"Baby" Too Big for Booster?

My daughter is 10 and still sits in her booster. If she doesn't sit in the booster, the seat belt hits across her neck (not chest) so it really wouldn't be safe. (My daughter is almost 5' tall and 80 lbs).

Edit. My daughter is in a backless booster. It is just a seat.

I'm in CA too and my oldest son is counting down the days until his 8th birthday so he can stop sitting in the booster. He sits in just a backless booster. He is 4'3" and about 60 lbs. I'm guessing in 6 mths he'll be an inch or two taller, but not 4'9". I will continue to follow CA law, but he is out of it on his 8th bday.

I would have her use the booster still until she reached at least 60 lbs.

IMO, she's nowhere near tall enough or heavy enough to not be in a booster!!

My kids were in boosters until they were over 8 years old, at least 4'9 and close to 80 lbs. For my two oldest, that meant until they were 10 because they were so slender (they still weren't 80 lbs but at almost 5 feet tall it was ridiculous). I would keep her in it longer. She's not really the only 8 year old in a booster. Safety trumps the preferences of a child. Please check out this link:

http://www.carseatsforthelittles.org/2013/04/15/boosters-...

Pull those craigslist ads and get those boosters back in your car!

All I heard was, "Blah, blah, blah...I'm sexy and weigh less than 120...blah, blah, blah."

Seriously, that IS weird. Is it about development, like stronger bones and joints? Otherwise, I don't see why they wouldn't stick with size.

Here's my story: My 2yo can still ride in the infant seat, if push comes to shove. He's long as hell, and it's not safe, but--<<<shrugging my shoulders>>>--he can be comfortable facing the back with his legs all folded up. Good to know!

ETA: Small adult drivers can adjust their seats so that the seatbelts hit them right. The backseat passengers don't have that option, so the boosters pick up the slack.

I could trip down the front steps of the house and break my neck..

Even with a helmet, if hit bay a car, I could be killed.

I could slip on my kitchen floor and crack my head open.

At some point, we have to just live our lives. I know I own a safe car. It has air bags all over the place, but if a bus hits me, I am probably a goner.

I have friends that lived a healthy life, and died of cancer.

I do not know that there is a right or wrong way to choose in this situation.. But whatever you decide. own it. You do not owe anyone else any explanation. But like your husband says, if you qualify, but do not use a booster, what is the difference?

Here, they recommended 4'9 and 100 pounds. (They MUST be 4'9.) Let's see, I'm just a few inches over the height requirement, and not a pound over the weight. Would it be safer for ME to ride in a booster, since I fit? I guess it probably would. I could also get hit by a car in the parking lot, or choke to death on something, or fall and hit my head. I'll take my chances.

Eventually, we just have to live our lives and let go.

I would keep using the booster until the seat belt hits her at the right spot. Meaning if it's right on her neck, keep the booster. Can you detach the back off your britax? Then it's not so much like a "baby" seat. All we use now is a bottom booster and the regular seat belt and we'll use that until my son is tall enough.

http://www.carseatsforthelittles.org/2013/04/15/boosters-...

This article says a lot....

Is she not willing to use the backless booster? It would still be MUCH safer for her.....

http://www.komonews.com/news/consumer/Booster-seats-save-...

My mother and I would need boosters too. Were it not for the seat adjustments, I would forever have the seatbelt at my neck. I'm right there with you.

Absolutely use it. Most kids need one to age 10, 11, even 12. And these are kid bodies, not adult bodies. It all depends how the child fits the belt, and at age 8, it would be very rare for a child to fit an adult belt.

I know most people don't use them beyond that but if there was an accident, we are talking bad things like internal decapitation and organ rearrangement, fatalities, that could all be prevented by a simple piece of plastic. The lap belt simply cannot ride high on a child, and it will for most before the age of 10-12. Good for you for using the booster! And, have her always use it if with friends, too, in their cars.

Your daughter is pretty petite, so it would be great if you could convince her to stay in a backless booster for another couple of years or inches.

That said, we didn't even wear seatbelts in the backseat when I was a kid. Go figure.

Lap and shoulder belts in modern cars are designed for a passenger at least 4'9" tall. If she's shorter than that, the seatbelt isn't really designed for her yet... will it work? Sure. Will it work better with a booster? Probably.

Boosters are strictly belt positioners. The weight of the person doesn't matter... it's all about height and where the belt is laying.

Truthfully, it is a little funny that many backless boosters (with no adjustable parts) are exactly the same used for a 4 year old as an 8 year old. Kinda seems like if THAT variation in height is okay with the same belt seat combo, the variation between 4'3" and 4'8" would also.

Still, DS is 7 and in a high back seat in my car and a backless booster in SO's car, and will stay in that until he's 4'9" without discussion!

Can you just get her a simple backless booster? It's not nearly as cumbersome as the Frontier and doesn't feel like a car seat the way she does in the harnessed one.

She's still several inches below the recommended minimum height to be booster-free. And, while a backless booster offers less safety than a harness or a high-back, it's definitely better than nothing. They often cost around $20, so it's not a big investment. Your current seats probably even convert to one (I know the Frontier does).

