DD is 152cm tall and 8 yo. What to do about car seats?

[fireflyz]

My DD is 152cm tall and 8 years old. She is quite sensible and well behaved (most of the time!) and we are wondering if she should stop using her maxi cosi booster seat (it’s a high back style with a headrest).
The UK guidelines say you don’t need car seats after child is over 135cm tall or over 12yo depending on which comes first.
We use 2 cars - one is a hatchback and the other is a saloon. In the saloon, if DD is in the booster seat, her head touches the ceiling if we go over bumps etc.
In the hatchback there is a bit more head room.
Although my OH says her shoulders are up to the plastic bottom of the headrest in the car seat.
I suppose I am just not used to it but she looks so young to go without a car seat!
Has anyone else had a similar situation?
TIA

Ds came out a car seat at 7 when he hit the height limit

Some of it is about possible injury to internal organs. Once they hit that height, a seatbelt poses the same risk as it does to adults. My 2 were both well over 135 by age 8. We stopped using car seats.

My 9 year old just has a booster cushion. Though he isn't that tall.
Most high backed boosters don't go beyond 150cm do they?

Stop using the car seat. Your DD is too tall.
Once over a certain height the normal seatbelt will be in the correct position without any booster seat.
Tall child in a high back booster whose head is nearly touching the ceiling, the seatbelt will come up far too high on the shoulder.

She’s safer without it.

Im Not sure why you’re questioning it; she’s over 135cm so you can stop using them. What’s making you query this? DD stopped at 9 when I noticed her head was so close to the roof of the car that it was ridiculous.

The booster seat is to put the seatbelt in the right position, by still using a booster seat the seat belt is unlikely to be sitting on her correctly and could cause an issue in a crash. She has sailed past the height limit, she should have been out of it ages ago

I stopped using car seats when mine reached the max height limit. They were well under 12 years old.

The UK guidelines say you don’t need car seats after child is over 135cm tall or over 12yo depending on which comes first.
I think you answered your own question

Just because she's over 135cm doesn't mean the belt will sit right on her.

I'm 162 and it cuts into my neck without a cushion. Some tall people have short torsos and vice versa.

Thanks everyone. I will try to stop worrying. DD did fall asleep in the car on a very hot day a few weeks back but she was still in the booster seat then and she was falling forwards out of it. So it didn’t help. Perhaps this is because she has really grown out of it.

Also - do you think those little pad things that Velcro around the neck area seat belt would be a good idea for comfort?

This. What has age got to do with it? She's just a tall 8 year old!

Surely at this point, she doesn't need a child's car seat or booster seat? She's nearly 5 feet tall.

Surely it’s safer to have no car seat than be in a booster seat banging your head on the car ceiling when you go over a bump?!
We did away with all car seats for my son when he was 9 and about 140cm. He now looks much more comfy in my (smallish) car.

While all the previous car seat milestones are about age not size, this one actually is the opposite, it's about height not age!

If she fits the seatbelt properly without a car seat, then on average, it's likely to be safer to go without, because using a HBB includes a risk of misuse and a risk of interaction with the seatbelt which is non-ideal. If you're very clued up on car seat safety and 100% convinced that you're using the seat exactly right then this may not apply. If you are doing a very long journey (e.g. 6+ hours or overnight) and she might conceivably sleep, then a HBB is well worth using if she fits into it.

The lap belt is the most important piece to look at. If this is in contact with her pelvis, then that's perfect. If it's hovering up over her soft abdomen, this is a problem. The other main issue you get with older children who are not quite ready is when their legs are too short to allow their knees to bend at the edge of the seat when they're sitting with their bum all the way back. They will then naturally bring their hips forward in order to bend their legs and this causes the belt to move upwards onto the belly area which is a problem. This can easily be missed, if you're getting them to sit properly all the way back when you check and it looks fine, but do check that the legs can bend because nobody is comfortable sticking their legs straight out, every child with this issue is going to scoot themselves forwards.

The shoulder belt is less important, but if it's uncomfortable and rubbing the child's neck then they might be tempted to tuck it under their arm which is again a no-no for safety.

UK law says 135cm but it's a minimum not a maximum. If she still fits better with the booster, it's safer to keep using it. At 150cm+ it's likely that she's OK without, though.

If her shoulders are level with the plastic belt guide, it's probably too small for her now. It should usually be slightly above for the best fit.

Mine are slightly over the 135cm but are still comfy in the boosters so they are still using them even though they no longer do when in friends’ cars for lifts etc.
but if their heads were at risk of hitting the roof or were uncormtable I’d stop immediately

If the seatbelt fits her properly without the booster cushion, then you can do away with it. Diono do make HBBs that go up to 160cm, but then fitting them in the car is another matter entirely. These are helpful pics/graphics for belt fit.

The Diono ones aren't any taller phsyically than the 150cm ones. They just use 160cm as a guide based on the US version of their seats.

We stopped iring car seats four my two children as soon as they reached 135cm. They were quite young too (tall for their age). It was fine.

I think it really depends on the individual child and the individual car after 135cm/12yo. I have 2 cars. My ds is 7yo and140cm. In car A, he gets a good fit with the seat belt (not touching the neck, feet flat on the floor, knees over the end of the seat etc), but in car B, none of that is possible, so he has a booster cushion even though legally he doesn't have to.