Car seat safety - too tall?

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Sorry if this is a stupid question, but is there an upper limit for using a car seat?
I am aware they need a car seat until they are 12 yrs / 135cm, whichever comes first. But if we still wanted to use one after they are 135cm is that actually still safe to do?
thank you

Yes in fact it's safer. Much of Europe requires a car seat up to 150 cm tall. I am keeping our 140 cm tall 9 year old on a booster seat for at least another year or so.

Good, I’m glad to hear that. That is what we had planned to do but then it just crossed my mind that maybe that was a limit rather than a recommendation and Google wasn’t answering my question 😄

Its safe as long as the fit in the seat. One of her seats was outgrown at 135 cm, but other was fine until 150cm.

And are we talking backless boosters or full on car seat? Does it make a difference?

If it's a highbacked booster then they can be too tall if their shoulders don't fit under the headrest any more.

However if they physically fit in it and it helps correct the belt geometry then no problem.

What you don't want is for the seatbelt to be routed in an odd way. Once the seatbelt crosses their hips (not soft abdomen) and collar bone (not touching/rubbing neck) then it fits correctly and you don't need the booster seat any more.

Do check whether their legs bend at the edge of the seat, because if they don't they will often slouch their hips slightly forward to let their legs bend, and that pulls the lap belt higher up onto their tummy.

135cm is usually too short to stop using a booster seat in most cars. The actual height varies based on the individual child and the car. The UK law is on the side of letting parents make the decision from 135-150cm, which means you can continue using one but you won't be penalised if you let them go without on an odd occasion, which I think is sensible. The problem is that people tend to assume that from 135cm+ it's not beneficial at all which isn't actually the case.

Great info thank you

I was trying to find a photo of what I meant by weird belt geometry but I can't find one.

What I mean is that for example, if you've got a very tall high backed booster and a very small car, sometimes the point the seatbelt comes out of the car wall is lower than the shoulder belt guide in the booster, so that instead of coming down and through the guide, the belt has to go up and over the seat almost in a N (or n) shape. That's not correct and in that case it's safer not to use the high backed booster (in that car). Likewise if the child's shoulder is higher than the belt guide. If the child's height is the issue you could look for a taller booster.

In most cases, it remains beneficial to continue using the high backed booster as they offer side impact protection and a bit more body support e.g. if child falls asleep on a long journey.

With a backless one they can often just slump completely over in the back seat. Obviously at 8/9+ it's relatively rare they would sleep in the car, but we did have that on a vv long drive with DS1, so I specifically looked for larger HBB for the younger two!

But sometimes DC are more comfortable or feel more grown up on a backless and if it helps you convince them to keep using it, it's better than nothing. The most important job of the booster is the lap belt fit. Everything else is a bonus (especially for taller/older kids over 7ish).

Mine didn't hit 135 cm until 12 so easy choice