Question At what age to give up...

Laurelz · Jan 6, 2013

The car seat all together? I was having a discussion last night with my husband and he says "well crew is past the 4 and 40 rule so he doesn't need a booster seat anymore." First of all let me say I do NOT agree with him! As of last month he rides full time in a Britax SGL. He's 4.5/50lbs/47in. He sits really good in it and doesn't sleep in the car or move. My question though is at what age do they stop using boosters? I thought it was like 6 or 8yrs or something like that, but since we're nowhere close I that I wasn't sure. I wanted facts before I told hubby otherwise.

I know it varies by state but I never go by those rules.

TechnoGranola · Jan 6, 2013

When they pass the 5 step test. Typically a minimum of 4'9" tall, often taller. And typically around 10/11 years old. Can span as much as 8-13 years old though depending on the child.

http://carseatblog.com/3966/the-5-step-test/
http://thecarseatlady.wordpress.com/boosters/5-step-test/
http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm

tiggercat · Jan 6, 2013

My eldest was 11 when he stopped using a booster seat in all vehicles. He used a booster until he passed the 5 step test. http://carseatblog.com/3966/the-5-step-test/

Fwiw the law in my area is 8 years or 80lb or 4ft9.

Sent from my iPod touch using Car-Seat.Org

Shaunam · Jan 6, 2013

My son is about to turn 8, is a bit tall for his age, and not even close to being ready to go without a booster. I figure he will 5 step in 1 1/2-2 years maybe. His dad was an early bloomer and got huge real quick so DS might too.

Here's a pic of him in my car without a booster. You can see his bum is scooched forward a bit, his knees barely bend at the edge of the seat, his feet aren't on the floor, and the lap belt is still more on his abdomen than his hips.

Laurelz · Jan 6, 2013

Now am I right that the only reason for a HBB vs. NBB is that the seatbelt has to fit them correctly in all areas before switching right?

TechnoGranola · Jan 6, 2013

A high back booster is also good for sleeping and may provide additional SIP (side impact protection).

clmchrissy · Jan 6, 2013

Laurelz said:
Now am I right that the only reason for a HBB vs. NBB is that the seatbelt has to fit them correctly in all areas before switching right?

Right...the hbb help position the belt better for smaller riders. Some nbb work pretty well though, I wouldnt suggest a 4 yo be in one though. If you dh gets fussy about & your son rides occasionally with him maybe after 5 I would suggest the Harmony Lighteider as it seems to fit the smaller riders well ime.

My 8 yo son refuses to ride in nbb he doesn't like not having a place to rest his head

Baylor · Jan 6, 2013

A 4 yr old as a rule should be in a harnessed seat. Then a HBB.

My 8.5 yr old is in a LBB but still uses hbb when we are out late to sleep. I have a Frontier 85 for almost 5 yr old. He is booster training in Monterey also. But he will not be out of some kind of restraint for at least 4 yrs. Maybe more.

It is not about age. It is about having kids ride safely as they can in a car.

Laurelz · Jan 6, 2013

clmchrissy said:
Right...the hbb help position the belt better for smaller riders. Some nbb work pretty well though, I wouldnt suggest a 4 yo be in one though. If you dh gets fussy about & your son rides occasionally with him maybe after 5 I would suggest the Harmony Lighteider as it seems to fit the smaller riders well ime.

My 8 yo son refuses to ride in nbb he doesn't like not having a place to rest his head

Oh I wasn't going to use one for him! I was just curious if that was the guidelines for that since I was in the topic of boosters. .

Laurelz · Jan 6, 2013

Baylor said:
A 4 yr old as a rule should be in a harnessed seat. Then a HBB.

My 8.5 yr old is in a LBB but still uses hbb when we are out late to sleep. I have a Frontier 85 for almost 5 yr old. He is booster training in Monterey also. But he will not be out of some kind of restraint for at least 4 yrs. Maybe more.

It is not about age. It is about having kids ride safely as they can in a car.

He was harnessed in his FR85 until we had our mishap with our Nautilus and the buckle problems and I needed the FR for our 3yo. I would put him back in his FR if I had another one but I can't afford it right now.

Baylor · Jan 6, 2013

I see, I missed the part that the 4yr old was in SGL. I would not like that full time, I like having the option of the harnessed seat for my almost 5 yr old. He goes back and forth between the two. I would have gotten a maestro for 3 yr old and kept fr85 for 4 yr old. But that is just me.

I can not imagine anyone thinking that 4 is okay not to have a car seat of some sort. I know people think that, I just don't get it.

Laurelz · Jan 6, 2013

Baylor said:
I see, I missed the part that the 4yr old was in SGL. I would not like that full time, I like having the option of the harnessed seat for my almost 5 yr old. He goes back and forth between the two. I would have gotten a maestro for 3 yr old and kept fr85 for 4 yr old. But that is just me.

