Riding in no booster?

robbertbobbert

New member
I've seen in several threads that people suggest leaving kids in a LBB until age 10-12 for safety reasons. I understand that safety is the first priority, but I was in 7th grade when I was 12. I don't think I know a single 7th grader who would be non-combative about riding in a booster. Again, there's always the "you're in my car, you're riding in a booster" card, but I think there's about zero chance of them doing it in anyone else's car.

Is it realistic to expect a middle schooler to sit in a booster? I know the whole "it's a baby seat" argument is completely invalid for elementary schoolers, but I can see it being a major source of embarrassment for preteens.

Has anyone here had a middle schooler in a booster? How'd they take it and how'd you convince them?
 
ADS

zactayaus

Well-known member
Well my dd sat in hers till she turned 12yo which happened to be the end of her 6th grade year and also when she hit 4' 9". She was more than ready to ditch the thing and was very very self conscious about it. She wanted me to park miles away from an event if her friends were going to be there and she didn't want me to ever give her friends a ride any where. She still didn't fit the belts in my vehicle as well as I would have liked but it wasn't horrible either so we felt it was time and made the parental decision to let her go without.

Not saying it's right or wrong. Just saying there comes a time. KWIM.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
:whistle: http://carseatblog.com/5671/too-old-for-a-booster-says-who/

Thank goodness for tinted windows :cool:

Anyway, hopefully our grandkids won't be suffering any stigma about how long you ride in a booster. A seatbelt is like clothes or shoes: it needs to fit properly to work effectively (ie, stay on!), period, it doesn't matter how old you are, it matters what size you are. Our laws are abysmal, truly abysmal. Every single state needs to get to the point where a child must pass the five step test http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.pdf before they are out of a booster. In some cars that may be less than 4 foot 9, in others it's closer to 5 feet. In any case 10-12 is when kids meet those heights, in general, we aren't just leaving our kids in there at random, we are leaving our kids in there because the belt doesn't fit properly until then (though some of us choose high back boosters to make up for inadequate or missing head restraints and lack of curtain airbags to provide side impact protection).

Ok, enough of my rant, I'm just sad that we as a country are so riled up by the idea that boosters are 'baby seats' and wish we could collectively get over it. And, um, yeah, I let my own kids go without boosters in some instances before they passed the 5 step test, because I didn't want them to be ostracized by their ignorant peers :rolleyes:
 

robbertbobbert

New member
I completely understand why kids need to stay in boosters until they pass the 5 step test, I was just wondering about how to deal with social stigma.

The other question I have is aren't there plenty of petite adults out there who don't pass the 5 step test? What is there to be done about them?
 

rodentranger

New member
I don't pass the 6th step, which is "Able to stay in proper position for the whole ride." I never will. I am constantly having to make a conscious effort to scoot my bum back and sit up straight. I often fall asleep if I'm not the driver and end up turning the passenger airbag off because I slump to the side.
In my center seat in at least my middle row, the shoulder portion of the belt is about 4 inches away from me. Have I considered sitting in my Frontier *just* to position the belt correctly to enable it to do it's job properly? You bet!
My job is to protect my kids (or any kid in my vehicle). When they are adults, it becomes their job to stay safe.
 

Kiss Me Deadly

New member
I completely understand where you are coming from as a VERY petite adult. I am 4'10" and (aside from pregnancies) weigh under 100 lbs. I do not pass the 5 step test as a passenger in most vehicles. I do know that the drivers' seat tends to adjust a lot more, and I do not have a problem a good majority of the time. However, I do have a problem NOT putting the shoulder belt behind me or under my arm. It is a force of habit as the first car I ever had (1990 Ford Mustang) had seatbelts that did nothing but cut into my neck. :whistle:
 

NebraskaMom

New member
While I understand the social stigma, I also am a huge believer in educating the uneducated.

I learned with my daughter that if she was able to explain WHY she was still riding in a booster if she was ever asked about it then it wasn't as much of a big deal.

The skeleton visual always helps too :D
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The law here in WA is actually that kids ride in a booster until they fit in the adult belt. :) The restraint law is 8 years or 4'9", but the seatbelt law says the seatbelt must fit appropriately, or a restraint must be used.

http://www.800bucklup.org/laws/

So Piper, who is 8 and 48 pounds can legally ride out of a restraint under the restraint law, but the seatbelt doesn't fit her in the least, so she requires a restraint, by law. She will until probably close to 12. She's a tiny thing. Laine might be 11 if she continues to grow as she does.

