please will someone settle this argument about car seats once and for all

[cutekids]

we have 3 littlies and my hubbie reckons we can just stick them in booster seats. they're 8,7 and 6 but the 8 yr old is the average height of a 6 yr old. please someone settle this once and for all. i don't care if i'm wrong. i just want to get this sorted!

PLEASE???

YOu can put them in booster seats but if they are small, you may want the to go in a seat with a back support

There is a difference between booster seat (polystyrene thing with a back) and booster cushion (thing you just sit on to raise you up). You need to be 15kg+ to go on a booster cushion. To go without either, you have to be above a certain height (I forget as my kids are too little, someone will say I'm sure).

i think booster seats are fine for all school aged children from 5yrs old
my sons have booster seats aged 9 and 10

I think - strictly - speaking - he might be right !!! The law just says they have to be in a "child restraint" and that's what a booster seat is !

Of course - we all know that a proper seat with a back is much much safer - but according to the law - the booster cushions will do it !!

Sorry !

15kg is approx aged 3 to 4

I thought 15Kg was to go in a high back booster and that to take off the back they should be heavier? More like 22Kg which is actually quite a lot heavier.

Our Britax seat says booster cushion from 22kg I think

Oops Bozza you're right, it's 15Kg to go in a highbacked booster seat.
But using a booster seat or nothing is all about height not weight because it applies to some adults too.

info here

Yup you have to be 1.5m to go without a booster cushion.

Sounds like your 8yo and possibly 6yo would be better protected in booster seats these have a removanle back rather than booster cushions.

Forget their ages and weigh them as this is the deciding factor.

A restraint that is not used correctly is as bad as no restraint at all really.

bucketofdinosaurs it was 150cm it is now 135cm.

so,just normal booster seats are ok then presumably? it's just that when we went in to Halfords a couple of months ago, he didn't think they were adequate for this law.they literally come in and out with no restraints at all.what's the point, apart from lifting them higher? is this correct then?

i think the idea is that the seatbelt sits across their bodies correctly, ie not across the neck.

So...the booster "seats" we have - which are just a little seat you put under their bums - are fine? just use the car seatbelts?

Also, we sometimes take other peoples' kids to different clubs etc. how do we do that now?

BBC website has a really helpful guide about all of this, on which I found the following:

"Are there any exceptions to these rules?

Yes. There are three cases where a child between three and 12 years old may travel in the back of a car using no more than an adult seat belt:

short and occasional journeys made for reasons of "unexpected necessity" (so not on regular school runs, but you don't need to worry if you are picking up a friend's child because he or she has been unexpectedly detained at work)

two other children are already using restraints in the back seat, leaving no room for a third. (However, it would often be safer for the child to travel, in the front of the car, using the appropriate seat or cushion.)"

Hope that gives you some guidance.

Cutekids i would recommend you weigh the children before assuming that just booster cushions are ok and not booster seats.

Yes, they are kept in place by the weight of the child and the 3 point seat belt, the idea is to lift the child to a position where the seat belt is more correctly aligned across their lap and shoulder not abdomen and across their neck-under arm.