Question What are the chances of tall kids 5 stepping by 8?

agave

New member
I have a friend who only uses car seats because it's the law. I'm sure her kids will be out of boosters the day it's legal. She's 5' 10" her DH 6' 2" I don't have the current heights on the kids but they are also very tall. The girl is 5 almost 6 and has been in a NBB since 4, boy just turned 4 and going into a booster if he hasn't already. Older siblings are 20, 5' 10" girl and 18, 6' 2" boy, their dad is under 6'. So given family history. What are the chances these kids will be tall enough by the time they are 8?

I can attempt to get heights tonight. They live 450 miles away so the need to drive them around is rare.
 
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Kat_Momof3

New member
Damian did at 8 in most vehicles, but he was 4'9" and 100lbs... he is in the 105th percentile for height... so either find out how tall they are or what percentile they are in.

To give you an indication of how tall he'll be as an adult, though, Damian is predicted to be 6'4+", so I'm guessing that while they probably will 5-step on the earlier side, it won't be at age 8, unless they get their height early.
 

bnsnyde

New member
My husband is 6 foot 4, and I'm 5 foot 8. My kids are tallish.

I hope they don't 5-step by 8 since I'm too big an advocate for boosters for the 8-12-year-old set. I need kids who can use them and be examples of safe riding! :)
 

momtoo3

Well-known member
It is really going to depend on the vehicle.

Ds1 is almost 12 and about 76 lbs. He has 5 stepped in my van (03 Caravan) since he was 10 (about the same weight as he is now but a couple of inches shorter.) He does not 5 step in dh's car (10 Malibu) and won't for a while.

Ds2 is very tall for his age. He will be 7 a week from tomorrow and is taller than many of the kids a grade older than him who are 8-9. Curently he is 55 lbs and about 49 inches. I just went out to check his fit in my van without his booster. Shoulder belt fit is good, lap belt fit is okay (it looks a little high in the pic to me but his hip bone is about a 1/4 in above the top of the seat belt) but his legs need to grow a few inches to have his knees bend at the edge of the seat and his feet touch the floor. It is better in the 3rd row because the seat is shorter so his knees bend properly. Here are a few pics of him in the 2nd row. Ignore the mess..dh got mad yesterday and threw all the junk I wouldn't go through in his car into my van...talk about motivation to clean it out ;).
DSC07660-1.jpg
DSC07661-1.jpg

DSC07662-1.jpg
 

Pixels

New member
Very, very few. 4'9" was picked because there was a study done and that's the height at which 50% of kids will fit. Since then, vehicle back seats have gotten deeper (meaning the thigh bone needs to be longer for the knee to bend at the edge, meaning kids have to be even taller). An average 4'9" child is over 11 years old. Even a 95th percentile child isn't that height until over 9 years old.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
your 7yr old also doesn't look like he's sitting all the way back... which would make his knees further back from the edge than they are.

Ruthie is at the 50% for height and she's 51-52" and 50-55lbs.

Jeffrey didn't 5-step until 9.5yrs old and he's in the 75-80% for height... and he still doesn't 5-step in my dh's car except in the center of the 3rd row where there is no headrest... and the front seat, which is shaped differently, but he doesn't ride there EVER. So he uses a booster still in that car and will till the seatbelt fits... probably next year, so he's happy he probably won't need a booster at all going into middle school.

I expect Ruthie will need one in middle school at least the first year in my car... and god knows when she'll be able to pass in dh's back seat...
 

momtoo3

Well-known member
your 7yr old also doesn't look like he's sitting all the way back... which would make his knees further back from the edge than they are.

He is all the way back, it's just the way the seat is at the lower part of the back..it kind of goes out a little but makes it look like there is a gap behind his butt. couldn't stick my hand behind him when I tried. The pics may not be great because he was not happy to be out there and wouldn't stay still very long. If I had to guess, he will 5 step at about 9 yrs in there in the 2nd row, maybe 8.5 but I will keep him boostered as long as I can. He loves his headrests on his boosters and he is a car sleeper. He will 5 step in the 3rd row by the time he turns 8. His knees bend at the edge of the seat now and he is close to being able to put his feet flat on the ground (his toes touch right now without trying.)
I think it depends more on the build of the child than the overall height. He is very leggy which helps, along with the seatbelts being awesome in my Caravan. He will probably need a booster forever in dh's car though because of the way the seat angles down in the back. I don't think I could have the lap belt fit correctly back there...I may have to try later.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
you have the same van I do (or similar) and it was the 2nd pic (when I looked super close I could see seat behind his booty) that made me think that, but I totally know what you mean.

Jeffrey 5-stepped in the 2nd row after turning 9 and the 3rd row for us took longer because of how the shoulderbelt is so tall and my kids don't like belts even touching the neck.
 

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