Wendy
 

momma2kda

New member
I don't pass the 6th step, which is "Able to stay in proper position for the whole ride." I never will. I am constantly having to make a conscious effort to scoot my bum back and sit up straight. I often fall asleep if I'm not the driver and end up turning the passenger airbag off because I slump to the side.
In my center seat in at least my middle row, the shoulder portion of the belt is about 4 inches away from me. Have I considered sitting in my Frontier *just* to position the belt correctly to enable it to do it's job properly? You bet!
My job is to protect my kids (or any kid in my vehicle). When they are adults, it becomes their job to stay safe.

I do not pass that alot of the time either! I sit on my legs. I lean forward on the dash. If I am not driving I am totally out of position.
But I ALWAYS make sure everyone else is perfect.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
Combative? My kids don't get to be "combative" about anything. We're more the "we're the parents, you'll do as i damn well say" type, I guess. We've never had an issue, and the older kids sometimes rode in boosters up until about age 11-12. The youngest of the older kids is now13, 5 foot 8 and 135 lbs, LOL, so he no longer needs one, obviously, so the only kids in seats are the 6 and almost-3 yo. I fully expect them to need boosters well past "legal" age, as they are small, short kids.
 

sirrahn

Active member
My oldest still used his booster well into the 6th grade (first year of middle school here). It was never an issue even having friends riding along some times. He found it more comfortable and knew it was safer. He was right at 4'9" and about 85lbs when he started reliably fitting without it.
 

ginny4

New member
yeah i know. this way i'm SO SO SO SO glad my kids are tall for their age. we did ditch the NBB earlier than some would but they did pass the 5 (6) step test. they just fit better WITH the booster still. it was that our seating arrangements were ridiculous ...i made the parental decision to be "good enough" for everyones convienance.

until we go to that point.....my boys had some complaints for sure but i did make a simple thing about it. they didn't have a choice. They sat where & how i wanted them to whether they liked it or not. i showed them what would happen to them (videos & pics) of the damage that could occur with a lousy fitting seatbelt. so they basically put up woth it. driving other kids just didn;t happen much cause we have a full van as is. I didn't let them ride with others til they were basically done with boosters anyway.
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
My third son is 12 and still rides in a HBB. He likes it, & doesn't have a problem with the kids at school seeing it. He just tells them it's comfy and they're wrong. :D

My second son rode in a backless until he was nearly 14 (took him that long to grow into the seat belt; he's petite) so he was actually in junior high and still using a booster. Same as his brother, no social stigma to it. He'd just tell other kids it was more comfortable anyway, not to mention safer, though I think the last year or two he shoved the responsibility off on me, and just told kids "My mom's a safety nut," or "our car is weird - NO kid fits right without a booster." (It helps that our car is fairly uncommon; that argument doesn't work as well if you're driving a Honda Civic, yk?)

Kids need to learn how to deal with peer pressure and social stigma anyway. I always felt it was a good opportunity to help them with that lesson whenever comments were made.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
The law here in WA is actually that kids ride in a booster until they fit in the adult belt. :) The restraint law is 8 years or 4'9", but the seatbelt law says the seatbelt must fit appropriately, or a restraint must be used.

http://www.800bucklup.org/laws/


California has the same clause... unfortunately, ask a cop what the law is, and they'll tell you 6 or 60. Ask a cop in Washington, one who's not a CPST, and what will they say?
;)
 

Baylor

New member
I can remember when just wearing a seat belt as a kid was a STIGMA... My mom used to annoy anyone in our car by making them wear it or we did not go anywhere. When I was growing up seat belts were still optional and back seats if they had anything was only a lap belt...

I think the more that people make sure kids are complying with regulations the more it will catch on and just be the norm.
 

Ninetales

New member
I can remember when just wearing a seat belt as a kid was a STIGMA... My mom used to annoy anyone in our car by making them wear it or we did not go anywhere. When I was growing up seat belts were still optional and back seats if they had anything was only a lap belt...

Oh my gosh, I remember this too. My parents were lax about seat belts, so I was the obnoxious kid who didn't want to wear one in other peoples' cars. I look back and shudder at all the stuff that parents did when I was a kid when people didn't know as much - letting us ride in the bed of a pickup, sitting on Mom's lap to steer the car into the driveway, etc. Brrr!
 

pandabearmomma07

New member
I often wonder how I will convince Miranda, my DH and friends/relatives that she will be in a booster until 12. I have an "every 3 years upgrade" plan in mind right now. 3 years RFing, 3 years FFing, 3 years HBB and 3 years LBB. That leaves her in a restraint until 12. I find that to be pretty reasonable but my DH FLIPS out when I mention it. He was fine with her RFing until 3 and he's fine leaving her in a harness but he refuses to even entertain the idea of leaving her in a booster until 12. For now it's not yet an issue, but I just don't know.

What do you think of the every three year thing? Am I wrong in that being a reasonable goal?
 

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