I can not imagine anyone thinking that 4 is okay not to have a car seat of some sort. I know people think that, I just don't get it.

That's definitely an option. I'm waiting on a reimbursement check from the NHTSA for our Nautilus then I can go buy one. They bought our seat for research.

.

I agree, I was a little bit shocked that my husband thought that at all! I have a friend who had a 3yo in a HBB. She was in it at 2! I tried and tried to tell her it wasn't ok but she was set on her being a "big girl" now. Where I live it's not very uncommon to see kids not in a seat at all. I work at a daycare and we live in a small town and just the other day a dad came to get his son in a big semi/farm truck and during harvest season we had a couple dads/grandpas come in tractors. :/ it's crazy where we live! People think because our town is small and it take 2min to get anywhere in town (literally) that seats are an inconvenience.

D&L's-mommy · Jan 6, 2013

Baylor;2431919 I would have gotten a maestro for 3 yr old and kept fr85 for 4 yr old. But that is just me. [/QUOTE said:
yeah that, or the new harmony defender if you want the 65lb harness

Laurelz said:

That's definitely an option. I'm waiting on a reimbursement check from the NHTSA for our Nautilus then I can go buy one. They bought our seat for research. .

I agree, I was a little bit shocked that my husband thought that at all! I have a friend who had a 3yo in a HBB. She was in it at 2! I tried and tried to tell her it wasn't ok but she was set on her being a "big girl" now. Where I live it's not very uncommon to see kids not in a seat at all. I work at a daycare and we live in a small town and just the other day a dad came to get his son in a big semi/farm truck and during harvest season we had a couple dads/grandpas come in tractors. :/ it's crazy where we live! People think because our town is small and it take 2min to get anywhere in town (literally) that seats are an inconvenience.

Click to expand...

can I ask what the issue was with the nautilus? We just got one in Oct to reharness our 4year old (that is slightly smaller than your 4yo)

I live in a tiny farm town too. I would say 60-70% of CR aged kids in town are not riding in any seat at all( ie 2yo in lbb's and 3yo's in nothing). It makes me cringe. ( but of course they tell me I"m overprotective because my 4 yo is harnessed, and my almost 9yo is in a hbb.) We also have daily tractor traffic, not to mention the horse and buggies. But don't even get me started on that. It makes me sick that they don't have to follow car seat laws, they often have many tiny kids sitting in the open back (think pickup truck bed with 1' tall wooden sides). I have literally seen women riding in a buggy drop their infant onto the road, or toddlers fall out of the back, and they have to pull over to pick them up

Athena · Jan 6, 2013

You can tell him a bunch of us would rear face your tiny 3yo.

I've only heard 4 and 40 as the minimums to booster, never to go without a seat altogether. Does he realize how terribly uncomfortable that would be at that size, not just unsafe?

I'd want my 4.5 yo harnessed too. In fact, mine is. But given you don't have the money right now to do that, I'm glad you were able to teach him how to sit correctly and that he is able to do it. Good job keeping him safe.

MommyShannon · Jan 6, 2013

The "4 and 40" he mentioned is what you hear as a MINIMUM for moving to a booster from a harnessed seat. My 5 year old DS is way too impulsive to booster full time.

Shaunam · Jan 6, 2013

4 and 40 for no seat at all was the law in many states for a long time. Still is in some I think. I know DS could have legally gone without a booster for some time after he turned 4, before the new booster law went into effect here in Ohio. I googled Nebraska laws and came up with age 6, but no weight or height. I wasn't reading anything "official" though. I'm sure someone here can get into it in more depth.

cookie123 · Jan 6, 2013

Definitely what every one else said.

My grandson has failed booster riding with me. I'm too lazy to change my siggy. He can't stay in place even on a pretty short ride. He turned 5 in December.

TechnoGranola · Jan 6, 2013

Shaunam said:
4 and 40 for no seat at all was the law in many states for a long time.

Ya where I am it's 40#, no age requirement.

MommyShannon · Jan 6, 2013

TechnoGranola said:
Ya where I am it's 40#, no age requirement.

Eek! I thought Arkansas was bad with I think 6 as the minimum age. They also have a fabulous carseat pamphlet that makes it seem very clear to ff at 1 year.

Laurelz · Jan 6, 2013

cookie123 said:
Definitely what every one else said. My grandson has failed booster riding with me. I'm too lazy to change my siggy. He can't stay in place even on a pretty short ride. He turned 5 in December.

My 3yo will be harnessed until he's 30 probably for that reason. Lol! He doesn't sit still for anything! My 4yo does really well surprisingly. He's very calm, he knows the safety of staying put, he won't move to even reach for a toy. He will ask me to pull over and get it for him. Ha! Cause that's so convenient.

. I will probably put him back in his FR in the future. I live 1hr away from any stores so it will have to wait until I can "get to town" as we say around here. Haha.

Question At what age to give up...

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