Time to stop using a car seat

[Carseathelp]

DD1 nolonger fits her car seat. She is nearly yrs old and last time I measured her was a few months ago and she was around 145 cm. How do I know if the seat belt fits her properly? And if it doesn’t will see need an old school booster seat?

I have attached this graphic that gives you the things to check.

I’ve got my 135-145ish children on a simple booster, helps to make the seatbelt fitting correct. They’re cheap and easy to fling in and out of the car when needed.

Mine both moved out of ERF car seat about 4.5 years (when they hit the weight limit) and into a high back booster. I couldn’t tell you how tall they are off the top of my head, but my 7 year old who is of average height is still in the HBB and I would think not ready to come out of it for a bit.

On one our cars I think DD will fit in a HBB till 150cm or just under that as the back seats are quite spacious and it's a nice wide HBB. I want her to stay in it for the side impact protection and head protection.

However in our small car the ceiling is low so I don't think we'll get past 140cm in the HBB and it might not even be worth trying a normal booster as her head might still be hitting the ceiling!

So I think it's quite car specific and also depends how old she is. DD is 10.

Thanks, my DD is wear clothes for 11 to 12 year olds. Despite being tall she is one of the last in her class to still have a car seat.

At 145cm it is variable and will depend on her build and the placement of the seatbelts in your car.

Try her on a seat with no booster and see how the belt looks. You are wanting to see where the lap belt goes across her lap - it needs to be in contact with her pelvis. If it's up on the soft abdomen then it's too high and can cause injury in a crash. Also check where the shoulder belt is, is it comfortable for her, or is it rubbing her neck?

Lastly check whether she can sit comfortably with her bum at the back of the seat and her knees bend at the edge of the seat. The problem sometimes is that children will seem to get a good fit when you do this try out but then their legs are just slightly too short so in day to day travel they tend to scoot forwards so they can bend their knees, and then that has the effect of both parts of the belt shift up slightly so now the lap belt is on their tummy and the diagonal belt is on their neck.

So if any of those apply then a backless booster would be worth it to boost her up to the right height just a little bit longer. They are all much of a muchness so it doesn't really matter which one you get - isofix can be nice to hold it in place, but it's not necessary.

For shorter/occasional journeys in other people's cars I probably wouldn't worry too much unless there happens to be a booster available.

How old is she? As I nderstand it, they have to be in a seat until they are 12 or 136 cm. So unless she's very young, I'd just take her out the seat. If she's younger and you preer to be extra safe, go for a bog standard booster.

Our 11yo has only just stopped using a booster (built in one into the car seat; Volvo). She used a HBB until aged 10. And she's quite tall for her age.

Thanks. We’ve stopped using the car seat no as she nolonger fitted. Like I mentioned early is moving into clothes for 12 to 13 year old and she also has a long body.