At what age did you give up the high back booster?

[LillyBugg]

My son is 8.5 and 133cm. I know I CAN move to a backless booster from a high back. But I just can't seem to commit to a choice.

We are using a joie bold and he does still fit in it comfortably but my new car means the seat belt is difficult to fasten as the isofix points are causing the seat to push on the seat belt clip.

Do I just give it up at this point? I would keep him on a booster, but a backless one.

When did you give up the high back booster?

We had a high-backed booster until age 11, but it fitted fine in our car and my DC liked the higher seating position it gave.

@Darkdiamond that is a genius idea, going to try for DD who’s belt is fiddly on her side (annoyingly the belt not the seat/buckle!

DS is 140cm at just turned 9 (his dad is 6 foot 1 which is short for DH's family). In my mini he's fine without a car seat at all with where the car seat belt hits. We test drove a Evoque over the weekend and the seat belt doesn't hit right on his hips so he would need a booster. I think he came out of the high back around 130 as his shoulders were squashed on each side. I think it also depends on the car for that aswell some seem to position the seat belt in such a position it would be on the neck vs other where it sit fine without the high back.

I thought you weren’t meant to be able to buy backless boosters anymore.

My 10 yo 148cm dd only uses her hbb on long / motorway drives, my 8yo 140cm ds is still in his full time. They’re the kind that go out when they go up though so no squashing of the shoulders ie they’re comfy in them.

Most of their friends haven’t been in anything for yonks, even the really short ones.

I’m surprised at all these people with 11 year olds in high back booster seats - I’ve never seen a parent drive their child to secondary school in a car seat.

I would go with your judgement op. Often you can get advice at places that sell boosters etc too.

Don't worry I understood what you meant
Kids with older siblings want to grow up too fast. I have a DS12 who is 5'6'' and he's not had a seat of any kind for years.

The rest of Europe is 150cm for car seats. Mine have stayed in them until they physically couldn't fit. Dc3 is still in one age 10 and about tall enough by uk law but in most cases the belt doesn't quite sit right. They used to ask to ditch the seat then recently were in a crash where the at fault driver smashed in to the side the dc was sitting. They now understand why we kept insisting on the car seat.

Mine was in a hbb until he was 11. Most kids in his class weren't using a seat by then but as far as I am aware the just went from a hbb to nothing. Not sure why you would need an intermediate step - hbb are designed to go beyond the main height for getting rid of the seat.

My DCs are the same age and height as yours, OP, so interesting to see this thread. They are still in HBBs most of the time, or backless boosters in DH's car, but thinking of getting rid of the HBBs soon. I don't think any of their friends use them anymore!

Bearing in mind that legislation in Europe states 150cm, I kept mine in until 145cm, (age 8), when the shoulders were squashed and uncomfortable. Didn't buy a bigger one for the sake of 5cm. Did buy a backless booster as a spare for friend's kids and child chose to use that for another 6 months when it wasn't otherwise in use.

Just after my son's 7th birthday.

Just before he was seven for my youngest child but he is very tall. At nine he is over 150 cm tall. He’s also got very broad shoulders and was squished in his high back.

My 11 year old is still in his HBB because he isn't yet 150cm. The back and sides make a huge difference in a crash. 25 years in orthopaedics and I think people are mad driving around with 7 year olds without proper car seats. They should make parents watch graphic videos of the aftermath of some of these crashes.

Apologies OP I've just looked up the manual and you're right (although the top tether is optional in booster seat mode according to page 8) - usually with high backed boosters, isofix is optional, but perhaps Joie deem it necessary due to the weight of the seat. You could certainly ask them. It is recommended to use isofix where possible with a heavier high backed booster.

In this case then I would suggest trying the seat in another position in the car to see if this alleviates the difficulty and if not, consider changing to a high backed booster that doesn't have the harnessed mode such as Britax Adventure, Joie Trillo, Cybex Solution for a budget option. The Cybex ones, Joie Traver and Britax Kidfix 3 and Diono or Recaro are supposed to be a bit better for taller/older children with longer legs, but are more expensive. These can all be used without isofix (though check manual before buying if unsure) because they are much more lightweight. They sometimes give a better belt position compared with multi-stage seats, too.

Or indeed a backless booster would be an inexpensive solution, although you'd lose the side protection for the head and neck.

Thank you @BertieBotts I really appreciate the time you've taken to reply. I've emailed Joie to see as unfortunately a different position in the car isn't going to help. And I'll take a look at those other options you've listed. Thanks!!

I was in a minor car crash (passenger) at 30 miles per hour. The other car, a white van, was coming towards us, took a bend too fast and ended up on our side of the road.

my daughter was not in the car. Even though it was a slower speed, our car was a write off and I ended up in hospital for 5 days.

My overriding impression of the whole event is how much deceleration there was. It’s really hard to imagine until it happens.

After that I bought a new, top of the range car and booster seat. She was 7 at the time. She was mortified that I insisted the back booster seat remained until she could no longer fit in it. It was also the reason why my dog always travelled in the back of the car.

This was many years ago, and around our way people seemed to leave off the back booster around 7 or 8. I glad to see that nowadays most people seem to keep them for longer.

My children had high back boosters until they were 150cm as that is the point where it is safer not to have one. My grown up sister still has a booster seat as she isn't 150.

I don't understand this rush to make a car less safe. Parents worry about things much less dangerous than cars.

Op Bertie has all the right information, I just told my kids I'd rather them embarrassed than dead.

@BertieBotts Joie confirmed I can stop with the top tether but I need to continue with the isofix. So looks like I need a new seat ☹️

Can't take the credit! I heard this tip on a carseat advice youtube video. Someone wrote in asking about the seatbelt extender and the advice was just to keep the seatbelt clicked in and for the child to just climb in and out each day so you don't have to struggle to get it in. We have 3 kinds under 7 so need as many strategies as possible!