Please tell me the truth about car seats…

[PrincessFionaCharming]

…for kids aged 8+

I have a nearly-10 year old. She’s fairly average height in her class. She still uses a high backed booster for long car journeys on the motorway etc, and she has a booster cushion thing in our second car which we literally use for the 5 minute school run when it’s raining and that’s it.

My understanding is that this is the law. But Literally NONE of her friends appear to use a car seat these days. Booster cushion or otherwise. They just leap into the front seat when they are picked up and off they go.

I have always been super strict about car seats. My daughter has never really complained about her car seat, she just gets on with it and that’s the way it is. She has recently asked a few times however why she’s not allowed to sit in the front (or back) with no seat when her friends are. I just say that’s up to their parents but I don’t think
it’s the safest option.

But honestly, what is the truth here? Are most 9-10 year olds still using car seats?? Is that the reality? I genuinely assumed they were, If it’s the law, but now I’m not sure!

My daughter is 9 and just over the 135cm and still in a high backed booster. She's average height amongst the girls in her class and think she's the only one still using one. We have a Golf and the back seats slope somewhat which means the seat belt doesn't sit across her shoulder without a booster - it would be across her neck. It's not just arbitrary height guidelines that should matter, you should be looking at where the seat belt sits on the child's frame.

My nearly 9 year old is tall for their age, in 10-11 trousers already! But still in a hbb as he finds the belt uncomfortable otherwise. Until he says otherwise we'll keep to that as we're in no rush to change.

Do you think it’s more about this?

Are you sure that's her height at 10yr old? My DS is 126cm and he's 6yrs!

I have a very nearly 8 yr old, over 135 cm and in size 11 to 12 t shirts (tall but long torso) and she will stay in HBB until she doesn’t fit.

I've noticed similar. My youngest still has a high backed seat, my oldest (9) has just started with a booster. I just took the back off her old seat!
It always amazes me how many don't use car seats, it is against the law and is dangerous!

I tried to keep my oldest in a hbb for as long as I could but he just got too tall and too wide. I'm an extended rear facing car seat person for context.

He was just turned 9 when he definitely exceeded the height requirements and his shoulders couldn't fit in it (he's particularly tall for his age). In year 5 I think some DC use booster seats but many don't. We don't drive much but sometimes parties require shared lifts so we see if other parents want to use a booster or not.

My just turning 8 yo still has one as she's 1.5 cm off the height requirements.

I did feel weird about no seat at first. It felt like I was taking this huge risk as it was new. Not actually true though as he met the guidelines.

@PuttingDownRoots
A maturity competition! This is bizarre!

When the fire brigade visited my Cubs... they measured them all. About two thirds were tall enough not to legally need a car seat in the UK. (8-10yos).

Her classmates may be tall enough now, age 10 is around the time they will be coming out of using boosters. You just need to ensure the seat belt sits right at her shoulder

5 step test - this is helpful for the future.

My grandchildren were in car seats whilst the law required it.
I drive past a Range Rover the other day with a toddler hanging half out of an open rear window. Tinted so no clue if they were even being held.
Car seats save lives. Ask any Paramedic.

I believe the 50th percentile is actually smaller than the average child now as the charts were made using data from over 20 years ago. The number of children above the 98th is now greater than 2%. I was under the impression most children stopped needing a booster at some point in Y4, although some will obviously be older or younger.

Why do you feel the need to question if this is correct?
My child was 128 cm as she turned 10 years old. It really isn't that shocking
You can't compare to your child if your child is younger and tall for their age can you

@Bingbangboo is right, from a safety aspect it's car dependent. DD is 10, 140cm so technically tall enough per the law but she passes the 5 point test in one of our cars (small with very upright back seats) but not the other one (which is larger and has the seatbelt coming from higher up - so it sits too high on her shoulder if that makes sense). So I don't mind her going without a car seat in the former but she's still in a HBB in the latter.

There seems to have always been a lot of need for some parents to rush through the car seat stages. Ds is 14 and I remember when he was young for a lot of parents moving forward facing (at a very young age) was almost something to be proud of!

ds stayed on a booster until he was 150cm which was about age 12. He actually said he found it comfier up until then and the seat belt certainly sat better on him

Many countries use a higher height than 135cm

My eldest is 10 and average/small side height wise compared to her classmates. She is 135cm. She moans a lot that the HBB is uncomfortable. I still insist she use it for long motorway journeys but some smaller local journeys she doesn’t have to. I don’t know realistically how much additional protection a car seat offers but it still feels weird to me that she doesn’t need one legally

135cm or 12 years old is UK rules and a high back booster seat is better then just a booster cushion but that is better than nothing. You can get high back booster seat that go to 150cm.
It's about keeping the belt in the stronger part of the body and off the soft internal organs.

My daughter will likely still be in her rear facing car seat until age 7/8 as she is pretty small. Then will have a high back booster seat as long as possible. I'm in no rush to reduce her safety.

DS1 is 9 and over 135cm. He still uses a high back booster. He's in y4 and I'd say most are probably under 135cm, but I don't do the school run so don't know what others do. He understands that he is safer in a car seat and doesn't mind. He went in my parents' car without one recently and said it wasn't as comfortable.

Interested in the responses. My DC’s friend (a 6 year old boy on the shorter side, in Y1) doesn’t use car seats at all, the parents say they put him in the back seat with an adult belt. I just don’t get it!

I have this in my kitchen for kids friends, so I know if they need to use a booster in my car!

Follow the law and not what other people do. Like a pp said, for some parents it’s a maturity competition and little thought has gone into common sense safety and the law.

DS(9) is 139cm and recently moved from HBB to a backless one with a seatbelt loop. He had outgrown both the height and weight limit on his HBB otherwise we would have kept him in it for the head protection. The new backless one’s seatbelt loop means that the seatbelt fits properly rather than cutting across the top of his neck, and he is not sitting so low down in our model of car so he can actually properly see out the window.

The worst car seat travesty I’ve ever seen was a baby of about 6-8 months old in a HBB, in the front seat. The baby girl was swaying backwards and forwards against the seatbelt in the car, motor running and half way out the gate of a children’s centre. The DM had stopped and was talking to one of the staff there, and then they waved goodbye and off she drove - wee baby flopping about. Absolutely appalling and if I’d had my time over I would have reported her to the police.

My children measured and marked 135cm on the wall, and used to check whether they had grown enough to not use a seat.

The average height of a 10 year old is about 138cm. Therefore no car seat.

There are always some smaller children who need car seats up until 12, but many, most will be tall enough at 10.

The more interesting thing is why do you feel strange about her no longer needing a seat?

@MaryShelley1818 kids are different sizes. My 7 year old is 110cm and there are two boys the same size as him in his year 2 class. My almost 10 year old is 128cm and she's not the smallest in year 5.