I have my just-turned six year old in a Frontier in my car. In all other cars, he rides in a Graco Nautilus high back booster. He is just under 4' tall and weighs 52 lbs.

Show her a couple of videos on YouTube of what happens to kids who are completely car seat free if they get in accident. Maybe that will convince her to accept the compromise of a backless booster.

I dunno.
We have the "Compass" boosters.
And a Britax "Parkway" booster.
Anyway, my kids are 6 and 10.
My 10 year old daughter, can still fit in her Compass booster.
She doesn't have to be in it anymore. She is a tall girl etc.
My son, is a tall/solidly lanky built dude, and he is in his Britax Parkway booster just fine.
Both my kids are tall for their ages.

My son by the way, is 6 years old and is 4'4"" tall and about 50-53 pounds.

Oh and LeeLee, so what what your MIL says. Or your Husband.
Eeew, I would be so irked with a MIL that tsk-tsks me all the time.
Well, don't they all?
LOL

ETA: okay so my 10 year old daughter can still fit in her Booster. And she does use it sometimesl. Her friends, many of them do not use their booster anymore. Sure, they don't have to be in one. But even my daughter said, she'd rather be safe. And feels safer, in it. Many of her friends just sit in the front passenger seat. Short or tall. Big or small.
Our friends 10 year olds, sit in their booster too. They have Britax boosters.

I was in a car accident once, while my son was in the car... in his booster. I am SO glad, he was in, his booster.

In your State... per laws, do the passengers in the rear seats, have to have their seat belts, on????
In our State, only recently did they make this law.
If not, people who sit in the back seat, would not be wearing seat belts.

I have one child who is 9 and has been out of a booster for a bit. She's 4'8.5" and 92 pounds. My 6 year old son is still in a 5 point harness in his Nautilus. He's 4'5" and 45.5 pounds. What you choose to do is your decision and if you're not confident in it perhaps there is a reason? In spite of you putting the boosters up on Craigslist if, for any reason, you decide you jumped the gun as it were you can always take them off and/or get a new seat.

No sense in concerning yourself with what your MIL thinks. According to my MIL the fact that her children are still alive means she was/is a great parent.

my son is 8 and he finally got out of his when the snow storms were over. I know that accidents happen at any time but i felt better with him in it when the roads were bad. There are a lot of his friends who arent in them anymore that are a lot smaller than he is so that makes me feel better. Some of his friends are even riding in the front seat which I wont allow him to do yet thats just crazy I need babysteps

I made my SD sit on the booster until she was 9. When she turned 7 we took the back off but I wanted her in the booster until the seatbelt fell in a better position. Her bio mom never had her sit in one since the age of 6 so I had a hard time getting her to sit in one in our car.

At age 8 it's no longer required and she fought us so hard that I finally took it out of the car.

When she was 8 I got in a small fender bender. No damage to the cars but the force flung us both forward. The seatbelt pressed against her neck for a moment and she felt like she was choking. I felt SO BAD!! I felt like it was my fault for not pushing harder for her to sit in the booster. She had a small red line on her neck for an hour or so and a big scare. Both her mom and her dad had said no booster so what was I going to do? Thankfully no permanent harm done but it scared her so much that she sat in a booster for another whole year by her choice.

I'm sad that it came to that to get her to stop fighting us. I never want another mom to go through that, what if it had been a more serious accident? Who cares what the kids say, safety is #1 and it's up to the adults to decide, not the kids.

As my husband always says, "Safety is free, why not use it?!"

And to reiterate the need for a booster, please read Kyle David Miler's story. It's terribly sad, but makes a great point!!

http://www.homebizlifestyles.com/kyledavidmiller/

My 7-1/2 year old is still in a 5-pt harness, Graco Nautilus. Good luck! :)

my daughter is 8 years old and she is no longer using the booster seat. She is 4'5, so almost at the height requirement, but we got rid of the seat on her birthday in March. She has no problems with the seat belt in the van. It does not cut into her neck at all. It falls right over her shoulder. In our little mazda 3 it does cut into her neck and just the other day we were talking about just getting her a small booster just for that car only.

My doctor said we have to wait for 4'9" so the seat belt fits correctly over the shoulder and doesn't choke the child if there is an accident. She said weight and age don't matter as much as height. (My son was trying to get to 80 pounds so he could get out of the booster but the doctor told him to stop because he wasn't tall enough yet). It's about safety not how the child feels. We got the Graco booster seat without a back at Target for about $25 and it worked great. My son was comfortable enough. Some of his other friends didn't use them anymore but I made him use it anyway. It's better to be safe.

I've said I want my smallish girls in their 5 point britax car seats when they go to the prom! Having said that, it is much more difficult to have people pick her up from school with a car seat vs. a booster...so she often rides in a booster (my husband was diagnosed with cancer this year so we are often visiting drs and relying on our friends and family to help carpool our kids to school/activities. I think they are much safer in the safer seats...although I am the product of the "mother's arm" seatbelt method. I rationalize that there were fewer cars going at a much slower pace when I was little.
You do what makes you feel you are being the best mom you can be..I love the car seat (and ours goes to at least 80 lbs (my oldest is less than 40!). I may buy her a high backed booster to use rather than the car seat....but I haven't yet! Good luck!