unrelated to weight.

Iggi airbags can hit children in the face if they are the wrong height. Actually very short and even exceptionally tall adults are at risk from air bags, they improve safety for "normal" height adults but not those under about 5ft 1 or over about 6 ft 3...

[5moreminutes]

You can switch the airbag off in most modern cars though, if using the front seat is unavoidable due to having more kids to transport than you have seats in the back (as in reality can be the case for lots of us sometimes despite the fact all the holier than though people may insist that they would never do it).

[littledinaco]

I didn't know that about air bags for adults-are you best turning them off of you are under 5ft 1?

If you are putting DC in front seat, move it as far back as it will go.

[Basicbrown]

I do feel annoyed at the parents who don't use HBB or any seats at all for primary age DC. I can't get my head around putting them on a booster cushion and not HBB. Obviously, if you don't know it's safer, I can understand but once you know the safety issues, why wouldn't you use a HBB?

In one way I agree, mine are both on HBB. I must admit most DC don't complain about it tbh and those who do suck it up or their parents collect them. But it isn't always that simple, they aren't as portable for one thing if you are getting a lift with someone/ for occasional use.

The thing that I don't understand though is that particularly as the headrest gets higher not all HBB fit in all cars. For example some cars have headrests that aren't removable. When rather than 'banning the booster' and putting all responsibility onto parents are we going to insist that car manufacturers and seat manufacturers work together to make the damn things universal?

I don't believe a badly fitting hbb is safer than a backless for a small child. People have to travel in different cars, some people only travel in different cars! And I've got a couple of old cushions that will apparently be OK for ever more

[littledinaco]

Basicbrown, I understand what you mean about being harder to put from one car into another. I HATE moving the car seats and I can see how people would be tempted to put a booster cushion in but I would rather have the hassle of lifting the heavy seat than risking serious injury/death because I couldn't be bothered to put the proper seat in. Unless you are carrying a booster cushion somewhere, they are not less portable just more awkward to lift!

I was more talking about people who have a booster cushion/nothing as everyday use. So they pick their DC up from school in the same car everyday and young DC get into front seat with no HBB. Why???? I just don't understand!

I know what you mean about the headrest too-you can get them removed by the garage but obviously can only do that in your own car!